Our Circus

Every Thursday since October we've put on a Farmer's Market in the middle of downtown Lake Havasu. I call it the "Underground Economy" because it's a large group of retailers who would normally have a storefront but cannot afford it. And in these economic times, it's better to just figure out how to turn a buck than fight the obvious.

Our focal point has always been the produce. You can't have a Farmer's Market without produce. But apparently it's more difficult than we would have ever imagined to keep a produce booth at our Market. They are a flakey bunch. (Produce sellers, I mean)
They sell for a few weeks, promise to pay for their booth eventually, then disappear on us. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM HAS DONE THIS. And they know they can get away with it because we're desperate for a produce booth. People love to come downtown and buy vegetables from someone other than a grocery store. I don't know why.

After our most recent produce person flaked, we decided to find a nearby farm and just get the products from the source. So next week will be the debut of DSM Events Produce. We knew all along it would come to this, we just didn't want to have to do it. But we recognize the value of avocados, carrots, corn, and celery at an open-air venue. That's the salesman in me talking....

New Camera, Again

Shawna has trouble keeping cameras. I lost one to a thief in Mexico last June. The one before that fell into the lake. This most recent one was dropped so many times that it finally gave up on me.

So we used some coupons and got a really nice new one. Nice enough that I'm going to need a neck strap. No more dropping on concrete or in the lake.

It's a little complicated, though. Aperture settings, shutter settings, blah blah blah...I read the manual and I'm not completely clear on things yet. But it has the stuff I need really badly: Panoramic shots, black and white shots, and a timer so I can photograph myself. If I don't have a camera with a timer, I don't exist. Because there's no one else taking photos of me.....

Today I was traveling along McCulloch Blvd and I saw this cactus blooming in someone's yard....



I remember it from last year; every time I saw it blooming I didn't have a camera with me. When I DID have a camera, the blooms were wilted and closed.

So today I took plenty of photos. It was 7:30am, I wonder what the homeowners were thinking when they saw someone in their landscaping taking photos...







Thanks to the Easter Bunny, Steve, for helping me afford this new camera!

A Lifelong Republican

Since it's just not as cool for a kid to decide his political affiliation by simply looking at the pros and cons, I have found a way to recruit: by putting stars in their eyes.

When Stormy (Steve's Daughter) met Governor Palin on Saturday she instantly became a lifelong Republican. Here's a photo of Sarah saying to Stormy, "Thanks for coming out! Oh you are so beautiful!" It's true. I was there....
But all you can see is the top of Stormy's head because I'm struggling behind her to keep the hordes of people from crushing us.



Then yesterday Senator McCain came up to Havasu to attend a Vietnam Veteran's Day rally. Before the start of the rally he called a meeting with local elected officials and Precinct Committeemen (like myself) so I brought Shay along to be the photographer. It was a quick meeting, and since we were ahead of schedule we all had some time to talk with the Senator casually and get some photos. And that's when my dear boy Shay became a lifelong Republican....



Yes he looks uncomfortable but he does the same thing to me...

Hey, There I Am!

Yes, more self-promotion. That's John McCain's foot in the forefront. The smiling brunette in the white t shirt is my friend Sophia Johnson and I am in the red sweater next to her.