The Grove Guy

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

GT's NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER- March '25

UP THE CREEK

I gave my newsletter the "creek" name as I live near a narrow, gurgling, stream. Now it takes on a more dire meaning, "deep trouble", 'cause we're in it. Before the President declares war on Canada, California, the Ukraine -and- my blog I thought I'd squeeze off a few more words.

Glenn's Newsletter March, 2025

UNIVERSITIES UNDER ATTACK

What's to become of our college town as our President assaults higher education? The University of Florida, Gainesville's biggest employer, like every college, is under attack.

The UF is having funding reduced and diversity programs eliminated. Free thought is being diminished and research projects eliminated.

Why is this happening? Before Trump and DeSantis higher education was cool. It was considered a benefit to society.

The current trend reminds of my friend, Bo Prum, who recently owned a restaurant downtown. As a boy in the late 70's, he and his family escaped "the killing fields" of Cambodia. That's when the country's Khmer Rouge regime decided to exterminate over one million of the country's "professionals and intellectuals". The only reason his family was spared was because -at the time- none of them could read or write.

There's something similar going on when politicians are telling the universities to dumb down, to "get in line or lose your funding". Governor Ron has ordered the UF to teach more "classical courses" (what ever that means) and hire more conservative faculty members.

What's goin' on? Is it now hip to be ignorant and dumb? Will questioning authority become a criminal offense?

Let's move on to some happy news...

ACT'S ANNUAL

Last Saturday five hundred

of us enjoyed a glorious sunset dinner hosted by the Alachua Conservation Trust. It's the popular non-profit that preserves and manages over 66,000

acres of wild land in North Florida.

We gather at Prairie Creek Lodge every March to raise money and honor people for their efforts to promote land conservation. This year's honorees are Freddie Johnson and the Greene family of Lake City.

It's always a special evening that supports an outstanding local organization. Maybe you can join us at Prairie Creek a year from now.

STREET ART

You've probably noticed all of the spray painting on our Florida Park streets. Those are AT&T's instructions to the guys digging holes in our front yards.

More high-tech cables, they say. We say, "You guys did this last year and the year before. Can you now just leave our yards alone?".

WARD DOES HONG KONG

Our neighbor, artist Ward Shelley, is overseeing his latest project on the other side of the planet.

The Hong Kong performance piece is a 22-foot hamster wheel that, at times, carries an assortment of performance artists around a track. Next to it are their colorful residences.

As much as you may love waterfront living, you can not live there. All of the beds have been spoken for.

EYE-POPPING COLORS

Yes, it's Azalea Time again. Our neighbors, Susan and Jeff, have a garden that greet us with beautiful blossoms every spring.

Pinkster Azalea

KANAPAHA GARDEN'S SPRING PLANT SALE

Gainesville's big plant party is at Kanapaha Gardens' Spring Festival, this Saturday and Sunday. You can buy azaleas there or most anything else that grows. After your visit, why not stop by Gainesville's new Tesla dealership? We'll be raising hell instead of flowers at,

OUR TESLA PROTESTS

Join us to let President Musk know how much you resent him taking over our country. It's at 2501 N. Main St.

We're gathering every Saturday from 10
to noon to protest the heartless hooligans that are dismantling our democracy.

It gets worse every day. Just last week Elon wrote on X, "Hitler and Stalin never killed anyone". Last month #47 called Zelensky a dictator who started his war. Don't be surprised if our air force bombs Kiev next week.

PROFITS OVER PEOPLE

At Saturday's rally we got to have civil conversations with several young Republicans.

A fellow from Ocala told me Elon, being such a great businessman, can surely run a country. Someone asked if he approved of Musk cutting off aid to the sick and hungry people we help throughout the world. He replied, "They're not our problem" which, I guess... is something a businessmen might say.

I asked the another Musk fan if he approved

of the un-elected Muskrat making major decisions for our country. He quickly responded with, "What about Jill Biden? She wasn't elected when she ran her husband's cabinet meetings".

It's hard to argue with Fox News fans.

Two more rallies are coming up soon, the Hope Fest at Heartwood (Sunday, March 30th) and a the "RRR" gathering at Depot Park on April 5th.

