Lost Again

Since I didn't post a Picture Sunday this past week, maybe I can make up for it tonight.

As those hucklebug listeners out there already know, as it was my "lowlight of the week" last podcast, every year in August our little town of B'field celebrates something called Lemonade Days. It's a very small-town type of a thing. See, since the 1940s, if ever the temperature gets to 90 degrees, it is declared that the next day the town gives its citizens free lemonade. Several years ago the town decided to celebrate this little oddity we've created for ourselves by having Lemonade Days.

Free lemonade, a parade, fun and frivolity, and of course, the annual window-decorating contest. All the businesses in the town are obliged to enter. And so TheCompanyIWorkFor does. Every year. And every year we lose.

Now, TheCompanyIWorkFor is at a definite disadvantage in this contest. We have three tall, slim windows. We don't have display windows with floors in them like shops in the town have. So there's not a hell of a lot we can do by way of decoration, but we try to use our imagination and do the best we can.

Last year we used our little window space to make the Lemon Art Gallery, which you can see if you go here (Aug 6, '06), and when judging time came the judge, a local TV weather guy, stood, looked, laughed, and - did not judge us the winner.

This year, we decided to go with another gallery, this time we chose the Evolution of Lemonade. Again, the judge, the same guy, stood, looked, laughed, and - did not judge us the winner. We didn't even place this year.

He told us he loved our ideas, but we just didn't use enough decorations. I guess the whole "we don't have a store front with a bigass window and all" theory is lost on him.

Anyway, I thought I'd print this year's crop of lemon portraits for you tonight. The Sunday after the judging I rescued these from our windows, in their little gold frames, in a driving rainstorm, so please excuse some of the splotches you may see.

So let's begin the Evolution of Lemonade. Beginning with the earliest known evidence.



















And how about those clever Egyptians?





















Ahhhh, it was a grand day, the first public sale of lemonade. Too bad Russell Crowe was there to ruin it for everyone, throwing things, pouting, being, well, Russell Crowe.



















And how about that Leonardo Da Vinci? He was a genius.



















"Ahhh, this is the land our God has brought us to," said the pilgrims. Little did we know until now just why they picked Plymouth Rock.



















Prohibition. Nasty time. But we made do.


















And finally, a little epilogue of the ways to mine lemonade.



















And.....scene.

Next year we're making a giant lemon to paste over our three small windows, engraving it with the legend, "Suck this."

Betland's Olympic Update:
* Acrowinners, we have acrowinners. So, why do firemen wear red suspenders?
- Honorable Mention goes to Michelle, with her, "Groping harlots keeps veins jumping!"
- Runner-Up goes to Kellie, with her, "Green Had Kitschy Velvet. Joke!"
- And this week's winner goes to LilyG, with her "Goofy headgear keeps vests jiggling."
- Thanks to all who played, you've all done very well!