In Search of the Fleas

I think flea markets are the epicenter of American culture. Successful flea markets carry the necessities along with the latest trendy items. Because goods are sold in a very basic manner (no showroom, little to no advertising, no nice displays, poor lighting, crowds, poor temperature control, etc) these businesses can meet customer demand with agility. Something to think about in today's economy.

Mark and I visited the Oldsmar Flea Market recently. While I was searching for something (a wooden expandable hat rack for the wall which apparently aren't made any longer), the search was secondary to the exploration into the depths of 'flea marketism'.

Walking from the sunny parking lot, we entered a shady (so to speak)and dimly lit series of hallways lined in stalls. We soon realized that these hallways were somewhat endless and the challenge of walking each of them became a goal. The items fall into several general categories: cheap stuff from china - which can be found in any dollar store, or on the streets of any major metropolitan city, or actually in china; garage sale items - which likely came from all of our garage sales so that we could go and buy them back when we realized we missed our velvet dog painting or mismatched coffee cups; manly items - hunting knives, camouflaged clothing, binoculars, ammo, posters of hard rockers or nearly bare breasted women; womenly items - cheap underwear, cheap perfume, wigs, makeup; furniture and plants - what you see is what you get; fruits and vegetables - maybe from the farm, or were tossed out by Publix; and oddities - fill in the blank.

My shopping senses were on overload, but the stalls were only part of the reason. At each major hallway intersection, there were several food stalls that filled the air with the scent of fried foods. Memories of the county fair hit me hard. The only sense left was sound and that was assaulted as well with a constant dialogue over the ever present loud speakers. '...you can get all your smoking needs at Nick's Smokeshop on isle D23. We have your hookahs, your pipes, your tobaccos and other smoking items you cant find anywhere else. isle D23....come to Sue's exotic lingerie on isle G8. We have your bras in all sizes up to quadruple F. We have your name brand underwear and sexy nightgowns in time for Valentines Day. isle G8...Mary's Makeup and Incense shop is having a buy 1 get 1 free sale today in isle B14. We have your name brand makeup, and incense in all flavors. Get your favorite incense in time for Valentines Day. isle B14.... " You get the idea...unending... It kind of reminded me of Clockwork Orange torture.

We escaped the adventure with some green beans and a new fishing hat for Mark. And a deeper understanding of the core of American capitalism.

The 14th Colony (yes there were really 16, not 13)

Between holidays, we jumped in the car and headed for St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. Mark, with his Turkish perspective, wasn't too impressed with a date like 1513, but he considered the continent and feigned interest.

I was happy to see the old town was renovated and busy. There are plenty of museums to visit, but all require admission. It was great to see both the Spanish Village and Fort Castillo de San Marcos had employees and volunteers who dressed and played the roles of residents or army in the period around 1740.

I didn't get Florida history in school (since I wasnt in Florida when it is taught), so I found out some interesting things. For example, there were really 16 colonies, not just 13. Florida was split into 2 British colonies: East and West Florida. Because the 14-16 colonies were happy being loyal to the Queen, they didn't fight in the American Revolution, and for that they got no star on the flag! If you are wondering, the 16th colony was eastern Canada.

We enjoyed the mix of British and Spanish history (Florida went back and forth between the countries before becoming a state, and the abundance of sangria and ales to represent both sides. We saw and definately heard canons and flintlocks fired. We saw very old houses. Though St. Augustine was burned down by the angry British who couldn't capture the fort -which held the cities 1500 residents for 50 days- so I guess the houses could have been older!

St. Augustine had a resurgence back in the 1880's (until around 1914) when Henry Flagler built his railroad to the city so that the first snowbirds could come down in the winter. Being the entrepreneur he was, he also built fabulous hotels to house these wealthy people. One of the hotels, the Ponce de leon, is now the main Flagler College building while the Alcazar was purchased by Mr. Lightner for his museum. The Alcazar housed the largest indoor pool in the world at the time...though the water was from a sulfur springs which must have really stunk in an enclosed area. St. Augustine lost its luster when Flagler continued his railroad to West Palm Beach, and then to Key West. It seemed the further south those snow birds could go, the happier they were...until the depression when everyone stopped traveling.

For the holidays, the city was decorated in white lights which made the evening magical. While the country is in a recession, it appeared that a trip to St. Augustine during the holidays was a must-do. The streets were full of festive people wandering the town from morning to late night. It felt a bit like a tame mardi gras in New Orleans.

