Friday "My Town" Shoot Out: In Honor of Matilda in Australia

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little horses.
Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,
Go to sleepy you little baby,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby,
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little horses."

"Mama" Sarah Lulu in Australia was chosen to pick this week's photo assignment. Lulu chose the letter "M" in honor of her new granddaughter, Matilda. And since, I still have a bad ankle and a bad Dell computer (still under warranty) that has locked me out of my hard drive until the technician can make a 5th call to my house, hopefully, this weekend, I was at a loss for anything, and almost did not do this assignment.

But, since I had to hobble to an assignment for the newspaper on Thursday, and since my husband had to drive me and carry my gear, we left early and I shot some very generic "M's" and threw them on my laptop. I just could not bring myself to miss an assignment. Reggie Girl would kill me. And what would Matilda think of me?

So without further ado, I present to you the letter "M" in things around our town. Welcome to the world, Matilda. Not exactly a shoot for a little girl, but see all those "M's?"











A list of Friday shooters can be found on the sidebar. If you are not listed, please go to our shoot out site and sign up there - just leave a message in the last post. You can also find next week's assignment, and info on our shoot outs.

Miss Maryland USA 2009, Gabrielle Carlson

OK. If you read my last post, you will know this is my last photo post for a few days, unless my ankle gets better or my Dell tech shows up for the 4th time to fix my computer. And if you read my last post, you will know that the only reason I had these photos to post is because I forgot to format one of my cameras last night.

Also, if you read my last post (perhaps you should read my last post) you know that, whenever I can, I like to give back to my community. So last night, I hobbled over to Somers Cover Marina to shoot contestants in our upcoming Freedom Fest contest (you will really have to read my last post for all the details on that).

I can't post the photos because the newspaper has not run the story yet, but I can show you Miss Maryland USA 2009, Gabrielle Carlson. She lives about ten minutes up the road. We are all so proud of her.

"Gabi", as her friends call her, had come down to show the girls some pointers and talk to them about the pageant. She was so sweet. I know she will go far in life.

Miss Maryland USA shows the girls how to walk for the camera.

A gracious pose.

Another wonderful pose at Somers Cove Marina.

John John Crabby Crab is getting pretty popular around these parts. Before I left for the shoot, he jumped into my camera bag and popped out just after the shoot, wanting a kiss from Gabi. She was kind enough to make an old crab happy. I think Crabby had actually hoped he would be turned into a prince. No chance now, Crabby. If Gabi could not do it, you are stuck being our town mascot.

Thanks to Gabi, all the Miss Freedom Fest contestants, and to Allison Castellana, our event's coordinator.

Good luck to all the contestants!

And yes, John John Crabby Crab, may decide to write a book one day. Umm? But where will he find the time?

Where Have I Been?

With a bad ankle, I thought I would take some time to cut out tear sheets and file them away (I am way backed up in that department). I had my husband put a stack of papers on the front porch for me, and when I went out, John John Crabby Crab had pulled out two newspapers. He wondered why they had the same photos on the front pages. I explained to him that I worked for both the daily paper that covers parts of Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, and their sister paper which covers my county. He was fine with that, and he really wanted some of those fresh strawberries. For the story about the 1800's festival go to either newspaper and do a search.

And look Reggie Girl! There is Stedman on the front page. He was just great. He was talking to a group of students about defining themselves. The header actually came from one of his comments. You can read the story by doing a search at either paper, and you can see the other photos I took.

I have received some nice emails from people wanting to know where I have been. First, let me say it has been a long 3 weeks. I have been out of the blogging loop for several days. Yesterday was my day to catch up. But the phone rang and I was off on an assignment. I always leave a little early in case I see a feature along the way. Bagman says a photographers most important piece of equipment are the brakes on their car. I totally agree.

I slammed on my breaks in Marion Station, about 10 minutes up the road, when I saw a photographer taking photos of a girl in a bridal grown at an old abandoned 3 story brick church. That was to be my next post.

After checking to see if I could jump in with my camera, I ran back to the car, grabbed my gear, and twisted my ankle when I stepped in a hole. I did the shoot, made my way 20 minutes up the road, and did my assignment shoeless.

With an aching ankle, and shoeless again, I went to Somers Cove Marina to shoot contestants for our upcoming Freedom Fest (just helping out in this instance - giving back to my community), to be held at the marina on July 4 (check out the Crisfield Events link on the side bar for info, and be looking for info in the Somerset Herald and Daily Times (link also on the side bar - you can get your news their, too). You can also find out who Miss Freedom Fest will be by going to either site next week (the contest is Sunday). You will also be able to see a web extra of photos of the event at the Daily Times site.

I put in a request to be off today. I was going to the beach, but my ankle did not like that idea.

