The 'Hood Today

My First Tea Party

I needed to meet a couple I had never seen/met before.  I was to meet them last Saturday (the 17th).  We talked several times via phone and finally decided that the best place to meet was at a park (Francis Field)  in St. Augustine where a tea party was to be held.  Most Tea Parties were held on tax day--April 15, having begun last year in 2009 on that date.   But St. Augustine opted for the weekend.  Eleven in the morning till five in the early evening.  Really interesting.  Lots of speakers (including Joe, the Plumber), Dr. Susan Love, a retired military doctor (veteran), some pretty good music, food vendors and flag/tee shirt vendors.  A great day in the park.

I really liked both Joe the Plumber and Dr. Love.  Other speakers were good as well.  I liked Joe, the Plumber because he was not afraid to involve the name of GOD in his speech.  I liked Dr. Love as she has had so much military/governmental experience and really talked from the heart.

The weather cooperated.  It was beautiful.  Warm and sunny with just the right breeze.

I think that the Progressives, Liberals, leftists, or whatever label they are currently wearing thought that first Tea Party day was just a hand full of "whackos" excercising their First Amendment Right of free speech.  I don't think any of us realized what a grass roots movement it would become in one short year.  That first one on April 15, 2009 was barely made noteworthy by most of the media.  Now, they can hardly help but to take at least a passing notice as the crowds get increasingly larger.

I believe we should be paying close attention to much of what many tea partiers are preaching.  If we are not careful, this country could be in even more serious trouble than we currently are.  When all those foregin countries hold so much of our debt, we could be in trouble.  With the government interferring with so many businesses, we could be in trouble.  With so much spending for this, that and another, we are going to be in trouble (as our descendents).  And the list goes on (I guess somewhat like "the beat goes on.")

I have to admit I had several surprises.  One concerned the census.  It seems that many people do not want to answer the questions.  One person mentioned that he had put (as the only information) how many people were in his household.  The census is one of the few things that we do that truly is in the Constitution.  (Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3).  It is for representation in the House.  That is supposed to be  its sole purpose...not funding for this, that or another.  I talked to several people who were really against providing any more information. Please try to be patient with the Census Workers.  They are doing what they are paid to do--ask the sometimes STUPID, sometimes Un Constituional questions.  In a couple of weeks I will working for the Census Bureau and will be one of them. Part of the oath is to uphold the Constitution.  I can easily argue that I know what the Constitution says about the Census (every ten years since 1790...this is our 23rd). I certainly appreciate the concerns of so many regarding the data that is asked.  Those of us who are sympathic towards the goals of the Tea Parties totally understand the reluctance of y'all.  But please just tell us that you do not wish to answer the questions. Try no to be rude to us.  We did not make up those questions.  And many of us see the stupidity in some of them. We really would prefer not to have doors slammed in our respective faces.  Thanks!

Although a couple of speakers did specifically talk about the current administration, many spoke of the problems regarding specific subjects...not necessarily tied entirely to the current administration (although, I would say generally made worse by it). 

Some of the signs were clever and cool.  "I want to keep my property, job, and money...You can keep the change!"  "Obama, get a back bone! Stop bowing!"

I did learn a lot.

One song called the Great Reneger was a hit of the afternoon.  Michael Fischer wrote and recorded it.  He has given me permission to include it here.  One does not need to think too hard to figure out about whom it was written (although the name was avoided).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdKmc9aBELM

The Great Reneger

(Michael Fischer ©2009)
used with permission

http://www.thefischers.net/

Hey have you heard? He’s gone back on his word.
On the internet theres a big long list
Of promises broken so eloquently spoken,
And you wonder why so many millions are pxxxxd?! Cause he’s the

(Chorus)
Great Reneger--a politician at heart,
A politician practicing his art,
He’s the Great Reneger, neither black or white
He’s many shades of grey far left from what’s right.

