Another Sarasota Gem

This morning Z. and I took a walk at Sarasota's Bayfront Park.  It's a delightful place, and a good reminder that our city is in truth centred on Sarasota Bay.

 (I venture to say that eight out of ten of my friends have never heard of Bayfront Park, yet alone walked there.  They drive everywhere, to the homes of their friends, to the shops, to the restaurants, to the movies, symphony, opera, theatre etc and in doing so they miss our walking gems such as Bayfront, Arlington and Ken Thompson parks.)

 My park walks are good in themselves.  They have an added bonus because I get to meet and greet utter strangers.  In that meeting and greeting we help to create a lubricant for the improvement of civil society.  'Tis vital.

 Here are some photo's from this morning.






The couple walking together are a son (Michael) and his mother (May).  We chatted for a while, and the Mum called us "the three M's".  She was amused when I said that not only did I share a name with her son, but that I was born in the month of May. 



Note the fancied up decorative bike.

 As we walked through the formal archway which marks the entrance to Bayfront Park we encountered two pleasant women who were handing out those somewhat simplistic "Gospel Tracts"  (showing "the way of salvation") - tracts which I used to hand out when I was a teenager, I flipped through one whilst saying "I am a believer".  The older of the two began her spiel, then she heard my words.  That enabled us to alleluia together.  (Perhaps I do not believe in the same way as she, but the alleluia were good!)

 Alleluias done I saw another woman.  

 She was carrying a banner in support of our Florida ballot question which (if it succeeds) will abolish Greyhound racing in this State.

 I called out a hearty "yes", and gave her the thumbs up. Zion approved!

 In these Bayfront Park  meetings and greetings we helped  to create a lubricant for the improvement of civil society.  'Tis vital.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not remember the words “ar
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were able to get together a few
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur
Read more