Now comes the really bad news. Dell has been sending a technician to my house to fix my computer problem. It keeps shutting off (not rebooting-it just shuts off). I have new fans, a new mother board, and, as of this morning, a new power supply. Well, it shut down again. And again. And now a system error message is sitting on my screen. Being that the computer is under warranty, I demanded a new computer. They did not take kindly to that, but are sending out a bunch of new parts to be installed sometimes this week. In the meantime, they don't want me to touch the computer.

They were going to have me repair whatever got corrupted with the last shutdown, but they said if the computer shut down again while the disc was trying to make repairs, it could damage the hard drive. I have some things backed up, but there are about 400 photos in various folders on my desktop waiting to be filed or turned into blog posts, that have not been backed up.

Thanks again to everyone who emailed me. I might not be able to catch up with all the news, but I will try to be more prompt with my posts. With all our new shooters, it sure takes a long time to get to everyone, even on a good day. I do like to spend some time seeing what everyone has, and not rush through photos. Everyone puts a lot of time into what they do, and if I am going to visit, I want to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Because I did not reformat one camera last night, I was able to put the photos in the laptop and make at least one post. Until my foot gets a little better, or my computer is up and running, I won't have much for you. But I will have time to visit!

Of course, I caught Crabby reading the papers this morning, and had to shoot him.

____________________________

“Every time a newspaper dies, even a bad one, the country moves a little closer to authoritarianism; when a great one goes, like the New York Herald Tribune, history itself is denied a devoted witness.” ~ Richard Kluger (check out his books for some good reading).

Wise words from a wise man. Think about that, folks. And support your local newspapers. Yes. We have the Internet, and we have cable, and we are bombarded 27/7 with news (much of which is not news - just entertainment).

Newspapers have been their for us throughout history. From the writers, to the photojournalist, to the editors, right down to the people in the mail room and the people who deliver your papers to your door or local store, people are working tirelessly, under tight deadlines and oftentimes stressful situations to put that newspaper into your hands. I can't imagine a world without newspapers. How dull things would be.

Next time you read a newspaper -and I hope it is tomorrow - think about all that went into getting that paper out. Newspapers don't magically appear on a daily basis. Really, they don't!

Crisfield "My Town" Shoot Out Through the Eyes of "John John" Crabby Crab

“Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans; it's lovely to be silly at the right moment” ~ Horace

For this week's Friday shoot-out,  I thought I would have a little fun. I had no idea what to do. Bagman showed all of us last week with his water theme, and Gordon has Scruffy, so I went out searching from something different.

I was wandering around town, got hungry, and stopped in at Linton's Seafood to get a bite to eat when I heard a little voice saying, "Help me." I looked around trying to find the source, and went back to where Linton's sorts their crabs. And look what I found!

This poor crab was begging to be adopted, so I worked out a deal with Harvey Linton, and he let me have the pleading crab. We named him John John "Crabby" Crab, for reasons I will explain later.

Poor Crabby!

Crabby got the trembles when he saw what his fate could have been.

After Crabby calmed down, we put him on a leash (crab string, of course) and let him walk around and check out the rest of the store while we talked to the sorter.

The sorter made a bad mistake...

He was showing us a large crab that Crabby recognized as one of his cousins. Crabby immediately broke loose from his leash, making a getaway with his cuz. We were in hot pursuit.

We finally tracked Crabby and his cuz down at Somers Cove Marina, just as cuz was jumping for his freedom.

________________________

We took Crabby on a little tour of Crisfield.

Here he is checking out Captain Larry Laird's boat. Crabby wanted to go on a tour with the students, but we didn't have enough cash on hand.

Everyone who keeps up with my blog knows all about Gordon's. Gordon's has been around since 1928. They sell around 500 cups of coffee a day. That is not too shabby for a city with a population of around 3,000. We thought Crabby might like to try a cup of coffee, and meet some of the waterman. I suspect he was a little suspicious of the them. The guy to the right was a little suspicious of Crabby, but before we left Crabby had made some new friends. That is what Gordon's is all about. Great food, too!

We took Crabby down to the Somers Cove Marina pool where he got in trouble for breaking the "no diving" rules.

It was embarrassing having to call an employee to help save him. Pool water is no place for a crab.

After that ordeal, Crabby was hungry so we took him out to one of our restaurants for soup and a sandwich...

And a beer. He insisted on tipping.

_______________________

After Crabby saw the photos I took he wanted his own camera. I took a photo of him holding his camera, and showed him how he could use filters to add a little fun to his photos.

Crabby took a liking to these flowers. I think he did good on his first photo.

