Weight of the world

Had to put a spin on this classic pose statue shot from Central Park in NYC. Seems like this model has the weight of the world on him, or at least a lot of pigeons.

Do you have the time?

Time's up.

A Choir in full voice

A puppet choir in New York City.

Radio City Christmas Tree

Just a little color to start the season off right.

Lots to be thankful for....especially a weekend of happy faces....

It's been a weekend of happy faces at the Davern household. This is a happy hot chocolate face, but we have had a variety of other faces. See the collection at

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdavern2001/.

Flag Presentation at Dad's Interment Service

The VA does a wonderful ceremony for retired veterans and other fallen warriors. This is one from my dad's service on Monday. Nicely done. A great final send off for my dad.

Well, the birds seem to like it

Art lovers are a fickle bunch. These birds seem to like these statues. From near Columbus Circle in Central Park, New York.

Three Shots for a winner

Got to see the women pros play at the IRT Women's Pro Stop held during the Glass Court Turkey Shoot in Lombard this past weekend. Seeing these women play at the top of their game was amazing. Tremendous power, control and quickness. In this shot, number one in the world, Paola Longoria from Mexico, chases down a past ball and shoots it off the back wall right under 4th seed, Maria Jose Vargas of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Paola won that match and the tournament. She is a great player and a tremendous asset to the sport.

Fall Colors in NYC

An unexpected extra day in New York City gave me some time to check out the fall colors. My favorite shot is this one in Central Park. Snow storms in mid November will tend to do this. I got caught in a horrible traffic and an airport nightmare that caused me to come back to the city after failing to get out by plane back home. It was a 10 hour travel day that didn't go anywhere. But the next morning, on my run, got to see the city covered in snow (less than an inch of snow from my reckoning, but it was enough to shut everything down). Remember, when looking for good pictures, look up and look down. You never know where you will find your next shot.

Strange Car Window

Well, this must be a fairly happy, optimistic and positive person. Might not be all that safe, however.

Benito Juarez on my run

I kept seeing this statue on my lunchtime run from the East Bank Club. Looking it up, this is Benito Juarez, the president of Mexico from 1858 to 1872. It is located in the courtyard next to the old Chicago Sun-Times Building. I thought it had a very dictator-like stance, like one you would see in a Soviet bloc country. Yet, he established the rule of law in Mexico and supported Mexican nationalism in a time when the US and the European powers were trying to solidify spheres of influence. Anyway, now I know who to say hi to on my way back from my weekly runs.

Repurposing Old Buildings

This building is likely to have been many, many things over its lifetime. Today, in Georgetown, Texas, it is a bar, restaurant and outdoor active wear clothing store, all in one. Pretty interesting combination.  Have a drink. Have a bite to eat and do some shopping. All in the same building.

Didn't Vote?

Didn't vote? Well, you are going to have to deal with this guy......

Get the Vote Out

After all the yelling and screaming, it is time to get out and vote. Hope you make it to the polls. For me, as much as I want this to be about Trump, I am voting to help change Illinois politics, rather than as some sort of national statement. Trump isn't on the ballot, and I see little that will change national politics on the Illinois ballot. Illinois has a deep fiscal problem that needs to be immediately addressed. I am sorry to say that Illinois taxes are gong to go up no matter who is elected. The only question is if labor will contribute to the pot or if we just are going to pay. In every industry, workers have had to give up some portion of their defined benefit plan to move towards a 401k. Not the government worker. They still get defined benefits with cost of living increases in retirement, far in excess to what is given in the private sector. They deserve their promised benefits, but we have also had to give up distant promises. The state is on a collision course with the math. Just not enough in the coffers to pay everything that has been promised yet the state courts have made the promises unbreakable. This situation is untenable. We will have to pay more but the other side should be willing to give up some future benefits to get a more solid promise to pay. This has nothing to do with national politics. For me, it is just about the budget....and I get to post some pretty pictures from past trips to Washington. 

Old Time Train Store

Was driving down Ogden Avenue avoiding traffic on the Stevenson and saw an old time train store. I decided to stop and check it out. They had a wonderful village with lots old time trains. If you have young kids or grandkids, check out Berwyn's Train and Toys. Then you have an excuse to buy yourself a train set for the "kids".

The Angry Pumpkin

Before Halloween is completely gone, I wanted to post this Angry Pumpkin shot, taken while walking to work last week. I think he is angry because Christmas decorations are out already and we are still weeks away from Thanksgiving.

Hanging Guitars 2

From Ken Z Guitars of Greenville, Texas and some fun with perspective and filters. Why not?

Hanging Guitars

From a guitar shop in Greenville, Texas.

Main Gate to Old San Juan

The red gate used to be the main entrance to the city of Old San Juan with the rest walled off or unreachable by ships of the day. Not much of a pier left today as the main pier has been relocated to a deeper channel so they can bring in the huge Carnival cruise ships.