He’ll tell you anything to get you on his side--
Like “Change You Can Believe In--Trust me, would I lie?”
We’ll have transparency, CSPAN, Post all bills on the net
There’ll be no lobbyists, no pork, Have we seen it? Not Yet! (chorus)

Bridge 1
They’ve had votes in the night behind closed doors--
Senators bribed no better than whores.
Pushing their program refusing to hear
When the voice of the people is perfectly clear (chorus)

His skin so thin and when scratched you can see
The horrible sight that lies just beneath
An unseasoned novice lifted up in pride
But there’s a fall coming soon, and there’ll be no place to hide! (Chorus)

Bridge 2
Teleprompter in place, he can really talk that talk;
Blowin smoke is cheap, but he don’t walk the walk.
And what a politician hates is when you turn on the light;
He'll run like a roach for the darkness of night!

The mission statement of the St. Johns County division of the Tea Party is. – “The Mission of the St. Johns County Division of Tea Party Patriots is to return the State and Federal Government to the people. The Organization is non partisan. We no longer can accept the ruling of a Political Class who define themselves as Democrat or Republican but govern as a separate and distinct class of citizens who use tax money to further their party or personal agendas despite the needs of the citizens they are supposed to represent. We are for Congressional Term Limits, Balanced Budgets, Significant Tax Reform, Immigration Enforcement, Energy Independence and Federal Governance as laid out by the Constitution of the United States, specifically Individual States Rights.”

http://staugustine.com/interact/blog-post/steve-carswell/2010-04-16/tea-party-returning-st-augustine

http://www.justpatriots.com/

Coming Soon

St. Augustine
My First Tea Party
Florida Grand Chapter OES

RAINBOW SPRINGS STATE PARK and Lunch w/Jim and Cathy

Jim and Cathy are leaving for New England Tuesday. They will not be back till September. We decided to get together one last time. We agreed to meet at the Back Porch restaurant in Dunnellon. It is a neat restaurant in a very old building…food is good, prices are very reasonable, service is good, and the members of the wait staff have a collective great sense of humor. Jim is a tease. He comes from a family with six sisters and no brothers. So, he had to develop a shield early. He is a tease.

He has a good heart, however. And, she is a real sweetheart. Steve asked him to take some of his hand crafted birdhouses back with him. They sell regularly at the Peddler’s Junction in New Hartford, CT. They are big and bulky…taking up lots of room. They have twelve in their van. Thanks, Cathy and Jim.

Our waitress could give it back to him as quickly as he dished it out, however. He held a quarter up to her. “Do you have change? I wanted to leave you a tip!” At which point she fished into her apron to get him the change. (This was one of several pranks he tried to play on her). Of course, his real tip was well over the 15% one might consider. This last year our schedules have been difficult with which to keep up, but we did see them a few times. Good Trip to you! We will miss ya’ll.

 

FLORIDA STATE PARKS…the real Florida

“The mission of the Florida Park Service is to provide resource based recreation while preserving, restoring and interpreting our natural and cultural resources.”

RAINBOW SPRINGS STATE PARK

19158 SW81st Place Road

Dunnellon, FL 34432

(352) 465-8555

After our lunch, Steve and I decided that we had not been at Rainbow Springs in some time. I would like to say that it is one of my favorites, but I am apt to say that after stopping at many of them. I have said before that Florida has great state parks. Rainbow Springs is north of Dunnellon and can be reached from US 41. Admission is $2.00 for adults

1470 acres including the Rainbow River headwaters.

Much of northern Florida is on the Floridan aquifer. Most of our water comes from underground springs. There are many places where these springs pop up to give us headwaters for many rivers. Florida rivers are either spring fed (clear to the bottom) or swamp fed (brown from tannic acid). Many-a-town in Florida have names with “Springs” in them…High Springs, Zolfo Springs, Fanning Springs etc. These headwaters are beautiful with springs bubbling from the bottom, estuaries for small fish, snails, larger fish. Depending on where one is standing, how bright the sun is, how deep the water is in any given spot and a number of other details, the water emotes wonderful colors—blacks, grays and blues—azure, turquoise, deep royal—various shades of green--forest, Kelly, lime. No wonder they call this place “Rainbow Springs!”

