woofer

woofy AF!!

hot AF!!

old guy in a blue sweatsuit kicks leaves off of a deck in the backyard of his home

old guy disappointed as clouds roll in at sundown

it looked like it was gonna be one of the last nice days for awhile so i got out back and at least got the dead legs cleared off the deck. not much, but it was something. by sundown, the clouds - and the cold - started to move in…

yes please! 🤪🤪🤪

oh so inviting!

and a beautiful butt it is!

hot damn!

so, as you can imagine, saturday’s news of the bombing (and possible forthcoming invasion) of Iran has me a bit rattled.

having been a news junkie since the JFK assassination in ‘63, knew all about the Ayatollah who’dk led the recent Islamic revolution and had sent missives from his exile in Paris for several years against the Shah, a corrupt despot being treated for cancer in the US when Iran was overthrown.

a newly minted Military Policeman during US Army Basic training, October 1979

he then said something that in Todayspeak would be “shit just got real!” and with that, he turned on the TV: non-stop coverage of US Embassy in Tehran that had been overrun earlier that day; 52 hostages taken. Z😰INKS!!
you could almost hear the roaring squeak of 32 buttholes tightening in unison.

when the time came, we were all there and he came in. we jumped to our feet. “At ease…take your seats…”
He started talking about how he had noted that some of us were just going through the motions and not taking our combat training seriously thinking (hoping) we’d never have to actually use it.

20 year old soldier reads “Rolling Stone” magazine while sitting on floor in front of his wall locker, open and ready for inspection in US Army Basic training, October 1979

after lights out, a young man listens to music on headphones plugged into a “book box” while ironing his uniform in the latrine while in US Army Basic training, October 1979

about a month in, hit my 20th b’day. got my dress green uniform (fancy!) and a new drill sergeant! ~2 weeks after that, coming back to barracks after day’s training when word was sent down from Senior Drill Sergeant that we were to all be in the Daytoom at 1600 hours (4pm local). Whaaaa???

19 year old stands at parade rest on first day of US Army Basic training in late September 1979

four Army buddies in US Army Basic training, October 1979

signed up w/ best buddy, shipped off late Sep ‘79. lived in #OpenBay, 40 bunks (not stacked, thankfully) w/ shower/latrine at far end. just left of entry was #Dayroom. had chairs, couches, tables, books; even a TV. of course, still in Basic so not allowed in other than to dust or polish the floor.

a buddy joined the Army and went into the MPs a year before and was doing good. i figured i could go play cops & robbers for a few years and get the $$ i needed for school. plus, with Vietnam fresh in everybody’s memories, the chance of having to go fight a war seemed slim to nil. perfect timing!

i had been working my way thru Uni for 2 years. couldn’t get the loans & grants like these days & w/ six of us kids, my folks couldn’t afford it either. but having workied since i was 11, i just kept at it. after 2d year, to stick w/ engineering, would have to transfer across state, so $$$!

Warning: a long story from the wayback machine told through a long series of comments about why saturday’s news of the bombing (and possible forthcoming invasion) of Iran has me a bit rattled.

it seems like something they might have way back during an epidemic or something where a lot of poor people might have died and not enough public works to pick them all up and families had no money for services.
tbh, i’m thinking it’s from an old time travel movie or Doctor Who ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i can help with that 🤪

oh man, that looks sooooo good!

gladly!

ja bitte!!

oh daddy!!

woofy bearthday!!

good job!!

they never will

some of us remember

old guy enjoys a Cosmo in front of a loop of flowers in the Sculpture Hall of the St. Louis Art Museum

saw some folks having these yummy red cocktails and decided to try one. turns out they were Cosmo’s and they were yummy. volunteered to act as photographer for folks by the flower wheel (since i was sitting right there). big fun!!

Still Life, Pieter Claesz (Gallery 238) Erin Wilson E. Higgins Designs

Interior of St. Peter's, Rome, Giovanni Paolo Panini (Gallery 202) Rebekah Saleniuc The Avenue Fleur

videographers at the St. Louis Art Museum

old guy in front of an installation flowers and giant reflective balls at the St. Louis Art Museum

these artists’ mastery of their craft is amazing and the turnout was pretty crazy for a spring-like friday afternoon.

Bowl with Animal Frieze, Phoenician (Gallery 259) Ben Zielinski Fields & Fern

Bathers with a Turtle, Henri Matisse (Gallery 215) Aniyah Donner Donner des FLEURS

Banquet Scene with a Lute Player, Nicolas Tournier (Gallery 236) Darien Burress Black Girl in Bloom

Ladle (shao) with Design of Animal Heads on Handle, Chinese (Gallery 233) Alyssa Rogers French and Sydney Rogers Hebert Bloomin' Buckets

This is where local florists design bouquets to match one of the many amazing art works in the museum’s collection.

old guy in front of a loop of flowers in the Sculpture Hall of the St. Louis Art Museum

old guy smells the flowers in the Sculpture Hall of the St. Louis Art Museum

Portrait of Mink with Violet Shawl, Max Beckmann (Gallery 216) Lu Ciez Walter Knoll Florist

The Dream, Max Beckmann (Gallery 216) Dean Riebeling Botanicals Design Studio

on Friday, i went to the annual #ArtInBloom event @STLArtMuseum.bsky.social