Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

I Get a Photo Credit, Sort of, in the National Post
Earlier in the week I got an email from writer John Karastamatis, who, as it turns out, lives on Rainsford, which is the street immediately east of Brookmount, and whom we share the back laneway with. He asked if he could use a picture that I had taken of the laneway party last weekend. Of course I agreed.

We had a big laneway party last weekend (Yet to be recorded here. I know, me bad.) and I took plenty of pictures with the digital camera -- I think it was about 70 or so. ;-) I posted them to a Web site and let all of our neighbours know where to get 'em.

Then I get the email, asking permission to use one of the photos. Word had gotten around about the pictures, and Karastamatis was writing an article about neighbourhood block parties for the weekend edition of The National Post. It was up to the editor as to which picture would accompany the article, so it would be a nice surprise to see which one got chosen. I figured it would most likely be one of the shots surrounding the breaking of the piñata, as they conveyed the crowd scene well.

So early this morning I hoofed on over to the nearest National Post newspaper box and grabbed a copy of the weekend paper. Sure enough, in the Toronto section on page TO4, there are a couple of articles by Karastamatis about block parties. And the picture they used shows the scrum immediately after the breaking of the piñata, as all of the kids scramble for the treats. That is the picture you see here. Unfortunately I can't find the article online, otherwise I’d like to it. It captures the essence of the party.

The picture is not credited to me as I had asked, but to "The Party Committee". I certainly can't begrudge them that, since none of this would have happened without their tireless work. The picture they chose captures the moment well. Most of the adults have the tops of the heads cut off (though you can clearly see that everyone is having a good time). Erika is at the very back of the crowd, and I think Vanessa is at the bottom of the scrum. A few moments after this picture was taken Vanessa was beside herself, overcome by all of the children rushing to get the candy. That was when one of the nicest events about the party happened, when Roxanne gave Vanessa all of her treats in order to cheer Vanessa up. ;-)

It was a fun party, and I really ought to record it fully here.