Tag: Tallahassee Florida

Sweet Weekend, Part 2

I had so much fun bumming around the Word of [South] festival on Saturday that I couldn’t wait to return on Sunday. Pre-festival I stopped in at one of my favorite eateries, the Crepevine for breakfast and then once at Cascades Park I was immediately handed a free mimosa. Life was good!

Part of me was a little nervous that Sunday wouldn’t be able to compete with Saturday, but that free mimosa totally erased my doubts. I’m uncomplicated that way.

My first stop was to the stage where an act billed as The Sonnet Man was already in progress. http://www.thesonnetmannyc.com  

This young man has set Shakespeare’s sonnets and soliloquies to music, creating “Hip-Hop Shakespeare Fusion.” He was incredibly fun. I loved watching the kids in the audience head bobbing to Sonnet 130. 

Next up on the same stage was musician Jim White, whose debut album, The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted “Wrong-Eyed Jesus” was the inspiration behind the 2003 doucumentary “Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus.”

 http://www.jimwhite.net 
I became an instant fan of Jim White who bills himself on his website as “songer/songwriter, author, fine art photographer, crackpot philosopher, folk artist, record producer, film maker, dad.” He’s quirky, immensely talented, and might be a little addictive.

  
Jim’s set made me thirsty. There might’ve been alcohol involved, but I had decisions to make. Did I want to listen to Grant Peeples and Tom Franklin or Chatham County Line? Ultimately I flipped a coin and ended up at Grant Peeple’s gig. 

Pictured below is Grant. He’s the bald guy. I didn’t catch his guitarist’s name. A self-described “’vegetarian that watches NASCAR, and tree-hugger with a gun below the seat,’Grant Peeples is known for his axe-sharp socio-political tunes, raucous humor and heart-gigging ballads.”

Watching the crowd as Grant performed, it occurred to me that many in attendance weren’t quite grasping that his lyrics were hitting close to home. He poked pointed fun at the GOP, racists, homophobes, etc., and they loved him. 

http://grantpeeples.com
  
Trading off with Grant was author Tom Franklin, who read aloud excerpts from his novel, Smonk. https://g.co/kgs/uCw4M

I didn’t get to the book tent in time to purchase his book, but it quickly was added to my wish list on Amazon. He writes the south as he sees it, and he sees it clearly. 

Next on my impromptu itinerary was author Adam Johnson. Adam is an FSU graduate with some serious writing credentials. According to Wikipedia “Adam Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. 

“He won the Pulitzer for his 2012 novel, The Orphan Master’s Son. He is also a professor of English at Stanford University with a focus on creative writing.”

 
Adam read his short story, Nirvana, and had the audience in the palm of his hand. Check out this man’s work. He is amazing. https://g.co/kgs/ZdTev

You’d think I could’ve gone home happy after all I’d experienced, but like a glutton I stayed for one more author, renowned columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. Having read Mr. Pitts’s column in the Miami Herald for years I could scarcely believe I was sitting just a few feet from him as he read excerpts from his latest novel, Grant Park.  

  
I was in awe, and pray that I didn’t sit there on the front row with my jaw hanging open like a beached fish during his talk. He also offered his keen insights on the current political climate in the U.S. and accepted questions from the audience. 

As soon as the applause died down at the end of the presentation I sprinted to the book sellers’ tent and bought a copy of Grant Park. 

 
Best of all, I made him laugh when he signed my book. Leonard Pitts, Jr. has a great laugh. Here’s the link to his website:

http://www.leonardpittsjr.com
What an awesome day. I cannot wait to dig into the books I purchased, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s festival.

Peace, and happy reading, people.

Sweet Weekend, Part I

If days were desserts this past weekend would have been a fresh slice of orange sponge cake, piled high with luscious red strawberries and topped with cream cheese icing. It was that good.

After a ridiculously pleasant night’s sleep Friday night (thank you Tempur-pedic!), a refreshing shower, and a hearty breakfast I dressed and headed into Tallahassee on Saturday for the Word of [South] Festival of Literature and Music.

This marks the festival’s second year. I was in La Antigua de Guatemala last April and missed out. Not that I’m complaining. My week in Antigua was the experience of a lifetime. And from what I hear the festival saw its share of rain in 2015.

There was not even a hint of precipitation this time around, though, as authors, musicians, and artists from all over the country shared their time and talents with those of us in Tallahassee. There was something for everyone, from gospel, folk, soul, rock, and jazz on the musical spectrum and every imaginable genre on the literary side.

Cascades Park hosted the event and one had only to walk from one venue to another within the park to experience a completely new vibe. And did I mention that with the exception of two concerts  the event was free of charge? Sweet!   

I wandered aimlessly for a bit before finding a schedule of events for one of the stages.

  
The Biergarten stage was just one of five venues featuring performers. Seeing Rita Coolidge’s name on the list I hurried over to grab a seat. I had no idea who Leslie Poole and Paul Garfinkel were, but I arrived as their set was in progress and fell in love with their words and message.

