Black Hammock

You know how much I love seafood.  Especially fried.  Especially catfish.  Last night we were invited, along with some other friends, to go to Black Hammock Restaurant and Air Boat Rides.  I've always wanted to go.  It didn't disappoint.  It's a tiny piece of old Florida located in the middle of nowhere on Black Hammock Fish Camp Road.

This must be where they get the
gator bites.

Dave thought he might take a ride.
But decided not. 

Gator is the most popular dish.  We had an order of gator bites for the table to share.  Dave wasn't sure.  We told him they tasted like chicken.  He tried one and said it tasted like "gator."

Black Hammock also features two for one margaritas.  All day, every day, "and that includes right now."  I didn't have one of those but I did, of course, have fried catfish.

If you go, be sure to be on the dock at sunset. 

You can order dinner in combination with an airboat ride.  We didn't do that - but it looked like fun.  Whenever you're here (and everybody is here at some point) and you want to see a bit of old Florida, try the Black Hammock.



















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Heroic Solo Leader

I just finished a devotional, Near the Cross, written by Ken Carter, the bishop of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Near the beginning Bishop Carter describes the "Heroic Solo Leader."  This, of course, is a person who has to do it all himself.  I'd not heard this term before and it fascinated me, so I looked it up.  It's an old model that we cherish - a single human being who will save us.

But, the problem is - it doesn't work.  It doesn't work in business.  Companies whose leader micromanages don't grow.  It doesn't work in politics.  It doesn't work in faith-based organizations.

Burnout is the end result for the solo leader and disillusionment for us followers.

Here is a quote from Bishop Carter's book:

It is no secret among professional ministers that there is a high risk of burnout.  It is a spiritually taxing career.  But I am convinced that much of this burnout in North American culture is due to a distorted image of ministry.  The heroic solo leader discovers, over time, that human needs are vast and complex.  

The heroic solo leader learns, over time, that he or she lacks the capacity to change people.  Only God has the power to change, heal, and save.  

There are many insights in the book, but this is my big take-away.


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Joy Comes in the Morning

I love Psalm 30:5b    .....weeping may stay for the night; but joy comes in the morning. 

This past Sunday in Forum, the discussion was on JOY.  My friend and fellow Power Ranger, Trish, was our gifted facilitator.  The first thing she did was pass out scriptures to be read aloud (if we felt like it.)  Everybody felt like it.

Just that activity alone led to much rich discussion and lots of laughter.  For an hour we talked about - and experienced - joy.

 Trish told us  that, as we age, anger declines and joy increases.

The grayer the world gets, the brighter the outlook.

We spent so much time sharing the joy that Trish wasn't able to get to her handout of a list of attitudes that create joy.  Following are a couple (in my words:)

• Think positive thoughts.  You can get up in the morning and think, "I'm poor, sick, fat and ugly."  Or not.  Your choice.  
• Accept other people.  It has helped me immensely to finally accept that nobody, and I mean, nobody, is going to shape up and function the way I think they should.  So I'll just try to love and enjoy them anyway. 

OK - the two points above look a lot like Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Thanks Trish.


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Harper Lee RIP

Harper Lee 1926-2016

I wanted you to see what a real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.  It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.   
- Atticus Finch
- Harper Lee

Harper Lee died today.  She was 89.  She was to be remembered for writing one great American novel - and then nothing.  But a few years ago the Go Tell a Watchman manuscript was discovered and her life and legacy became complicated.

By the way, we've had this book for over a year but I have not yet brought myself to read it.  I, of course, have read To Kill a Mockingbird several times, seen the film three times and have seen a few plays - some good and some not so good.  (One was in such a small venue that we, the audience, had to fill in as jurors in the trial scene. )

So, did Harper Lee write the Watchman book?  Probably,  I don't know for sure.  But I do know that she wrote other things.

Harper Lee wrote a wonderful story that was published in the great McCalls Magazine in 1961.  It's a true story about a Christmas she, Harper, spent in New York.   She was working for an airline and couldn't get the day off to go home to Alabama.  She was also discouraged because she couldn't afford to quite working and write.

She spent the evening, after work with her closet friends in Manhattan.  She describes them as young but "periodically well-to-do.  The family had small gifts for each other, a lot of them.  Harper received nothing.   Finally the woman said, "We haven't forgotten you.  Look on the tree."  There was an envelope on the tree.  She opened it and it said:

You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please.  Merry Christmas.

This couple believed in Harper so much that they made this financial sacrifice for her.  I was astounded by this story.  I can still remember the feeling I had when I read it back then.

Don't know if you can find it but the title is Christmas to Me, published in McCalls in December, 1961.

Harper Lee, rest in peace.


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The Aging Process

The current Time Magazine has devoted about 40 pages to the aging process - including how to pay for it.

As you know, I am extremely interested in this process.  Especially since I'm in the middle of it.  It's not depressing to me.  It's exciting.  I read someplace a while back that....dying is currently a speciality niche - it used to be that everybody did it.  

