Tarzan Goes to Florida

In our class at Rollins College titled "Florida Goes to the Movies," we studied my all time favorite Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller.  He was born in what is now Romania in 1904 and was one of the world's fastest swimmers, winning 5 Olympic gold medals.

Scene from sexy "Tarzan the Ape Man"

Several of the scenes in the Tarzan movies were shot in Cypress Gardens, here in Florida.  Why?  Because the water, at that time, was crystal clear.

In our class we first saw a clip from "Tarzan the Ape Man, filmed in 1932.  This was a far more sensuous film than the later ones that came after  the Motion Picture Production Code (sometimes called the Hayes Code) that was put in place in the late 1930s.  Prior to that time there were some pretty sexy movies and "Tarzan the Ape Man" was one of them.

However, when "Tarzan Finds a Son" was made in 1939, it was a far different story.  Tarzan and Jane couldn't have a baby, they had to find a baby.  (Actually Cheetah found the baby.)

Tarzan and Jane don't know where
babies come from so they have to
find one. 

In this film there is a remarkable swimming scene.  Tarzen and Boy swim and play in the water,  along with a baby elephant at one point, in the African jungle - but really they are at Cypress Gardens, Florida swimming in a deep lagoon.

This scene, called "Swimming Shenanigans." is on YouTube and is pretty amazing.  Here's the address.

https://youtu.be/QMj5Ztme-ZI






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Florida Goes to the Movies

I loved our first class session at Rollins College.  The course we're taking in Rollins' Life Long Learning program is titled "Florida Goes to the Movies" and is taught by Floridan historian, Joy Dickinson.  Since you know I love Florida and you know I love movies,  you would assume I'd like the class, right?

Here are a couple of highlights:

- Joy gave us a sheet listing all of the movies made in Florida up to the 1990s.  There are almost 150 movies listed - including some great films like "Midnight Cowboy," some very good films like "Parenthood," and, of course, some bad films.  Oh, and one pornographic film, "Deep Throat."  (I would think this would be hard for anybody to watch in light of Linda Lovelace's real  life full of human trafficking and abuse.)  But I digress.

Oliver (Babe) Hardy 

- Jacksonville was by far the largest Florida city in the early 1900s and a starting place for movie making.  It's where Oliver Hardy started making silent films long before he met Stan Laurel.  Joy showed us a very funny "short" featuring Hardy and some babies.  (By the way, Hardy's nickname at this time was Babe.)  I was a bit nervous about the babies being flipped around and left alone sitting on beds and in rocking chairs - but this was before all those pesky rules about keeping kids safe.

The photo of Hardy is how he looked in this film.  Much different from later on when he had the crazy mustaches.

-  Helen Gardner was an astonishingly  beautiful young woman who was brought to Florida by Duncan Pell, who divorced his wife and married Gardner.  They lived for a short time here in the Orlando area.  But Helen soon tired of him and went to Jacksonville where she formed her own film company.  In 1912 she produced and starred in "Cleopatra."  (And then a few decades later Elizabeth Taylor repeated this whole process.)


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Brother Anthony of the Cross

Several of you have asked me about my friend, Jim McWhinnie, whom I've quoted a few times in this blog.  Jim is a brilliant retired United Methodist minister who has Alzheimer's disease.  He's also seeped in Benedictine spirituality and sometimes refers to himself as Brother Anthony of the Cross. 

To those of you asking if he still posts on Facebook, the answer is yes.  He's prolific.  And, yes, he's still being open about his declining health.  His writing deals openly with fear, sadness and anger as well as joy and thankfulness.  

Even as Jim's Alzheimer's progresses, he's still in ministry to other patients - as well as to me through his writing.  Following is one of his postings from a few days ago.  It moved me deeply.    

I can only hope that, when I'm old and frail and no longer able to care for myself, there will be someone in my life who will love me just like I am - and that God will be present in my room. 

MY ALZHEIMER'S JOURNAL ... July 6, 2015

One of my Hospice patients who has lingered beyond the projection for his departure is a man I shall call "Bill". Bill is in his late eighties, overcame cancer three times since his retirement, but now it appears the fourth bout will prove to be too much for his body. He also is in the late stages of Alzheimer's, though on good days he can still communicate a few words gives me a smile when I visit. He is a good and sweet man, all around him are photographs of his life. In one he is standing beside the fighter plane he once flew. In another, he is in his firefighters' dress blues receiving an award for heroism. I have learned much of Bill's life - not from Bill's lips but from another gentleman in his late eighties, a fellow I shall call "Hal". He sits with Bill every day, morning to night and at night, the staff brings him a cot when he chooses to spend the night. "Hal" has known "Bill" for sixty-five years. And they have shared the same living space for sixty of those years.

When I pray with "Bill", "Hal" prays with me ... and sometimes "Hal" cries and "Bill"touches his hand.

And no matter what many might say or what many might think ... I have found God to be so very present in that room.

Brother Jim McWhinnie

Again, thank you Jim. 


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Old Florida

Dave and I have signed up for a course at Rollins College.  Our first session is this afternoon.  It's part of Rollins Lifelong Learning program.  Our class is titled "Florida Goes to the Movies" and will be taught by Florida historian, Joy Dickinson.  Joy writes a Florida history column for the Sunday paper.

Almost two decades ago I wrote a book about old
Central Florida, called "Florida, A Love Story."  It featured Cole, a Florida cowboy and Catherine, a transplanted Northerner, living in Central Florida about 150 years ago.

