I have had a theme for each of my last few blogs....like people at TJMAXX etc. I have a couple of other blogs in the mix for the future with themes, but looking around at all of the interesting people on the streets, in parking lots, in stores, at the park etc I decided to just take a group of miscellaneous shots and publish them. It has been quite interesting and a lot of fun. Let's check out a few.
This is a great way to start. You just have to love the bright colors Mindy Elliott is wearing, not to mention those incredible eyes! It is hard to not like this woman! I ran into her at Famous Footwear and she came close to selling me the entire store. She agreed to be photographed but after each shot, she had a different deal to tell me about....and they were all great deals! I went in for a pair of casual shoes which I bought and I ended up buying my grandson a pair of shoes half price!! He wasn't even with me and is only one year old. I would have been way out of my league if my wife ha not been with me. Talk about a super saleswoman!!!!!! She has been with FF for 14 years.
How about this hot green jeep????? Maureen Watts is exactly the right woman to own it. She was so full of life. If you look very closely you can see that she has a bandage around her right elbow. She had just had blood taken before I met her because she wants to do volunteer work. She studied nutrition at the University of Northern Colorado. Her husband is a Veterinarian Doctor at the clinic located at Clevenger Corner. She chatted with my wife and I and was a delight!
Oh, wow! I still get a bit of a knot in my stomach just looking at this picture. I was driving on North Main and saw Gregor Giesmann pruning his tree from the top step of his ladder. I whipped around because I wanted to take this very picture, or I would have settled for a action shot of him falling.....just kidding. That was the last thing I wanted and so I did my shooting in a hurry. Here is one of the really fun things about doing this blog....you get to meet the most interesting people. Gregor is originally from Berlin, Germany and is a retired teacher of art. He taught at the University of Massachusetts....pretty cool.
I just love this face shot. This is Katelyn Astete.
Left to right are Brayden, Amanda and Allison.
This lady just simply made my day. She knew about my blog (in fact she is an official follower) and about Rich Crowley's Snapshots of Culpeper that is published weekly in the Culpeper Times. This is Amanda Martin and she is an assistant project manager for Hitt Contracting. They are building Terremark. She is also a blogger and is shortly going to send her blog address to me so I can check it out. I might even hook back up with her and her sister to get a picture of a tattoo they share for a later blog. We had a great time talking. BTW...does she remind anyone else just a bit of Merisa Tomei?
My kind of woman!!! I was keeping my eyes open for good pictures for this "Summer Faces" blog and who do I run into but Jeanette Tigney. Those who know me or follow me on this blog know that I am a regular at 7-11 with the Super Big Gulp being my drink of choice. I looked over at the next machine and there was this attractive young lady getting a giant Slurpee. Man, I would have a headache for an hour if I drank that. After checking in with her boyfriend, we went outside where she demonstrated perfect Slurpee form for me. Jeanette was a good sport. She is a stylist at "Fantastic Sam's" hair salon.
This isn't exactly a traditional picture of a face, but let me digress for a minute. In the 1980's I was an administrator at Fairfax High School in Fairfax City, VA. At that time there was a young man named Chuck Shewbridge who was a student there. Most boys want to be remembered as a bit of a problem in high school and he is no different, but Chuck really was a great kid. So was his sister for that matter, and his parents were neat people too. When my son moved here, Chuck was one of the first people he met at his ice cream stand near Safeway. Anyway.....Chuck (CJ whatever) is one of the very few people that I have a history with in Culpeper. He has opened a second stand on North Main or Rixieville Road just down from the high school...this is it. Here's hoping it is a great success!
Stopping by for a nice treat was this international family. The dad is Mario Rink from Germany; the mom is Mireya Mironoz who is from Puerto Rico; and their children are Sebastinon and Fabian. Mario is in heating and air conditioning. I do believe that Culpeper is changing and that we are richer for it.
These two brothers are characters....talking to them was like being in the middle of a comedy routine and they are funny. It doesn't look like it here, but they both have the same twinkle in their eyes. They are Chris and Josh Alan and they work construction for SW Rogers. They are darn proud of that 87 Mustang that they are in front of and they should be. I hope they catch this when it shows up in the newspaper.
