Monday, January 13, 2020

 

Pic A Dozen 2019

One picture to represent each month of 2019... 
I call it "Pic A Dozen 2019"

Wow. A dozen days already went by in 2020 and I haven't yet posted my annual Pic-A-Dozen post. I challenge you to do this for yourself... Can you choose just one picture for each month of 2019 to represent a special moment, doing something fun, seeing family or friends? Use either a picture of you or a picture that you took. When you take a look back, I'm sure you'll see it really was a good year... maybe that's why you're feeling a bit TIRED!  Ha! Good Year Tired... Get It?  WARNING: This a lot harder than it seems. I'm stressing out and getting frustrated trying to pick that one shot that highlights that month. But then to put it all in perspective I just recite this mantra to myself... "You think you got problems? Be glad you're not a math book!" Here is my year in review:

JANUARY
                           
We finally did it! We hosted a Surprise Barbarian Spaghetti Dinner- Spaghetti with no plates and no traditional utensils. We did let our surprised guests pick out totally worthless utensils and they didn't know what the utensil would be used for. We took turns trying the 3 levels of Barbarian: 1) no hands 2) hands only 3) worthless utensils. To add even more fun to the night, our guests Brock and Whitney brought their 4 year-old son! 

FEBRUARY
                         
The Trojan Rabbit Rides Again! In 2018, Our friend Nicole Nigh Hondros built (and crashed) this Monty Python Trojan Rabbit for South Haven's Cardboard Sled Race. Just over a month later, Nicole unexpectedly passed away. In February, we rebuilt and reinforced the same Trojan Rabbit to race in memory of Nicole. Our friends Joyce and Frankie from Ohio piloted the rabbit down the hill and were quite grateful that they didn't crash. I think the most fun we had was watching Barb drive her truck with the giant cardboard rabbit towering above her truck!   

MARCH
                         
What a unique experience this was... Barb and I got to ice skate on Lake Michigan! The South Haven Lighthouse is behind me in this picture. The conditions actually made this activity much safer than it sounds. That big iceberg/snow drift behind me separated the dangerous part of the lake from this shallow beach water that froze. It was a bit bumpy but flat enough to skate on. It was a very fun winter experience!

APRIL
                             
On Thursday, April 4th I got to experience a happy collision of two of my worlds. The Association For Applied and Therapeutic Humor (an organization that I've been somewhat involved in since 2003) was having their annual conference in Oak Brook, Illinois and our Beatles Polka Band, Sgt. Sauerkraut's Polka Band  got to entertain the conference participants (and some of my favorite people on the planet) at their opening night party. Such a fun time and a GREAT AUDIENCE!

MAY
                           
In August of 2018, I semi-retired my famous Yellow Submarine and planned a new Beatles contraption... The Abbey Roadster- a 7-headed Beatles automated scooter built to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the iconic album cover. Three styrofoam wig heads on each side were the heads of John, Ringo and Paul and I played George. The arms and legs moved like they were walking across the street and I would sit inside on an electric scooter and drive around. I made the front and back look like the VW Beetle that is also on the album cover. I like this work-in-progress picture. It's like the cartoonist's pencil drawing before it gets inked in. 

JUNE
                           
In June, Barb and I got to take an awesome trip to Austin, Texas. We had a great visit with my aunt in Fredericksburg, then went back to Austin where I attended a 2-day Filmmaker's workshop. We couchsurfed with a really cool family and met a bunch of great people. In this picture, Barb and I got to be reunited with Elisa, the Singing Telegram Girl (an awesome friend from Chicago) and got to enjoy the company of my new filmmaking friend Sheree. 

JULY
                         
One of my favorite annual summer traditions is Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana. This is the first year I wasn't in The Yellow Submarine for the parade. Instead, Sgt. Sauerkraut's Polka Band  got to play Beatles polkas in the back of a truck. Here's a post-parade shot with two of my favorite Polish gals, Barb Chartier Raudonis and Suzy Brack. Michalene Korosa is in the background getting ready to play drums in The Eddie Korosa show. 

AUGUST
                         
So many great pictures and memories from our annual Fest For Beatles Fans in Rosemont, Illinois. This picture won out though! The splash of color and smiling faces wraps up the weekend perfectly, our new friend "Juicy In The Sky With Diamonds" fit right in! I love how Susan Ryan's blue hair in the background even adds to the shot!

SEPTEMBER
                       
I finally got around to building the Polka Car I've been wanting to build. There were lots of trials and tribulations, small victories and big defeats as I test and tuned until we got it workable. Our late night test drives were super-fun memories- especially while Barb drove and I rode in the barrel on the drum trailer keeping the beat as we entertained the neighbors! 

OCTOBER
                       
Barb and I got to attend our first Hippie Fest at Val-du-Lakes in Mears, Michigan which is right by our one-room schoolhouse. It was so fun getting to hang out and soak in the freak show as a spectator. Our friends, Magic Bus gave us the perfect soundtrack for a groovy day! 

NOVEMBER
                       
I spent Thanksgiving weekend building my 3rd motorized contraption of 2019... a horseless sleigh that we used in the filming of Sgt. Sauerkraut's Christmas video (which you can watch HERE) I used the lower frame and scooter from The Abbey Roadster and built a cardboard sleigh body. I did the whole thing at my mom's house and it was fun having her help me out- just like old times! 

DECEMBER
Sgt. Sauerkraut's Polka Band decided to dress up as our favorite Christmas Special stars for our performance at our annual Fundraiser and Glove Drive, Christmas With The Beatles. In case you haven't figured it out, that's me on the right dressed as Snow Miser. 

Ok, well there's a dozen pictures. But bakers have been throwing in an extra donut for years, hence the term "baker's dozen" Here's my bonus picture from May of 2019...

                         
Here's me in The Abbey Roadster at Abbey Road On The River in Jeffersonville, Indiana. If you like the picture, you should see it in motion! I'll have it with me at my 50th Birthday party this May. Hope you can come celebrate with me! More Info HERE

Have a great 2020 filled with fabulous pictures and amazing memories! -Danny



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