RIDIN' THE WHIRLYBIRD

    WHIRLYBIRD

 

What's with the big grin, Glenn?

Does everyone do that when they take their first helicopter ride?

"Yep", I answer, " It's totally AWESOME!"

 

   Yesterday was "Aviation Day" at the G'ville airport.  I have a passion all things flying so I sauntered over to check it out. 

The airplane greeting me was this simple Cessna 150.  It's what I learned to fly back in '66.

 

I noticed a group of kids marching past me with guns.  I think they were there to protect us from the crazies who thing aviation enthusiasts are "woke".

 

Moving on I toured a big'un that can drop buoy bombs on submarines

Boeing 737 converted for anti-submarine welfare

 

and this natty Benson Gyrocopter.

I bought a broken one once. I tried to fix and fly it, and nearly killed myself. Young men do dumb things.

 

I spotted a sign saying for $60 I could take to the sky in this sleek blue helicopter.  Yippee!

 

The first six seconds was worth sixty bucks.We were up and away!

My flight was more than exhilarating. Chris the pilot gave me headphones that made the chopper's engine as quiet than a prayer.

As he twisted the control stick we rose like smoke to head towards the UF campus. As we flew over Satchel's I could see the university's original orange-roofed buildings in the distance.

Just before them were the conglomeration of ugly mega-apartments that clog up NW 13th St. at University Ave.  Ky-rist, there are more on the way.

 

   I felt free as a bird -retaining my goofy smile- as we drifted over the UF's secret zillion-dollar football training complex. There was the air-conditioned indoor field house I'd read about plus, a couple more playing fields outside.

There's even a rec area with a b-ball court, a pool shaped like a jig-saw puzzle piece, and a putting green. The masseuses and manicurists must be just inside.

 

On the green field I could see gator gladiators, uniformed white specks working on secret plays that only I could see (Chris the pilot was too busy keeping us from crashing). 

The Swamp

The Church of All Things Gator soon drifted into view.  Isn't it weird that this big baby hold services just six days a year?

 

Ever busy with my camera I shot the University Auditorium. 

A long time ago I saw Andy Warhol step up to the podium there and not say anything. He was terrific. Andy at his best. We applauded his silence.

I looked to my left to see our house just a mile north of The Swamp (our football stadium). 

It was reassuring to see that it, and almost every other residence, is hidden by trees. We're a "tree city" y'know.

Chris then pointed our chopper back to the airport. As Lake Pithlachocco glistened in the distance he brought us home for a gentle landing.

That's why you saw a helicopter touring our university all day. Woke or not, it was Aviation day in G-Town.

 

TWO FOR TEA

I recently learned that Gainesville has two businesses catering to lovers of tea. Both are hidden in plain sight.

A Thousand Leaves Herb Shop is in an industrial area at 22 SE 5th. Ave.  The herbalist on duty will assist you with any teas,

tinctures, or spices you may need.  It reminded me of a tea shop I once visited in NYC's Chinatown.  You tell them what ails you and they mix of a batch of secret something.

 

The other tea emporium I discovered is "HOWL" a converted residence at 109 SE 4th Avenue.

That's my son, Ian, saying "hello" at HOWL

The folks that run the place, Bluejay and Caleb, could not have been nicer.  They offered my son and I a vast array of prepared teas, coffees, and muchables.

      Bluejay spotted King Mango on my t-shirt and exclaimed, "The King's in d' house!". Turns out she's from Coconut Grove. Her family has enjoyed the zany King Mango Strut parade there for years.

We enjoyed sipping tea at HOWL (the "House of Waking Life") and know you will too. Stop by and tell Bluejay King Mango sent 'cha.

Bluejay and Caleb tending the bar

HONORING OUR CONSERVATIONISTS

        Five hundred of us gathered in a lush meadow yesterday, the home of the Alachua Conservation

ACT's headquarters, Prairie Creek Lodge

Trust ("ACT").  The non-profit is Florida's leader in land conservation. They own -or manage-  56,000 acres in North Central Florida.

        At last night's annual affair we honored Randi Cameon, Richard Hamann and Vivian Filer for promoting ACT's goals through education.

       It was a wonderful evening to support a terrific organization.

      

As the Sooza Band played Art Crummer did the "Locomotion"

   

Another spectacular event on the prairie

                             __________________________________________________________

THE ROCKET'S RED GLARE

 UP THE CREEK

              NEWSLETTER  OF  THE  RATTLESNAKE

                               CREEK  GARDEN CLUB                                                                               Almost April , 2023

A ROCKET'S RED GLARE

       What's up in space? I read about rockets blasting off once-a-week from Cape Canaveral and thought I'd be cool to see one myself. Recently I googled "Next Rocket launch from Cape Canaveral" and learned Space-X was sending one up the following day.

