The Heat (Stupid) Storm

A mass of hot humid air positioned itself over the Southeast as we set off on our 1,200 mile roadtrip. Maybe a vacation in August wasn't the wisest of plans. Our route was meticulously plotted via Google maps; avoiding all major highways, it included passages such as "travel 644 ft on Sycamore Road." This was to be a trip through the rural South with the dual goals of seeing friends in Chapel Hill and visiting Asheville. This was also our first major trip with our '66 Caravel Airstream.         

Our first day of travel brought us to our halfway point, Barnwell State Park in South Carolina.  A pleasant, but incredibly hot place to sleep.

 

Our next day of travel included a stop at Pearl Friar's Topiary, a 3 acre psychedelic Max Ernst-meets-Dr.Seuss lawn in Bishopsville, SC. He began his topiary using discarded shrubs with the intention of winning "Yard of the Month" to combat racial stereotypes concerning African-Americans and lawns. His topiary is now an international destination for lawn enthusiasts. It attracts a diverse crowd and while we were visiting the topiary we met a woman on her way to visit "Mr.Button." Apparently, Mr.Button lives nearby. With temperatures near 100 we had a quick stroll and picnic. In my great first act of Airstream towing bravado, I maneuvered between highly sculpted bushes in Pearl's driveway much to everyone's horror.   

We arrived at our campground on Lake Jordan (near Chapel Hill) after a long hot day of travel. We managed to find the best campsite on a small pond and Moss and Giles went crazy with their new freedom. Rocks were determined to be non-food items. Moss woke early everyday which allowed him to watch beavers swim leisurely in the pond.
 

Our campsite at Lake Jordan was about 15 minutes from downtown Carborro. This allowed easy access to civilization for the culturally challenged. The only problem with our arrangement was the 9pm curfew.

Moss bathes while Giles watches.

Our vacation plans were adjusted to avoid the sweltering daytime heat. We found refuge in the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC.  Moss pointed at the constellations and Giles slept. Above, Cymande and the boys hanging out with James Polk in the rotunda.

Giles and Moss at the Ackland Art Museum store where our friend Ron Liberti is showing his posters and prints. The boys enjoyed the show but they equally enjoyed the bus stop outside. 

Soleil really bought into my short story, "The Heat Storm," which is loosely based upon the book/film "The Ice Storm".  Instead of dysfunctional 70's family life and a cathartic winter storm, the heat-generated malaise is the antagonist in a small college town where ennui, stupidity, lethargy, sweat, thirst, political gridlock, body odor and mystery take over as air conditioners fail and people are forced to find comfort in unusual places.  Strangers meet in the shade, the mall, the planetarium and Neal's deli (why didn't I buy that t-shirt? damn it!) 
    

Moss at the Biltmore Estate. We stayed at a private campground in Asheville...the only thing that separated it from an internment camp was the fee. The river was nice, the resident alcoholics were a bit scary and a bit ruddy, but the bathroom...oh the bathroom. If you ever take a shower and there is a sign proclaiming 'Do not remove the shower head. Direct questions to management," you might want to question whether proceeding with the shower is the best option. Reminder to self: State or National Park campgrounds only.  

Clearly, the boys were excited to see the Vanderbilt mansion in Asheville. They already had a great time eating sweet potato pancakes at the Tupelo Honey Cafe and though the mountains brought some cooler temperatures, the Vanderbilts cut corners and never installed the god-damned central air as they promised. 

On the way out of North Carolina we took a side-trip to Judaculla Rock.  This is a sacred Cherokee religious site and the rock is covered with amazing and beautiful petroglyphs dating up to 2000 BC.  It is also a sacred Airstream-3-point-turn-on-the-side-of-a-mountain site. 

Giles and Cymande enjoy the mystery of Judaculla Rock.  Then, the excitement really began: three hours semi-lost on switchbacks up and down mountains until we finally reached Route US 441 South. 441 brought us home.  The Heat Storm Road Trip seemed pleasant enough at the time, but in retrospect and in keeping with the short story idea: nothing was what it seemed. I'm glad to be home...and the weather has been improving.

July

The field has been alive with birds this Summer.  We had our usual bluebirds nesting in their boxes. Cardinals, tufted titmice, carolina wrens and chickadees nested around the house and even in my toolbelt.  We had a small covey of bobwhites and  a blue grosbeak family that recently fledged (and are taking daily baths in our fountain.)  

