First Things First

It's Spring!  Yes, a wonderful time of year, unless you have allergies.  I have allergies, but I'm not letting that get me down.  I just ignore them, as best I can.  Most of the time that works.
This month I've been busy taking lots of pictures.  Some good, some not so good.  But, I'm only going to show you the good ones.  At least, the ones I think are good.  I've added 10 photos to Color and Black & White sections of the Vista Drive gallery this month.  Also, if you missed it, 17 has a new page called The Grill at the Fitzgerald, which is a rundown of some of my favorite places to eat.  Enjoy.

Afterthoughts : Almost Gone

Have you ever lost your wallet?  I was talking to someone about how many things they have in their wallet.  I don't like to carry all my credit cards because I'm afraid to loose my wallet, though I've only lost it two times.
The first time I lost my wallet was in junior high.  But that isn't as interesting as the second time I lost my wallet.  I went to CityWalk with a friend to go see a movie, JFK.  My friend drove, so I picked up the parking lot charge.  It was the least I could do, right?  Because of that I took out my wallet, but I couldn't get it back into my pants because I was sitting down and the seat belt had me pinned in.  I tried to get my wallet into my pants, but it wouldn't stay.  Finally I pushed hard and it seemed to stay in my pocket.  We found a spot and got out of the car.  That's when it happened.  My wallet scooted out of my pocket when I was getting out of the car, only I didn't notice it.  We were running late for the movie so we quickly ran to the box office.  I had a 20 in my back pocket, which I used to pay for my ticket.  It wasn't until I got to the concession stand that I realized that I didn't have my wallet.  The movie was starting, so I didn't want to run out to look for my wallet, besides, I didn't know where I had lost it.  I hoped that it had dropped it in my friend's car, but I wasn't sure.  For better or worse I thought that my wallet was lost for good.  As if that wasn't enough pressure, JFK went on forever and I had one of those huge big gulp kind of sodas, and I was way thirsty.  So, if worrying about my wallet wasn't enough, I needed to pee.  But, I also didn't want to miss a second of the movie.  Yeah, I thought it was that good.  Finally the movie ended and I ran like the Flash to the bathroom, where all of humanity was taking a leak.  It seemed like forever before I was finally taking a piss.  Done, my attention went back to worrying about my wallet.  I finally told my friend about it, to wit, he suggested we go to his car to see if it was there.  I didn't think it would be there, seeing as there we literally thousands of people out that night who could have found my wallet... and kept it.  Someone up there must like me because when we got back to the car I found my wallet, just lying on the floor, right were I had dropped it.  It had been a little over four hours since I had dropped it right next to my friend's car, and no one, and I mean no one, had noticed it.  I looked inside, thinking that maybe someone found it, took the money out, and left it on the ground where he found it.  But, there was still every dollar I had left in it.  Eleven years later I still have that wallet.

Editorial : Oscar's Best and Worst Dressed

The 74th annual Oscars was held in Hollywood last month.  While the actual ceremony was OK, the pre-Oscar fashion parade was the real show to watch.  This year the new black, that being black, made for a boring fashion parade.  Here's a quick overview of who caught my eye, and who should have stayed home.

Best Dressed Overview - Simplicity was the name of the game when it came to looking really good on the red carpet.  Simplicity and not wearing black.  Gigi Levangie, Jodie Foster and Halle Berry stood out for me because they all wore really nice outfits, that weren't black.  Halle Berry's dress was the best outfit, of the one's I saw, on the red carpet.  Honorable mentions: Kirsten Dunst and Reneé Zellweger.

Worst Dressed Overview - Sally Kirkland has made it a tradition to dress super horrible on Oscar nights.  I think that at this point it's more of a goof to see her show up in a hideous outfit.  However, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz should know better than to dress like they went into their closets with their eyes closed.  Dishonorable mentions: Tova Borgnine and Lynn Grossman.