Well, of course, everybody still does it.  Only now, as in never before in the course of human history, we can have some input into how and when.  But still - no guarantees.

Here are a few quotes from Time:

...the majority of Americans (say) they would like to live 100 years if they could do so in good health... but most of them (say) they want to retire at 65, and most of them (say) they eat too much and tend not to exercise.

So we can clearly see the problem.

Imagine you just got some very, very bad news.  You don't have much longer to live, maybe only a couple of years, and there's nothing anyone...can do about it.   Welcome to every day in the life of a very old person. 

The article says that, contrary to what we'd think, the older we get, the less afraid we are to die.  I think that, in addition, the more we talk about it and plan for it, the more comfortable we get to be with the concept.  For me, it also enriches my time.  Why would I want to be mad or sad or worried all the time - when time's running short?  Time Magazine goes on to say, "The certainty of a journey's end might make better travelers of us all."

The news about Alzheimer's is still bad.  Currently there is no real treatment.  And 50% of us will have some kind of dementia by the time we're 85.  But help seems to be on the horizon.  For example, we have cured Alzheimer's in mice.

Lake Eola

The article focuses on healthful living, financial security and social engagement.  The first two are no surprise but most of us don't realize how important social relationships are.  We're wired for relationships,  As for the healthy living and financial part, we know we need to exercise, eat well and save our money - but we don't.

Except Dave and I do.  We're those boring people who have exercised and tried to eat well and saved our money and scarified some fun to pay off our mortgages.  We also have projects and people we invested in so that we'll have these investments live on long after we're gone.  All of this has gone a long way to make us happy in our old age.

But today we're going downtown to take our two mile walk around beautiful Lake Eola.  Then have a yummy but not expensive and not fat laden lunch outdoors.


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Will You Be My Valentine?

Pope Frances     Patriarch Kiril

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I can't think of any more appropriate story to celebrate this loving day than Pope Frances and Patriarch Kiril finally making up after their big break up 1,000 years ago.

After not speaking for a millennium, they got together in Cuba this past week.  They hugged and kissed (3 times on the cheek) and then had a two-hour personal conversation.

One thousand years ago the break up came when the Russians separated from the Catholic Church and formed the Russian Orthodox Church.  Because the plight of both groups is dire in the middle east and elsewhere they were "ready to take all measures to overcome differences."

John Wesley

And they do have a number of differences, just like us regular folks do.

So the next time you and your significant other have a big blow out and stop speaking for a while, try to think about what this behavior does to the kids (and the rest of us) and then do the right thing!

I, myself, am neither Roman Catholic nor Russian Orthodox.  I'm a United Methodist.  John Wesley was the inspiration for the Methodist Church and he had similar ideas about how people who think differently about things - can still love each other.

Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?  May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?  Without all doubt, we may.    - John Wesley

Happy Valentine's Day!


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Unorganized Crime

Despite my concerns in my last posting, to my knowledge, we don't have much organized crime in Central Florida.  However, we have plenty of unorganized crime.  So much so that late night talk show hosts seem to canvas Florida regularly to get monologue material.

We have a plethora of snake, alligator and shark stories, many of them involving crazy human behavior as well.  Following are a couple, along with a couple of strictly human shenanigans, from today's news:

Alligators:

In West Palm Beach officers say a 24 year old guy threw an alligator into a Wendy's drive-thru
window.  His mom said it was just a stupid prank - but he was charged with assault with a

deadly weapon.

Snakes

Several times I've shared entertaining python stories but yesterday's story was about an 8 foot, 8 inch anaconda found here in Central Florida.  It's the second anaconda found in a short time, this one seen by a man in his neighborhood.  Since neither snake had official tags, officers think they were illegally owned by breeders - so we could be seeing more.  Yikes!

Sausage Castle

There is a "party house" here in Central Florida that has gotten totally out of hand.  Wild parties,  pornographic pictures on the wall, guns, women, dwarfs and all sorts of truly hedonistic debauchery ensues at these parties.  By the way, it is a small house, not a castle.  The authorities have tried every which way to close it down.  Now it looks like it will be foreclosed for code violations.

Exotic Dancers

Did you know most exotic dancers in Florida don't get paid?  In fact, they have to pay a fee to work in clubs.  In order to earn enough tips to make a living they must find various creative ways to ply their art.  This doesn't seem fair to me.  I'm serious.  If a dancer injures herself falling off a stripper pole, there is no insurance.  The clubs say the dancers are independent contractors but judges around the country have sided with strippers, saying the law protects them.  So lawsuits here in Florida are in process.

So there you have some of our unorganized crime stats  for today.


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Casino Gambling in Florida

Do we want Florida's image to go from this....

This morning's paper reminds us that  the $3 billion gambling deal between the Seminole tribe and the state of Florida is moving ahead.  The deal would guarantee Florida the $3 billion over its first seven years.

So what's the problem?