The park offers swimming, picnicking, several pavilions for rent, walking trails—most although steep—are paved and handicap accessible, a three mile walking trail through the woods, waterfalls, amazing vistas, traces of history of the park, gift shop, butterfly garden (mostly seasonal), a great group of knowledgeable volunteers and park staff, a huge range of botanical specimens and some wildlife.

From the latter part of February to the end of March there is a plethora of assorted colored azaleas. Until you have seen Florida azalea bushes (and I mean bushes…not small plants) in full bloom, you have not seen azaleas. Ours at home are now peaking. The ones at the Springs are well into their summer leafy foliage with few blossoms left. There are a few bushes that are still blooming, but generally we have missed our opportunity for 2010.

Some wildlife can be seen depending on the day, time of day and time of year. We had a special treat today when a very big hawk landed on the ground not far from us. It was beautiful. It sat there for a couple of minutes and then flew up into the higher branches of the trees… still low enough for some spectators to kneel and take pictures (wonder how they came out).

The park also offers snorkel tours, canoe tours, canoe rentals, tube rides (since these are not at the headsprings the fee includes a tram ride), birding walking tours.

There is a full-facility campground.

Archaeological evidence indicates that people have been using this spring for nearly 10,000 years. Rainbow Springs is Florida's fourth largest spring. (These two sentences are a direct quote from their website).

The area went through many changes over the centuries. Native Americans used the clear spring water river for transportation and fishing. Pre-historic animals roamed its banks (mastodon and mammoth fossils have been found).

Some time later in history phosphate was mined causing the local town (now Dunnellon) to become Boontown.

Tourists were attracted by its clear water as early as the 1920’s when a glass bottom boat cruised down the scenic river. These glass bottom boats were unique in that they had a sub flooring in which one could walk down stairs and be surrounded by water, river flora and fauna (no longer there). It had man made waterfalls (still there). These were made from piles of phosphate tailings.

In the 1930s it became a privately-owned theme park. This carried through the mid 1970s when tourists changed their tastes to the new more exciting Disney style parks and the Interstate system by-passed the town. The park closed. As a privately owned attraction--wild animals on exhibit (many of the cages or portions thereof are still there), a rodeo, (no longer any trace except a sign indicated the place it was), leaf-shaped gondolas following a monorail (no sign at all of this attraction).

Finally, in October 1990, opening to the public in 1995, it became a part of the Florida Park Service. It was well on its way to development when “Friends” helped to save it in its natural state. Public areas were falling apart and overrun with growth. Volunteers saved and cleaned it up. Today volunteers and park staff are constantly working to upgrade and maintain the beautiful vistas, flora and fauna.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.cfm

Pow Wow at Chambers Farm

We had seen some ads for a Pow Wow.  It has been years since we have been to one.  Nothing much going on, so we took a rider to Ft. McCoy.  As we got closer, we realized the signs stated Pulbic Free.  One does not get this opportunity too often.

The Native Americans honored veterans--their own and all others.  The dance circle started with Native American dancers--veterans first.  Then, all other veterans were invited to join in the circle.  Steve, a VietNam era vet would not join in not matter how much I tried to convince him.  The dancing was very impressive. 

Sights of the farm and Pow Wow:

More of the 'Hood (Florida Cracker Cattle)

 Also known as Florida Long-horns, Florida Piney Woods, Florida Scrub.

This breed of cattle were descended from cattle brought here in the 1500's by the Spanish.  They were bred to withstand extreme weather and a resistence to insects (particularly mosquitoes).  They have been listed as the number five most endangered domestic species. 

Originally free range, the nutrition level for them was low.  Also, the piney woods and scrub vegetation habitats seem to have an effect on the size and shape of the long-horns in the Florida breed.  The horns of theTexas longhorns tend to grow straight outward.  Whereby Florida's Cracker Cattle have horns that tend to grow upward, often rising up quickly. 

Florida Cracker cattle size varies from 500 pounds to 1000 pounds.  The smaller animals are sometimes referred as "guinea" cattle.

