Lowcountry Heart Walk Pictures

Lowcountry Heart Walk, Charleston, S.C.

This is what happens when people take my ideas seriously. Heheh! Isn't it a grand sight!

I roped Bill Edwards from Harborview Exxon into bringing his sweet red '55 Chevy convertible to lead the heart walk and had the idea that the giant heart mascot could ride in the back seat. Everyone was wiling to give it a try. I had visions of the heart blowing off backwards and landing on the pavement but all went well. We didn't have a broken heart at the heart walk.

Update for my team's donations: $68,316.90. Wowza!

I am getting lots of hits for photos. These are the links for those of you looking for Lowcountry Heart Walk pictures:
Roper St. Francis Healthcare album
General Heart Walk album
Post & Courier Link

Sgt. Jasper Lonely Hearts Club

Sergeant Jasper Apartments, Broad St., Charleston, S.C.

Sgt. Jasper Lonely Hearts Club. Sometimes a blog entry leads to a history lesson so listen up, kids. The building in the picture is the Sgt. Jasper Apartment building on Broad St. It's one of very few high rise style structures on the lower peninsula. I've never been inside one of the units but they must have quite a view, over Colonial Lake on one side and the harbor on the other.

We may have an apartment building named after him but Savannah gave Sgt. Jasper a whole park square near where he died.

Sergeant William Jasper

The hail of British shot and the hot sun pounded defenders of Sullivan's Island on that June day of 1776. As the 271 guns poured shells into the fort, one shot took down the flag post bearing a blue flag with a white crescent. All day it had waved defiantly at the onslaught and let observers watching from the roofs in Charleston know that their men still held the English at bay. When it fell, so also did the hopes of a multitude of citizens.

One man was not to let it lie on the hot sand for long. William Jasper was recruited to serve with the Second South Carolina Regiment by Francis Marion. Jasper was quickly advanced to sergeant by superiors who recognized in him a character well-adapted for a martial career. Well-respected by his men, he was proving himself a hard fighter when the flag pole was shot down. "Colonel, don't let us fight without our flag!" shouted Jasper. "How can you help it? The staff is gone," Moultrie replied. Without another word, the sergeant then jumped out of the fort in the face of deadly fire, walked the entire length in full view of the British, and then cut the flag from its pole. Climbing the wall, he called for a sponge-staff to which he fastened the flag and planted it in the wall. Turning to his enemy he then gave three cheers and returned to his gun.

For this feat, President John Rutledge presented Jasper with his dress sword at a review held soon after the battle and offered him a commission. Jasper turned this down, instead preferring to serve as a scout for the American forces. General Moultrie described Jasper as a "brave, active, stout, strong, enterprising man and a very great partizan" who was a master of disguise.

Jasper made several trips into enemy lines, always returning with valuable information. Tragically, Jasper died at Savannah in 1779 while planting the colors of the Second South Carolina Regiment on the British lines. He was buried somewhere near the scene of the battle in a mass grave with many of his comrades.

Think You're Funny?

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

The Shoebox blog cracks me up and I've linked to it before. Now they are offering a chance for you clever people to get published. If you have an idea for an original Shoebox greeting card here are the instructions for submitting it.

Their really important tip is: Your ideas should be so good that people will pay money to send them to their family and friends.

I especially like their Funny but No series of submissions that didn't make it to the card stage. Heh.

How about a series of "Dear Joan" cards....?

Note to Waldo: I deliberately included the joggling board in the photo scene. For you.

Holy Hat Shop!

85 1/2 Spring St., Charleston, S.C.

I was posting this picture when I noticed the "Sale" sign along with the "Rent" sign. I had to take a commercial break and walk up to Spring St. to check it out. I might be in the market for a funky wee cinder block hat shop with a crucifix on it to live in happily ever after in my little old lady age.

No parking spot though. Forget that idea. Besides, I'd have to paint it blue and you would all have to wear hats when you came to visit.

Before & After - Folly Beach

Folly Beach, S.C.

Oh, break my heart. Is it really our character beach if it has come to this? Will it be one long string of condos along the beach next time I go? Sadness.

The "compound" used to have a canon, partially built fountain, a toilet seat seat on the deck.

Someone reading this knows more about the place than I do. Do tell.....

Sheepman Graffiti Panels

Sheepman Graffiti panels, Folly Rd., James Island, S.C.

When I was out at Folly Beach this weekend I grabbed the chance to check on the Sheepman graffiti panels behind the Buffalo South plaza.

It's been a while since I'd been out there and I worried that they might have been defaced. I was pleased to see that not only were they intact but there seemed to be new art work in progress. I had not seen the tiger image before. Coolness!