  
Ms. Poole, the author of several books about Florida, read from her most recent published work, Saving Florida. I’m not a native Floridian, so learning about the efforts of women on the front lines of environmental activism in the Sunshine State was an eye-opening experience. 

Mr. Garfinkel’s engaging folk songs woven around Florida’s delicate ecosystem bestowed even greater weight to Ms. Poole’s vignettes as the two traded places in the spotlight. Their performance was a lively, thought-provoking give and take.

Leslie Poole, left, Paul Garfinkel and his accompanist.

Then the beautiful Rita Coolidge took the stage.

   

Rita, a graduate of Florida State University, read from her memoir Delta Lady, and entertained the crowd with tales of her bohemian days as an art major here. 

Rita, like all of the artists and authors, signed books after her presentation.

 

My friend Julie and her lovely mom enjoyed Rita’s talk with me. We hadn’t arranged to meet at the event; it just happened. Sweet, right?

After Rita’s presentation I had lunch at the Edison and ran into yet another friend, Cathy, who made room for me next to her place at the bar. We then hustled over to another of the stages to hear Diane Roberts read excerpts from her book, Tribal: College Football and the Secret Heart of America.

  

Having grown up in Texas, I could completely relate to Diane’s college football obsession. This woman, a professor at FSU, is hysterically funny. If you have any love for the game you need this book. Even if you despise the game you need this book. 

I knew Studly would be getting restless, so I headed home shortly after having Ms. Roberts sign my newly purchased copy of her book. When I got home he was chomping at the bit to take the Goldwing out for an evening drive, so we suited up (“all the gear, all the time” is our motto) and rode over to Havana for a meal at a local Italian restaurant, providing the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Tomorrow I’ll share photos of Sunday at the festival. I’m still on an intellectual and emotional high after my experiences. 

Peace, people!

The Shadow Knows

Recently we had a guest from the Hoosier State spend a few days with us. On one day of his stay, Studly Doright and I took our friend Jerry to Cascades Park in Tallahassee. As the former State Director of Parks in Indiana, Jerry is keen on such outdoorsy venues.

I’ve written about Cascades Park before. It’s a beautiful multi-use site that serves as part of Tallahassee’s drainage system–the park is intended to flood.

Within the park are a restaurant and bar, an amphitheater, as well as walking/biking trails, various monuments and works of art, a splash pad, and a natural playground area.

Jerry snapped this photo of me standing next to one of the climbing rocks in the playground. I was not prepared to see the shadow I cast. 

 

I think I look like *Kokopelli:  

Or alien:

 
Only the shadow knows. Bwahaha!

Peace, people!

*From Wikipedia: Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.

Fees Waived Today!

If you live in the Tallahassee area come find your new best friend! Purrs and wagging tails are also free.

  
Remember: Don’t shop. ADOPT! 

Peace, people!

Without You

Daily Prompt: What’s the most time you’ve ever spent apart from your favorite person? Tell us about it.

Studly Doright and I have been married for 39 years, and he’s one of my favorite people. Thanks to eight job transfers, all for his career, we’ve spent quite a bit of time apart. 

Physically the longest period of separation was during our last move. He headed to Tallahassee in July of 2012 while I stayed in Mahomet, Illinois, to sell our home. It was Thanksgiving before we were reunited. He did fly me down for a long weekend, though, to house hunt. As separations go, it wasn’t too awful.

The toughest time we had to deal with was our move from New Salem, North Dakota, to Great Bend, Kansas. Studly left us in November to begin his new job while the kids finished the school semester at New Salem (Home of the Fighting Holsteins), and I readied the house for sale. It sold quickly, and we made arrangements to move, but then both kids and I came down with the flu. 

We finally recovered only to have one raging blizzard after another paralyze our part of the country preventing the moving truck from getting to our home. The crew got through to pack up our belongings, but couldn’t get the big truck up to the house. 

Finally fed up with delays, I packed overnight bags, stuffed the kids and the cat in the car and headed due south, leaving detailed instructions for the movers. I could barely see the road for the snow, and every now and then I’d have to skirt around abandoned vehicles stuck in drifts. I prayed a lot. 

As soon as we crossed into South Dakota the skies cleared and the temperatures warmed. I felt like we’d escaped from a Stephen King novel, The Shining 2.0.

With all my heart I hope we are through with moving and the separation it brings.  I’ve told my family I’ll consider going to an assisted living community some day, as long as Studly comes along.

Peace, people!

A little Harry Nillson for your listening pleasure. Damn, I love this song.

http://youtu.be/_bQGRRolrg0

Down and Dirty

The hours I spend at Tallahassee Animal Services as a volunteer are the among the best of my week. Only surprise calls from my grandchildren can top being with the cats and kittens at the shelter.

Each week has its pleasures: cuddling a sweet kitty and feeling it purr against my chest, enticing a morose cat from her perch at the back of a kennel to come closer for a behind-the-ear scratching, watching a hopeful feline leave with his new family. 

