SEEKING SALTED WATER

        SEEKING  SALTED WATER

     Yesterday we woke up wanting to see big water.  In Gainesville your can head east or west and in a little more than an hour be fishing for grouper.

      We opted to head west to Cedar Key, North Florida's version of Key West. Yes, it's been beat up recently by two hurricanes but we heard it was delightful again. Francesca and I spent the day there and had a great time.

      

    There's one main street just four-blocks long.  We had our Black Friday shopping experience there.  I LOVED the quirky art we found in the Artist Guild Gallery.

   The butt of a large palm fronds is a foot wide.  Artist 

Jennifer Rogers turns them into incredible colorful art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A local weaver creates handsome bowls and bird houses from long pine needles.

 

 

And what about these funky fish? 

 

 

I love this stuff! 

 

The upstairs gallery features prints, paintings and sculptures by Gainesville artist Amy Richard. 

 

 

It's worth the trip just to enjoy her wondrous display.

   Pangs of hunger had us walking towards Restaurant Row, the storied, stilted eateries hovering over the Gulf.  A year after the latest blow-out they still aren't back. 

 

Working were hanging Christmas lights on the hulk of this former restaurant.

 

    In the last year one has been able to recover its lonely bar and another is only hawking t-shirts. The Row took a serious beating that it is nowhere close to recovery. Maybe a year from now we can enjoy fresh fish there again with incredible views.

    With the main restaurants gutted finding food in Cedar Key can be a challenge. For starters, the grocery store is still boarded up as is the former chowder place next door.

    Charmless "Steamer's Cafe" is doing big business but had little appeal for us.  We opted for a food truck that had its own artsy garden.

    After lunch we strolled past the old town's stately wooden residences. Its their version of Gainesville's Duckpond (their "pond" is much bigger). Most sit high on hills and escaped the 11-foot surge of water that came with Hurricane Helene a year ago.  

   As we drove off the main island we past Annie's cafe, a delightful place for breakfast or lunch. Locals love Annie's mullet despite the many bones.

   The mullet is a funny fish. On Florida's east coast -where I grew up- we bought them for bait. On the west coast it's dinner. I like it smoked.

   There are wonderful trails just outside of downtown Ceder Key.  We love the Cemetery Trail that begins with a 1200' boardwalk tunneling though thick mangroves. It leads to an small, exceptional city park on an estuary. It features sculptures, picnic areas, and a frisbee golf course.

 Things didn't go so well at Museum State Park a mile east. We hiked a quarter-mile on a trail leading to a bay view. When we rounded the final bend the "view" had a huge disgusting sign next to it, "Florida Welcomes You To The GULF OF AMERICA!".  

   We wanted to puke. Where is the spray paint when you need it?  It was too obscene to photograph. I suppose DeSantis & Company has put them in every state park along the Gulf of Mexico.

   That was the only bummer on yesterday's  adventure.

  We had a terrific time and encourage you to head west. In 75 minutes you can be hanging your hammock in North Florida's Margaritaville. 

     ____________________________ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Parade 2025

 OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HALLOWEEN PARADE- 10-31-25

 WHAT FUN WE HAD walking the streets surrounded by ghosts, goblins, and music!  I thank everyone who came out to celebrate our great Gainesville tradition, now in its sixth year.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's procession.

-Glenn 

The BEE HIVE getting ready to buzz. They'll be in the Flying Pig Parade too!

 

 

o

"You wore black too?"

Our friends, Joey and Gabe

I asked our resident fortune teller, Zollar, if we would have a terrific parade and his card came up, "Yes".

Gregg is a man of many disguises.

 

One proud dad

Our Bone Family ready to march.

And this is how it looked when it all began. Over 200 happy people came out for our 15 minutes parade. Parents of young children tell us "that was just right".

E

Even some teens joined us!

This tel-evangelist did some preachin'!

Tom Tom John

Two inflatables discussing air pressure issues.

What you get for dinner on All Hallows Eve.

Bonehead at the end of the show.

 

    

   Everything thing went perfectly.  Francesca and I packed up and drove home in hopes a few of these kids would visit.   

When they did they really got a surprise...we handed out healthy treats. They could choose from tangerines, bat pretzels, or Everglades pumpkins from our garden. Some thought it was a trick and others, a treat.       :)

                                ___________ 

 

Below, some short parade videos.  

 

 

"UP THE CREEK" - October's Neighborhood News

      PUBLIX, "WHERE SHOOTING IS A PLEASURE"

       It blew my mind when I read that the Publix supermarkets were now allowing customers to bring guns in their stores. Don't we have enough problems without having to dodge gun-totin' cowboys and Proud Boys every time we run out of milk?

       I've shopped there for years but that's ending today.  Four hours ago I went inside the one on NW 43d Ave to speak with the manager.  She told me Florida's  new "open carry" state law  requires them to allow good ol' boys with AR-15s to roam the vegetable aisle.

Woman hunting for broccoli 

       I pointed out that the new law does not allow guns in private businesses unless the  business decides to allow it.

   She admitted this and  added that last week, her bosses at "Publix corporate", decided to allow  customers to openly display guns in their 900 Florida stores.

     I thanked her for her time and told her I no longer feel safe in her store. I then had similar  conversations with three assistant managers nearby. All said, "We do what we're told" and suggested that I direct my complaint to company headquarters.  Later, I did.

      If you decide to stop shopping at Publix make your voice heard. 1) Call the headquarters at 1- 800 242-1227 or 2) Go to their website and send a "contact us" message, www.publix.com/contact/contact-us. 

     If enough of us do it Publix might stop welcoming the gun totin' crowd. 

