Julia and Joe--Massachusetts

Julia and I are blogging buddies. She's a runner; I'm a walker. One of these days, she's gonna come to Kansas and run in the Heart of America. We both enjoy gourmet dinners and excellent wine. Somehow or another we connected and read each other's blogs. Graciously, graciously she sent me these two pictures. They were taken just moments after she finished The 2007 Boston Marathon—her fifth one.

In the first picture, her husband Joe is presenting her with a bouquet of roses at the finish line. Joe had already finished the race, went home for a shower and a change of clothes, stopped by a florist for the flowers and then made it back to finish line in plenty of time to cheer for Julia. That's Julia in the white hat—still huffing and puffing.



In the second picture, Julia's a little more composed, thinking, "This man is a keeper!"


Julia also has an affinity for bucket hats.

Lyph and Vince--Missouri

Pictures are worth how many words? Father-son pictures like this don't come along very often. Vince is giving his son Lyph his first fishing lesson. And fishin' ain't fishin' without a hat, right?

Ralph—Colorado

Ralph is an excellent story-teller, photographer, golfer and all-around upright man. Many months ago, before I had my Hats blog, he made the mistake of publishing this picture. I told him what I was about to do and he said I could use the picture. So we can say that Ralph is the first contributor to my Hats blog. Thanks Ralph.

Then his daughter got married recently and just before he walked her down the aisle, our friend Cliff Morrow snapped this picture. Right in front of a magnificent Colorado Blue Spruce. Ralph cleans up real good, don’t he?

Daniel and Andrea’s Outdoor Wedding—Illinois

Some months ago I ran across The First Hundred, a family-friendly blog of the highest order. Daniel’s mom uploads quite a few pictures at a time—mostly family. And I’d say 99.9% of those pictures are pre-packaged with the most delightful smiles you ever turned your head at. Their’s is a happy Christian family, a well-balanced family, a self-confident family, a joyful family and all the new brides and grooms who come into it bring more of the same—plus the cutest little grandkids. It’s a great blog. Go visit.

These pictures were taken at Daniel’s wedding about five years ago. Being black and white adds a touch of class.

See, look. Smiles all around. “…it was a last minute whim…” to wear those hats. That’s Daniel in the middle, Dad on the left and Mom on the other left.

Now, knowing what’s behind the scene—a wedding—this is one romantic picture. Where’d they go? There must have been a dance floor somewhere.

Well, hats or not, everyone's smiling. You can just feel it.—July 2002

"Blessings. Be fruitful and multiply your smiles—and your hats."