Moss and Giles take their daily fountain bath.

We braved scortching temperatures to feed the retired horses of Alachua.  They have all manner of retired horses: blind, deaf, lame and even ol' crooked face horses. 

Stage one of the airstream restoration project has begun: removal of the diamond plate that the previous owner installed as trim/rock guard.  Installing the diamond plate was much easier than removing it.  I've been cursing his name for weeks now.

We attended the American Dream art show in Gainesville.  Ron Liberti (who was visiting with his friend Robin from Carborro, NC) had work in the show.  Moss and Giles had the best time running around the large concrete floor.
   

Moss was racing across the floor when he suddenly stopped at a large painting of a gas station with cars fueling up.  He pointed excitedly and kept repeating, "AR, AR, AR!"

Ron's wall of posters.

For our first trip with the airstream we decided upon a short trip to O'leno State Park in nearby High Springs.

Morning walk at O'leno.

Compost

Rick Scott, Tea Party CEO of Florida Inc

Gov. Rick Scott has a Tea Party dream...someday Florida will be an enormous barren plain upon which you may do whatever you want whenever you want.  Pesky 'big government' will no longer worry about the air you breathe, the water you drink or the creatures that inhabit the state of Florida.  Developers and corporations will manage Florida's growth and environment.  Wealthy children will have high quality education. The poor will create their own social safety net and crowd their children into buildings formerly known as "public schools."

Background Check

Rick Scott is a criminal.  Before he deciding to turn Florida into a industrial park, he was the healthcare CEO of Columbia/HCA.  He resigned after pleading guilty to massive Medicaid fraud (and 14 felonies) which led to the largest fine in Medicaid fraud history ($1.4 billion).  He pleaded the fifth 75 times.  After he stole millions from US taxpayers, he decided to run for Governor of Florida and thereby proved that the Tea Party has no legitimate philosophy.  Elected by 26% of Floridians (winning by 61,500 votes) he has acted like he won a landslide mandate election.  He promised a variety of crazy-ass things while running for election and now, he is delivering.

The Peoples' Budget

Scott's disastrous budget was recently signed in The Villages at a closed "private event" funded by taxpayer money.  For a photo-op he shipped in students from charter schools (run by his friend Jonathan Hage which receive millions in taxpayer money) from 60 miles away.  The children waved signs and looked happy (and a bit insane) as he cut $3 billion from public education.  He didn't allow protesters or anyone "liberal looking" at his public taxpayer-funded event.  Several seniors and others were escorted out by sheriff's deputies.  They were not disruptive.  They just looked like liberals.    

The War on the Environment (or Let No Crisis Go to Waste)

When House Bill 7207 was signed into law it destroyed 25 years of growth management in Florida.  The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) which managed growth has been eliminated.  The effort by Gov. Scott and his Republican super-majority demonized growth management while pretending deregulation will create jobs. Florida currently has over 400,000 vacant homes, billions of square feet of empty office space and millions of undeveloped commercially-zoned acreage. Historically, the DCA approved 97% of proposed projects.  Furthermore, the Florida House and Senate has been Republican controlled for 14 years with Republican Governors throughout.  Regulation and protecting the environment was never their priority.  Regulation did not cause Florida to be number one in home foreclosures.  Most would argue that 25 years of deregulation of the financial markets at the federal level coupled with Florida's already weak environmental laws brought us to where we are.   

Additionally: 

• HB 7207 kills concurrency which forced developers to help fund new roads, schools and parks to accommodate their projects.  The costs will now be passed onto taxpayers.  This amounts to public funding of private development.

• County Commissions, full of good ol' boys, fraught with conflicts of interest and lacking long-term vision will be making major development decisions that will have environmental impact far beyond their counties. 

• Water Management Districts which could have abated the destruction had their funding slashed and the Governor overturned decisions to buy property that would protect water supplies.  This was a carefully orchestrated decision that will likely be the first step in a water grab from the the water-rich rural communities of North Florida to the overdeveloped water-poor communities in South Florida.  There has been talk of a water pipeline.  The Springs of North Florida, the Santa Fe River, Suwanee River and many others are all at risk.     

• Everglades restoration efforts that began in 1971 have been gutted, defunded and management handed to the anti-environment legislature in Tallahassee.  The South Florida Water Management District's ability to manage the Everglades has been reduced and the federal/state funding partnership is now in jeopardy.

