“Yinz is a second-personplural pronoun used mainly in Western Pennsylvania English, most prominently in Pittsburgh…..”
Last Saturday I went to the Carrick Corn Festival at Phillips Park, across the street from the high school where I’d just started my new position (digital photography teacher) the day before. Our principal had invited us to attend and get to know the community plus it was a chance to see the Marching Band perform and shoot some photos of the event. There were Irish Step Dancers and Bhutanese Dancers and I’ve quite a few views of the corn being shucked and boiled, dripping in butter but this is the photo of the day.
At one of the booths, this man was writing people’s names and telling their meaning. I asked if I could photograph his dog (Shammy) who was by his side with a bowl of water on the grass. Sean told me that I should have seen her at the St. Patrick’s Day parade and he shared some snaps of her in her outfit. Here he’s picked her up for another pose. Even though I was short on cash, this generous gentleman wrote the meaning of my name Ruth (a friend to all) on the back of a prayer card, using a calligraphy pen in neat writing.
Not just any prayer card but the patron saint of photographers.
He’d asked me if I knew who the patron saint of photographers was and I ‘d no idea.
He told me the story of St. Veronica and her capturing the image of Jesus’ face in the cloth she offered to him.
Receiving this unexpected gift felt like a special blessing at the start of of the new school year. Thank you Sean.
There are good things that come from taking care of Murphy. I saw clusters of Snow Drops in bloom around the corner when we walked after school. Sandra has a hillside of tiny pale purple crocuses interspersed throughout the grass. This morning before school when I took Murphy out for a quick walk, I heard the birds chirping and singing for the first time, surely another sign of Spring. I wouldn’t call it strenuous exercise but he is strong and keeps me moving along as we walk. So for those expecting the usual Thursday view of the South Side- No supper on the South Side tonight (sorry Bernadette) I promise two more South Side Posts on the way to class next week. Covering Carson Street and the side streets has been a fun self-assignment. But today my car needed the first maintenance check (really exciting copy here) drove from Arlington to Monroeville (for those of you not in the area, there is no good way in Pittsburgh from Point A to Point B) and driving at 4:30 PM it was the thick of traffic. Avoided the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and down Forward Ave passing the Irish Centre where Laura took Step Dancing years ago. After dropping off the car and getting a loaner, I headed for the North Side and Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild where class starts at 6. Tonight we did self-portraits in PhotoShop and presented a project we accomplished in class. I was able to desaturate the whole photo of Laura and James and then use a mask to recolor just their faces. A success. Murphy was so happy when I go home. Such a greeting. He is having a good time with us but misses us during the day. Have to keep Lucy the cat cordoned off so they don’t end up like the Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat by Eugene Field. Murphy misses his family, though.There are reasons people have dogs