       Four of us went the highest point in the county, Orange Lake Overlook, to see if we could see a rocket rising 110 miles in the

.  distance.                 We could and...we did!  

       On a phone we watched the televised count down.  At "zero" there was the usual orange blast on the tiny screen.  Seconds later -far far away- we could see a red glow rising.

Three more go up in April

I don't know but its shimmering tapered trail seemed miles long. It was bright, bright, bright even in daylight.

        Two minutes later using binoculars, we could see the first stage breaking off to begin its descent to an offshore landing pad.  

   

Carlos and I acting goofy

     We were impressed but later wondered,   "What did we just witness? Incredible  technology used make spying a little easier?  Elon Musk adding another million to his wallet?  

      It's unfortunate that zillion dollar efforts like this can't be used to solve real world problems.

 

CREEK CLEANING

This year's creek cleaners

     We removed 140 pounds of trash from Rattlesnake Creek two weeks ago.  We thank the 17 of you who joined the effort.  

    Speaking of trash, our club is going on s field trip next month to tour the county dump and recycling facility.  Give me a shout if you want to join us.

 

    

     I explored the Hogtown Creek wilderness area, north of NW 23d Ave., last week.  It's pretty amazing how the land drops 60 feet -from the back of Lowe's- to the creek far below.  90 % is pristine and the rest, trashed out by the homeless people living there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 WEARIN' O' THE GREEN       

    Last  week we followed sidewalk shamrocks until they took us to Jim and David's annual St Patrick Day Party and Parade on 14th Ave.  The beer and wine flowed freely and everyone wore green to avoid getting pinched by Dave. Jim roasting a pig on a Cuban caja brought back memories of Miami. 

We thank our neighbors for another generous holiday gesture.

 

 

IT"S A WONDERFUL THING when people come out of their houses to talk, drink, and eat together. The next 'hood party will be our neighborhood association's SPRING PICNIC. You need not be a member of "UPNA" to attend. 

It'll take place on Sunday, April 30th, from 3 to 6 in Parker Park ( NW 5th Ave. at 20th St.). Houston will be there to show is one of his  electric bikes (see "Batteryland" below).

 

TREES THAT HEAL

     Yesterday our guides, Diane and Bill, led us through quiet woods southeast of G'ville.  We were taking a lessen in "forest bathing".

 

 

 

 

 

 Our trail next to Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery

 We were taught how a slow, solitary walk can help you  enjoy things you never noticed before. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIG ROCKS

     The highest point in Gainesville is now atop the rocks that landed on NW 17 St. last week.

  The big one on the left weighs 11,000 pounds.  I plan to climb it to watch the next rocket launch.

 

 

 

 

CATCHIN' SOME ZZ TOPz     Have you ever thought you might be better off if you had a long scraggly beard?  Artist Julie Anspach nipped that thought in the bud last month when she led a beard-making workshop at UCG.  Thanks, Julie!

   

 

 

 

And speaking of hair...

 

 

MORE THAN A HAIRCUT

      I go for the stories as much as shortened hair. Once a month I plunk down $20 to hear tales from another world. I don't say much as Danielle tells me why she got each tattoo. Recently  her 11-year old bought a BB-gun without permission (she made him send it back). And finally, "Mama" has a few miniature cows.

"They're like big dogs and they got her an agricultural tax exemption". 

      And after all that I thank her and walked away with new stories and a new haircut.

 

BATTERYLAND 

      I wonder about stores that sell one thing.  Remember the "Spatula City" on SNL?  East of our neighborhood, where 16th meets 6th Street is "Batteryland".  I stopped there recently but I didn't need a battery for my phone, scooter, or watch. I wanted to check out the groovy electric bikes that had been placed out front.

    I introduced myself to Batteryland's  owner, Houston Whitehead.

Houston with one of his bad-ass e-steeds

He told me he had switched his main product line from car batteries to e-bikes recently.  "They're selling like hot cakes to happy people", he explained adding, "Business is better and I don't have to deal with customers bummed because their cars won't start."

    He's got new signs too. "Batteryland" is now "Gainesville Electric Bike Garage". Stop by and go for a test drive today. Houston guarantees that his products will make you smile and even climb the big hill on 8th Avenue.

 

ON THE WINGS OF A PIG

     Gainesville is going to get a new parade come December. On Sunday we had the first meeting of the visionary people who will make

it happen. 

     The plan is to create something like the King Mango Strut, a Coconut Grove procession that's been around since 1982.  We're calling it the "Flying Pig Parade", a riff on G'ville's original moniker, "Hogtown".  