Unlike most dairy cattle, where the coloring is often distinctive to the breed (i.e.--Jerseys are brown; Holsteins are black and white, etc.), Cracker Cattle have all kinds of color variations--all brown, spotted like Pinto/painted horses, black, tan, sprinkling of white, roaning.  Historically the color was more likely to be solid--reddish roan, black or brown.  These variations are believed to have possibly come about through some breeding with the family milk cows.  Many variations of coloration are acceptable.

For more information on Cracker Cattle
http://crackercattle.org/

Old Florida Style: A Story of Cracker Cattle
by Steve Kidd, Alex Menendez

Amaranth Installation, ARPC and Methodist Cantata

Last month I was so busy gallivanting that I little time to write and post in my blog. I hope to make up for it this month.

Saturday, March 27, I drove down to Englewood yet one more time. Lynne and I have been together for one reason or another for seven out of ten days. Probably will not see her and John again for several months. Lynne and I joined the Order of Amaranth several years ago. Lynne, due to her work schedule and some other miscellaneous events happening in her life, had never able to accept the offering of an office before. I probably will not be an officer due to the lack of proximity to that Court. Anyway, Lynne was offered the office of Trustee #3 (she gets to work her way up to Trustee #1 in two years).

I have been active in the sister organization, OES, for forty years and have held various offices—both installed and as a pro temp. Lynne has never done this before, so it was with great excitement that I traveled to her “first” installation. It was very pretty. I had never seen an Amaranth installation. Lots of pomp and circumstance, but very nice. I sat with her husband John, who was introduced as Master of his Lodge. I knew most of the people as I had once been a member of OES in Englewood. It seems that many of the same people are members of both organizations. It felt as though I was at home.

I spent Saturday night at their house. Sunday morning, I had planned to go to the church I attended when I lived down that way. A big surprise came when Lynne said she wanted to go with me. John works on Sundays sometimes. He had already left when we arose. The Pastor has five biological children (four boys and one girl) and some adopted/foster care as well. I don’t know his adopted children well. The oldest biological is in his early twenties and the youngest is now driving (can’t be…I am not that old!). The oldest and Dave and I have a special bond. I met him when he was five. Watching him grow up was as though I had a youngster myself. He was home-schooled, but he and several others had a graduation to which we went.

In many of the churches “up north” (New England) the choir sits in the choir “loft” for the entire service. In Florida, it seems, in many of the churches the choir is “excused” after the anthem and goes to sit with their family. My buddy from all those years gone by often sits with me when--on the rare occasion--I can attend. I did not think of it this time as Lynne was with me. But, as soon as the choir disbursed, my friend sat with us. Always good to see him.

There definitely is a difference in PCA and PC (USA)—both part of the larger Presbyterian denomination…PCA is much more conservative.

Palm Sunday brought all the youngsters coming down the aisle waving their palms. Pretty sight! Kids are so cool when they participate in something like this.

After the service, I hot-rodded my way back up I-75…three or so hours in traffic. Made it home in time to leave again.

The local Methodist church is a joyful musical place. They offer free cantatas for Christmas and Easter in their historic church building. I love the shape of the church and its sanctuary. The choir is in the front of the church (another thing I find different from most New England churches where the choir is usually to the side, in the back or actually in a “choir loft.”)

There have been a couple of times where this cantata became a community event. The local Roman Catholic Church has lots more room. They have banded with the various other churches in town (mostly the Methodist) and have had the Easter cantata in their facilities. Wherever it is held, it is always beautifully done. Steve has gone to most of them with me. Music ir food will almost always draw him.

By the time we got home, after 7:00 pm, we picked our way through a meal, which was unusual but okay.

A great weekend with lotsa different friends.

THE LORD HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN, INDEED!

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. Psalm 113:3

Easter Morning—Resurrection Day

If Christ did not rise from the dead, his death on the Cross would have been for naught! Without Easter (and the Resurrection, Good Friday would have been just another day when someone died.  Both days are important as one cannot have one without the other.

