Commencement Day

So there I sat......inside the Comcast Center at the University Of Maryland. It was a big day......a major milestone. I never imagined having enough time left to be able to have sat there and watch as my youngest daughter "Noodle" paraded across the stage..........tears did come to my eyes.........I am a lucky and blessed man.

I had never been inside the Comcast Center before. I was a first for me. It's a very nice place indeed. At first I thought that not so many would be showing up for the commencement. It took a while but it soon filled up.

We had great seats............

..........and whatever you could not see close-up, would be on the scoreboard. This scoreboard played a huge role and saved the day for me as far as getting a momentous photo of the day.

The grads began to march out .........but wait...........we ain't so close anymore.........will I be able to spot Noodle?

YES!........there she is center right.  Thank God for the zoom on the camera!

Things got a bit more difficult though, as they filled the seats. Even with the zoom I had trouble keeping an eye on her.

Oh well........somehow it will all work out and I can capture the moment.

The problem with zooming the camera is that you lose light and focus. It is hard to hold still at such an exciting time. The new grads had been slowly winding their way to the stage.......row by row......one by one....they made their way to "seal the deal".........I was worried that the pictures would not be useable.......

........I fired off shot after shot......not knowing how they would look but knowing "something" had to work.

Darn!........there she is.......on the stage.......the moment has arrived!.........but I see that she is blurred........what can I do?..........and then it hit me.............Look UP and aim the camera quick!

I GOT HER!........It may be blurry........but I caught the moment.......the big smile on her face......this was a big deal..........and I am so proud of her. Gee.....I forgot to mention that she received her Bachelor's Degree!

She stepped off of the stage and stood still for a professional photographer.......argghhh........still blurry.....

I kept taking pictures as she walked back to her seat.

Movement........emotions.........distance...........all makes for some blurry photos........oh well.

Starting from the right..........my grandson, The Mayor Of Simpleton.........my wife, Supernurse.......number 2 son, Natty Elvis..........my granddaughter, Princess Fartknocker (blocked view).........Noodle's husband, Mac Numbercruncher............and although you cannot see them next to him, his mom and dad.

Afterwards, we all met up outside of the building for some pictures before heading home. "Natty Elvis" stood near a sign that I thought was a bit odd............arrows pointing "up"?

There she is.........my Noodle Girl! I am so proud of her.

Me and Supernurse are very proud of our Noodle Girl............she is such a "Terp".....hehehe.

I am exhausted.

I am all crabbed out. I have been churning out painted crab shells just about every day since my last vacation back in November. It is time for a break and that break is coming Thursday. Me and Supernurse are headed to the Riviera Maya again as guests of our son-in law and daughter. This time we will be kicking it up a notch and staying at the Grand Velas.........which I know nothing about except for the video shown below:




This should be very interesting, don't you think? I will be sure to give you a full report when I get back. After hitting the beach in Mexico, we all fly into Texas for a visit with "Noodle" in the Austin area. Needless to say, I should not have a crab in my hand until I get back to Baltimore a few days after Easter. My son, Dash Riprock, will tend to the painted crab shells at the flea market while I am away. The exception being Easter Sunday he will not set up shop. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

I have a few things up my sleeve when I get back.......much more to do......a whole lot to say here on the blog........and assorted other stuff on my agenda. All systems are "go"........

Just a few comments to leave you with:

....The routine visit with my cardiologist went well.

....I will miss voting in the Primary Election again. It doesn't matter anyway.

....If gas prices keep rising.....well.....it ain't gonna be pretty. Looks like I will have to get a locking gas cap.

That's it for now.

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Latest Painted Crab Shells

It is mind boggling.............all sorts of people want all sorts of things on a crab shell. When I began this "hobby" of painting on blue crab shells I had thought that the proper stuff to paint onto the shells would be the things that are somehow related to the State of Maryland and the people who love steamed crabs...........local sports teams, seafood spices, local beer, assorted icons of the territory, and nautical scenes. Simple enough............but as time has gone by, I have gotten requests for lots of things put on a crab shell that I had not even considered. Hey.......whatever the customer wants...........right? Well......maybe not always........sometimes I have to decline some requests........the unreasonable ones. What would be unreasonable?.........I find no thrill in someone requesting a painted crab shell that is so difficult to paint due to the amount of detail involved while those requesting such do not expect to pay a premium for it. The rule of thumb here should be "keep it reasonable", or "keep it simple". Simple is better for all involved.

Needless to say.........each weekend I am presented with some challenging requests. Personally, I enjoy being challenged........especially when the challenges are for something out of the ordinary.

A police officer wanted me to paint the logo for the Warrior Dash.........which was something I had never heard of. He handed me a gray and black 8x10 xerox copy of the logo.......not particularly all that great for me to go by...........so thanks to the internet, I googled Warrior Dash and could see how the logo should really look. The end result was pretty spot on.

Sometimes I just goof off and paint a crab shell just to see if anyone "bites". In this case.......yes......someone did and I had to make a couple more if them.

And then there are people who approach me with stuff like "Can you make one with the Puerto Rican flag on it? I want to get it for my son." A request like that is simple enough, no problem........except I haven't seen the person who made the request in three or four weeks now. I know........I should have taken a deposit or made her pay in advance........I know, I know.

I have one particular customer who keeps challenging me just about every week. He has bought quite a few crab shells from me...........six or eight at a time! I really appreciate that. I am also very honored that someone finds my "art" likeable enough to have bought as many as he has. He is a businessman and he just so happens to not only give the shells to family members and personal friends as gifts.....he also gives them as gifts to his clients.

