Because sometimes even if you know how things are going to end, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride.
Archive for the Daily Pictures Category
Phillies Game
Posted in Daily Pictures, Friends and Family, Good Times with tags philadelphia, philly on August 8, 2014 by Verge
Monika scored field level seats to last night’s Phillies game complete with free VIP parking. And amazingly, I had the night off. We pregamed a little bit, grabbed our two friends to come along with us, and headed out.
We don’t watch baseball. I couldn’t even tell you more that two players on the Phillies, and even that would be a guess. I don’t know the starters, the manager, the coach. Shit, I don’t even know all the rules, official or not. But, I do know that watching baseball during the summer is a great time.
We scored our vegan cheese steaks from the stadium, Sam spilled her french fries, Monika nearly got me in a fight with some punks sitting behind us, I nearly caught a foul ball, and the Phillies ended up hitting a grand slam at the top of the 8th to win the game the next inning. It was an awesome time, and quite memorable (I also I took pictures).
Kentucky Bourbon Trail… Maker’s Mark
Posted in Daily Pictures, Distilling, Fermenting, Vacations with tags Vacation on July 6, 2014 by VergeI have limited time. Limited upload speeds. Fuck it. Here’s some things that are awesome so far. 1500 miles, 10 distilleries, 4 breweries, 7 states, and lots and lots of strip clubs.
Maker’s Mark, My Pictures…
Monika’s Pictures…
Kentucky Bourbon Trail Day 1!
Posted in Daily Pictures, Good Times, Vacations with tags Road Trip, Vacation on July 4, 2014 by VergeWell, this is the start of our vacation. I’m going to try to keep up, but there’s no hope.
Wood and Silver
Posted in Daily Pictures, Reflections with tags decade, Marriage on May 21, 2014 by VergeWell, I guess this could be about things that you can use to kill a vampire, but it’s not.
My fifth wedding anniversary was last weekend, and though we haven’t officially celebrated back at Valley Green yet, we did exchange presents on Sunday when she got home. We picked gifts for each other that are considered “traditional,” though one of us went old school, and the other more modern.
Interestingly, we did both go with a hand made gift. We both found artisans on Etsy that craft their work by hand, from scratch, to make the things we will have for the rest of our lives (hopefully).
Like the friend that got me into them herself, I like to give away Field Notes to people as gifts. And, lucky for me, the recent Shelterwood edition was conveniently made out of real wood. She’s been using a few of mine recently, and probably eyeing up more, so I bought her a subscription to their limited edition “Colors” series.
Now notebook are cool, and they’ll get used, but eventually she’ll have a bunch of them, and no place to store them. So I bought her this…
Her new storage box fits the Field Notes perfectly, is made of a bunch of different types of wood, and was made by Kingswood Creations (check his page out, he has wonderful stuff). Fits in nicely with our other storage boxes, but the one she now owns puts my storage box on the left to shame. 
She overdid herself. I’m okay with buying gifts, but when I got married I thought I could finally stop worrying and let her buy all the gifts. She’s way better at it than I am.
When we got engaged, I found Monika a 100 year old vintage diamond ring that was bought at an estate sale, was made of platinum, and was beautiful. Later I had a wedding ring made to match the shape of it on her finger, so she could wear them both. On the other hand, I didn’t really care about my own, and ordered a simple titanium ring out of a catalog and wore that for five years.
She decided it was time for an upgrade. She tracked down a gentleman on Etsy (who also does amazing work and is highly recommended) to make a ring for me that actually meant something. It’s a spinner ring made out of a 1930 Irish Florin, which is one of the originally coins minted by Ireland after they declared independence. Conveniently, it is made out of silver.
The translation of the words on the ring are “The Irish Free State.” Obviously I have an Irish heritage, but it means even more. She is Jewish, and both our peoples have suffered genocide, diaspora and discrimination in our histories, and the declaration of a free state signifies victory in both our heritages.
The ring fits perfectly and I love it.
Monika and I have been together for 8 years now, and I know for some that doesn’t seem like too much time, for others, that’s far longer than they’ve ever been together with one person. It’s been a hell of an adventure. In that time, we’ve gone to Canada and Italy and Mexico and The Dominican Republic , we’ve bought a new car (after teaching her how to drive) and a home (which I told her she was just a guest in when we moved here because we were only dating at the time), we’ve both started new careers in entirely new fields, we’ve seen friends married and start families and unfortunately, seen others divorce, we’ve “adopted” three cats, made new friends and lost touch with others, some moved away and others moved back “home”, lost love ones and gained new ones.
Marriage is a hell of a fucking ride. And we’re only five years in. But if I make it another 55 years, I’ll get a diamond of my own!
Monday Musings
Posted in Daily Music, Daily Pictures with tags concerts, music on May 12, 2014 by VergeHad a great weekend, complete with garden planting, two debates over the benefits of raising our own chickens, a show over in Philly, drinks with friends and neighbors, a prom, and the usual work/laundry/house cleaning!!
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! ( a day late)
I love Chvrches, and this is awesome that they covered this song. Hilariously, the video is exactly how they act on stage, so it’s pretty boring. They supplement with a kick ass light show.
Obviously I’ve been on a huge 4AD kick lately, and I was never really into the Mountain Goats when they were on that label for a decade. But, I’ve been really digging this song lately, and the video kicks ass.
