Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday round the town

I met a really intelligent, interesting young woman from Bielefeld twice.  She's got a great Nikon and makes good photos.  I had a memory lapse about my love affair with the Nikon and the process and she got me out of it.  I really do see more when I look.....

I made two photo missions this week, one to the Churches of Herford, capturing morning light in the ones around the old town and going up the hill to the Marienkirche for the late afternoon light.  Today, I trundled around railroad yards, industrial sites, car lots, and residential areas.  I'll be culling the catch and putting the keepers on zavacki.com in the next few days.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Urlaub, Urlaub, Urlaub, and the Retreat from Russia

Stone Street’s going to be quiet for awhile.  Giovanni and Nora are leaving for Majorca in the morning and Mona Lisa will be dark until the 28th.  Eckard’s got another week in Gran Canaria and the rest of the boys will be scattered around town, playing cards or rolling dice in their secondary environments.  I’ll be in either Almundo or Lamäng telling stories to my notebooks or the little writing machine.  The only good thing about Mona Lisa being closed is that I can get more work done.

With the exception of a black gnat invasion (I walked through two or three clouds of them on my way downtown) it was a quiet day.  Nursing a cold and a spider bite, I was pretty much out of gas for the day, although I did have a pretty interesting encounter on Saturday…

there’s an older man, late nineties (doesn’t look it) who ambles through the Gänse Markt using a walker.  He stops people randomly to let them know how good they should feel about being able to get around unassisted.  He stops me (because of the back pack and the hiking shoes) frequently.  This time, he went a little further and showed me the scars of an entry wound behind his left ear and the exit wound in his forehead, received in the retreat from Russia in 1944.  It was -55° C(that’s 67 below, kiddies) and the snow was very deep, and the Russians not very far behind.  AND he lived to tell about it.  Truth is indeed, at the least, more interesting than fiction.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sunday in the Square

I took the obligatory Sunday afternoon walk.  Being under the influence of an annoying cold, I didn't go very far, but ended up in the Alter Markt in front of Almundo for my coffee.  There was a young group of clean, well-dressed (albeit, Nurdy) Christians singing church music in the square.  They were technically perfect, but somewhere along the way, something got their soul.  Maybe they were doing penance for having laughed or smiled.  I don't know.  I just found it sad that so many beautiful voices were being used without a connection to the heart.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Long time no words

I've been quiet lately due to weather.  It's been a cold, rainy couple of weeks.  I've had a couple of good, damp, hikes, but haven't been on the bicycle at all.  There promise to be nicer days before winter sets in, including the Golden October I really like to wander in, so stay tuned for more info, including some previews of the book.