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Something unusual happened downtown yesterday, a parade. Parades are commonplace, but this was the first and so far only ceremony welcoming home our men and women in uniform now that our national adventure in Iraq is over. Whatever you think of President Bush's eruption into the land where there were no WMDs (and it leaves me shaking my head), Americans appreciate the risks and effort undertaken by our armed forces. What a difference from when I was a young man and our soldiers came home from Vietnam to be met with scorn.Two guys dreamed this up over coffee just a few weeks ago. They started a Facebook page. Money and help poured in. Even MSNBC, the cable channel for left wing political rant in this country (you know, the one we watch - none of that Rupert Murdoch claptrap in this house) urged everyone to turn out. Thousands of people lined Market Street for the event. We will have more scenes over the next few days. Good video from NBC News here. 
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Well, for me, anyway - infrared. A photographer friend told me about this company, LifePixel, that, for a reasonable charge, will swap out the light sensor on your old DSLR for an infrared chip. Off went my old, unused Canon 10D. I went out and played with it for the first time last weekend. Lots to learn but it looks like it's going to be fun. This picture was taken standing under the Arch looking back at the city.
WHAT'S THE NEXT STOP? Tokyo. Yee hah, as they say here in Dallas, Texas, our departure city. Y'all come visit and see some mighty purty pitchers from Japan over the next couple of weeks. ShadowyOne may spell me with images from St. Louis when I'm out in the boonies. How do you say boonies in Japanese?
TOMORROW: not sure when I'll next be able to post but if I upload from Tokyo before we go to bed Wednesday it would be morning to mid-day in the US.
I was driving to my office last weekend, turning off the boulevard in front of the Arch, when I saw a man crossing the street with a cat on his shoulders. Skrreeeecchh, over to the curb and who cares if it's a no parking zone, it's Saturday and I can't pass this up. Out of the car, introduce myself, hi, I'm not professional, don't sell pictures, I have this blog about St. Louis, etc., etc., and would it be okay if I took a picture of you and your cat? (I will never stop thanking the superb Bobbi Lane for teaching me how to approach people like this.)The man told me that his name is Issam Haidar but he is sometimes called Osam. He is Iraqi and fled Saddam Hussein's regime years ago, ending up in Lebanon. He spent years there, living in refugee camps and eventually in a cave outside of Beirut. He has many criticisms of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, from which he got the name of his web site, www.unhcr.info. Read his story in his own words there. He refers to himself as Osam Altaee on the site. I didn't get to talk to him long enough to learn about the different names or, particularly, what brought him to St. Louis. I've emailed him offering to send him his picture and asking if I can meet him again.Gigi is the cat he adopted in a refugee camp in Lebanon. When I got out my camera bag I asked Issam if the flash would bother her. He said, "No, she is blind." Then I noticed her face. I'm puzzled about how Gigi got into the United States with Issam - that's one of the things I'd like to talk to him about.
After our brief conversation I welcomed Issam and Gigi to our community. If I hear back from Issam there may be more in this blog.
STL DAILY PHOTO BLOG IN THE NEWS: the St. Louis Post-Dispatch interviewed me about my views on Anheuser-Busch's sale to InBev. We are losing the corporate headquarters of our iconic beer, Budweiser. The reporter found my February 1 theme post, "When People Think of St. Louis, They Think of...", featuring an icy can of Bud under the Arch. The article appears in today's newspaper. Scroll down to the end. And by the way, there's a good article in today"s New York Times about the sale and the City of St. Louis' regeneration
