Mr. Memorial Day

Do you have these in the Czech Republic?

Here, often you will find people who REALLY Dress the part on a Holiday. This guy was at the Rib Fest out by the Lake(Ontario). He does not look too happy in this picture. I wonder why? Wonder if someone told him.. he looked a tad foolish??

But he wouldn't wear this outfit if he didn't want to. He sure gets a lot of attention... ya think?

Fairport's Memorial Day Parade

Every town and City Celebrates Memorial Day is a big way; usually A morning parade and a band concert in the afternoon, plus various other ways to get friends and family together and some towns even have a fireworks display.

It is a time to honor the men and women who served in the Armed Forces for America.
In fact, of interest perhaps, a man with family of 3 kids stopped where my Parents were sitting along the parage route and personally thanked my father for his part in American's freedom( he knew my Dad served in the Air Corp during WWII). So it is a day of remembering and thanking those of served and gave their lives in many respects.

Here are pictures of Fairport's Parade this morning.

Fairport's parade is typical of many small town parades. The parade includes marching bands from the Town, Local Fire Departments and Fairport High School; the many Little League(for youngsters) baseball teams march as well; and Many Local area fire Departments send many of their Fire Trucks for the parade ( the Children Love them )

Related to the Fire Trucks: Each Town has a complement of their own. Fairport, for instance has Seven Trucks; there are several Surrounding towns each with their own Fire Departments and Trucks. You will note the other names on the Trucks: Eqypt(a small hamlet two miles from Fairport); Bushnells Basin, about 4 miles away and Penfield, also about 4 miles away; All suburban towns of the City of Rochester.

NOTE: I think the Fire Trucks are quite Large over here compared to in Prague or other places in the Czech Republic. ano?

Major Planetary Alignment

Tonight, on this Memorial Day Monday, one can see a major planetary alignment with 4 planets and the Moon.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day 2011. Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which is always observed on the last Monday of May (May 30th).

Memorial Day commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service and is a day to remember those who died and those who have served this country in the military. It was First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War. It was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Memorial Day is a day of family picnics, parades and the waving of American Flags. Many households and businesses fly the American Flag outside today. It is a day of enhanced Patriotism by all.

Of interest to my Friends in Prague, Memorial Day officially marks the start of the summer vacation season here in the US, (whereas Labor Day, the first Monday of September, its end).

Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War(1865), by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not.

Since if became a Monday Work Holiday, this weekend increasingly became more and more devoted to shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, City, as well as, small town parades and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Weekend

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a US Holiday, but the whole weekend is filled with things to do.

Out at the Lake> Lake Ontario in the County Park on the beach, The 4th Annual Bar-B-Que Rib Fest(ival) is taking place this weekend. I went out there today to taste some Pork BBQ ribs along with a Beer ( weak I might add, but refreshing ).

Here are some pictures from the event showing Americans enjoying themselves...food, food and more food.

Happy 2nd ! Anniversary to good friends

Wishing my Friends Andrea and Michal a very Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary back there in Mukarov... Wishing you the very best on this date and for all GOOD things in the year to come. S

Purple

Porsche Racing at Watkins Glen

Usually the first weekend in June(although this year; the last weekend in May) sees a weekend of Porsche racing at a world famous and a world class International Raceway about 2 hour south of Rochester in Watkins Glen, New York.

I spent much of the day there today; in pure enjoyment. Great Sound. Great racing. Great Cars. I don't go so much for the racing as to enjoy the sounds of these cars and how great it must be to be on the track with one.

I missed attending this race for the past three years. I Was in a far off land; Enjoying it as well. But, when a friend reminded me it was this weekend...I just had to go... so I did.

Another Fairport Home

Town Hall Dva

Canal Packet Boat mooring for the evening

Packet Boats were boats filled with trade or grains that used the Erie Canal for commerce in the early 1800's.

Now self propelled replicas can be rented for vacationers who want to travel the length( or part of the length) of the canal, visiting small towns like Fairport and taking in other interesting sights along the way.

...as seen on a recent walk

Sunshine on a front porch

Lift Bridge over the canal in Fairport

On Main street Fairport, there is a Lift Bridge that crosses over the canal. It goes vertically up to allow boats on the canal to pass and to continue on their journey.

It is the only Bridge of its kind in New York State and is very unusual. It was built in 1914 and is the only lift bridge on the canal that incorporates a slope.

The bridge is an irregular, ten-sided structure and crosses the canal at a 32-degree angle. No two angles in the bridge are the same, and no corners on the bridge are square. The bridge weighs 720 tons and is powered by a 40-horsepower electric motor. Clearance under the Fairport Lift Bridge is 6 feet when lowered and 15 feet when raised.

It raises for any boat larger than a canoe or row/paddle boat due to its minimal 6ft clearance when it is down.