• Florida Forever was one of the most successful land-buying programs in the country.  It purchased environmentally sensitive land and protected it against development.  It was supported by Republicans and Democrats.  Jeb Bush was one of its biggest defenders and even vetoed cuts during economic downturns.  Scott proudly set Florida Forever's budget at zero. 

• Voting and public participation in grassroots petition drives have been dealt a blow by a far reaching election bill.  This makes it exceedingly difficult for the public to stop what Gov. Scott and the Legislature has done to our future.

Perhaps the worst part of the new anti-environmentalism (at the state and federal level) is the false choice that is being presented: You can have environmental regulation OR a vibrant economy.  Reasonable people understand that this is nonsense, but it works politically, especially during a recession.  Politicians use this lie to weaken environmental laws, to threaten the EPA and to deny science.  If you look at the current line-up of Republican presidential hopefuls you will see how radical the new anti-environmentalism has become. There are not two sides to this issue.  There is no choice.  Habitat destruction is morally wrong.

There is much more to complain about regarding Scott's plans for Florida.  He slashed school funding and is funneling money toward voucher programs to fund private schools.  He eliminated all funding for PBS and NPR.  He is resisting anti-gerrymandering legislation passed by an overwhelming majority of Floridians.  He is privatizing Medicaid (which is already diminishing access and the quality of care for some of my most vulnerable patients) and he wants to drug test all public employees and welfare recipients. Oh and by the way, he founded a drug testing/walk-in health clinic chain called Solantic in which his wife is a major shareholder.
 

I encourage anyone that has floated down the Ichetucknee River, visited the Everglades or any of Florida's natural places to call the Governor and tell him what you think about his plans.  They will politely listen.  His number: 850.488.7146

If you are Florida resident please call or write your senator and representative (click on link to get info) and please attend your County Commission meetings when necessary.  The 1000 Friends of Florida link below has a useful growth management alert system.

Organizations that help protect Florida

1000 Friends of Florida

Audubon of Florida

Florida Forever

Sierra Club of Florida

A Tribute in Grass

 Castle Hill, Ipswich, MA

Old Wire Road, Lake City, FL

Happy Birthday Giles and Moss. One Year on Planet Earth.

The Rapture Will Be Paved.

 This entry is a bit of a mess.  It contains a little bit of everything for everyone and especially for those of you that enjoy asphalt, a little folk music and the supernatural.  Old Wire Road unpaved.

 Early one morning (well, not really that early, actually more like 15 minutes late for work) in October I was driving down Old Wire Road and I noticed that during the night a small fleet of earth moving equipment was dropped off which could only mean one thing...

 After unknown years Old Wire Road was to be paved.  I have mixed feelings regarding this.  Though driving three miles of dirt road everyday sounds romantic, less romantic is the dust and/or mud covering every surface of every possession.  

 I promised you asphalt and I deliver.  The entire project took about 6 months and during that time I learned about lime rock, dressing and those giant vibrating steamrollers.  I actually never knew that they could vibrate until now.

 My first entry of this blog in 2006 began with a photo similar to this, but unpaved.  Of course, last night we watched our first impromptu drag race that dissipated as quickly as it formed.  The deputy arrived approximately 1 minute after everyone left.    

 Giles contemplates walking at the grandparents house.  He still considers it a novel, though inefficient, way to get around.

Moss reading nonfiction, specifically about the letter B.  

 A sign of the apocalypse? I'm sure everyone noticed that 'the saved' didn't, in their actual physical body, ascend to a partly-cloudy well-lit Heaven on May 21st. There were some disappointed lunatics in Lake City that were circling Florida preaching the word.  I'm looking forward to the Rapture though (rescheduled for October 21st).  Ichetucknee Springs water clarity will be drastically improved and I'm assuming that Florida's bronze-age Gov. Rick Scott will be transported away (because he's against all those fancy ideas that college educated/rational people believe in) along with all his anti-intellectual disciples.
    

It was our first visit in seven years to the Folk Festival and it was great.  Moss danced and Giles pointed at every guitar and said "AH!".  He loves guitars.

I urge everyone to visit the Stephen Foster State Park if not for the lovely setting, then for the dioramas.  Each diorama (built in the 1950's) depicts a Foster tune.  This is 'Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.'  The details are amazing and they often have subtle and creepy moving parts.  You can also cringe at the racial stereotypes and Steven Foster's view of the South in the mid 19th century.  

Moss staying cool during an intense session of peek-a-boo.