Florida is the go-to state for family vacations.  We have 1,200 miles of beaches, and a world of family friendly fun is available all over our state.  Orlando Sentinel columnist, Beth Kassab said yesterday that if this goes forward...Florida would go from Las Vegas lite to full-blown gambling...which would introduce roulette, craps and blackjack.

....to this?

In the 1970's I was a spokesperson for The League of Women Voters opposing the lottery and casino gambling coming into the state of Florida.  The League requires heavy study into every issue in which they're involved.  Places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City are not like Florida.  Yes, the money flows in but it also flows out in ways we can't imagine here in our beautiful state.

The main reason for opposing it was that...The lottery and casino gambling are not a viable means of alternative revenue. 

In her column yesterday Kassab goes on to say that...The Seminole Tribe has been clear that it's not going after just the local gambler, but a high-stakes international crowd.

Do we really want our state mascot to go from Mickey Mouse to James Bond?


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Lent

Can you believe that Easter is only six weeks away?  Lent begins this coming Wednesday.  This is the 40 days prior to Easter when some of us Christians try to be a little more introspective and get in touch with our spiritual selves.

Traditionally, this has involved fasting.  But I don't think some of us have any idea what this really means.  How many times have you heard somebody say "I need to lose a few pounds so I'm giving up (fill in the blank) for Lent?

That's not how it works.

I read part of Pope Frances' speech to the new Cardinals today.  In it he talks about fasting from indifference and feasting on love....and no one is excluded (in this feast.)

On March 2nd, I'll start leading a four week Lenten discussion on Wednesdays at noon at my church, First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Florida.  A couple of months ago I started looking for the right book.  I read several.  One, Between the Dark and the Daylight, appealed to me - but I didn't know if others could get into it.  I was stumped.

Then I remembered an older book that my friend Art had introduced me to:  I went back and re-read it.  It's perfect.  It's real and hits you right between the eyes.

Written by Peter Scazzero, it deals with all the crazy stuff we mistakenly think God wants us to do.  Just because your parents or your favorite politician told you to do it doesn't mean it's right with God.

Early on in the book Scazzero says we're "dying to" the wrong things.  Let's  say it another way.  For Lent we should be giving up things like... defensiveness, detachment from others, arrogance, stubbornness, hypocrisy, Judgmentalism, a lack of vulnerability.

Scazzero goes on to say...God never asked us to die for (give up) the good parts of who we are...the healthy desires and pleasures of life - to friendships, joy, art music, beauty, recreation, laughter, and nature.  And chocolate.

(I added that last one.)

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Curvy Barbie

As a person working for women's rights in the 60s and beyond, Barbie and I have had a long, somewhat troubled, relationship.  My daughters had Barbies but it wasn't easy for me.  Especially since my youngest child swallowed several Barbie shoes when he was crawling around the house.  You can imagine how I discovered this.

Later, I justified to myself buying "career" Barbies for my granddaughters.  But that long, slender, overdressed blond still got on my nerves.

Here are some Barbie highlights:

• 1956 - Did you know that Barbie is based on a German doll named Lilli who was based on a call girl character?
• 1963-Barbie comes with a tiny book titled How To Lose Weight that recommends "Don't eat."
• 1970-One National Orgainization for Women slogan was "I Am Not a Barbie Doll."
• 1980-Multicultural versions of Barbie are introduced but all of their features are caucasian.  
• 1994-In a Simpsons episode Lisa challenges Barbie's creators to make a less sexist doll, suggesting Gertrude Stein.
• 2012-Valeria Lukyanova has cosmetic surgery to become the "human Barbie."  Others follow which starts talk of "Barbie flu."
• 2015-Curvy bodies are in - think Kardashian.

Big changes have now come to Barbie.  You can have one in curvy, tall and petite.  I hope little girls will want one that looks more like them.

I prefer the short, curvy Barbie featured on the cover of this weeks' Time.  For obvious reasons.



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Weddings, Funerals and Evangelism

A while back some of my family members attended a funeral where the minister took the opportunity to preach hell, fire and brimstone to the mourners.  As in "God hates sinners, you're all going to hell if you don't accept... blah blah blah."

I was telling this to a friend of mine at a birthday party this afternoon and he reminded me of a wedding of a mutual friend he attended a few years ago where he experienced the same kind of thing.  How did he react?  He wanted to punch the minister in the nose.  And, trust me, this is a man who has never punched anybody.

I suspect that, in the ministers' mind, since these are folks at an event which isn't strictly "church" and they've come to either mourn or celebrate or both, but not especially to get saved, that it's perfectly alright to ambush them.  But that's not what we signed up for.

I can't imagine Jesus doing this.  The Jesus I know loves and celebrates at weddings.  In fact, when he was on this earth he made quite a stir at a wedding by turning the water into wine.

Likewise, he loves and comforts us at funerals.  When he went to see his friend, Lazarus, who had died a few days before , Jesus cried.  He didn't use these opportunities to tell folks to shape up or go to hell.

Christianity is defined by relationship.  One of my favorite definitions of evangelism is....to love somebody enough to earn the right to talk with them about faith.  

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