The Weekend Roundup - 'V'

Friday is here, so it is time again for Tom's fun meme The Weekend Roundup.  Given my surname (Villers), this week's letter fits very well!

Starts with 'V'. Here is my dad, Ralph Villers II, in March 1970 deplaning from an early 747 flight at JFK Airport. He is carrying Voluminous flight and souvenir bags too!

How about a Villers (me) on Vacation at Cape Cod. The town of Barnstable (including Hyannis) beach lifeguards are very nice, not only assisting me into the beach wheelchair, but pushing that wheelchair onto the beach with smiles. Here is Craigville Beach on Nantucket Sound.

On another Vacation on the Cape, this seagull caught our eye. I had a proper parking permit - did he?

Another 'V' is Volkswagen. This is the best car I ever owned (before my wheelchair vans), a 1982 VW Rabbit with a manual transmission. With good tires, it was a blast to drive!

A favorite. Patti captured this on Memorial Day, The Derby CT Public Library. Opened in 1902 and expanded in the same style in 2000, it is a favorite of mine.

Violet. Here is a violet sunset out of the back window of our Ansonia home last November. Another great set of prompts Tom!

The Weekend Roundup 'D'

Friday is here so it is time again for a great meme, The Weekend Roundup, hosted by Tom. The letter 'D' is this week's letter, and I have a few! Let us begin...
Starts with 'D'. Of course, my ride is a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with a Braun wheelchair conversion. Suitably modified, it is my current four-wheel steed! 

Dodge vehicles are not exclusive to me (although I did own a 1979 Dodge Omni and 1989 Dodge B250 van previously). My Grandpa drove Dodge cars from 1936 to 1976). Here is Easter Sunday 1947 with my Dad (age 19) leaning on Grandpa's 1947 Dodge on Oregon Avenue in Steubenville, Ohio.

Patti captured this last week, it was a beautiful day on the town green of our neighboring town of Derby, Connecticut. It was a lovely Winter day if very cold - and this is my Favorite pic this week!

Finally, we have Ducks on the Housatonic River in Shelton Connecticut. This pic was taken on a warm day awhile ago - I wish it was as nice and warm as this today!

Details. I captured this wheel from wheelchair height on a 1936 Dodge at a local car show. The wheel is fully detailed with whitewalls and trim rings. Further details are seen in the brilliant chrome hub cap. Can you spot the photographer? 

Friday Hunt 2017.2.18

Friday is here and time again for Teresa's fun meme, Friday Hunt. And away we go... 

Starts with 'R'. Naturally, I start with my name…I am in the middle as Ralph III, Grandpa (Ralph I) to the left and Dad (Ralph II) to the right. On the Atlantic at Brigantine, NJ, summer of 1964.

I thought about this, but thought it works as an ‘R’. It is me on my 18th birthday, and it is an age of majority card I.D. which meant I could legally purchase alcohol in 1973. I look the part of a sullen 18 year old with ‘70s long hair…

Finally here I am in college in 1975 in the fashion bane of the era - plaid. Hey, everybody just loved plaid back then :) 

Glow. I chose these two from Feb. 10, and it is the glowing moon taken across the street from our home. It is a clear moon with an almost amber glow. It was a cold night the day after a snowstorm and a perfectly clear sky.

Vegetable. I had this as an entrée at a fabulous restaurant, Carmines, in New Haven CT. It was delicious roasted vegetables, eggplant, asparagus, zucchini and peppers. Great eating and prompts this week Teresa!

Friday Hunt 2017.2.7

Friday arrives as does an excellent meme, Friday Hunt, hosted by Teresa. The prompts this week compelled me to go to the archives - so now I am ready :)

Starts with 'G'. I thought and thought and found what works: Graduate. I was looking at graduates I have known that spanned the decades. The top row left is my Dad as a Graduate, Ohio's Bowling Green State University, 1950, with my mom, his intended bride alongside. To the right is son Cameron, University of Hartford, 2013.

Allegra graduates Ansonia High School in 2006 with a rainbow overhead, a perfect metaphor to a bright future. At the other end is Cameron 'graduating' from Small World Nursery school, age 4, 1995. 

Bottom row is myself graduating Franciscan University in 1977 (one can guess my age :) and Allegra graduating the U of Hartford in 2010. Plenty of Graduates here!

Candy. Halloween, in my experience, is the place to start looking for candy. Here are the kids after going out for Halloween, Allegra and Cameron examine their largesse after their trick-or-treating in 2004. Looks delicious if unfriendly should someone be carb averse, although for the two teenagers in our home then, it was not a problem...

Latch. This door is at a local BBQ restaurant, House of Bones in Derby, CT. It is in an old building along a rail siding, and this is the door at the old train dock. I think there is a latch somewhere on this massive century old steel door. Great prompts this week! 

Friday Hunt 2017.2.5

Friday is here as is Teresa's fun photo meme, Friday Hunt. She provides the prompts and we happily seek same...

