 |
 |
I accompanied Mother to church, at First Baptist... |
 |
 |
Sister Jan and I treated beloved Mother to a Mother's Day luncheon... |
 |
Fetching Tom Billotto at his estate in the Elizabeth neighborhood. We enjoyed a fine Indian lunch in the University area. |
 |
 |
Dinner with Donna and Miss Paula (mother of Bobzilla)... |
 |
 |
Greg and his fiancé, and the German... |
 |
 |
 |
Passing nephew Will at his bus stop and dropping nephew Ryan at his school... |
 |
 |
Coffee with Sister Jan and Mother at Birkdale Village in Hunterville... |
 |
 |
Friday, May 13 Mother's banana pudding... a true classic. Note the exquisite, frothy meringue, exhibiting perfectly toasted peaks. Real banana pudding does not have Cool Whip or some other cheapening substitute on top... only the finest meringue will do! I can say with complete, unbridled confidence that Mother makes the finest banana pudding east of the Mississippi... and west of the Mississippi, for that matter... |
 |
 |
Saturday, May 14 Bill Noonan's band held forth at the Comet Grill in Dilworth. Randy, Bob Patterson, and Pete assembled at Bigfoot... |
 |
 |
Wednesday, May 18 Dinner at Brother Brian's home at Indian Trail, on the eastern outskirts of Charlotte. Joanne stopped by... |
 |
 |
Morning outside Brother Brian's home at Indian Trail... |
 |
 |
After leaving Brother Brian's I met Mother at Tryon House for breakfast... |
 |
 |
At the Tryon House. As we walked in I saw Brian Pickett working on a fabulous mural in the restaurant's lobby... |
- Besides being a painter, Brian was a local Charlotte musician, and I knew him, ever so slightly, from my days in the local music business. I walked over to chat and we recalled having seen each other around, at Reliable Music, a few times. I told Brian of my recent "Big Drive" from the west coast to Charlotte, tracing Route 66 for a good bit of the way, and of the many murals that I had observed and photographed along the way. I gave Brian my card and he was going to email me so that I could send him links to some of my mural shots.
- I never received that email from Brian... he died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack on June 7, two and a half weeks after our encounter at Tryon House.
- Brian Pickett Made Life A Work Of Art
- Gerry Hostetler, The Charlotte Observer
 |
Ryan was amazed by my super fork...
The Hamilton clan... |
 |
 |
Will and Ryan assume the position at Strawberry Hill... |
 |
Wednesday, May 25 Coffee with Pete at Caribou Coffee in Dilworth... |
 |
Friday, May 27 The Bass Pro Shop at Concord Mills, under guard... |
 |
 |
 |
Hamilton Manor. Ryan and Will assumed the position whilst Sister Jan and I enjoyed coffee on the front porch... |
 |
 |
Meeting with Christie and Broadie outside Saigon Palace restaurant in Charlotte... |
 |
 |
At Tony's Ice Cream in Gastonia, with Mother... |
 |
 |
 |
On the way back through downtown Charlotte I tried to capture the JFG sign that has graced this side of downtown since Hector was a pup... |
 |
Wednesday, June 1 With Pete, outside an establishment on East Blvd... |
 |
Thursday, June 2 I stopped in for a friendly visit at Hamilton and this is what jumped out at me... just before yet another underwear attack was launched against me. Being an uncle is tough work sometimes... |
