These opinions are my own and you're welcome to them

Time for another Saturday in the Park with Friends (of Riverfront). And that means it's movie night at Beloit's Riverside Park - August 15th! This year's movie is "Field of Dreams" and baseball is the theme of the day. The outdoor movie will be shown on the new "big lawn" area created where the old Ace Hardware building stood.

As part of this event, we're going to try and capture some special photo scenes along the riverfront. We start around NOON with representatives from the Beloit Snappers emerging from a field of corn created along the riverfront from 350 or so fully grown corn plants along the river) like in the movie. If we succeed in this, you'll see the results in future promotions as we did with the Seurat recreation in 2006. (If we don't, we'll have a really good time trying!)

The event itself is later, in the evening, starting with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Riverside Park Promenade. There will be food and games, and we'll be trying a few shots of the crowd, movie and the new lawn area with a little help from Aliant Energy and the Beloit Fire Department. And then, it's movie time!

So... come on down and be part of what should be

a B-E-A-U-tiful Saturday in the Park with Friends!

(Like the Seurat recreation, anything I shoot will be donated to the Friends of Riverfront, Visit Beloit, and the community to help promote the Beloit area.)

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The rising Rock River, about a week from flood crest. The small gap under the bridge completely disappeared a week later, then the level started dropping and was almost back to normal by July 4th.

All told, this was a slow flood, taking almost 6 weeks to go from overflowing banks to receeding back to where roads could re-open.

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Top photo is 2005. Bottom photo is today - 4/4/09.

This is the "back way" in to and out of Leeson Park. This was a fire lane, a short cut for fire trucks and ambulances from old Station #2 and lower east side of Beloit. It is still used for Cross Country track meets. And it still has potential as an alternate walking/bike path between Colley Road and Leeson's Park or so it seems.

Used to be very pleasant, now it just is.

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It's over? For us retailers? Not quite yet...

Historically, the days after Christmas are almost as busy as the days before Christmas. I think this year, with the weather, the economy, and consumer attitudes, they'll be busier than ever, and much busier than before Christmas.

So... Enjoy your day off, America, for tomorrow we once again begin the patriotic journey to reboot our stalled economy and renew the hopes of our body politic. Could there be a more noble cause?

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This is an email exchange between Suzie (my wife) and her sister from last week. Reposted here by kind permission of the parties involved.

****
From: Suzanne
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Subject: Christmas

> Hi Barb and Connie
>
> Are you guys still alive? Haven't talked to you for awhile. Not
> much going on here. Can you believe this snow? And the cold. One good
> thing about the cold---no barking dogs.
>
> Do you have all your Christmas shopping done, how about your christmas
> cards and your holiday baking? Your tree, is it up yet? Did you
> remember to use tinsel and popcorn strings. How about the grift
> wrapping? This holiday drives me nuts. I get asked these questions
> at least twice a day. The looks on their faces when I tell them I'm Jewish.
>
> Hope all is well
>
> Love you,
> Suz
>

From: gypsyhill@merr
To: Suzanne
Sent: Friday, December 5, 2008 7:28:26 AM
Subject: Re: Christmas

You better not cry keep perfectly still.
You better not shout even if you're trampled and killed.
Open the door, get out of our way,
we been waiting in line since yesterday.
Got trees in the living room that have to be trimmed.
What did you say? Murder's a sin?
The sirens are ringing or is that a bell?
Someone saying something about someone who fell.
They want us out of the store but we won't leave,
it's Christmas time; we have a right to believe.

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Isn't it amazing what will come from a keyboard in the morning while you finish your coffee and get ready for work?

In the photo: Suzie (center) goofing off (as in rolling down the hill like an 8-year old) on Galena's levee on her 50th birthday with sisters Barb (upper left) and Nancy (far upper right), and her mother, Bette, (next to Nancy) looks on in amazement.

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