TOWN HALL WITH KAT

"Kat", our congressional representative

Unfortunately Kat Cammack continues to be our congressional representative. Every time I call her office to discuss national affairs she is unavailable to speak with me. When I ask her aides, "Will she ever come to Gainesville to talk with her constituents?", I am told her plans are uncertain.

That's why we're putting together our own town hall meeting a month from now. She'll be invited but she probably won't attend. That's why we're calling it "Catching up With Kat, A Conversation With a Chair".

We have many questions for Ms. Cammack like "Why is she helping #47 destroy our country?". We deserve opportunities to speak with her. We will save an on-stage seat for our representative.

If she is unable to attend will pose questions to her chair.

When the time and place is certain I'll let you know.

IS BIG BROTHER HIDING IN YOUR POCKET?

I met a computer engineer at a party recently. He works for an international company that provides computer hardware services for large companies. 90% of his work involves taking advantage of and promoting the use of AI. The man supervises 100 people world-wide.

We've all heard rumors that our smart phones and pc's are listening to us, collecting data in the Information Age. He says it's true.

He went on to tell

my wife and I that everything we say near a smart phone and a computer is recorded, sorted, sold, and used to influence us. This all seemed a little weird and fantastic but our new friend seemed to know more than most of us.

He cited an example, "Three days ago I was talking with one of my employees in India asking, among other things, if vegetarianism is on the decline in his country. A long discussion followed. The next day our new friend had a pop-up article on that very subject. He's convinced someone (or a "robot") was listening in.

Similarly, my sister-in-law was complaining last year -on the phone to my wife- about a leak in her kitchen sink faucet. She did not seek help online but nevertheless, she got a pc pop-up offering a product that "drains kitchen faucet leaks fast".

I feel a bit crazy typing this but what if it is true? That the powers that be are listening to and recording all of our conversations conducted near electronic devices?

Obviously virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa listen in 24/7. If they are listening today what keeps Elon's and Bezo's bad boys from hearing your conversations tomorrow? Maybe its time to take break. Leave you phone at home and walk over to,

RING PARK

After being closed for months of renovations our neighborhood gem is open again. Enjoy rebuilt bridges and boardwalks. Be surrounded by lush vegetation with no houses in sight. Pause to view the sparkling creek ever-flowing down the middle of it all, a wonder to behold.

The experience will make you forget about a world filled mad men, climate change, and spies in your pocket.

_________

Messing around on a Lake Alice bike ride this week, I spelled out my son's name in a UF parking lot to see what it'd look like on my bike ride app map.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

UP THE CREEK- FEBRUARY EDITION

Democracy dies in darkness and honest news continues to fade. One exception is the UF's Alligator newspaper. There is still no shortage of student reporters in Gainesville doing great work.

In a recent issue we learned a state audit found that former UF President, Ben Sasse, went "cra-cra" with his UF checkbook.

Among many things, there was the $900-a-plate sushi dinner for forty friends, $300,000 spent on private jets and he is currently getting paid about $5000 an hour to teach a course on campus. The audit goes on to say "the public purpose of his getting a $1 million teaching salary is not readily apparent".

What is apparent is that power-hungry politicians are pulling the strings that control our local university. They are a dire threat to its standing and integrity.

Five years from now the UF might be a larger version of our recently dumbed-down state school, Sarasota's New College.

THE SUN SHINES ON THE PIG

Last January our pigish parade made the front page of the Gainesville Sun.

We're already meeting to plan the next one. This time we'll do it well after Christmas, on 1-3-26.

Get in touch if you want to help.

BLACKOUT FRIDAY

Our country is in trouble. We're having an Economic Blackout on Friday, Feb. 28th, to express our disgust with big businesses falling in line with #47's make the rich richer policies. For 24 hours don't buy anything unless it is from a small, local business. Ward's YES, Publix No.

WORLD PREMIERE

Earlier this month 140 of us enjoyed a festive evening watching the film we made of last December's Flying Pig Parade. We thank our friends at the First Magnitude Brewery for making it all possible.

FINALLY CUBA

We flew south to Cuba last month, an eye-opening experience.

