Rhodo

Last weekend was our annual trip to Valle Crucis, NC for the Rhodo Softball Tournament. Melanie begged off because she doesn't like the campground so I went up with Chris, The One Big Loud Guy, Wendell and Barry.

We had a good time. Chris and I went up on Friday and met The One Big Loud Guy at the campground. It was 90 by the time we got there and setting up tents in 90 degree heat is not fun. It's usually ten degrees cooler in the mountains than it is in Charlotte but that doesn't do you a lot of good when it's 101 in Charlotte.

Next year we might look for a new campground. This campground is a little rundown. Its only advantage is how close it is to the barn where the band plays. The usual group of Charlotte people weren't there because of an incident with the scary owner last year. If they don't come next year we may find a new place to camp.

Once we got set up on Friday we broke out the beer because it was too hot to do anything else. Honest.


I broke out the tripod and we had some fun with some night shots. I'm still bummed my camera doesn't have a bulb setting.


Because I am mature I spelled "ASS" with my flashlight. Did you know that LED flashlights are actually too bright for light painting?


Saturday we spent almost 4 hours soaking our feet in the creek and relaxing. I read and read and read and read. It was wonderful.


We had a nice little kitchen area set up. I brought camp stove and Friday we cooked made cheeseburgers and Saturday we whupped up a great breakfast and for dinner we had pork chops and baked beans.


Chris over indulged Friday night as his hangover hit him around 3pm on Saturday.


Wendell found this ten dollar bill in his wallet. The Obama paranoia runs deep.


Before we headed to the barn dance to see the Lenny and Michael Federal band we played catch with this Nerf throwing' toy.


Wendell has been singing a lot with Lenny's Friday night band and he was onstage a lot of the night here also. He loves singing with Lenny.


A little second curtain fun with Wendell and Malin.

It glows!

In an earlier post I posted a picture of the silly new obelisk outside the Ashley Park development on Sharon Rd. At night it lights up. Jesus.

Human Mating Behavior Observed in the Wild

While waiting for the bus Saturday night I observed a gentleman drunkenly attempt to woo a female.

In this photo you can see him impressing her with his wit and charm.


Here he makes eye contact with the his chosen female.


In this photo you can see that the male has attempted to finalize the seduction with physical contact. Judging from the female's body language he mistimed this move.


Eventually a second male appeared and, as you can see, the original "macker" has backed off from the female. It is unknown whether or not the second male was participating in a "blocking" maneuver or if he was protecting the female from an unwanted advance. Unfortunately the bus arrived before I could determine the role of the second male.

David Childers

Last night Wendell and I took the bus to the Moorehead Street Tavern to see David Childers and the Overmountain Men. Moorehead is a strange place to me because back in the early 90s it was a horrible disco called The Cellar that I went to a lot for reasons I can no longer fathom. David Childers has been playing music around the area for several years and he scared the shit out of everybody by retiring back in 2007. Turns out he was just taking a break. Thank god. Childers, to me, is a lot like R.L. Burnside. When he's in performance mode he travels and he takes you with him. When he is on stage he draws people in, they want to get close to him, interact and attempt to feel what he is feeling. There's a reason that some people call him "The Reverend David Childers."

I took a few pictures.


David Childers


Robert Childers plays drums and he's, like, totally awesome.


Yeah, I was playing with the second curtain setting on my flash.


Maybe too much?


Most of the band


David Performing Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman."

A Positive Police Story

Yesterday afternoon I stopped by the giant Harris Teeter for some eggs and shit paper and I saw a couple of police cars in the parking lot. Two officers were administering a field sobriety test to an obviously impaired gentleman. He failed the test but from what I overheard the female officer she could tell he hadn't been drinking but knew he was impaired so she refused to allow him to drive away. I heard her ask if there was someone he could call to pick him up. Throughout all this, with me taking pictures and dozens of rubberneckers cruising by, she kept him calm and addressed him as sir and handled the situation with professionalism and obvious authority. After taking a few pictures I spoke to a lady nearby and she told me he had hit a tree trying to park his car and while inside he could barely get through the checkout line so she called the police. Good for her.

After making my purchases the impaired one was still talking to the police and another car had shown up. I think the two officers called in a superior to assess the situation because the two new arrivals were pacing the area and observing the large dent on the vehicle's left front. I hope it turned out OK.

Local man miserably fails field sobriety test


Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer conveys with her eyes just how messed up this guy is


The officer explains to citizen blotto that he will not be allowed to operate his vehicle


The damage done to the vehicle while parking

Boot to the head

This is why I couldn't stop watching the World Cup final yesterday.

The All Star Game

Ever wonder who has the most career hits in the baseball All Star Game? Willie Mays with 23. Who has the most doubles? Dave Winfield with 7. Most home runs? Stan Musial with 6. Runs batted in? Ted Williams with 12. Strikeouts? Mickey Mantle with 17. Data stolen from Baseball Reference.

Not Scared

IMG_6825
Originally uploaded by zzazazz

It's nice that the fire department came by for story time and brought their giant dog mascot but I found it to be a little creepy. I was surprised that the kids didn't find the dog creepy. They loved it and several posed for pictures with it. Personally I would have left the building crying if I was five and this guy lumbered in my direction.

Paul crashes Ringo's Birthday Party

This is from last night. Pretty cool.

Pencil Vs Camera - 30

Pencil Vs Camera - 30
Originally uploaded by Ben Heine

Have I mentioned recently how much I like this guy's work?

Driving in Charlotte (Still Sucks)

I had the perfect example of Charlotte driving the other day in the Harris Teeter parking lot. I drive a little 1989 Honda Civic and, since it's so low to the ground, if anything larger than a German shepherd is parked next to me I have to back out real slow from a parking space because I can't see shit. Since I was at the Morrocroft Harris Teeter I was parked next to a giant SUV. So here I am backing out nice and slow and as soon as I can see the driving lane I notice a car oncoming so I stop because this is Charlotte and they are not going to practice parking lot etiquette which is either A) stop and wave me out or 2) tap their horn to let me know they are going by. This is a different world with different rules and what I experienced was a couple in their late 50s or early 60s in a big American car zooming by me while screaming at me. I can still see it as clear as a spring day: a red faced couple just jawin' away behind the rolled up windows, their faces twisted in rage screaming at me to stop. As Melanie likes to say, "We're not in Charleston anymore.

Bottle Rockets

IMG_6963
Originally uploaded by zzazazz

I love taking pictures of bottle rockets on the 4th of July.

A Video

Last night our friends Cathy and David had their wedding party at the Comet Grill. They naturally had the Lenny Federal Band play. Wendall has been doing some backup singing for Lenny of a while on Fridays and has recently been attending band practice. I thought it was to practice his backup singing. Oh no, he's been rehearsing some lead singing roles. Does he tell us? Hell no, I have to find out last night when this song starts. Wendell is so secretive. He thinks he's Batman.