Bob Bender's First Video

Here is my old friend Bob Bender...He lives in Port Royal, SC and heads up the Low Country Estuarium...I've known Bob over forty years...He and his brother Chuck once lived in Columbia...Back then, Bob was a bartender at the once famous Forum Lounge...But bartending was only a way for paying the bills...Bob's true love was those crazy little critters that live in the marshlands of our state...fiddler crabs...periwinkles...alligators...red fish ...shrimp...stone crabs...blue crabs...you name it...So... he moved to Beaufort. SC and settled there... Oh...Did I forget...Bob is and artist...I guess you can tell that by his van... 

Bob opened his first Estuarium in his home...Back then he called it an Aquarium...This was way before the State built the new aquarium in Charleston...He lived in a two story house in the old historic district of Beaufort...He lived on the second floor but the first floor was the most interesting place in Beaufort...He filled it with fish tanks...big ones...and they had to be saltwater tanks...because the critters who lived in them came from our salt marshes...Bob shared his knowledge by conducting tours for tourists and school children and anyone interested in preserving the wonderful wildlife we have on our coast...He visited schools and brought critters with him to spark interest in those children of the wonders of nature...After many years he found a building in Port Royal to house his critters...And he named it the Low Country Estuarium...You can see the first video which he has posted on You tube here...http://www.youtube.com/user/Mr1bender?feature=mhee#p/a/u/2/j8hOml_jEb4

Bob needs comments ...so please help him out...

Happy Birthday to my son Robert Chapiesky

May 28th of this year is my son, Robert's 48th birthday...

I hope he finds my blog and knows that I still love him and care about him...

Happy Mother's Day

Hi Everyone...

I hope all my friends who are mothers grand mothers are having a great day ...I am sending you a flower(s) which is growing on my deck...

(I wish I knew what it is,,,) 

My blogger friend Ray...seem to think this is a flower from the family of Columbines...click on ...

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/columbines/flower.shtml

How it ended up on my back deck is a mystery to me ...

Vivian Maier 1926 - 2009 Photographer Extraordinaire

One of the finest street photographers who ever lived was a woman named Vivian Maier....I am writing about her because I feel a kinship with her...Her photographs which were discovered recently are some of the finest ever done...Go to her web site (http://www.vivianmaier.com/) which they created for her and see what I mean...Below is an excerpt from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia...

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maier in one of several self-portraits she took on the streets of Chicago

Vivian Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American amateur street photographer who was born in New York but grew up in France, and after returning to the U.S., worked for about forty years as a nanny in Chicago. During those years she took about 100,000 photographs, primarily of people and cityscapes most often in Chicago, although she traveled and photographed worldwide.
Her photographs remained unknown and mostly undeveloped until they were discovered by a local historian, John Maloof, in 2007. Following Maier's death her work began to receive critical acclaim.^[1][2] Her photographs have appeared in newspapers in Italy, Argentina, and England, and have been exhibited alongside other artists' work in Denmark and Norway; her first solo exhibition ran at the Chicago Cultural Center from January 8 until April 3, 2011.<sup>[3][4]

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I noticed that one of her photos was a shot taken of a man selling papers and magazines in a kiosk..This reminded me of a shot I took many years ago in Chicago while I was there visiting with relatives...It is also of a man selling papers and magazines in a kiosk...I call it,"It's so nice to be nice"...

Uncle Ray's Chips

Hi everyone...

I just finished writing a e-mail to the folks who make Uncle Ray's Chips...Why? Well I'll tell you why...They are selling some mighty fine chips...and sending out stories about the life of Uncle Ray...My bag had Chapter 24 on it is called "Rip Van Winkle"...Here's a little bit of the story...

Have you ever done something wrong and wish you could do undo that wrong? I attended Boynton School located in Detroit, Michigan. In the seventh grade I had been chosen to play the part of Rip Van Winkle in our school play. After many weeks of rehearsals with my classmates the day had finally come. There was one problem. I was suffering from an acute case of stage fright. The day of the play I never made it to school.

When I returned to school neither my teacher or my classmates ever said a word to me about how I disappointed them. Over the past 48 years I have often wished I could go back in time and shown up at school that day.   It would give me a chance to do my best in spite of my fears. Should my teacher or my classmates read this, I would like to tell them how sorry I am for disappointing them. I have learned in business as well as in life, it's not failing that matters, but the fact that you tried and that you care.


There's more to read on Uncle Ray's bag but I will let you find a bag and read it your self...You can go to his web site here:http://www.unclerays.com/

So if you find a bag of Uncle Ray's Chips in your grocery store ...give it a try...Tell them... "Uncle Ron made you do it"...


Uncle Ron's back...