Need more weekend....

Folly Beach, S.C.

Considering we are on the ocean, Charleston has surprisingly few beach front restaurants and I had the itch to be at one this morning. My son treated me to brunch at Blu at the Holiday Inn on Folly Beach and I haven't eaten since. Wow. The buffet surrounds the whole room. It was lovely really and after we filled our bellies we waddled on out to the pier. Each time I go I remind myself that I should go to the beach more often.

This weekend has been much too short. Need more time.

Lowcountry Heart Walk - 2009

Start! Lowcountry Heart Walk, Charleston, S.C.

It's been a full day, kids. After all the build up, today was the lowcountry heart walk. I am always relieved when I am responsible for taking a bunch of pictures to wake to overcast skies and today was perfect. We had adorable kids, dogs, parrots, gorillas and giant hearts. It was a colorful occasion!

The walk goes three miles along the waterfront and back. I usually take pictures of the walkers as they leave and then catch them on the way back, but this time I had arranged for a red '55 Chevy convertible to be the pace car and Bill Edwards from Harborview Exxon asked if I wanted to hop in. Coolness! I rode with him, his adorable grand daughters and the giant heart mascot waving and taking pictures. That is indeed the way to ride a walk. Too fun!

Roper St. Francis Healthcare raised $64,674.16 and had 743 signed up to participate. Clearly too many to fit in one group shot. Whew. I think I can call it a successful fundraiser.

Thank you, thank you to everyone who participated, especially all my team captains. Some of my happy gang ended up at the Buccaneer Restaurant for snacks after wards and enjoyed a well earned post walk party.

Photo Album

Dare Maple Cremes

Middleton Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

Things are going to be okay, kids. Publix is carrying Dare Maple Cremes again.

It was scary for a while. You can't just get people hooked and then stop carrying them. No.

Blog Buddies

Paul Sports, Germany 1956

Whoopsie. Friends let friends blog tipsy. They laugh at them, but they let them.

Fun night. My friend Linda Benedict is the publisher of Island Life newspaper. Linda was the media sponsor of an event this evening and invited me to go along. We went all the way, limo to pick us up, party for Carolina Youth Development at McCrady's Restaurant. I bid on a dangerous number of items but lucky for me big spenders came behind me willing to spend larger amounts and saved me from myself.

I finally got to meet Ida Becker, the world traveler and society blogger for Charleston Magazine. She is a knock out beauty and we had been circling each other at events for a few years. It was a treat to finally meet.

I have a soft spot for Carolina Youth Development that no one else can understand. I had a blog buddy from Texas by the name of Paul Sports. He latched on to my blog because he had grown up in the old Charleston Orphan Home. Although he lived in Texas he missed the lowcounty and visits to this blog were his trips down memory lane. He commented on almost every entry calling me his "silver fox". He sent me pictures he found of Charleston, asked me to take pictures of locations he remembered, and on my direction got included in the Post & Courier's Lowcountry book.

It's hard to explain the affection you can have for someone you've never met and I loved Texas Paul. He had led a life that would have made an incredible action movie. Paul passed away earlier this year and his son wrote to let me know. My eyes are burning remembering reading that email. He told me how much pleasure Paul had received from the blog and our quirky friendship.

The Charleston Orphan Home is long gone but the Carolina Youth Development is what it became and I celebrated tonight in his honor. No one would approve of me drinking a little more than I should for the occasion than the little scrap of a kid who grew up in the Charleston Orphan Home and told me all his stories. I should have written this long ago but I couldn't.

Signs of South Carolina

Familiar?

Some old, some new. Each one made me smile and that's what counts around these parts.

Living & Learning

SCRUBS "U" Program, Charleston, S.C.

The health care gals of Garrett Academy. How sweet it is to see people hungry to learn. I had over fifty students registered for a career evening last night and this gang of friends were all from the health science program at Garrett Academy. Keep it up! Good jobs are waiting for you.

Don't Monkey Around With Heart Disease

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

Don't Monkey Around With Heart Disease - Lowcountry Heart Walk Countdown

The Red Dress is the national symbol for heart health awareness. Visit their web site for the ABC's of preventing heart disease.

Nothing has changed as dramatically in health care as the treatment, knowledge of the causes and prevention of heart disease. I like being on a winning team. Join the festivities at the Start! Lowcountry Heart walk this Saturday morning if you can. Festivities begin at 8 a.m. and the three mile non competitive walk begins at 9 a.m. and winds along the waterfront. Good times for a good cause. All welcome. Family and dog friendly.

Link of the Day

Long day kids, I had 50 students exploring careers in Imaging/Radiology this evening. Back later with a photo of the day after I hunt and gather. Meanwhile check out this link.

