FOR THE LOVE OF COUNTRY

                                     UP THE CREEK  

     GT'S SUMMER NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER, 2026

Ian and I, parading after 9-11

    The heat is on for our country's 250th. When it reaches it's apex on July 4th, I will be quietly engaging in La Selva Beach's sand-castle  competition. These days, that's all the  patriotic spirit that I can muster. 

    It's hard to celebrate a country that's being torn apart. The United States is not so lovable now.

 

     How can you love a country led by a racist, deranged tyrant?  One that starts stupid wars? One with terrorizing ICE agents? A country that takes healthcare away from its citizens and makes it harder for them to vote?

     We all want to love our country again. To do so we will have to get rid of the current president along with the congressmen and government officials who suck up to him.

 

 

      The Big 250 comes up in two weeks.     Once again Gainesville will celebrate with fireworks on the wrong day, July 3d.  I am told this is so we can go to surrounding towns to celebrate on the real day. This makes no sense but neither does our country's current leadership.              

  Hopefully the aging USA will head in a better direction after we vote this fall. Wouldn't it be grand if we could feel proud of our country once more?

 

A MUCH BETTER PRESIDENT

   The country would be much better off if Lars Anderson was our president. That occurred to us when the popular river guide came to the Limestone Stage last month to tell us what it was like growing up in our neighborhood decades ago. 

  

cover photo by John Moran

 Lars spent much of his youth exploring Paynes Prairie. A few years ago he wrote a book about it.  

 

 

 

 While he's happy enough leading us on river trips I also know he'd be a big improvement over the Orange Menace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wouldn't it be great to have someone like Lars sitting in the Oval Office.

IF WALMART HAS A GREETER SO CAN WE 

      Rattlesnake Woods is the secret place in the NW corner of Florida Park. Everyone who goes there is surrounded by nature at the confluence of two creeks. Last week, it even got its own greeter.

 

 

 

   AND YOU THOUGHT THE LINES IN CUBA WERE LONG...

Last year we spent ten marvelous days touring Cuba.  Lines for nine dollar-a-gallon gas were four blocks long. 

Last Wednesday I stopped by Trinity Methodist Church to play softball. They were giving away food to hungry people. The line was six blocks long. 

MIAMI VISIT

 

We dropped down to Miami last weekend to help celebrate our granddaughter's fourth birthday. I knew where I was when -stuck in traffic- we noticed a Rolls Royce SUV in front of me. I later learned that it cost over $500,000. There's too much money down there.

   On a happier note we walked by a coral rock wall I built 50 years ago.

 

 ARCHITECTURAL

FUNERAL 

On a less happy note, across the street the former pride of Coconut Grove, the historic  Grove Playhouse, was draped in black plastic, Cristo-style.

Miami politics continues to be so screwed up the leaders have been unable to figure out what to do with the government-owned site since the theater closed 20 years ago. 

To me it symbolizes one of the many reasons we left seven years ago. 

  

A couple of years from now it'll be another zillion-dollar condo, a good place to park a Rolls or two.

 

NO MOWING NEEDED

A neighbor invited me to tour his yard today. It looks like a wine wonderland as grapevines resembling camouflage netting cover both the front and back yards. 

 

  

paw paw

Fruit trees sagging with ripening pomelos, paw paws, and persimmons and avocados pop up here and there.  

   Bees buzz in their boxes and catfish fill the swimming pool. 

   

 

 

Like everything else, its covered with grape vines!

 

 

 The big feature is a nine-level tree house built around a  35-foot oak tree. The wooden steps were slippery this morning so I only climbed up part way.  

   What fun it is to discover another wild corner of our unique North Florida city.

 

LET'S LIGHT UP THE NIGHT!

     You know Florida Park has a marvelous little Halloween Parade. 

 

   We're going to start another one, a "lantern parade", this fall. We'll fill up the night with volumes of light!

    We had our first workshop two weeks ago to learn how to make them. If you'd like to create your own -and be in our parade- let me know and you can come to the next lantern-making gathering in August.

   Here are photos of some we've already made. 

 

 

IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?

  Six weeks ago I saw some fool had dumped a 150-pound tractor tire into Hogtown Creek. I alerted the neighbors and asked, "How're we gonna get rid of that sucker?".

   The next morning we found it standing in our front yard flower bed. Someone had added "86 47" to one side and the other, "Tired of Trump?".  Tired of it myself, I called the city -and a few neighbors- for suggestions.  

    A half-hour later it was gone.

 

NEW BLOOD FOR THE FLYING PIG

Mariah, Emily, Perrin, Caitlin, and the former Head Hog of the Flying Pig Parade

   A new group of neighbors is producing our next Flying Pig Parade. Co-producing will be Emily Robbins, Mariah Doran, Perrin Sullivan, and Caitlin Butler.

