Happy Independence Day!

This year as the United Kingdom declares independence from Europe, I thought it appropriate to republish this post from a few years ago.

I am so fascinated with American’s insatiable appetite for Britain and the royal family and apparent disdain for French culture. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Without the help of the French we would have never defeated the British and won our independence. So this year when you fire up the BBQ have a nice red wine with your burger and say vive la France!

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Independence Day

Independence Day

Surf’s Up!

I tried doing this a couple of times when I was young but just barely managed to kneel. I used to like body surfing and belly boarding though and remained mystified that human beings actually have enough balance to stand up on these boards and ride the waves. This young man was surfing before sunset on a Gulf of Mexico Beach near Treasure Island Florida.

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Surfs Up!

Surfs Up!

Capitol Door

To me it seemed like everything in The US Capitol was special and had some unique thought behind it. Everywhere there is art. Even the tunnels leading from the office buildings to the Capitol have art from high school seniors across America. There are huge painting and many sculptures. Even some of the doors are artistic displays like this one outside the Speaker’s Balcony.

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A Capitol Door

A Capitol Door

The U.S. Capitol

I can think of many political things to say today but in the spirit of this blog I will say none. Instead here is a lovely picture of a symbol of freedom. That’s it. Carry on.

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Storm Clouds over D.C.

Storm Clouds over D.C.

The Original Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of The United Sates has had its own building in Washington D.C. since 1935. Before that the court met inside the US Capitol in a chamber designed and built by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. It was an unusual architectural achievement. It was known to be the first small structure to use a vaulted, semicircular ceiling in the United States.

John Marshall was the first Chief Justice and the room was used until 1860 for the court. The court then moved into the old senate chamber and the beautiful room was used as a law library. After the court moved into its current location the room was abandoned until its restoration in the 1970’s. You can feel the history when you stand it this chamber.

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The Original Supreme Court

The Original Supreme Court

Francisco Cervelli

Some of my friends have already given up on the Pittsburgh Pirates for this year and I have to admit it does look grim.As I watched the Buccos lose the other night with a catcher on the mound to finish the final inning; I began to add up the Pirates injuries. Sure we are missing our pitching ace (Gerrit Cole)and although two of our other starters aren’t injured but they are playing like the are. However,nobody is missed more that this guy. Hurry back Francisco, we need you!

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Francisco Cervelli

Francisco Cervelli

Yes Chicago Does Have a Chinatown!

We were in Berwyn Illinois this weekend to visit my daughter over Father’s Day weekend. They all decided to take me out for Father’s Day Dim Sum at a place called MingHin Cusine. I have enjoyed Dim Sum in many places including New York’s ChinaTown, Los Angeles,San Francisco but this place WAS the best.

The reason was they didn’t have the silly carts where the food is sometimes not real fresh. You order from a menu and they bring out each dish as it is done. Our local Pittsburgh restaurant, Sun Penang also does this but MingHin has a much bigger selection.. If you go, make a reservation like my brilliant daughter did,the wait was at least one hour.

I was also quite surprised at the size of the Chicago Chinatown which is easily as big as New York’s but not as grand as San Francisco. Here are some snaps from the area, I was too hungry to take food photos.

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Chicago's Chinatown

Chicago’s Chinatown

The Second City

There are many myths on why Chicago is called The Second City. Of course egocentric New Yorkers think it is because Chicago is second to New York. This is odd because if you think about population Los Angeles is first and if you think about age both Boston and Philadelphia are older. Bur of course New Yorkers tend to be full of themselves.

The one that is probably real is that the Chicago we know today rose from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire of 1837. The great fire destroyed an area about 4 miles long and encompassing an area of more than 2,000 acres. It destroyed were more than 73 miles of roads, 120 miles of sidewalk, 2,000 lampposts and 17,500 buildings. Of the 300,000 inhabitants of Chicago at the time,100,000 were left homeless. The City was entirely rebuilt and as you can see is looking pretty good.

This view is from the 22nd floor of a Chicago Loop high rise and prints can be purchased on my commercial site.

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The Second City

The Second City

Longboards at Sunset

This is another sunset view from our condo on Sunset Beach in Treasure Island Florida. It was great fun spending a whole month on the beach. It was something we had always wanted to do and we are blessed to have the time, money and health in retirement to do some of the things on our wish list. The nightly sunset views from our balcony were stupendous.

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Long Boards at Sunset

Long Boards at Sunset

Matt Aquiline and The Highballers at Club Cafe

When we moved back to Pittsburgh in 2014 we really lucked out in a lot of ways. Of course neighbors sometimes can be a liability when buying a house. Just ask me about Long Island sometime. However, Regent Square is a wonderful Pittsburgh neighborhood and we have great neighbors. One bonus we couldn’t have planned for is that one of our neighbors is a singer-songwriter.

I have great respect for songwriters, they are poets. As a novelist, yes I can say that, I am even more impressed. It’s hard enough to think up the words let alone set them to music. Our local poet is Matt Aquiline and he writes alternative country rock music that is humorous and heartwarming and never depressing. Last night he played at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh with his new band and they were awesome. They were proceeded by The Highballers with Belén Pifel, who used to sing with Matt when they lived in Washington. At the end of the night Belén Pifel and John Woolf joined Matt and his new band for a great finish. Here are some images from the show.

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Matt Aquiline with Belén Pifel  and John Woolf

Matt Aquiline with Belen Pifel and John Woolf

Matt Aquiline, Belén Pifel  and John Woolf

Matt Aquiline, Belen Pifel and John Woolf