4/4/09

Photo Hunt Saturday: STRIPES! Yipes!

One of the things I enjoy about the weekly Photo Hunt is that it makes me more observant of things around me. I notice things I had not previously noticed. This week I learned that stripes are everywhere!

Stripes are in my house: on wrapping paper, sheets and even this Kleenex tissue box.


Some toys have stripes. Did you ever own a Zube Tube?


There's a stripe in the sky outside my house, although this stripe is temporary.

Some road signs have stripes.


Even roads have stripes.

This bus at our church is used to transport people with Alzheimer's to "The Ark" -- our respite care program. See? The bus has stripes.
Many businesses in our town (Summerville, SC) have striped awnings.





Even the window under this awning looks like it has stripes!

These stripes are on the mooring poles in Venice, where the waterways serve as streets. The poles vary by families. Even the gondoliers where striped shirts. Did you know the members of the gondoliers guild are almost all male? It's a very difficult profession to get into and sometimes the work passes down through families. Licenses are limited in number and they, too, are difficult to obtain. It seems that relatives of long-time gondoliers have preference.



This family's mooring poles remind me of barber poles, which aren't as prevalent as they used to be.
Do you know how the striped barber poles came about?
According to Wikipedia, "the red and white stripes symbolize the bandages used during the (barbering) procedure: red for the blood-stained and white for the clean bandages. Originally, these bandages were hung on the pole to dry after washing. As the bandages blew in the wind, they would twist together to form the spiral pattern similar to the stripes in the modern day barber pole. The barber pole became emblematic of the barber/surgeon's profession. Later the cloths were replaced by a painted wooden pole of red and white stripes."
* * *
Have you done something to earn your stripes? That phrase probably came about because of the various professions in which stripes are earned: military, law enforcement, etc. It is now widely used to refer to anyone who has worked hard to earn a position or level of responsibility.
I'm trying to earn my stripes as a blogger!
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To visit other participants in Photo Hunt, click here.

38 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

I almost took a photo of the street lane lines too.

My stripes are posted. Found all over Texas! Come see for yourself. Happy weekend wishes sent your way.

jams o donnell said...

Wow so many stripes! Great take on this week's theme!

Anonymous said...

Now I have Stripes before the eyes...!)

Babette said...

Stripes are everywhere in SC! I love the Venice photos, it reminded me of that beautiful place. :o) That's one state I would love to visit someday. Since I'm a mom of a 4 yr old boy, I'm curious as to what a Zube Tube is. Although now that I think about it, he might just use that to badger his big sister. LOL Thanks for visiting.

june said...

Good ones all! And thanks for the trivia re the barber's pole...I always enjoy learning about the origins of things :-)

admin said...

Thanks for the visit.. looks like you have lots of interesting stripes here..

have a great weekend

Marylin said...

Wow what a lot of stripes! :)

milet said...

so many stripes. nice! thanks for visiting my PH entry.

bingskee said...

stripes are everywhere! these are wonderful collection of stripes.

Sarge Charlie said...

You have an abundance of strips Miss Ex, and you quote caught my eye, DID YOU EARN YOU STRIPES, good question, check my post.

marta said...

A wide diverse look at strips in your area. I really like you thought of the hazard strips on the sign. That's good.

Mojo said...

That's a bunch of stripes. I've often wondered if "earning your stripes" had anything to do with the old practice of public floggings.

srp said...

I love your stripes! I read a quote the other day...“There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” I think it was referring to the long expanses of highway in west Texas. But very true.

I see you live in Summerville, SC... and I know it is a long shot. But do you perhaps know a Tom and Barb Thornton? He used to manage a cement plant there. They were my neighbors when we lived in Mississippi and I really hated to see them leave. Of course, now I've moved as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Unknown said...

Babette: A Zube Tube is a toy that makes a noise -- sort of a zooming sound. Actually, it's hard to describe. Children love Zube Tubes, but, if a little noise bothers you, it's a great gift to give someone who doesn't live with you! :)

Sarge Charlie: Yes, you certainly earned your stripes. Thanks for your service to the USA!

Mojo: What an interesting thought about earning one's stripes. The little bit of research I did indicates, though, that the phrase has to do with positives -- earning a promotion or another stripe on the uniform in the military, for example. Sometimes I hear sportscasters saying a player has "earned his stripes" to be a starting quarterback.

I do love Photo Hunt. As mentioned in my post, I have become much more aware of everyday things around me -- really seeing them. Also, I'm learning new things. Such fun for this old "has-been."

Ordinary Biscuit said...

Great stripes here. i learned something new today about barbershop. Thanks and happy hunting

Unknown said...

SRP: We don't have armadillos in SC but there are other dead things in the middle of the roads on occasion.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Great stripes!
Isn't it funny how these photo hunts really open your eyes? Now I am already seeing triangles :-)

Diane at Crafty Passions said...

Love your stripe post, its so true they are everywhere you look!
Have a good weekend.
Diane

Gypsy at heart said...

You provided a wealth of information today. Thank you!
I have not yet been to Venice.....

Carver said...

Great take on the theme. I enjoyed this sequence and all the different striped objects you found.

MediMonsters said...

Interesting about the barber's poles. Great pictures. I love the awnings.

Mira said...

Wow you did a great job capturing the stripes around you ;-) nice pics. Here's my take http://www.mirasblog.com/2009/04/photo-hunt-12-stripes.html

Cindy @ Fenced in Family said...

Great photos and a great take on today's photo hunt! I love the variety of shots.

feefifoto said...

I think you earned your stripes today.

Thanks for visiting and commenting on my PH.

Lene said...

Great collection of stripes. And, yes - they really are everywhere :)

Have a lovley weekend :)

Anonymous said...

I love photo hunt for that reason and also because I get to see other parts of the world up close and personal through everyone's photos. It's great and I loved your post. I didn't realize the story behind the barber's pole. It makes sense though.

Thanks for visiting my photo hunt this week.

Sarah Coggins said...

Excellent collection of stripes! It is funny how the weekly prompts can really stick in your head and cause you to suddenly see something all around you. Thanks for visiting my blog! :)

kayerj said...

great post, I've noticed the same thing, all week I look for something to take a picture of for photo hunt. I've even started taking my grand kids on photo hunts. They love looking for "yellow things" and things with stripes.

thanks for visiting

Amazing Gracie said...

You really put your heart in it this week! I really enjoyed seeing all of your stripes! I think you win the prize...
~~~Blessings~~~

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Wow! That was a grand essay on stripes, thanks for sharing.

Also thanks for dropping by and have a great week!

magiceye said...

a stripingly brilliant post!!

CherryPie said...

What a wide variety of stripes you managed to find :-)

storyteller said...

What a MARVELOUS series of photos and ideas about this week's theme! I played at Sacred Ruminations this week.

maeve said...

OMG I never thought about stripes!!!! You have opened my eyes to a whole new world!! LOL

Lorna said...

I loved the little dish on barber poles. I remember hearing that when I was a kid, and haven't thought of it in years.Doctors, barbers, they're all the same.

Claudia said...

Great shots...stripes are everywhere!

ms monster said...

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Anne said...

Great post! Thanks for visiting mine and have a great week!

Annie
http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/annienc/

 
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