People

At the time, hiring maids to clean up after us seemed like an extravagance, albeit an inexpensive one. In retrospect, it probably made sense; twenty-year old men just don't clean up after themselves.... Another Jim Lovins photograph; Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, 1971.

My cousin Karen, who passed away on Thursday. She's been in hospice care, so this isn't a surprise. A sad weekend, nonetheless. Photo taken at her mother's on Thanksgiving.

More stern details of the lakes boat Herbert C. Jackson. Sault Ste Marie, Michigan; June 24, 2005 (Sesquicentennial Engineers Day).

Great lakes ore carrier Herbert C. Jackson being locked downstream in MacArthur Lock @ Sault Ste Marie, Michigan; June of 2005.

Jim Lovins photograph; Pleiku, RVN, 1971. Jim & I both came back with photographs from what appears to be the same party. Obviously related to this photo , and at the location shown in this one .

There's something quite appealing about that awning.... We continue to follow the Herbert C. Jackson through the Soo locks. Engineers Day, 2005.

Another Jim Lovins photograph; Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, 1971. I have this feeling that if I were better with my graphics tools I could turn this into something quite remarkable. Beyond me, I'm afraid....

The previous owners of our house on Palmer Avenue left behind an old wind-up phonograph. Since Dad had 150 or so shellac 78s in his record collection, they seemed a perfect match. So we playied jazz and swing on that old box. Although Dad's tastes ran to Stan Kenton and Benny Goodman, the set contained a good cross-section of all popular music from his youth. Duke Ellington. Stan Getz. Bunny Berrigan's heavenly long rendition of "I Can't Get Started" ( iTunes ). Patti Page. Lionel Hampton. Glenn Miller. Tommy Dorsey. Count Basie. You get the idea. =================== Since I wasn't planning to take a photograph tonight, I resorted to the Treo to take this one. it's of Rachael Davis , accompanied by Steppin' In It , performing Shout Sister Shout! at the Creole Gallery in Lansing's Old Town . They've clearly digested a similar music collection. Rachael's absolutely wonderful. And she told us a story about a CD player which jibes nicely with my phonograph story. They released their album , called Shout Sister Shout, today. Dad would have loved it, and them. Thanks, Andy . ======================== The concert closed with It's a Sin to Tell a Lie, which these folks apparently learned from The Lost World String Band , an old favorite of mine. I, however, learned the patter verse from a Page Cavanaugh Trio recording. It was part of Dad's performing repertoire, too.

One last look at the guy at the winch on Lakes boat Herbert C. Jackson. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; June of 2005.

Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, 1971. Jim Lovins photograph, considerably touched up. Looks a lot like the original was a terrific photograph. Even now I've got mixed feelings about hiring local women for a few cents a day to do our chores. While I'm certain that they welcomed the income, there was something about the situation that didn't sit right with me. All the same, I helped pay for them, and depended on them to keep things in order.

As he looks now...

Dick tells me that Sharon , a longtime family friend, passed away on Friday. Photo taken at Battle Creek's C.O. Brown Stadium. Original photograph here . Somewhere I've got a photograph of Bielby at a bluegrass festival; we'll have to see if I can find it.

West Michigan infielders Nick McIntyre and Brent Dlugach, plus an unknown Quad Cities baserunner, waiting for action to begin at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan. I've been working hard on mwlguide.com/ for the past month, trying to catch up a couple years' neglect. Yesterday I rebuilt the site's front page, and used a version of this photograph. About 9 weeks to minor league Opening Day....

Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, 1971. Another Jim Lovins photograph. Not sure who the GI is.

Taking break on the stern of Herbert C. Jackson, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. June, 2005.

My boss, Mike , and his boss, Joe ( Corvair Owner ), at Joe's biweekly staff meeting. Joe wanted me to take a different picture, but this one suits.... Taken with m' Treo. If I'd carried a better camera to work this morning, I'd likely have posted something very different--but it wasn't possible with the phone's camera.

My Valentine. At Horseshoe Bay, just north of St. Ignace, in June of 2000.

A montegnard rice farmer goes about his business. Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, 1971.