Hahah! The internets is a funny, funny place. Go make your own. You know you want to.

Hurricane Hugo, twenty years later

Charleston, S.C.

There has been much on the news about today being the 20th anniversary of hurricane Hugo. It didn't really hit me until I was at work today and suddenly felt the urge to connect with people I'd worked with that night. I roamed the halls almost desperately, only to be told Gerri was on call, Sue was off, Pennie was out.

I needed to make contact with someone who knew. Someone who had had the same plastic bracelet snapped on their wrist to identify our bodies if we didn't survive. I needed to find at least one person who sat with me on the floor of the hospital hallway listening to the waterfall of rain pouring down the elevator shaft, and the wind breaking through our windows as we huddled with our patients in circles around the nursing stations in the eery light of emergency power.

Everyone I found said, "no Joan, I wasn't here, I was still in college", at home, escaped to North Carolina or working elsewhere. I stood in the women's center lobby trying to think of who to look for. I looked at the gentleman volunteer staffing the information desk and it hit me. "Paul, Paul, I worked with your wife through Hugo. I worked with Rita and after it was over we climbed twelve stories to look out over the peninsula to see if any of us had houses to go home to."

Rita, Lynn and I walked out that morning exhausted and disoriented. We picked our way over fallen trees and debris and found my house wounded but standing still. We freshened up with towels and finding beds damp but not wet with blown in rain, collapsed and slept soundly for a few hours before heading back to work. We'd delivered babies throughout the storm and babies would be born everyday of the recovery.

Rita passed away years ago but Paul listened to me hungry for a little unknown scrap of memory of his wife. "She didn't tell me", he kept saying holding my hand, "She didn't tell me that she went to your house."

I had been a Labor & Delivery nurse then and while searching for a picture recently I came across our old scrapbook. The pictures are fading Polaroids but the memories leap off the page. One shows a patient room with broken window panes and wild flung drapes. Dr. Ralph Principe was mopping the floor of the Birth Suite. We were desperate for news and Dr. Jimmy Townsend helped us tear apart the spiral electrodes used for internal fetal monitoring and hook them up as makeshift tv antennas to a tv on emergency power.

I didn't find you all today but consider this a shout out, to the rest of my friends who stayed and did what needed to be done. How lucky we were.

Don't Monkey Around With Heart Disease

Magnolia Plantation Gardens, Charleston, S.C.

Don't Monkey Around With Heart Disease - Day 6 Countdown.
Count down to the Start! Lowcountry Heart Walk next Saturday 9/26 with Dr. Sock Monkey's healthy heart tips!

Heart Healthy Tips for Pirates
Stay in shape by:

• Singing Sea Shanties


• Pillaging & Plundering


• Swinging from Chandeliers


• Burying Treasure


• Leading Pirates into battle


• Seizing and protecting the loot


• Laughing heartily and leaping off of something

Sponsor my brother, Dr. Sock Monkey's efforts to raise loot for this worthy cause. Consider making a donation at: Dr. Sock Monkey's donation site. Dr. Sock Monkey has already raised $1,218.00 doubloons. If you are a real pirate you know where the loot is. Aaaargh!

Best of the British Black Cabs - Charleston, SC

Charleston, S.C.

I get tickled every time I see one of these British Black Taxi cabs in Charleston. The rest of the album and larger versions: here.

His bill can hold more than his belican

Pelican, James Island County Park, Charleston, S.C.

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.
I walked at James Island Country Park this morning because I needed to trade in the gift certificate they sent me when they used one of my photos on their web site for a Gold Park Pass. Not bad at all! The park is a great place to walk and the pass will let me park at the Pier on Folly Beach without paying $7 each time. It made me immediately start looking for another photo to submit.

Here is the scoop on photo submission in case any of you want to have a go at it.

Sure. Now that it is dark I feel like doing yard work. I have an impressive pile of greenery pulled up. I hope they are weeds. It's too dark to tell.

Proud Aunt here!

Alberta Arts Days have arrived!

My adorable niece Bonita in Edmonton, Alberta posed for the Alberta Arts Days brochure and web site. Isn't she a knock out! Wowza!

Talk like a Pirate Day

Pirate Flag, Buccaneer Restaurant, Charleston, S.C.

You will be needing the English to Pirate translator today.

Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if I fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is …

1. Prepare to be boarded.

Why do they point these things at me when I ask if I can take their picture? These are from the Tall Ship festival pirate camp. I can't believe I passed up on an offer to be a Pirates Wench that day but it was 100 degrees out and I couldn't see dressing up in heavy historical costumes. Still, a Pirate Wench, sigh. What a thing to put on my resume.