But each week has its little messes, too. This past Wednesday I spent some time doing laundry and putting it away. The shelter goes through countless loads of dirty towels, blankets, and cloth toys. Soiled items are placed in an oversized trash bin. 

I grabbed an armful of laundry this week and was rewarded with the icky wet smell and feel that only dog pee can produce. And now I had that smell, too. All over my tee shirt. 

Having successfully loaded the washer I stooped to pick up a substantial piece of fuzz from the floor and realized just in time that it wasn’t fuzz, it was poo. Stinky, relatively new, poo. All in an afternoon’s work. 

Here are just a few of the animals available for loving adoption at Tallahassee Animal Services. Remember, “Don’t Shop, Adopt!”

 

Ben
 
 
Manny
 

 

Sebastian
 
Peace, people!

The End is Near

Driving down a busy street in Tallahassee this afternoon I came across a street preacher:

  
On one side of his sign he’d written 

He That Hath The Son Hath Life

On the other side was written

Repent! The End is Near!

I tried to snap a photo of that side, but I was driving, so safety first, right? 

This Store Closing sign was to the man’s left, so maybe the end really is near.

  

Bad Combination?

I’m sitting outside on this gorgeous north Florida fall morning watching over a friend’s garage sale. The friend, Bachelor Dave, is Studly Doright’s best golf buddy. He’s an all-around good guy, so I offered to take on the garage sale duty so he and Studly could pair up for 18 holes. Great idea!

Bachelor Dave has some pretty cool stuff in the sale: Artwork, lamps, golf clubs, flooring, easels and tripods. His cast offs are nicer than my every day stuff. So far, sales have been steady, and I’m having fun. 

I failed to mention that the garage sale is a community event in the Southwood development where Dave H. resides, so there are sales going on all up and down the streets in this normally laid back Tallahassee neighborhood. Some folks are out walking from sale to sale, but shoppers from outside the neighborhood are driving.

Now, I also failed to mention that another big event is taking place simultaneously in Southwood: A 5k run!

Talk about a bad combination. If you’ve ever witnessed drivers intent on finding a garage sale bargain you’ll understand the problem. Near misses, close calls, and extended middle fingers seem to be the order of the day. This could make Thunderdome seem like a polite tennis match. It’s certainly made for an interesting morning.

 

This beautiful guy visited the sale.
 
None of the runners would hold still for me to snap a photo, but this is representative .
  
Peace, people!

Pep Talks

Me: Dang, that was good pizza!

Me: It sure was. Now where do you want to go?

Me: I don’t care. Somewhere I can walk.

Me: The mall?

Me: No, I’ve been there twice this week.

Me: True, but it’s a great place to get your 10 flights of stairs. And you did just consume a huge slice of pepperoni pizza.

Me: Okay. The mall it is, but do NOT let me buy anything. 

Me: Deal!

Me: Here, you handle the money. It’s safer that way.

Me: Whatever makes you happy.

Me: You make me happy.

Me: 😊

Yes, this happened. I hope the guy sitting next to me at Momo’s Pizza recovers from his shock soon.

  

Peace, people!

A Walk in Cascades Park 

One of the best spots in Tallahassee for running, walking, playing, or just chilling is beautiful Cascades Park.

http://discovercascades.com
From the link:

Cascades Park is the newest social center of our community, enhancing our quality of life by offering one venue that brings together arts, entertainment, education, history and wellness. It is the perfect example of how the one-cent local option sales tax we pay is invested back into our community.

Located in the heart of downtown, Cascades Park offers a variety of outdoor and recreational amenities, including a state-of-the-art amphitheater, interactive water fountain, children’s play area, Smokey Hollow Commemoration and miles of multi-use trails. Constructed by Blueprint 2000 in partnership with the City of Tallahassee and Leon County, Cascades Park is a stormwater facility that doubles as a unique urban park. Designed to flood, the park will offer relief to nearby areas during major storm events. This park was built by the citizens of Tallahassee and Leon County through the use of a one-cent local option sales tax.

I’ve been driving across Tallahassee a couple of times a week to get in my 10,000 steps by walking in Cascades Park, and every time I spot something new. 

On Saturday I discovered the Korean War Memorial:

 

Korean War Memorial

The piece that gives the impression of having broken off lists the names of those from Leon County who died in the conflict.

 

Note the word, “LIFE” on this sculpture.
 
I sat and read each of the names and thought about the loss to the families, the community, and perhaps to the world. We use the word moving to describe many things. This memorial moved me to tears.

 The amphitheater, below, hosts concerts and plays in a beautiful setting. Every time I walk I make a detour through the stage area. Sometimes I dance a few steps, other times I sing a few notes, but I always take a bow.

  

  

 I’ve still got a lot left to explore! I didn’t even realize how big the park was until I found this map while writing this post. 
Come visit me in Tallahassee. We’ll walk.

Peace, people!