Farkels and Pancakes

Its about time!!!! Ya, that is what I was thinking as Mark and I drove over for a Farkel meeting...the 1st since we moved here. 'Farkels' you ask? In 1976, 8 girls (yes we were definately 'girls')went to Europe for part of the summer with Elmar, a history professor at UCF (called FTU at the time). Quite a memorable trip for each of us, which for me included a broken leg from sliding down an Alp. We all promised to stay in touch...and in fact, 5 of us have. For easy reference we are called the Farkels. The name is a long story, so just go with it.

We've gathered mostly over the holidays to catch up on marriages, divorces, children, dating, travels, excitements and disappointments. Gatherings have always included food and often drink. But life sometimes gets in the way of things, and it seems to have done a bit of that the past year or so.

With me back in Florida (most Farkles live in FL), I was hoping reunions could be more often than annual. In fact, they've been LESS. So, with great anticipation, we plotted and planned an appropriate time and setting for the 2008 gathering of Farkles.

3 of the 5 made it as the other 2 had iron-clad excuses for not coming. We met at DeLeon Springs, a beautiful state park complete with an age old pool built around the springs, and the spring fed river flowing from it. But even better than the natural setting was the food! The pancake restaurant was still there (visited in Farkel gatherings decades prior). Even the staff were the same.

But we each had 'our man' in attendance on this reunion...highly unusual for Farkle gatherings. So we introduced them to the art of cooking whole grain pancakes on the electric skillets built into the center of the table. Molasses, honey and maple syrup containers stood guard as we poured each pancake. We added toppings of bananas, berries, and apple slices while each pancake cooked, flipped them over either too early or too late, to be rewarded with heavy, hot bread covered in favorite things.

While the food was great (as expected at any Farkle gathering)it was so nice to catch up with each others' life adventures, some happy and some not. We knew that anything we did or said would be met with support, some laughs and some sighs. And we also knew that we wouldn't wait so long for the next gathering.

Mark's Handiwork Solves the Stuff Problem

Believe it or not, we've been living in our Florida house for almost 14 months. All of this time, the garage and house have been the storage locations for boxes of our books, photos, and 'stuff' accumulated while traveling or found on my doorstep (cause i swear i didnt buy any of these things). Yes, I did get rid of many boxes of 'stuff' before we moved, including a large box of pigs. But I think 'stuff' has the power to regenerate and warm weather expedites the process.

Mark had his job cut out for him - lots of shelves to build!

He was undaunted by my specific demands including shelving to wrap around the corner with 45 degree angles, shelves that slant to smaller depth to fit the nearby window, shelves to the ceiling which isn't consistently the same distance from the floor, etc.

I love the results! We have photos, books and 'stuff' within view and reach. Many boxes are gone... but somehow there are now several boxes of items to give away.

I tell you...'stuff' regenerates in this warm climate!

Xmas Boat Parade

We made sure we got to the Dunedin Xmas Boat Parade this year. Living near the ocean In Florida brings an interesting twist to celebrating Christmas. While we are used to the European version of the season with evergreen trees and snow, here in Florida you are apt to find decorated palm trees (actually more aligned to a Bethlehem location), and parades of decorated boats driving up the coast and back supported by the applause and hot toddies of the bystanders.

The parade began soon after sunset and the colorful boats followed a line of Christmas tree buoys. As the boats approached our location near the Dunedin Marina, we could hear the celebrations on board.

One boat highlighted an American Flag decorated in lights, with bongo drummers and fire eaters. A local preacher motored his sail boat that was highlighted by a shooting star and angels. One cruiser seemed to have a green gecko lit up...making us wonder if this was their version of an elf.

The evening was complete with Santa arriving from the marine police boat, and lighting the large Xmas tree in the park. Celebrants could eat s'mores and hot chocolate while listening to the town band play Christmas music.

A very nice evening.

Neighbors

One of the things that we've noticed in moving to Dunedin is that we have little in common with most of the people we've met here. We're a bit surprised to find this, having found good friends while in California.

Here's some examples of our experiences: The backyard neighbors asked us over for dinner. I cancelled my evening meetings, we grabbed a bottle of wine, and knocked on their door at the proper time. The door opened to chairs around the perimeter of the living room, focused on the TV. Dinner was purchased sandwiches with lemonade on a small table, and next to it sat a very large man wearing a Walgreens name tag. Hmmm. This looked very odd. So much for a good dinner. The hosts informed us that other neighbors were showing up - so this sounded kind of nice with the opportunity to meet more neighbors. One showed up, an elderly woman who was the original owner of her home across the street. They had picked up the guy from Walgreens when they got their flu shots.