Starts with 'F'. After perusing my files, I found three that ought to work :) On top, my father was a reporter for UPI and gad the opportunity to be a passenger on a USAF fighter, more specifically, a Republic F-105, and write about it. Dad is on the right. I don't know who the pilot was, but his handle was obviously 'The Texan'. I believe this to be in 1960 at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas. I'd love to find that article in print...

Next is a car I saw in a local parade in 2014. It is an original Fiat 500 Cinquecento, the cute and tiny two-cylinder air-cooled postwar Fiat. It looks friendly and even flashy in its brilliant red paint. Today's Fiat 500L looks small, but is actually 23 in (58 mm) longer. Cute is as cute does...

This is at a food-truck festival in Shelton CT last year. And, this one is from Fryborg who sells unique tasty french-fries and sandwiches. Two years ago I ordered special Fries covered with andoule sausage, pickles and a spicy Creolaise sauce evoking New Orleans. Fabulous! If you want this truck at your event in southern CT, you have to order it months in advance - it is that popular. Carb laden comfort food :)

New. I had to think about it a bit, but chose New York City. Patti captured both in 2013 as a passenger seat along the infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in 2013. We see this new Freedom Tower and a classic look at the famous Manhattan skyline that make us think of NYC. 

Self portrait. This was taken in 2010, but my features are not all that different today. All but my hair that is...way more gray today. Thanks Teresa!

Friday Hunt 2017.2.4

Friday arrives as does a favorite meme, Friday Hunt hosted by Teresa. The prompts are intriguing, and I am ready!

Starts with D. I have chosen a vehicle that starts with ‘D’: Dodge. In fact, I have owned a few, and Grandpa had many of them too. Clockwise from left: Grandpa’s 1947 Dodge with Dad and Aunt Terry, likely on US 40; My first new vehicle, a 1979 Dodge Omni late that year; my second Dodge and first wheelchair driver vehicle, a 1989 Dodge B250 4/20/1996; My current ride, a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with Braun wheelchair conversion. A bunch/flock/gaggle of ‘D’s...

Favorite. This is an old pic posted before that I had to capture. The scenario is sitting in the starboard side of Delta flight 674 - on 3 January 1981, about 6:45 AM between Atlanta and Philadelphia. The old Canon rangefinder captured the winter sun starting to rise. This is a bit pixelated perhaps, but a favorite of mine.

Photographer’s choice. In 1983, I captured a friendly Dog named Brandy, a nice golden retriever drying off after a swim in Big Stony Lake in northwest Minnesota. She looks to have enjoyed the water, and I am partial to the blurry canoe approaching the shore. A nice dog, day and memory!

Friday Hunt, 2017.1.21

The weekend is here, so time again for a favorite meme, Friday Hunt, hosted by Teresa. Here are my look at today's clues.

Starts with 'V'. Well, the easiest 'V' in this case is my last name Villers. So I am taking a look at family pics from decades past for my pics of a variety of Villers...

1947, My Father, Ralph I Villers II, Steubenville, Ohio; behind Grandpa's 1946 Dodge 

1955, Grandpa, Ralph Villers, Steubenville, Ohio; his work vehicle, a 1955 Plymouth. Nicely dressed!

1962, Grandma, Agnes Villers, somewhere in Florida; Most people drove south back then, they in a 1962 Chrysler Newport

1977, myself, Ralph I. Villers III. In front of the defunct Marco Polo restaurant, E.Hartford, CT. Grandpa loved this place when he visited! 

Week's Favorite. On the Derby CT Green, a Civil War monument is undergoing renovation. Constructed in two stages by 18884, I like the flag and flower wreaths laid around it on Memorial Day. I wrote a brief history about it in today's Valley-Voice newsletter (another 'V' :)
Thanks Teresa for this fun meme!

Friday Hunt, 2017.1.14

Where'd the week go? The always lovely Patti and I had this odd flu/cold combo that occupied the past seven days. Luckily, I am feeling much better this Friday, perfect for participating in this week's Friday Hunt. Here are my contributions to today's fun meme...

Starts with 'N'. I choose three looks at our neighbor state of New York - and the city of the same name, a place I like to visit on occasion, but prefer the slightly quieter Connecticut suburb in which we live :)

First is entering the Empire State on the Hutchinson River Parkway South. Yes, that is a plush bear sitting on the dashboard with a panoramic view of the road

Next is a look at the skyline of The City, Manhattan (the other four Boroughs of the city, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, all agree that Manhattan is The City of New York). I believe this is Easter Sunday 1961 with my father  and his sister (aka: Aunt Terry) on a roof surrounded by the always impressive skyline

Here is another look at the NYC skyline, much newer, taken from the Brooklyn side on a day where the snow ended and the sun is trying to break through

Week's Favorite and Blue. Both are favorites and both are blue. So...let's look at the sunset sky after a day of driving rain and wind. Or the Blue Jay stalking around the forsythia. Both are perfect in either category so I'll use both. Thanks again Teresa!