     I'll stick around a bit to help as needed.

We at Parade Central love pigs.  The are very intelligent and have strong personalities.

Congress is trying to pass a farm bill this year that will make it legal to keep pregnant sows in cages so small they can not turn around. They never touch the earth or see the sky. 

This blatant act of animal cruelty will allow the pork industry to make more money by making  cheaper bacon. Call your congressman to complain. 

    The moral costs in incalculable. Pigs are animals not factory machines.

     This could lead to my rant about AI (a CEO was recently quoted as saying, "Of course we're replacing people with robots. They don't take bathroom breaks, complain, or unionize") but I'll save that for another time. We've got the USA's big birthday to consider.

     Each of us can figure out what that means and devise ways to heal our country. Have a meaningful Fourth of July.

        _____________________________ 

     

Glenn's Neighborhood Newsletter

                Glenn's SUMMER'S COMIN' 

       NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER-  MAY, 2026

 

IT'S WILD IN FLORIDA PARK

    My list of neighborhood wildlife gets longer.  Since Francesca and I landed in G'ville in 2019 we've shared it with deer, rabbits, and lately, two foxes.  "Fluffy" has a shiny red coat and "Twiggy" -a thin ten-pounder who carries her babies in her mouth

Twiggy heading north on 20th Drive.

 as she heads up our street (we like to think they aren't dead squirrels).

We ran into neighbors Peggy and David Carr while hiking through Rattlesnake Woods recently. They were excited having just seen their first Florida Park turkeys take flight. Another neighbor spotted an otter enjoying the creek at the 18th Terrace dip. 

The raccoons and prehistoric armadillos poke around in the moonlight making it hard for our chickens to sleep.  Coyotes saunter through our 'hood as well. Aren't we lucky to live where nature abounds.

 

NATURE BOY

    North Florida's premiere naturalist, writer/guide Lars Anderson, grew up in our neighborhood on Rattlesnake Creek. We heard his presentation last Sunday at the Headwaters Nature Center on Florida's water history.  Fascinating it was. It began with his photo of our very own creek taken from Rainbow Bridge.

Afterwards I asked him to be a guest speaker at the Limestone Stage and he said he'd be delighted.  The Stage, which has featured musicians like Bob McPeek,  underwater geologist Michael Perfit, and several dramatic productions, is located in our front yard. I'll let you know when Lars chooses a date.

He'll be lecturing at the Nature Center again on Sunday, June 14th, at 1 p.m.

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC 

     Over a  hundred of us gathered for the University Park Neighborhood Association's neighborhood picnic on Sunday, April 19th.  We were sheltered from the sun in Parker Park and enjoyed good food, President Abe's speech, and former mayor Mark Goldstein's accordion.

 

 

"UPNA" has been representing us for decades. Its most formidable task now is trying to keep fraternity parties from making life miserable for the people living south of 8th Avenue.  Gainesville once had laws protecting its residents from deafening parties. Unfortunately effective ones no longer exist.

The good news is that two months ago a helpful police officer arrested the host of a recent obscenely-loud gathering after he repeatedly refused to lower the volume.  

Two weeks later the high-volume party boys were at it again. 

 

NO MICHAEL FOR ME 

     No, I won't be seeing the new Michael Jackson movie.  Call me old-fashioned but I don't support people who molests children. Years ago when I watched brag on "60 Minutes" that he loved sharing his bed with young kids I thought, "this guy is one sick sicko".  I switched him off for good. Like the Orange Menace, he should have been locked up long ago.

 

WE'RE # 50, FLORIDA SHOULD BE ASHAMED 

Our governor recently bragged that there are plenty of good public school teaching jobs available paying $49,000 per year.  While that's a decent starting salary what he did not mention was that new Florida teachers will never make much more than that. Last week's National Education Association report shows our state place last for the third straight year with Florida's average public school teacher pay at $56,663.

We are LAST, the cheapest state in the country. That's something we should all be ashamed of and another reason to vote for Democrats -who support paying decent teacher salaries- in upcoming elections. 

 

SURPRISE!

I was reading the latest Forum Magazine at my dentist's office last week when I came across an article about my former home, Coconut Grove. I wondered who had written it as it had no byline.

When I started to read it I soon learned it was me! It was a transcription of a 2021 interview.  I had forgotten my jokes so they were fun to read again.

 

 

 

COME SEE MY SHOW

Many folks don't know I am an artist. I've never made much of a living at it as I create things that people are unwilling to exchange money for. They include whimsical creatures, masks, and the occasional cartoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of them can be seen in my current exhibition. It's at Gainesville's obscure art venue, the UCG Gallery.  It is located at the United Church of Gainesville, 1624 NW 5 Ave.  It's open four days a week.  For days and hours call 352-378-3500.