We politely ate our store-bought sandwiches and sipped our lemonade while making polite conversation. Mark and I were considering our exit when the host wife stood up and said we would now watch a video on love. What is this?? Neighborhood porno?

Alas, this was a religious video hosted by Rick Warren (who's name was familiar to me because of the 2005 Atlanta killing spree by Brian Nichols. Mr. Nichols ended up in Ashley Smith Robinson's apartment where she stayed alive and managed to convince Mr. Nichols to surrender after reading to him from one of Rick Warren's books). Mark and I were not enthused by the duplicity of the evening and sat through the video impatiently. When it ended, i took over the conversation, not wishing a preachy evening. I enjoyed meeting the elderly neighbor, but otherwise, the evening began to form our opinion of our neighbors. Walgreens guy just kept eating sandwiches.

Our next door neighbor invited us over to taste some of the lobster he caught in the Bahamas. This was following a fabulous dinner that Mark created a few months before for neighbor and his wife. They are friendly neighbors, love to golf, and have 2 little 'yippy' dogs that Mark plays with. We arrive for dinner and are very well fed, nice wine, good conversation. 5 minutes after dessert was put on the table, we were told that he had an early tee time and we'd need to leave. So, our evening was barely 1 1/2 hours!

Mark befriended a fellow Turk who works at Home Depot - where Mark spends most of his week. Home Depot Turk and his American wife asked us to join them at the nearby Irish pub for Friday night. This sounded like fun and they are pleasant to join for the evening. Mark was called on Wednesday that the evening was 'off'. Apparently they were only going to listen to a favorite musician and they found out he wasnt playing. So, the evening was called off. Gee, Mark and I thought they wanted to get together with us - but it was really about them going to hear the musician.

We have met one couple who are 'normal' for us. We picked up Camille on nearby Honeymoon Island during a fierce storm in august. She didnt mind walking back to her home in the rain, but the lightening was too dangerous. So, we offered to take her back with us. Tulin was visiting, and sat on my lap so we all could fit in Mark's truck. Only then did we find out she was a neighbor! There was a thank you note in our mailbox the next day with an invitation to come over.

Mark and I headed over when schedules permitted (she's a flight attendant so has a crazy schedule). Husband Glenn is a consultant... maybe in the media business, his profession. They've lived in many of the same cities as I have. They've lived in Asia and Europe as well. We find we have a lot of similiar interests and have a good time when we get together. Now, this is what we are looking for.

Making friends does take time. And without the benefit of jobs to meet people who may have more in common with us, we are at the mercy of our daily activities to find folks we like. We really appreciate the friends we have, and we clearly need to expand the perimeter of our lives a bit!!!

Air boats, aligators, iguanas, vultures ...the glades!

Our adventure to south Florida couldn't be complete without a trip into the Everglades. While driving on I-75 (called Alligator Alley)gave us a glimpse, we really needed to get into an airboat and go into deeper into the glades.

Holiday Park was recommended to us. We drove over from Ft. Lauderdale and were greeted by peacocks and peahens, wise cracking Florida natives, and... a Turk. Yep, they seem to be everywhere...those turks. This one was the photographer for Holiday Park and seemed quite happy to bide his time in the swampland.

We climbed into our twin cadillac engine airboat with 3 boisterous and cellphone addicted ladies from either NYC or Miami, a lesbian couple, and 3 travelers from Germany. All wanted to see alligators. Our driver lived in the glades and was definately homespun Florida boy. Complete with a cracker accent. He showed us the power of those twin engines - my favorite part! We zoomed out of the dock and headed out to the grassy waters, gliding over mounds of water lilies. We found out that stopping a speeding airboat is quite similiar to a downhill ski stop...without the ensuing 'yard sale' (term for tumbling down the side of the mountain while losing hat, gloves, poles, etc. along the way).

Besides the speeding boat maneuvers, the other highlight is the wildlife of the glades. Of course we saw aligators, though they were more shy than I expected. We found a tree full of vultures, and others full of giant, multi-colored iguanas. Our glimpse of life in the glades was interesting and made me realize there was much more to see...perhaps another trip?