If you'd like to help make it fly, let me know.

 -Glenn

 

 

 

 

 

 Florida Park is a little different. On rainy days everyone inflates afront yard bounce houses.

 

 

UP THE CREEK

                           UP THE CREEK

                            THE RATTLESNAKE CREEK 

                           GARDEN CLUB NEWSLETTER             

                                        SPRING, 2023

 The "Pinxter", our native azalea

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!  We're enjoying the sweet scent of citrus blossoms wafting through the air and, azaleas bursting with color.

 Lucky us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our neighborhood University Park Neighborhood Association ("UPNA") is keeping busy. On March 1st, fourteen of us met with our district's city commissioner, Bryan Eastman.

Most of our discussions were about his recent effort to re-vamp single-family zoning.

Our association has many talented people who want to work with him to improve housing (and zoning) in Gainesville. He said he looks forward to our help. 

We went on to discuss creating new parks along with parking, noise, and traffic issues.

The UPNA SPRING PICNIC will take place in Parker Park on Sunday, April 30, from 3 to 6 p.m. Make plans to attend!.

CREEK CLEAN UP-                     

The annual Rattlesnake Creek Cleanup will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 10 a.m.  Meet at "the dip", where the creek runs under NW 18 Terrace, a half-block north of NW 8 Ave.  You'll be walking  in water. Wear old shoes and bring a bag to collect trash.

 

Note:  Our Rattlesnake Creek Cleanup coincides with First Magnitude's 9^th annual Clean Creek Revival festival.  They host the largest creek and waterway cleanup in the Gainesville area. If you all want join that as well, info and registration is here,

bit.ly/cleancreek2023

 

    At First Mag, you can get tools, dump creek trash in their dumpsters, and get a free beer for your troubles!   All this from the brewery's owners, Christine and John Denny, who are also 14th Avenue neighbors.

 

Our creek crewe two years ago.

 

PARK REPORT-  We are working to create new parks in Rattlesnake woods and in the wooded area west of Parker Park.  Commissioner Eastman  encourages our efforts and assures us that he will help.

This is the publicly owned right-of-way in Rattlesnake Woods.  We need  to convert it into a linear park!

BROKEN BRIDGE

     Out local bike club has been nice enough to build a few bridges

in the woods west of us. They allow us to cross Rattlesnake and Hogtown Creeks without getting our feet wet. The one just north of NW 8th cracked in half last month. A bunch of us disassembled it Saturday (I only fell off it once!) so water can  easily flow past again.

  

Our UPNA Bulletin Board has been sharing information on 18th Terrace for two years now. Feel free to use it whenever you need to get the word out.

 

  

 

 

CURIA-  If you haven't been to Curia-On-The Drag yet, stop on March.10th.  This collection of shops, restaurants and Dad's Bar has something for everyone. Their Auk Market is sponsoring a mini-fest with 20 vendors and live music Friday evening.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW MUSEUM- The "Theatre of Memory" Museum opened, just a mile east of us last month. It's Bill Hutchison's life-long collection,  all kinds of wonderful things. It is located at 1705 NW 6th

Street. Admission is free (donations are accepted). Join us there at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, for our Neighborhood field trip. Bill will give us a personal tour. 

More information at www.theatreofmemory.org .

    THE BEAUTY AROUND US -  Remember we live where there are more natural springs than anywhere else in the world.  Why not jump in one today?  or, at least glide a kayak down that lazy river we call "The Ich".

 

Above, a shot taken by my brother-in-law, Frano, three days ago. 

On his excursion he and his wife, Sheila, were amazed by a bulbous manatee, two gators, three otters, and more alligator gar than they could count. Our springs are like a dream...

 

Proud we were, to be attending my sister-in-law's lecture at the UF school of architecture last week.

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday, 5th Generation farmer, John Nix, came to University

Park to speak about the discrimination black farmers have faced in this country for 150 years.                                    

                                       Farmer John Nix, left, at UCG Sunday

His great-grandparents were enslaved in Alachua County.  Gained their freedom in 1865, they started a farm in Rochelle, eight miles east of Gainesville, which is still in the family. They raise cattle.

John wants us to support creating a meat processing plant in Newberry. This will allow small farmers, like him, to sell local, grass-fed beef to folks living here.  For more information on supporting local black farms check out https://www.northfloridablackfarms.com/black-farms.

It is rumored that King Mango will be coming to town on the wings of a pig.  Stay tuned for details.

The Governor and his legislature continues to ban books. We are honored to have the painting, "Florida's Book-of-the-Month Club' " gracing the cover of the New Yorker this week.

 

That's it for now,

                            

 Best wishes for a happy day,

-Glenn