While the Cubans have limited income they do a lot with a little. Their citizens have free medical and dental services, free education, and low-cost housing. I was told no one is hungry or homeless.

Still, if you criticize the government you might get thrown in the slammer.
Cuba is spectacular, filled with friendly people who are healthier than Americans.

Our friend, Taylor Stein, returned from his Cuban adventure this week. He told us, "I found it remarkable that so much of the island is pristine and undeveloped. It's rare to visit any country now where there are no KFC's, McDonalds, or advertising, anywhere."

NERDS GONE WILD

I attended Hogtown's Medieval Faire last month in Depot Park. It was a great success attracting large numbers of NeverLand fans.

I tried to recruit the Ocala guy, who made this fantastic dragon for the Flying Pig Parade. Said he, "The thing weighs 95 pounds. I can't walk very far".

Chasing the runaway ballot box

To fly with the pig you've got to be able to move!

Where else can guys put on armor and wait their turn to fight.

It's the perfect place to wear that tight leather outfit you haven't broken out since Halloween.

A friend calls The Faire "a nerd fest" and that's a good thing, a coming together of dungeons, dragons, and pointy-eared fairies. We need things like this to distract us momentarily from our crumbling democracy.

RAISING HELL

On Presidents Day 400 of us gathered on four corners downtown. For two hours we showed our disgust for the billionaires taking apart our democracy.

Come join us when we raise hell again on March 4th. That's from 4-6 p.m. at Main Street and University Avenue

MANGOES GROW IN GAINESVILLE

As a lover of mangoes its nice to know a few manage to grow here.

They hate the cold so a fruit fan on NW 14 Av. built a heated tent to protect his front yard tree. I stopped to admire it today now filled with the glorious yellow blossoms of spring. Five months from now he's going to have a feast!

ACT BENEFIT MARCH 15th

The annual benefit for the Alachua Conservation Trust is coming up on Saturday, March 15th. Held at the picturesque Prairie Creek Lodge, it's not to be missed. The $100 tickets

include cocktails, dinner on the lawn, live music,and a silent art auction. I donated one of my fish.

DO THEY COME TOPPED WITH ZIGGY STARDUST?

A new pizza joint, "Bowie Pizza", is opening next month on the corner of NW 13 St. and 16th Ave. Named after David, the dead rock star, the forty-seat eatery could be Florida Park's new neighborhood hang-out.

A WORLD AWAY

Last week we ventured to Georgia's Cumberland Island for the first time.

It's just ninety miles away. It's wild horses, broad beaches, and tangled trees can make you forget -if only for a few hours- the incredible problems we face today.

Wishing you peace,

___________

Friday, February 7, 2025

HERB HILLER, SWITCHING GEARS TO A HIGHER CALLING

Herb Hiller’s 10-speed got wings this week. It carried the Coconut Grove trailblazer up a steep, heavenly hill. He died in North Georgia at 93 this week.

Although he spent just 20 years living in the Grove, he had a huge impact on the seaside village and South Florida. After he moved to North Florida in the 80’s he’d return for visits often.

The New York native found his niche helping to create South Florida’s modern cruise industry. With savvy PR skills he preached, “Get on a ship and visit the sun-filled Caribbean!”, to a world filled with island dreams.

A friend told me as communications director for a major cruise line he was constantly on the phone and writing letters to make things happen. To create a closer bond to the neighboring Bahama Islands he led the effort to produce the Grove's popular Goombay Festival in the 70’s which still exists today. Soon after, he got Coconut Grove’s first farmers market off the ground.

He and his wife, Mary Lee, raised their two daughters in their spacious compound on South Main Highway. In the 70’s I’d see this tall, thin, man whizzing by on his 10-speed. When he finally stopped to talk he told me his life had vastly improved since he traded his car for a bike.

He was changing in other ways too.

Rather than stuffing people into cruise ships Heb started promoting something new, bicycle tourism. He wanted everyone to peddle their way to new adventures. He’d return to South Florida for bicycle events and Eco-tourism conferences.

Herb biked all over Florida discovering the Sunshine State’s hidden wonders. As a talented writer he would share them in his travel guides and numerous magazine articles.