Crabby wanted to know what this was. I could not bring myself to tell him. But, he can't read yet, so I will tell you. It is a crab trap. People come from all over to go crabbing in Crisfield. And of course, to eat steamed crabs!

Crabby took this photo of one of the Crisfield condos. He was mesmerized with the water. I had to keep him on a tight leash - I mean crab string.

Crabby liked the green in the bicycle but did not understand the concept.

Crabby did not understand the concept of "No Parking" either.

Crabby wanted to check out these condos on the water, but I told him we already had a place to live. Great buy, though!

Crabby got very excited when he saw this near the City dock.

Crabby wanted to go for a ride on this boat, but I told him it was not a good idea.

We took Crabby back to Somers Cove Marina where we showed him our boat.

He said he much preferred this boat docked near the City dock. Spoiled already.

Crabby made a friend when Doris tried to share her radish with him. 

____________________

The following photos are more random photos taken by Crabby...

Be sure and check out Tangier Island Cruises in Crisfield. The boat leaves every day at 12:30.

Crabby loved this view.

Crabby liked the Chamber of Commerce sign, and went in to get membership papers.

This is Maho's, one of the many places to eat in Crisfield. Crabby wanted to take a dip in the water, but he had recently dried out from his dip in the pool.

Crabby had to stop and see the pretty flowers this man was planting.

This curb intrigued Crabby.

I had to hold Crabby back when he saw these feet. Bare feet and crab claws don't mix well together. But he was fascinated with the tattoo. He wanted one, but I told him he was too young.

After Crabby's camera batteries ran out, we put him back on his leash and walked him down to the Crisfield Tourist's Center where he looked over some brochures for his next adventure. He seemed to take an immediate liking to Janes Island State Park.





Paradise is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, right here in Crisfield.

Back at the house, Crabby enjoys a little R&R on the front porch.

We finally showed Crabby to the guest bedroom where he settled down for a long nap, dreaming of new adventures.

Disclaimer: Crabby is not a real crab. He was donated for our Friday shoot out by "John John" and Jenny Tawes of Tawes Oil, also owners of the Blue Crab Crossing Nautical Art & Decor located on Main Street near the City dock. You can buy those little tins of crab mints there, too.

The "real" crab was donated by Linton's Seafood, to be returned to the bay for our  Friday shoot-out.


Oh, don't tell Crabby he isn't real. I think I saw him going for the cat food earlier. Watch out, Scruffy! There's a new plush in Blog Land.




Crisfield. Come on over, kick up your feet, and feel those troubles melt away. Stay awhile, or forever.

Crisfield's Paper Boy, Charlie Adams

Yesterday, I did a post on youth. I thought it only fitting that today, I do a post on age.

Let me introduce the world to Charlie Adams. I snapped a photo of him while I was shooting the Crisfield Memorial Day services at our cemetery. Charlie kept telling me how proud he was that he was going to be buried in the veteran's section of the cemetery, next to his father.

I thought that was really nice, but I doubt if anyone in Crisfield wants to see Charlie leave this world anytime in the near future. When he does leave us, I know Heaven will have a corner for Charlie to stand on. What will he be doing on that corner?

The same thing he did in Crisfield for 67 years. Charlie was Crisfield's "paper boy." He never missed a day selling the news. When he retired recently, the town had a plaque put in the exact spot where he stood all those years; in rain, sleet, snow, heat and cold, everyone in town knew Charlie would be on duty.

Charlie's courteous attitude was unyielding, his smile contagious.

The spot, if you are ever in Crisfield, is on the corner, down from Gordon's on Main Street. Be sure and check it out. A lot of history was told there, thanks to Charlie.

Charlie stills stays busy, and we all wish him a lot more time with us.

Thanks, Charlie - for 67 years of dedicated service to the town of Crisfield. Charlie loves Crisfield, and Crisfield loves Charlie.



“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll

Skateboarding in Crisfield

"I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport." ~Tony Hawk

Click photos to enlarge.





I saw the first kid leaning up against an old building near the water, and rode up and told him not to move. That works around here, because everyone knows me (one of the neat things about small town life). He held his pose.

I just like the way he was standing there, being cool, for no other reason than he was a kid with a skateboard, just being a kid.

I gathered up the other skateboarders and told them to line up against the wall and be cool with him. Then, I told them to skate for me.

One of these days, I am going to get them to teach me skateboard. It looks like fun. It is never too late to try something new. Wanna try it with me, Bagman?

Whoo Hoo!

"Skateboarding has been connected with the punk culture and rebellion. There has just been a need to show that skateboarding can be a positive thing." ~ Brandon Nelson

Forever Young, my friends. Forever young.

"May the good lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
Surround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud
Dignified and true
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever young, forever young
Forever young, forever young." ~ Rod Stewart (partial)