The book didn't get published because it was a bad book.  But am I sorry I wrote it?  No.  Doing the research about what life was like right where I live was exciting.  I learned a lot.  Long before oranges, celery, beaches and early movies; cattle, cowboys, rustlers and Native Americans ruled.  Maybe I'll look up the book and share a few of its' exciting stories with you some time soon.

In the meantime, we've done our homework and are ready for our first class.  What was the homework?  We watched the 1954 scary movie "Creature from the Black Lagoon,"  filmed in Wakulla Springs in Ocala, Florida.

It was hysterical!


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First Dates

Psalm 86:5  "You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on you."

Welcome!  David Miller

At my church, First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Florida, we have a new senior minister.   Our previous senior minister, Dr. Bob Bushong, was with us for 15 years.  Bob was, and is, a very kind, caring person with a doctorate from Princeton and a special gift for counseling, as well as being a futurist (and a boat load of other gifts.)

All this to say....Hard act to follow!

Yesterday was the first Sunday for our new senior minister, David Miller.  We've had a fantastic two month transition period  (what I like to call "the greatest, most well orchestrated transition in the history of Methodism") because that's the way we do things here.

In the United Methodist Church we have what's called an "itinerant" ministry, i.e., ministers come and go - and not only that - they are not hired by the church.  They are appointed by the bishop.  This seems pretty cut and dried and usually it is, so I know we are very fortunate to have this transition be so smooth.

For instance, in the vast majority of "moves" the old minister and family move out of the parsonage (house) on a Thursday morning and the new minister and family move in that same house on that same Thursday afternoon.  Good times!!  Once, when my husband, Ken and I and our four kids and my daughter's boyfriend arrived at our new parsonage we discovered that the old minister had left his wife.  Not only that - he had left her in the parsonage!

Several years ago in my brother's small church in Indiana, the bishop replaced their folksy, "good old country boy,' retiring minister whom everybody loved with a young, African American woman with a PhD.  To the credit of the church leaders and the new minister they made it work but it was a long struggle.  And it was a pretty startling "first date" when she made her debut in the pulpit.

So!  Our new minister, David, started his sermon yesterday talking about "Bad First Dates."  Like when a person is all nervous and sweating or when your date can't remember your name - and doesn't care that he or she can't remember your name.  And so on.  And then, of course, he applied all of this to himself and his situation - and our situation.  And, even with "the greatest, most well orchestrated  transition in the history of Methodism" it's still a delicate "first date" experience.

David then went on to preach an excellent, challenging sermon - including asking the entire congregation to memorize the scripture above.   I hope you'll memorize it too because, if you're feeling low, it can save you at least a couple of visits at the psychiatrist's office.


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Me, Earl and the Dying Girl

Yesterday Dave and I went to our little jewel of an art theater, the Enzian to see the Sundance Film Festival award winning film,  "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl."

I loved this smart, funny, sad, real movie about families.

My biggest take-away was the reminder that we can't protect our kids from pain.  Why would we even try?  It's part of life.  It's part of loving each other.  I loved that the boy's mom, who seemed pretty clueless in some ways, pushed her son into a painful situation.  It was the right thing to do.

By the way, the adults in this film were not portrayed as total doofuses.  They were loving, flawed and complex.  I loved that the teens were ordinary (make that normal) looking.  The only actors in the movie I recognized were the moms, played by Connie Britton and Molly Shannon.

The Dying Girl, played by Olivia Cook, Me, played by
Thomas Mann, and Earl, played by RJ Cyler.

To me, movies, when they're done well,  are story-telling at its best.


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Pope Francis Affirms My Lifestyle

There has been an avalanche of negative stuff on social media recently, what with the Supreme Court decisions and other events.  In the midst of it all some sane voices have prevailed.  My bishop, Ken Carter, sent out a fantastic list of ways to handle the current onslaught, but my favorite list is from Pope Francis.  Here it is, straight from the Catholic News Service.  The points are his.  The comments are mine.

The Pope’s 10 Tips for a Happier Life

1. “Live and let live.” Yes, I find trying to monitor everybody's behavior to be exhausting.  

2. “Be giving of yourself to others.” I like when Clark Howard, the radio guy, says "How may I serve you today?"  I like saying that to Dave. 

3. “Proceed calmly” in life. I'm totally into this.  I have a big jigsaw puzzle going on the dining room table.  Why?  Because it calms me.  I like turning chaos into order. 

4. A healthy sense of leisure.  I like to call this "The ministry of being."  (Rather than always doing.)

5. Sundays should be holidays. I get that some people have to work on Sunday but I'm totally into the concept of Sabbath.  Everything works better when we lay low on a regular basis. 

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people.  I'm all for people of all ages working (except me, of course, I'm retired.)  I think toddlers to old folks need meaning and purpose.  I think there is dignity in almost all work.  I used to tell me kids that I really missed them when they were away at camp because I had to do their chores.  They knew they were an important part of keeping our ship afloat. 

7. Respect and take care of nature. Yes, every day in every little and big way we can. 

8. Stop being negative.   Pope Francis says, “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem.  I agree.  And I think it extends to talking badly about other countries, other cultures other races as well as our next door neighbor.  And being negative makes me unhappy. 

9. Don’t proselytize; respect others’ beliefs.   Yes!  

10. Work for peace. 

I am working on this 3 feet long puzzle on the dining
room table because the Pope wants me to. 

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