Personalized crab shells...........yes........I can personalize the crab shell.

I would never have thought anyone would request a bicycle built for two............but the above mentioned customer did.

Another happy customer wanted the crab shell above............a crab on a crab.....go figure.

Local icons put together on one shell........no problem.

Sometimes I cannot always be serious........seriously.......

.......and then there is another challenge........seriously..........a German Shepherd on a crab shell!

I sit at my vendor table and paint crabs shells the entire time that I am there each weekend........and STILL.........there is always someone that will look at the shells and say "Stickers?" or "These are decals." AAARRRGGHHHH! No.....No.....No.....
..........nevermind that I have a paint brush in my hand, am painting a crab shell right in front of them, paint bottles everywhere..........geez......what do I gotta do to convince some people?

Here is one that is unfinished.......a work in progress...........PROOF that it is hand painted!

........but how is it possible?.............well I was a signpainter for most of my life. Perhaps not the best signpainter, but apparently good enough that some folks can't imagine that someone could actually paint these kinds of things.

Ahhhhhhh.......the finished product! One of a kind, actually. The customer that requested it was very happy.
It is frustrating sometimes when some people pretty much try to belittle what it is that you do. These people are morons. No other word for them. They have no clue as to the amount of time and effort and skill involved. They have a far different value system and cannot grasp the concept that something is being created and produced right before their eyes instead of being made on some assembly line by hordes of illegals working for a pittance. I try to not let these folks get me down..................I am truly humbled and honored by the many people who have liked my work enough to purchase it from me with their hard-earned money.

Of course, not everyone that looks at my crab shells buys them. But the majority of these people have overwhelmingly had nice things to say about them.......and that is very gratifying.

Until next time............


If you are interested in purchasing a hand painted crab shell, come see me at the Northpoint Plaza Flea Market in Dundalk, Maryland every weekend.

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Maryland Crab Shell Ornaments

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Professor Todd Rundgren

Yeah.......I am just standing around waiting for a phone to ring.........any phone.........and I answer it and the person on the other end of the line says "You have just won a million dollars!".

Hmmmm.

I have a better chance of getting hit by a rickshaw in the meat section of the grocery store.

Oh well.........life marches on.....ugh.....or should I say "forward".

Needless to say, I have been very busy and probably worn myself down to being overly vulnerable to an assortment of chaos of differing varieties........one of which is, I suppose, the flu or something similar. So for the past week I have been rather miserable.

Another issue has been my little buddy Chico, the family dog. He has not been well at all and I have never seen him like this before. So far it seems like he is recuperating well but he isn't completely normal.......yet. The details are painful for me to write about so let's just leave it at that.

Hmmmmm.....maybe Chico has what I have now. As I think about it, the other day I was holding Chico in my arms and he was distressed and I petted his head and told him "Just give me whatever you have and let me deal with it"........hmmmm.......maybe he did just that.

Through it all, I still have managed to crank out some more painted crab shells. Some new ones and more of the popular ones.

That's it for now.............Happy New Year!

Hand Painted Crab Shells Part 3

Ho!.....Ho!......Ho!
As I write this it is after midnight......uh.......gee it's Tuesday already.........arrrggghhhh.......so much to do and such little time. My plate is full this week.......crabs.....crabs.....and more crabs........all of the prep work on the latest batch of crab shells..........it has been seemingly endless. I started cleaning up the shells Monday morning and while about fifty or so were left to dry, I headed off to deal with the grandchildren. I started cleaning up another batch of shells when I got home around 7:30 pm. Let's see......I lost count.......that was another good 40 to 50 more shells now set out to dry. I still have another large bag of shells to be cleaned sitting in the fridge.....my guess is there is another 60 or so to go. If only I had ten hands........oh well.

The crab shells have been a hit. I figured that I would show some pictures of some that have been going fast.......as soon as I make them.......they sell and I find myself making more of them.
Personally, I prefer doing each crab shell as one of a kind. That way, it doesn't become boring or laborious for me. The idea was not to "work hard"........and yet, at least for the Christmas holiday shopping period.........it has become quite difficult to keep up with the demands. The Steelers crab shell is very popular.......apparently there are alot of Steelers fans in Baltimore.

Of course the Redskins are popular too.........after all, the Redskins play in Maryland!........this painted crab shell stuff IS a Maryland thing you know.

I do not have all of the teams, but I do take requests......if you want one, I will probably make one for you..........note: I do need some time though. Usually a one week wait.

Yep, I sold out of the Utz girl.............but hopefully I will have time to make a few more before the week ends.

Here is something you won't see just anywhere......needless to say......it sold right away.

I do special requests like this one.......the Greek flag with the family surname in Greek.


I simply don't quite get it but there are some folks that wanted Boston Red Sox crab shells.

I can understand putting things related to Maryland on a crab shell. This one is also very popular.

And no......it is not a sticker........hon.

I only made one of these and I sold it this past weekend. The "golden eggs" of Dundalk!

Well.......that's about it for now........time for some shut-eye and then back at it again tomorrow.

Please note: If you are interested in purchasing some of the hand painted crab shells be sure to come see me at the North Point Plaza Flea Market every Saturday and Sunday with the exception being THIS WEEKEND, the flea market will be open on Friday, DEC 23rd and Saturday DEC 24th and closed on Sunday. Christmas Day.

Hmmmmm.......so I have three and a half days to paint about 100 crab shells..........hmmmmm..............I must be crazy.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Ho! Ho! Ho!