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

WINTER SOLDIER

     Yesterday was the 52d anniversary of the Winter Soldier Investigation. That's when 300 Viet Nam veterans gathered in Detroit to tell the world what was really going on in that tragic war.

   Their testimony helped end it.

    Gainesville's Scott Camil was one of them. His personal account stood out because it was so  detailed and graphic. The UF student's experience there helped transform him into the anti-war activist that he is today.

    Scott was our guest at a front yard forum last night. Our main topic was "how can we resolve conflict without violence?".

 

     

 

    My Hialeah High School classmate saw a lot of it in 'Nam as a Marine infantryman. Scott recounted,

"The fire fights weren't the worst, it was slogging through the jungles everyday wondering if a mine was going to blow off your legs ... or those of your buddy next to you".

     Scott came home after 20 months of combat. His 13 medals included two Purple Hearts. The former member of "The Gainesville Eight" is married, has

three kids, and has been President of the local chapter of "Veterans For Peace" since 1987.

    We were proud to have him leading our  platoon last night.

              

                 _______________

     

 

WILD BILL AND HIS SIXTH STREET CIRCUS

       It's Gainesville's best kept secret, the new attraction on NW 6th Street. The "Theatre of Memory Museum" has something for everyone. 

 

       

The home-grown collection includes all sorts of things... music memorabilia, seashells, ancient scrolls and so much more. If one oddity does not intrigue you the next one will. 

     Bill Hutchison and his wife, Jennifer Johnson, bought the historic cottage to share their treasures with the world. It's just a mile from downtown Gainesville. 

    

  

    I spent hours there Saturday trying to take it all in. The director (Bill)  gave me a tour.

      This house of curiosities is a result of a lifetime of collecting. You enter the 1903 cottage in the first of twelve rooms, "The Wheelhouse". Bill has a thing for all relics round

 

 

 

 

and,

 

 for the Beatles. The next room revealed his extensive Fab Four collection.

 

   

    This curiosity cabinet was chock full of items from Liverpool's finest, from a pair of John Lennon's glasses to Russian Beatle Dolls.

 

 

The center room is devoted to Bill's love of music. He and his wife have already hosted small concerts there.

 

FEEL FREE TO BANG A GONG, TRY TUBULAR BELLS OR MAKE THE BOWLS SING

     Bill is a Viet Nam Vet. He shipped out in '68 and served in both the infantry and in the Army's entertainment division.

    Jennifer and Bill's shoe collection is nonpareil.  Where else in Florida can you see so many amazing ways to adorn your feet feet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

These crusty clown shoes sparked my interest. The previous owner probably wore them to keep people laughing for years.

   An east wall was adorned with "scholar stones" collected from the far East. They are the rare ones

resembling natural landscapes. 

 

 

Most come from China, Korea, India, and Japan. I know of at least one dug up in the United States.

 

 

CORAL ROCK FROM COCONUT GROVE

 

 It's in my back yard.

 

 

 

 

 

    In the Writing Room I saw fragile books, ancient scrolls and 4000 year-old stones inscribed with words. They were carved in cuneiform, the first known written language from Mesopotamia.  

The one on the right is a tax bill for grain produced.

I thought it was  weird that someone saved a tax bill for four centuries. Mine are quickly deposited in my "circular file".

 

      These horse hair calligraphy brushes were hanging nearby. While I could not decipher the words on the plaque above they seemed to be say,

 

 "Borrow these and paint a masterpiece on the SW 34 Street's Graffiti Wall."

(I can't decipher what the kids paint there either).

I might do that next week.

      

    Bill let me hold  thousand year-old spear points collected in North Florida. Some were still as sharp as steel.

 

 

    

LONG BRANCH SALON

    Being allowed to touch -or hold- many of the artifacts was one of things that endear me to Jen and Bill's theatre.
   

SHELL ROOM

    
  

TEA ROOM

       It's places like this that make cities special. Who would ever visit Portland without a stop at the original Voodoo Donut Shop? 

       The Theatre a perfect compliment to the Harn and our amazing natural history museum on the UF campus. Yes, there's the cool Tool Museum on East University but the door is usually locked.  Satchel's Pizza? It's a museum too.  I tell visitors it's like having lunch at Pee Wee's Playhouse. 

   We've got the Matheson and Cotton Club museums too. Big museums and small, They tell the world who we are and make us proud to live here.

     There you have it, twelve rooms for discovery on NW Sixth. Make plans to visit soon. The director (and collector), effervescent Bill, will probably be there to greet you. 

 

     Admission is free but donations are graciously accepted. Parking is easy. Head down the driveway and tie up your horse (or car or bike) in the back pasture. Heck I'll probably be there enjoying my 17th visit.

-Glenn

Theatre of Memory Museum

1705 NW 6th St., Gainesville, FL, 32609

Open Wednesday through Sunday. 

 10-30 - 4:30 p.m.

 website: www.theatreofmemory.org