For several years the brilliant Harvard grad led bicycle tours. He told me once, "Yes, you can look out on Lake Okeechobee but why not really get to know it and its people? He invited me on one of his two-day, 135-mile bike tours that straddled the top of the dirt levee that surrounds the watery expanse. I politely declined as I think it would have killed me.

Visiting Herb on his island, 2010

Fifteen years ago my wife and I caught up with Herb at his 1850's home. Being Herb, it was on an island in the middle of North Florida’s Lake George. You could only get there by boat.

While he made sour-dough bread from scratch, he told us about his tireless work to create a 3,000-mile bike path stretching from Florida to Maine. Most 79-year olds don’t take on things like that.

A few years later, when we all became well aware of global warming, Mr. Hiller transformed into a formidable octogenarian climate warrior. He began working feverishly on ways to stop tourism from adding to the problem.

He began writing his “Climate Traveler” blog. It became part of a continuing effort to get us thinking about how his baby -tourism- could stop contributing to the slow destruction of our planet. Each entry (the last just five weeks ago) was extremely well-written and included extensive footnotes.

Last year he summed up his post-cruise-line life writing that after he quit the cruise lines he became "the maverick director" of the Caribbean Travel Association. His new career focused on promoting interactions between travelers and the people in the places that they visited.

He wrote about the importance of getting people off big ships and into nature, the growth of Eco-tourism, and the subsequent realization of how travel has a profound effect on climate change. "Trying to get people out of their houses and cars is not easy work,” he told me back in 2010. “Sometimes it feels like pushing boulders uphill”.

My maverick friend was still writing eloquently about saving the world a month ago when his health took a turn for the worse.

We should all be grateful for the likes of Herb Hiller. They are the ones that keep pushing the boulders, who open our eyes to new possibilities like home-made bread, stepping outside, and saving our marvelous planet.

Addendum: Anyone can still share a bike ride with Herb. By going on his "The Climate Traveler" blog this morning, I was able to briefly escape to Trinidad. Here's his first sentence of a four-part series describing his 10-day bike ride across the island,

Memories of cycling in Trinidad hang full like a cluster of ripe papaya, like the fast flutter of feeding hummingbirds, the lure of pungent roti, of aromatic sweet cocoa, of bananas eaten four at a time, of a chin slobbered with coconut water, of the rippling sounds of steel drum, the jook of calypso, and everything from flocks of scarlet ibis to the regalia of Carnival in the vivid colors of the soda pop that Trinis swig.

________________________________________________

Saturday, February 1, 2025

CUBA

I'd like to share a few more photos from last month's trip to Cuba. Below, "on our way", 29,000 feet over Key West.

When we arrived in Old Havana, we were greeted by a group that could have marched right out of the Flying Pig Parade.

We soon learned these artists perform here almost hourly.

The view of "Plaza Vieja" from our apartment balcony. There was plenty of room for all seven of us.

"Woman With Fork", plaza statue

Looking up from our interior courtyard,

Old Havana -just 10 % of the city- is where most tourists congregate to visit museums, cafes, the Buena Vista Social Club, and 400 years of architecture.

It wasn't unusual to see buildings with no roofs and crumbling walls.

I guess people were much taller 300 years ago because all of the buildings in Habana Vieja had twelve-foot doors.

This one led to a stairway and the many apartments above. Stepping inside,

1780's mansion now the Ceramic Museum

Others stairways were magnificent.

Ceramic typewriter

Francesca and her brother shopping.

Chair parade

I'm not a city person and so was thrilled when we left for Vinales in western Cuba.

The hills you see popping up are vine-covered limestone "magotes". Rock climbers love these things.

Below, clowning around with our niece and nephew.

We rode horses and unlike the last time, I was not thrown by mine. I thanked "Pancho" profusely.

Tobacco farm's privy door lock

We enjoyed exciting live music almost every night

Where cigars come from

Tractors, like cars, are rare. Much of the plowing is done with oxen.

Days later we headed to Cienfuegos where we enjoyed a bay side sunset.

In the morning we encountered a Sunday concert by the city's community band. I asked why there were few women attending and was told, "They're in church".