Steve (who is one of those twice a year church goers) and I got up early to go to the sunrise service at the local Baptist Church. This is the sixth year we have attended this particular service. We started going two years before the current pastor arrived, so we feel we have some seniority, even though this is not my regular church. The Church was small when we started attending this service. Under Brother Keith, the Pastor, the Church has grown enough for them to buy additional land for a new future larger building.

I love the concept of a sun(Son)rise service. It brings back some really wonderful memories. Lots of different places hosted by various demoninations.  When I was somewhere between 9 and 11, I went to the first one which I can remember. I had a new reddish dressy jacket which I could not wait to wear. When I put it on to wear to sunrise (where no one would see it anyway), I thought I was the cat’s meow!

It was still dark, when I got up. (Duh! How else can one see the sun rise??). I can’t remember how I got there, but I may have walked. In this time frame, we lived about a mile or two from the church (the Evangelical Congregational). I did lots of walkin’ in those days, as we did not have a car. The service was behind the church where there was a huge outcrop of rock. The setting was really awesome. The rock, as we were reminded, was kind of like the tomb in which Jesus had been placed. The first rays of sun poured over the peak of the outcrop. Awesome does not describe it, but it is the best word with which I can verbalize. Don’t remember much more, but obviously the two things that impressed me were my coat and the rock with the smattering of the sun’s rays.

Today’s service was quite different. It was held at the new property, which can be seen from the “old” property (well, almost). Lots of singing, including Amazing Grace, accompanied by a bagpiper from the local sheriff’s department. She was great! The initial prayer was done in Spanish by Pastor Carlos. Their Church shares the Baptist Church for services and ministry.

The preacher’s sermon theme was “I Believe.” It was not very long, but contained the doctrines and concepts shared by most main stream Christians—Virgin birth, death on a cross, resurrection, etc.

Brother Keith is a dynamic preacher and really gets into his sermons and--like many Baptist preachers--walks around a lot. As Baptists, the congregation, of course, is usually very verbally responsive—not so much this morning (guess not too many had had coffee yet). Anyway, he said “I BELIEVE” many times in his sermon. One little girl who was about four years old started echoing him. He’d say, “I BELIEVE!” She’d respond in her tiny, but loud voice, “I Believe!” It made most of us smile. But Pastor Keith used her response, by saying something to the effect that “She gets it. Wake up!” From that point, the congregation also responded every time he said, “I BELIEVE!”

My guess is that there were approximately two hundred folks in attendance. Two hundred people echoing “I BELIEVE” cannot be described. Wonderful! Awesome! Exhilarating! Great!

The church members prepare a wonderful breakfast for all who attend. I don’t how they plan as every year it grows larger, and LARGER. It is free. We have enjoyed it all these years. I bet for such occasions they will be glad and joyful to see a new, bigger facility in the future. Grits (of course—this is the SOUTH), scrambled eggs, biscuit, bacon, sausage, and the most wonderful potato and cheese casserole, coffee and juice (I did not get any beverage as it was just too crowded.) They used to have the bestest (I know how bad this grammar is, but they were better than best) cinnamon rolls, but I guess the crowd has just overwhelmed them and the focus had to be put on regular breakfast stuff. The breakfast was at the Church. We drove from the new property. Some how we managed to be very near the front of the line. (Don’t know how this happened—as usually I am near the back of lines.)

Normally, I enjoy the fellowship that goes with this type of meal. But there were so many people waiting in line and not many tables left. So, we downed our grub and drove home.

Steve and I have dined with Don three days this week--at both Masonic gatherings and at the Baptist breakfast. I tease him that every time I see him, we are stuffing our faces. Friendships can grow over food.

Later I went to the regular service at the local Presbyterian (wish this was easier to spell) Church.  I might have skipped, but I had not been there in several weeks.  I missed the folks.

Steve and I dined alone.  We had an invitation to Lynne's.  But Steve thought the two-hundred mile drive was more than with which he wanted to deal.  Traffic coming north on I-75 is horrible on Sunday afternoons.  The ham was tender and the trimmings a treat.