     In G'ville you can shop at markets that do not allow customers to display weapons in their stores. These businesses include Aldi's, Winn-Dixie, Walmart, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes. 

     It's hard to believe I'm writing this, that the deranged NRA has Republicans so tight in their grip. I believe they won't stop until every person over twelve is packing heat. What a whacked out world we live in.

 

This afternoon Francesca and I shopped at Ward's on NW 16 Ave. I saw  "No Open Carry" signs newly affixed to their doors. I thanked the manager who agreed that groceries and guns are a bad mix.

     If you can't pry yourself from Publix at least speak to the store managers there and express your displeasure. Complaining to the corporate office in Lakeland would be the next step and perhaps more effective. 

    Who wants to live in a world where the next mass shooting might be "where shopping use to be a pleasure"? 

 

 

 

FLORIDA PARK'S HALLOWEEN PARADE

It's happening again on Friday, Oct. 31st.  Gather at NW 17 St. and 12 Rd. at 5:30.  At six, we hoot, holler and march around the block. On All Hallows Eve a great time will be had by all in beautiful Florida Park. 

We are indebted to Rosi Arenas for creating this year's amazing parade flyer.

 

 

 

 

 

FLYING PIG III

Gainesville's most exciting event, THE FLYING PIG PARADE, will be held on January 3, 2026.  Now is a good time to sign up your group, or, to volunteer by going to our website, flyingpigparade.org.  

ART SHOW SUNDAY

Our annual "World's Littlest Art Show" will take place at the UCG church, 1624 NW 5 Ave, on Sunday, Oct; 26th, from 11a.m. to 1.  Along with 18 other artists, I'll be selling birds and fish (but not the kind you eat).  They're all made from the palm tree seed pods

 

that I find in your trash piles. It's a fun little show plus Francesca will be selling her fresh and delicious banana bread!

 

-THE RECENT PAST-

 

GT SHOW'S 'EM HOW 

Last weekend I led a mask-making workshop  at the 

Two of my satisfied customers

Gainesville Fine Arts Association's gallery on South Main. Visit them, its a very special place, a home for our art community for over a century!

 

TRAVELING FAR 

Francesca and I crossed the pond to visit Croatia last month. 

 

 

At one point we were surrounded by waterfalls and later, in the Dubrovnik Cathedral, we encountered an ornate silver box containing Jesus' swaddling clothes.  

 

 

 

 

 

There are many more stories and I'll share them when I can. 

Croatia seems fine but our own country is falling apart so let's move on and praise something positive, our

 

NO KINGS II RALLY !

We had another incredible gathering of 1000+ Gainesvillians opposed to DJT's

 

 

destruction of our democracy.  The energy was high and the signs so clever!  

My friends and I marched around with drums and puppets, doing our best to raise hell and the spirits of everyone there.  I'm so looking forward to NO KINGS III !   

 

No Kings II attracted both young and old.

 

 That's it from NW 12th Road,

GT 

                    __________________

       

HE SPENT HIS "BURN" IN JAIL

               CHOOSING INCARCERATION

     People came to Burning Man last month to be amazed.  They saw incredible art, 

 

Talking Toilets

 

 

 

 

 

leggy models posing with soaring sculptures, 

 

 

 

 

 

and one young man stuck in a prison cell.  

 

      That was Eli Rogers, 27, spending a week inside his "Prison Sit Project".  I was anxious to meet him as I had done something similar ("The Cage Project") in Gainesville three weeks earlier. 

     Words weren't necessary to convey his message.  He was locked in his 6 x 10 cell for a week with a 

folding cot, food, water, a makeshift toilet and a few milk jugs to pee in. I asked how I could help and later brought him a few things.

      Eli told me he would be living in his cell for the duration of the week-long, 24/7 event.  Sleep wasn't easy as burners roam the Playa at all hours. 

    "How many take you seriously?", I asked .  Eli said about 70%.  The others made jokes and 

threatened to set him free.

   The artist from Durango, Colorado raised over $1000 on GoFundMe to finance his imprisonment. He explained on his GFM page,

 

The Prison Sit is a interactive performance art installation that will take place at Burning Man. I will build a generic prison cell on the Playa. I will be led in and locked up by a guard on the first day and stay there until after the man burns on Saturday. 

The culture of Burning Man is one with an emphasis on freedom. This project is a way of honoring those who don't have it, who are living behind bars, while challenging the the culture of excessive consumption all around us. It will give the people an opportunity to reflect. 

       The contrast between his prison project and the "happy" art surrounding him was a shock for most of his visitors.  

      

   Burning Man should have more artists like Eli connecting the 75,000 partying there to the world's problems. Out of the 200+ art projects displayed at Burning Man '25 there were only three that I saw addressing world issues.

     "Fu-k You Elon" was displayed on the far reaches of the desert expanse.  

      

 

     The Man complex at the center of everything included a banned book library.  It was burned -with The Man and everything surrounding him- on Saturday 

night. 

Little banned book library before the burn

 Visitors were encourage to take its books home before the big burn.

 

 

    

 

    

 

 

 

     The most massive art work was "Black Cloud" by Kiev's Ukranian Art Group. 

 

      

  Inflated and tethered the morning before the festival began, their press release said it was intended to "give dangers a tangible form" and that "recognizing threats is crucial to addressing them".

     It seems their country's suffering has no end. Hours after Black Cloud was set up a powerful dust storm packing 55 m.p.h. winds tore the cloud's  fabric to shreds. 

     It feels like our country (and much of the world) is being torn apart now.  I appreciate Eli, the Ukrainians and the other artists who won't let us forget.

 

 Eli before his was given his prison clothes and haircut

 

 

 

                                 __________