That's the Gail Way

I laughed when my sister Maureen used that phrase; we were chatting while I was driving to Winter Garden late yesterday morning. Explaining to her that during my last visit to take photographs for the art festival poster, I discovered that most of the charming downtown does not open until 11 in the morning, thus I was heading out there in the mid-day heat. No one in their right mind decides to carry around camera stuff in super hot weather, however, it had to be done. It was then that she said she was sure I would make it work because it is "the Gail way." I try.  It's a long story on why I returned for more photos but I'm hoping this visit will be the charm. One of my favorite signs on the main drag is this one:

The store is no longer open, however, they have retained the sign and rightly so!

Despite having received a ton of campaign flyers for yesterday's primary, if I hadn't ridden by this scene early yesterday there's a good chance I might have forgotten. So, what else is new? It's the Gail way! Seriously, what's so crazy about seeing these folks is the young man in blue is the son of Lawson Lamar. So, you ask?

His dad did not win, instead he lost the race to Jeff Ashton, the prosecutor in the Casey Anthony case. The lady in red's candidate lost as well. An unlucky day for them both. I suspect Jeff Ashton won because no one who has turned on television, or reads the newspaper, has been able to escape his name after he wrote a book detailing the infamous trial. While taking my US Government class at Valencia, my professor kept saying the way people get elected is through name recognition, which is sad, but true.

Some folks are cutting back all sorts of vines growing on their fence along Pershing, however, they hadn't torn these down yet:

Aren't they just the craziest? Vines always seem to produce such wildly complicated flowers! I needn't tell you that once you get a vine going, it is very, very difficult to keep it from going places you never intended.

Did you watch any of the women's boxing during the Olympics? Never much of a boxing fan, I found it strangely mesmerizing. It made me so darn happy when Claressa Shields won the gold. We've talked a lot about what the Olympics mean, yet I still have more to say on the matter. The link above details her homecoming to Flint, Michigan, a town that has surely seen better days. Many of the folks will feel like they now have some bragging rights-- a girl from their town grew up to be an Olympic gold medalist. If that is possible, anything is possible, right?

Here's a few reasons I think the Olympics, and particularly the Summer Olympics, are so popular:

• Order---Life is pretty chaotic, but sporting events have time periods, rules, clear parameters. 
• Tradition---In today's world so many things are here today, gone tomorrow. London 2012 did such a splendid job of combining both their tradition, and the Olympic tradition. Angela declared that they put the "Great" back in Britain. Here, here!
• Rewards--- Gold. Silver. Bronze. (making it there is quite a reward as well)
• Patriotism----Totally cool to root for your country during the Olympics.

I mention the Summer Olympics because for a good many of us, there are many sports we all can participate in, if given the chance. Most folks can ride a bike, run, swim. Not like an Olympian mind you, but it makes the sports more relatable. We can really appreciate what it must take to swim that fast, cycle that hard, and run like the wind. Do you agree?

If you have the chance, click on this link to Matt's photographs from the Olympics, you won't be disappointed! Plus, through me, when the subject of the Olympics comes up in discussion, you can say you know someone who was there!

I saw a few other things of note while cycling yesterday morning. How about this tree placement???

Can you imagine? The house is for sale, and although I love giant oak trees,  I'm confidant one this close to the house is not a good thing! In the neighborhood across the street I came across this sign which was pitiful in more ways than one.

I wonder if this is stored here for looks, or if it still runs?

And I'm always a sucker for great shadows which bring such life to a photograph!

Must be some old folks with a coffee pot like that!

I could go on and on, however, if I have any hope you'll click on the links I must stop right here and now.

Until we meet again,
Gail