Each end of the Fairport Lift Bridge has a stairway on the east side which allows pedestrians to cross the bridge when in the raised position. Originally, canal traffic was heavy, and road traffic was relatively light, so the bridge was left up and only lowered when road traffic required it. In time, automobile traffic increased and canal traffic decreased, so today the bridge is left down and raised when a boat requires passage.

Sunday Morning Coffee....

...this is So much different than at Sunday mornings at Vescovi Caffé on Ujezd v Praze.

Coffee in a paper cup is very typically American. I did not see it much in Prague, other than with someone that had just been to Starbucks.

We are always on the go. Can't relax and I think it must be some sort of status symbol to carry around a paper cup of coffee with some famous brand name on the side.

I Miss the Sunday morning ambiance on Ujezd and the coffee...

Church Street, Fairport

My Street in Fairport; Church Street. There is: an East Church Street and a West Church Street. The dividing line/street is Main Street which runs north and south.

Church Street's name: ...the street has 6 Churches on it. East Church street has 3: "The First Congregationalist Church","United Church of Christ", and "The 'Community' Baptist Church". West Church Street has 3: "The First Baptist Church", "The Bethlehem Lutheran Church", and "The United Methodist Church". All the Churches on Church Street are of the Protestant Denomination.

Fairport does have a Catholic Church in the Village but it is on the other side of town; ...not sure why.

There. That is your Fairport Trivia for today.

Picture: The First Baptist Church on the corner of W. Church and Main. It is also the Largest of the Churches in Fairport.

Branchless Blossoms

As you enter the Village...

This is what you see as you enter Fairport.

Here in Monroe County, the county in which Fairport resides, All towns/villages use the same style, lettering and coloring in the signage used to announce the town you are entering.

....Just like pictured above; the only thing that is different is the Name, of course.

A small orchard in Fairport

Again A BIg Thank you..... & Let Jaroslav know.....

Eva, Tomas and Honza... again thank you. I just got the print framed today. Finally.

It is Double matted, with a thin inside border of medium green which matches a green in the print. The outer mat is gloss black, to highlight the colors; the frame has rose/red tones...and the glass is UV Museum glass to protect the colors against sunlight...

So finally, after carefully storing it in my Smichov flat, then carrying this home in a large Prague mailing tube on two planes last March, then again carefully storing it since my Arrival here; It is framed and ready to hang prominently in my apartment. A work of Art, with great memories, all the way from Prague to Rochester,NY.

I hope you like how I have presented this really great work. Please Let Jaroslav know as well... Dekuju. Tak ahoj

Here is the painters website; Jaroslav Valečka. http://www.valecka.eu/

New Leaves in the Evening Sun

Interesting color as I walked through the village one evening as the sun was setting

Krtek takes off on shuttle mission

The penultimate space shuttle mission took off from Cape Canaveral on Monday with an unusual passenger — Czech cartoon character Krtek, in the allotted personal belongings of astronaut Andrew Feustel.

“My hope was to select an item that would capture the attention of both children and adults,” Feustel said when he first announced that he would be taken the beloved character with him in March, according to press reports at the time. The puppet version of Krtek was custom made for the voyage, as it is lighter and flatter than fully stuffed versions. Feustel’s mother-in-law is from Znojmo, South Moravia.

The cartoon mole, who is popular in much of the world but little known in the US, is not the only pop culture connection for the mission. It was also Feustel’s idea to create a mission poster based on the most recent Star Trek movie. Feustel told the media that the film “Star Trek” was uplinked to the Atlantis in 2009, when he was a crewmember on that mission.

Crewing on the Canal

Two months today

Hard to believe I have been in Rochester(Fairport) for two full months as of today, the 16th of May. I flew into JFK from Prague on the 16th of March. Time goes fast; faster than one wishes to believe...

This past Saturday, I went to my favorite 'haunt'; the bar at Woodcliff to enjoy a glass of wine, some Jazz and do some writing, as I used to do in Prague while enjoying a glass of wine. I didn't know what I might write.

I took along a blank "Krtek" writing booklet that I bought at Luxor (I still have a few blank ones). As I sat there, I began writing...

In the next hour or so, I had written a list of 115 (115!) reasons I miss Prague.
(and I did not even list peoples names to make the list long;-)

From number One; to missing all my Friends over there in Prague; to the sound of the Trams as they stop, then start up again(their characteristic humm/whine); from missing walking through Lucerná Pažaž under Černy's horse; to walking cobblestone streets in the rain; from missing a cool glass of Czech bilý vino; to a frothy cup of piping hot cappuccino at Kávovarna.

The list I wrote developed like spilled water running over a table top.

Pinot Noir

Interesting California Vineyard, and it is actually quite good, although I only had one glass of it, so far.

Spring Color

West Ave; Fairport

Huge Difference: CZ vs US

You have Krtek...

and we don't.

(well....I do)

Magnolias are in Full Bloom

Top: On West Church Street; Fairport
2nd: On Main street

More houses in the Village of Fairport

as promised; more village Homes