This man is a fixture at Yowell Park early in the morning. He is Rick Robey and he is an avid bird watcher. When I asked him what birds he had seen, he reeled off a list that was pretty long and included some that I had never heard of. Rick is also the minister of a local church, Kingdom Hall on Rixeyville. He and his wife moved here a couple of years ago from Brooklyn, New York. She came to the United States from Japan just eight years ago. Rick is currently talking with the Culpeper authorities to see if he can sponsor some birdwatching walks through the park. I think it is a great idea.
WE HAVE HAD A LONG STRETCH OF REALLY HOT WEATHER AND I WANTED TO CRUISE AROUND THE PEPPER AND SEE JUST WHAT PEOPLE WERE DOING ON A 100 DEGREE DAY.
This is Tim Betton and he is new to the Pepper as of February. He came to us from Pittsburgh by way of Maryland. He is in absolute direct sunlight; is sopping wet; and just as happy as he can be. He is polishing his car! Man, it is almost 100! He says he doesn't mind the heat so much! I guess not, but I quickly headed back to my air conditioned car. Tim is a pharmacologist who is a patent examiner.
Shirley Racy went out on a 100 degree day to get gas. Hmmmm, we do all need gasoline come rain or shine I guess. She is retired from working at the Early Learning Center for 12 years. She is a true native and was born right here. I have to admit that she looks like it is about 70 degrees.
Katlyn Wright is the first person I ran into who was doing what I think is something normal on a 100 degree day. Of course it helps that she is 18 and just graduated from Eastern High and is not employed right now. Be that as it may.... she is headed to the swimming pool! Ta Dah!
As I expected......no one went to Mountain Run Lake Park when the temperature is so high.
Good jobs, guys!
One thing I knew for sure was that some people had to work outside regardless of the heat. This is Todd Kinsin on the tractor. He said that he liked to work outdoors best because it gives him a sense of accomplishment. He works for Premier Sports Fields Maintenence which is a subcontractor to the Culpeper Parks system and maintains the sports complex next to Eastern View. Exactly 12 noon for this picture. Whew!
I thought about what other business are going regardless of heat or cold or storm or anything else. I decided it was selling used cars. I pass the Priced Right Car Sales all the time and so I went over to see if they were selling. You bet your boots they were. Here is Claude Whited all ready to sell me a primo used Cadillac. He has owned this lot for the last 12 years.
Let's see.....Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night ....nope that is the US Postal Service and I found out that I cannot take pictures of mailmen in their uniforms.....hmmmm.....I think I had a fast one pulled on me with that one. Anyway, UPS doesn't let those things stop them either. Did I say it is 100 degrees?
These guys are incredible. I found them out in front of Chili's about 4 pm and they had been there since 11am! It was so hot and these guys were selling raffle tickets to support the Brandy Station Vol. Fire Dept. They had more big things planned on into the night. Most of them are still smiling....quite a dedicated group. We have J.D. Bailey, Savannah Smith, Peggy Bailey and in back, Jeff Bailey. They have my respect.....and since I bought some raffle tickets from them I have been sitting by the phone planning how I am going to spend the $3000 prize money.
THE BIG FINISH
There was not the slightest doubt in my mind that a 100 degree day would not deter men from being out on the golf course at Culpeper Country Club. These guys were participating in a seniors tournament and they were a great bunch....a lot of fun and very cooperative, especially considering the heat. Left to right, Ross Taplett, Red Jenkins, Jim Ruffner and Pokey Buchanan. Heat or no, these guys were enjoying themselves. When you've got guys named "Red" and "Pokey" you know you have some lively bunch.
This has been a particularly interesting group of people. I always ask the people I am shooting if they grew up in Culpeper and the majority did not. However, many are from Orange, Remington, Spotsylvania or somewhere close, but this time we had two people from Germany, one from Puerto Rico and a man whose wife had fairly recently come from Japan. Interesting!
That is it for now. Comments can be sent to:
Be sure to watch for Rich Crowley's Snapshots of Culpeper which appears weekly in the Culpeper Times.
Wow -- what a fun time. I went with Rich while he was getting some pictures for this blog and got to meet lots of new people. Great Fun!
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