SPRINGTIME IN CHARLIE'S WOODS

   The South Grove people's park continues to make progress.  I asked the city manager to help us a month ago.  Emilio Gonzalez approves of our project and said he'd set us up with some decent park benches, the kind that that don't put splinters in your butt.
 
  
     Charlie Cinnamon's historic house still stands. Two months ago the City of Miami told the developer/owner  (Andrew Raskin) that he must preserve it.  Raskin responded by suing the City for the right to tear it down.  He wants to replace Charlie's 1919 cottage with a pool for the huge $5 million box he plans to build next to it. He could have the pool, his giant box and Charlie's charming house on the double lot but he says he will not consider it.
  

    In a world of Raskins we still have flowers. Its raining again and the pink rain lilies have popped up to tell us so.  

    The butterfly garden is thriving as well. Next to it a battle rages between the good native plants and the bad invasives. Neighbors take turns pulling out the snake plants and potato vines. While they are a healthy and green, they behave like fascists plants wanting to smother everything around them.


   



 The "woods" is a fun place.  We show movies in the clearing next to Charlie's cottage. There's also  tether ball and ping pong
now.

                                                       snake plants 

   

    But most folks go there to chill, to relax in a rare, cool, green space.  
 

    The green quiet is what we love most about Charlie's Woods and the park we're building around it. Come visit anytime.  Parking is free and soon, you probably won't even get a splinter in your butt.
            ______________________________ 


NOTE:  The new exhibit on "The Life of Charlie Cinnamon" opens next month at the Jewish Museum on Miami Beach.  It runs through September 19th.