Jerry Maren, the last Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz, died May 24, 2018 at the age of 98 in Los Angeles. Jerry was one of the Lollipop Kids. Both photos are from the Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-maren-20180606-story.html In 2014, I wrote a blog post about Meinhardt Rabe, another Munchkin, one … Read more
Another Florida Project
A hazard of being a watcher, observer and sometimes writer is that I will never be a trendsetter. I chew on the news until it pisses me off and then I state the obvious. Loudly. I cry at old tragedies and stay numb while new tragedies unfold, fade from everyday hubris and Go Fund Me sites wither. In keeping with my late-is-better-than-never … Read more
Marjorie and Zora: Anything but Black and White–Quotes from the 2018 Rawlings Society Presentation in Mt. Dora, FL.
As part of my presentation to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society in Mt. Dora, FL in 2018, I used quotes from the writers Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Zora Neale Hurston to illustrate their struggles and perceptions and to tell their stories as I perceive them. I'll provide some context but this is mostly a record of some extensive … Read more
Improving on Nature
Hibiscus in my South FL front yard So the title is a little outside (inside?) joke. Mother Nature manages to outdo the best artists and crafters, but part of the human condition is trying to keep up with her and learning as much as you can. So during a recent online carving class for metal clay, a medium that has alternately been an … Read more
Processing Parkland
"The trouble with listening to authentic American voices is the certainty that they won't tell you what you want to hear." That's the way I kicked off my last post, and of course, Nikolas Cruz. 19, spoke with his AR-15 on Valentine's Day 2018 and told his story without words. He left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland … Read more
Anything but black and white: Florida voices part 2
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Zora Neale Hurston The trouble with listening to authentic American voices is the certainty that they won't tell you what you want to hear. In my last post, I wrote that music industry giants Tom Petty, who started out in North Florida and Bo Diddley, who ended up there, relied on youths spent in the rural … Read more
RIP Tom Petty, Marjorie Rawlings, Bo Diddley, and Zora Hurston
White Supremacist Richard Spencer's speech recently in Gainesville, FL (home of the University of Florida) was a milestone not only for the school--where students and locals turned out to heckle the speaker, but did not use violence to show their displeasure--but also for the the North Florida region. Alachua, Polk and Marion Counties. These … Read more
A Castle and an Eclipse
South Florida 8/21/17 partial eclipse Memories are the building blocks for the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, but like any other data, they have different weights. The importance of a memory has to do with time and place, and that's why (at least in Anne's world) travel memories focus emotions. On a recent voyage, contrast … Read more
Summer Shots
The porch at a bed and breakfast in Gainesville Florida. Summer in north Florida looks beautiful and feels prehistoric. Heat and giant bugs contrast with the dark shelter of live oaks dripping with Spanish moss the way that a cool glass of ice tea (no plastic, please) sets off the the heat of barbecue bought at a gas station lunch counter. … Read more
Larry Lives!!!
Larry, a White Crested Polish rooster, who may be smarter than he looks has landed on the side of love and luck in the conundrum I presented in the Nov. 16 blog post. (Scroll down blog to see it.) Larry lives with other chickens out in the Florida scrub at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' house in Cross Creek where he and his friends hang out and … Read more