The preppy-est thing I saw today.

Oh I went to a garden party.....

It was an academic garden party in the steamy rain. There we were, a bunch of people dressed nicely, but not too fashion-y. I believe that despite the weather, there were some gents wearing tweed jackets with oval elbow pads.

And then she walked into the tent to show us all up:

Yes, a crisp white dress with purses printed on it. The ensemble was topped off with a bright colored sun hat, dainty designer handbag and springy sandals.

She KNEW how to dress for a garden party.

Just goes to show that we all excel at something.

"And you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself.."

The brand-iest thing I saw today.

Begging has been in the news a lot around Minneapolis lately. It is a part of the culture of cities all around the globe. In some cultures it is respected and as someone with means it is your duty to help the people who cannot help themselves. In other places it is a disgraceful behavior.

I drove past a man begging at an intersection the other day with a clever and yet ironic sign:


Though sad and true, given the stereotypes of this group of people, I suspect referencing a brand of alcohol on your sign is not the right way to get ample funds.

I think that this guy should be asking for advertising funds from Absolut vodka. There he is standing up in the elements and promoting their brand for free. Fact is Absolut would probably sue him for using their copyrighted name for his own financial gain.

The sweetest thing I saw today.

This was witnessed in two parts by my husband and I. We were going through package pick-up at Dayton’s (spelled MACY’S) and these two lovely ladies were waiting for their ride and chit chatting. They looked to be your average senior citizens- one was on oxygen and they both had cute little carefully matched outfits- but we found out they were open minded and hip to the kids today.

That’s right, these ladies were preparing to visit our local Pride festival. They went on to discuss a friend of theirs and how they were not fond of his new boyfriend. They thought he could find someone more kind and gentle. Turns out they were also looking forward to seeing a friend’s band perform at the festival.

I was very impressed. Pride is grand but is also very crowded and hot. I am not sure I would have the guts to go if I were hooked up to an oxygen tank. Plus, my grandparents probably would never have thought of attending Pride- I wouldn’t even think of asking them.

I wonder what they ended up wearing to Pride.

On a hike at Minnehaha Falls my friends and I came upon a sad and puzzling sight. The water from the falls was rushing and swirling over the rocks and debris, but there was something just out of reach that did not belong there.

It was an overturned stroller.

The stroller was in good condition and the water had not worn away its parts, so it must have been stranded recently.

We wondered how the stroller got there.

We hoped that the babe was not in the stroller when it landed in the creek.

We wonder what it was left there and who we could ask to get it out.

The water was rushing by and the depth was deceiving, but I wished that I could have freed it. Sorry to get all “American Beauty" on you, but that lonely stroller dredged up thoughts of painful childhoods and abandonment that I was lucky enough to never endure.

The creepiest/randomest thing I saw today

Driving on a less traveled road (Larpenter Ave by the St. Paul Campus farm fields), I cruised by a random and creepy item perched on a street corner. It looked as though it was waiting for the bus or a taxi.

It was a military uniform of some kind stuffed and tied up to a gurney that was standing on end. A happy human skull (perhaps fake, but this was unconfirmed) was placed on the uniform- just a grinnin’ in the sun.

Perhaps it was some sort of marker for an event “Turn right at the creepy skull army guy on a gurney”, but it had no sign or other detail to lead the passerby to confirm that.

Perhaps it was a real soldier whose ride to the VA never showed up……

The Turtley-Awesomest thing I say today.

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day and it was also the 21st Annual Turtle Derby at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. This is a joyful fundraiser held right on the hospital grounds. Pediatric patients, staff and friends gather to watch little turtles race in heat after heat to see who will be the fastest turtle of them all. The little turtles are sponsored by donations and the grand prize is pride!

Though it sounds like a day at the track, the event is aimed at celebration and fun for the children. Music, beads, clowns and balloons are all over the place. There is ice cream and prizes. Kids who cannot be outside get to watch it all on tv with special visitors and their own treats. Kids who can be outside get to party ‘til the turtles need to go home.

Of course all the kids are darling and some are clearly being treated for some illness. Your heart just goes out to them and as a grown up you well up with awe for their bravery! Can you imagine being so young and facing serious health struggles?

One darling girl was dancing about like it was 1999. (Does that line mean anything anymore?) She was full of joy and moving to the music. She had on some movie star sunglasses and was waving about some long, thick, curly movie star hair.

Though that hair did not belong to her naturally, she looked gorgeous. I fought the urge to go up to her, tell her that she looked fierce and then dance about with her for a bit. I decided to just let her mingle with the music.

“You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
Oooo see that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the Dancing Queen”
-ABBA

The Gothiest thing I saw today.

It was very hot and muggy while I was waiting for my bus home. Most people were wearing their shorts and skirts and sandals to beat the heat. I came upon a young gent who put fashion before comfort.

He looked as though he had just come from work as he was carrying a worn black briefcase. He was very tall and lean- vegan lean. Every layer of his clothing was black- his pants, his vest, his tie, his shirt; one could assume his underthings were black too. He wore a nice black fedora (which more guys should wear!) and he had all of his buttons buttoned (wrists, neck, etc). He also wore driving gloves.

He wore an eerie self satisfied grin on his face. The sun, the heat and the crowded rush hour bus stop did not phase him one bit. It looked as though he knew something the rest of us didn’t know- like maybe a flock of man eating birds was about to set down and they were only deterred by black things. His grin told me that he knew the rest of us were doomed and maybe he sort of liked that idea. Maybe he wanted that bus stop all to himself.

Oh, and he had a cane too. Maybe that was to wack off any man eating birds that came near him.






I didn't realize one needed riding gloves on the bus. I'll have to get some!