pic of the day

Picture Of The Day, Street Style

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Me: Hello. Excuse-me sir, do you mind if I take your picture?
Him: No, go ahead!
(Smiling. More smiling. Smiling…)

Saw him outside of the supermarket where he works, arranging carts under the blazing sun. It wasn’t his beautiful smile, mind you he never stopped, or pleasing persona that draw me to him but his invention, the object on his head, the make-do hat.

I thought it was cute, creative, original, one of a kind, the reason why I wanted to photograph him. I mean, anything to beat the heat, protect one from UV rays even if it involves cardboard boxes cut outs, I am in.  Love it!

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Hat disguise 101

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Shhh, don’t try this at home. Yes, it was hot. His face says it all.

Where are my manners. Forgot to ask him for his name.

Rain, Rain It Did

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Fair

This is what happens when you live in South Florida and mother nature has a different idea then yours.

I was looking forward to have a beautiful time and enjoy the many visitors that would come by the booth. I was pumped, my gear ready, all the tools brushed up but it was not to be and there wasn’t anything anyone could do but let the nature do its thing.

We were ready to go when she decided to play tricks on us.

It began pouring in an instance without the possibility of parole, excuse me, laying off. We not only had to take everything down but also move quickly, since we were located near the sewer drainage and the water was coming up fast. We got flooded, as matter of fact it happened literarily everywhere in South Florida, my feet and my shoes begged the water for mercy and my nose was like “sniffle I will” but it did not matter. It just kept raining and raining, and raining all day until the evening. The good thing is that it was not a total washout, something great came out of it: new friendships and it just made my day.

Pic Of The Day, Margaret

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Margaret

Once upon a time, there was Margaret who turns 98 today. Yes, you heard me right, she is ninety eight years old and although, she walks a little slow, she is always present at church activities for the elderly. I asked her if se would mind I take her picture, she whispered something to me and posed.

It got me thinking, when you think 98, what comes to mind? How have we evolved?

TV – Back in the days, if you missed a show on TV, mind you back and white, that was it. You would have to wait a few months or even years before you could see Zorro or Sound of Music again.

Today, you have YouTube, yes YouTube and it is just like color TV but on the Internet over your computer. “Internet? Can you please stop joking”. Funny, you can take it anywhere you go. They are “attached” to you on this little tiny square gadget you call, smartphone or tablets. Why they even call it smart, I don’t know but I guess it is because it talks right back at you. Yup, you ask it to take you to the moon and it does just exactly that.

Newspaper – Oh how I loved reading the newspaper. I had my own paper route going from door to door, meeting and greeting the neighbors and making new friends but others preferred to grab it at our local neighborhood store where folks would gather for some cigarette and whiskey.

Today, it is all about the click. Click here, click there, click out there and boom, you have it, papers from all over the world at your disposal.

Call or Telegram – If you want to make a call or send a telegram, the operator was there for you. Ask and you shall receive, where would you like me to place the call to or send your message to, madam?

Well, today we have creme de la creme, the master of it all, Mr Skype. Click, click and I can see you with your bad hair and outfit included. I mean, talk about “someone watching you right now” moment.

Mail – If you wanted to communicate with a friend or family member on another state or country, you had to write a letter or postcard that would sometimes take up to three weeks to arrive at its destination.

Today, you have email. Log in, enter, type and click to send. “Hey John, have you received yet?” “Yes!” Done just like that. I mean you can even conduct business without leaving your home.

“Have you heard it?” “What?! Can you please stop talking. I want to listen to music, can you please pass me the radio?” “Radio or the walkman?” “Wait, do you mean, iPod?” “Huh? iWhat?” “iPod, it plays your digitalized music.” “Can someone, please explain to me what digitalized music?” “Can you please grab my car keys on the table? I got to go put some gas.” “Grandma, you need to put gas in your car. It is electrical”. “Oh no, my utility bills.”

Age is nothing but a number so they say and Margaret has just proven us that. Ninety eight is a journey, four generations, three hundred thousand springs, three million hours, minutes and seconds, a long life of stories. I wish I had time to sit with you and hear all about it but for now, Happy Birthday. Have a beautiful and blessed day!