Double Rainbow

April showers bring May flowers. Well, June showers bring rainbows. This double rainbow and mammatus were caught on the outskirts of Cleversburg.

Coolest Fire Mascot. EVER.

Found this one at the Fire Expo in Harrisburg this year. Coolest mascot, ever. I want this t-shirt. Tanker 5 is from the Seventh District Volunteer Fire Department from Avenue, Maryland in St. Mary's County. Avenue is about 60 miles south of Washington, DC along the shores of the Potomac River.

Class of 2012; Stick a Fork In'm, They're Done

Today is graduation. One giant leap into the next phase of life. The real world. So, Class of 2012, good luck and Godspeed, change the world. I haven't heard it yet this year but I'm reminded of the song by Baz Luhrmann. Not really a song but spoken word put to music. And not just spoken word but an article written by Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune. It's kinda lengthy but it is good advice.

Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)

Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '12... wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance.

Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Sunset from the Game Lands

Saturday evening ended with a drive around the game lands looking for deer and the evening color. I only saw two deer but look at all the color.

Subway Concourse

This is the subway entrance on the Market Street side of Philadelphia City Hall. A bit art deco, don't you think? (Actually I don't know what that means) Love the barbed railing behind it to keep people from sitting on it.

The Barn on the Norristown State Hospital Grounds

This is a huge barn. And by huge I may be under exaggerating. This thing is massive.  It is now all boarded up but it is being used as storage for the grounds crew. I looked on the interweb and couldn't find much. My guess is that it was built in the late 1800's possibly early 1900's. The Norristown State Hospital opened in 1879 as the State Lunatic Hospital at Norristown. Norristown is 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia city center.

For more barns that were on rural farms, not at lunatic asylums on the outskirts of large cities, check out Tricia's Barn Charm site. Click on the icon above.

SFD in the Shippensburg Memorial Day Parade

I'll bring Fireday Friday home this week. This is the Shippensburg Fire Department marching in the Memorial Day Parade. Marching members are from the Vigilant Hose Company, Cumberland Valley Hose Company and West End Fire and Rescue. The bike patrol behind the Vigilant's Engine 252 is from Shippensburg Area EMS.