HARD TO MISS 

I'll close with a photo of new art work gracing NW 8th Avenue. The mailbox's creator moved here a month ago.  He showed me his impressive collection of the thrift shop toys which he turns into art. 

 If you ask he'll probably decorate your mailbox as well.

That's about it for the spring collection. Have a safe and adventurous summer.

-Glenn 

               WILDFLOWERS?  WONDERFUL!

      Wildflowers Music Park had its first festival last weekend and it was a big success. For three days thousands of people enjoyed live music, spirited dance, and creative workshops within a 270-acre forest east of Gainesville.

       For weeks hundreds of volunteers had pitched in to mow, weed, and erect circus tents on the festival site. I was one of their sign makers.

 

 Francesca and I also got to draw bad portraits.

      With friends on Saturday, we drew the faces of over 100 fest fans to raise money for local charities. 

 

   They were guaranteed 'bad' or your money back.  There were no refunds.

 

God loves these gatherings. She kept the weather perfect and the rain away until the last band, 

"Dwayne Dopsie and The Zydeco Hellraisers" had finished their last set at the end of the last day. 

"Punch", one of David's creations

    

 

 

As a lover of parades I was pleased to see artist David Ballard leading his friends wearing his puppets as they wandered through the crowd. He promised to bring them to the next Flying Pig procession.

      

David's beautiful big bird with flapping wings!

 

   A number of vendors were selling their wares. One was blacksmith Joe Scheerer of Keystone Heights. I asked him why his thumb was missing and replied, "Like many others, I gave up mine to table saw last year". Using his smithing skills he fashioned an iron one to replace it. 

 

 

 

 

Harvey Meyers and his children, Miami Beach, 1926

    

 

My grandfather lost his to farm equipment in 1921. Miraculously, after years of using power saws, I still have mine.

 

One of many festival fans enjoying a performance

    There was something for every person of every age. The Kid's Area had kites to fly, flower mandalas to make, and large logs to climb.  Heidi Stein taught 'em how to make mud masks on trees.

     In the Healing Arts Area I sat down for a chair massage.  Somehow the teen next to me managed to get his massage and text at the same time.  

 

 I guess we all have our priorities.   I just wanted to see this event succeed and indeed, it did.  Let's hope we have many more events in our county's glorious, new, nature park.

 

Two of the fantastic sculptures created by Melrose artist Patrick McGee

 

Dance floor built by Mark and friends

 

 

 

 

The singer and

 

his audience

Iver's light shows were incredible

 

     The Wildflowers Festival site is a nature park year-round.  It's just a couple of miles south of downtown Melrose.  The park is dedicated to music, dance, art, education, and nature-based recreation. The non-profit who runs is aims to bring all types of people together for shared artistic, cultural and outdoor experiences.

    If you have not been there go check it out. For more information here's their website,  www.wildflowersmusicpark.org .

                             ____________

 

 

                               NO KINGS III

    Its nice to have a festival now and then. They allow us a few hours to forget that evil billionaires are hell bent on destroying our country. Please join us to rally against them at our country's third No Kings protest. 

  The local one will take place again at Cora Roberson Park, 600 SW 6 St.,  on Saturday, March 28th, from noon to four.  Come.  Help save a country.

   (If you can help us carry our King Trump puppet at the rally please get in touch) 

 

                       DAVID WINS OSCAR!

       Former Gainesville musician turned filmmaker, David Borenstein, won an Oscar Sunday night for  "Best Documentary".  His film, "Mr. Nobody Against Putin", is about a Russian elementary school teacher who refused to comply with state propaganda and the quiet courage it takes to resist authoritarian pressure.

 In his acceptance speech Borenstein reminded us that freedom can be lost through "countless small acts of complicity".  He added that even a "nobody", like the teacher in his film, can be more powerful than they think.

      Borenstein grew up in South Florida.  The 2009 UF grad was valedictorian of his class. 

 

                           WEIRD NAMES 

Who ever thought  banks would run out of names?  Apparently they did. One opened up on NW 23d called "Fifth Third".  Who dreamed that up?  Did they come in third five times in a "Best Bank" contest?  I would never give put my greenbacks in an institution named Banksy, Usury R Us, or Fifth Third.

    Just next to them is new credit union.  Its name is the "Self Help Credit Union".  Does this mean we can go in and help ourselves to their money?   

 

                   BACK TO THE WOODS

      Since I last wrote my neighborhood newsletter Rainbow Bridge has gotten re-painted.  We thank the many people and families who pitched in.

 

 

      Last month neighbors gathered to rid the woods around the bridge of invasive coral ardisia plants.  They may be pretty but they do are not good for the critters and other plants that live there.

   

 

That's it for now.  We hope to see you on 3-28 when we say No to kings and Yes to democracy.

   

 -Glenn