I once went to see Damien Rice with my girlfriend because she was into him. I thought it would be a laid back show, but it turned out to be one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. It rocked and he sang his ass off, and we were in the front row. I’ve never seen this movie..yet. Maybe soon.
Kindness
Posted in Daily Pictures on May 6, 2014 by VergeThis morning, after a dreadfully long weekend of running around to work, yoga work study, my goddaughter’s first holy communion (after which I earned a shot word reward for busting out “transsubstantiation” correctly), Big Brew Day (photos to follow), a Dirty Robots gig Saturday night and then, after just a few hours of sleep, another gig at 7AM Sunday morning at the Broad Streeet Run 9 mile mark., I got this message on my phone.
Did u loose something last night?? If so… I found it.
I found it on my phone when I finally loaded all my gear into my car as crews tried to clear Broad Street while the police still held traffic at bay. I didn’t know the name of the person that sent it. It was so vague, I struggled with how to answer this message the entire ride home. It sounded kind of like a scam, or a mistake, or just a random computer bot message with no real, living, caring person behind it.
But, after checking my wallet several times, the truth is…I may have dropped something at last night’s gig. It was entirely possible. So, I checked the profile of the person who sent the message when I got home. It was a young girl from Williamstown, about my age, from a town not too far from where I live now. So, despite my occasional lack of faith in the decency of a random person helping a stranger out, I responded.
I’m sorry, do I know you?
Even that message took some crafting, as simple as it is. But, I didn’t want to give any information away, and I wasn’t sure if my simple response would somehow magically infect my computer with a virus, so I tried to keep it innocuous. Then I went about my business, unloading a car full of band gear and catching up on my weekend emails, my finances, and scheduling my coming week. Then this happened:
No .. I don’t know you .. I found a license in mcfaddens last night so I figured I’d b nice and try to look the person up on Facebook so they didn’t worry– u looked like the guy.. Sorry about that
oh. gotcha. No, I don’t think it was me. I haven’t been to mcfaddens in a while, and I still have my license, so it must be a different Ryan Walsh. but, just to check, my street address starts with xxx. Any match?
nope ZZZ! Hahaha!!! I’m so sorry.. I’ll just drop it in the mail.. Sorry, the more I think of it .. It was kinda creepy tryna look that person up on FB!!
Nah. I would have done the same thing. So…thanks. kindness comes back around to you eventually.
Aww.. Thank you.. I was starting to feel weird.. But you are right., I appreciate that.
your welcome! hopefully this other so-called “Ryan Walsh” appreciates it as much as I do. Cheers!!
I’m sure he will!! Take care!!
So, yeah. Pretty sure she wasn’t a robot. Sounds like she was someone just like me. Just another decent human being trying to look out for someone else because, even if they are a stranger, they’re still human, and until I’m convinced otherwise, everyone deserve to be treated the way you’d like to be treated yourself.
We make such big deals out of such small things in life. It’s easy to get wrapped up in our immediate needs. I had a long weekend, I’m tired, I have work tomorrow, I have bills to pay and emails to answer and the house needs cleaning and a million other things. And, I can bitch about all those things all day long (ask Monika).
But this morning I was lucky. A random note from someone I don’t even know reminded me how lucky I really am. I have a job that appreciates me and pays me well. I have a family who look forward to the rare occasions that let us all come together to celebrate. I have a group of friends who all told me “you’re finally here” when I arrived late at an event that celebrates one of my favorite hobbies. I’m in a working band that kicked ass in front of 40,000 runners in the middle of Broad Street, in a city I love (and I got to see my friends running, and kicking ass themselves).
So, Thank You random stranger I’m sure I’ll never meet. You changed my day, and I hope I changed yours.
There are good people in the world. Let them know you appreciate it. Cheers!
Sam’s Birthday – Hibachi and Whiskey – AKA How to Throw a Birthday Party
Posted in Daily Pictures, Friends and Family, Good Times, Reflections with tags holidays, Writing on April 21, 2014 by VergeSam’s birthday usually lasts a month. It’s getting more difficult to make that happen with all of us together. We’ve all got multiple jobs that conflict with themselves, let alone jive with all of our schedules. But, once in a while, we can make this happen:
Reasonably Polite Dinner with Friends (whisper the dirty jokes, and make sure the birthday girl doesn’t pay the bill)
Toasts and Candles and Cake and Kisses (every party needs them, and kisses can be bites! )
Group Poses (because at this point, you might not remember everything, nor should you)
Inevitable Dancing (notice, I’m the photographer, not the dancer)
Sappy Walsh Reflection About Friendship and Life
Birthday parties, Easter, weddings, Passover, New Years, Hanukkah and Christmas, Valentines Day, anniversaries. It’s easy to let these events grow stale. Let’s face it, they happen every single year, year after year. And even though I do think that my birthday is just another day of the week, and another number of my life, there is something more.
I recently bought a new laptop. I had to copy every digital photo I have ever shot from my old drive to the new one. All 81.1 Gigs, all 661 folders, all 30,263 individual photographs. Every one represents some moment in my past that I chose to keep, to remember, to hold onto.
Because, in life, you can’t hold onto everything or everyone forever. My blog is something that reminds me of all the amazing times I’ve shared with the people in my life. And birthday parties, no matter how old you are, no matter how you don’t “need” a party, are a golden opportunity to align our busy schedules and figure out a way to to get back together with the people we love. And…sometimes (just sometimes)…just dance.
On The Verge of Tears 