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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS- MARCH, '24

                   UP THE CREEK

      Florida Park's Newsletter- March, 2024

Hello Neighbors,

  It's SPRINGTIME in Gainesville.  The azaleas are so bright you gotta wear sunglasses.

I haven't banged out a newsletter in a spell so here's my latest.

 

PICNIC

Our Spring picnic is coming up in a month. 

We will gather on Sunday, April 14th,  in Parker Park (NE 5 Ave at 20 St) from 3-6 p.m.  It's always fun and I hope you can join us.

It is sponsored by our University Park Neighborhood Association ("UPNA").  You need not be a member to attend (membership is just 20 bucks a year. You can join at www.upnagnv.org).  

We have two big picnics and one Halloween parade

Mr. Bones and friends leading the procession last October.
 (plus a few street parties) every year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BIT OF HISTORY

   A neighbor did some research and told me 

-The oldest house in Gainesville ("The Bailey House") is just 7 blocks east of us. It is now  Persimmon School at NW 6 St and 11th Ave. The Bailey Plantation consisted of many structures and hundreds of acres tended by enslaved people. Many of their descendants still live here.


-Florida Park (8th to 16th Aves, 13th to 22d Sts.) was one big farm in the early 1900's. In the 30's the UF swimming team would practice in pond north of 9th Street (It was clear and spring-fed before we messed it up).

-In the 1920's a religious group bought the farm to turn it into Dixieland Bible College which never came to be. 

-Rainbow Bridge (in Rattlesnake Woods)

was built by the guys who ride their bikes madly across it at night, 20 years ago.

Every two years helpful neighbors volunteer to re-paint it. "Yellow" and "Orange" were just restored.  

 

ANOTHER PARADE

Last December many Florida Park people

The Dancing Dinosaurs from Melrose

participated in Gainesville's new event, "The Flying Pig Parade".  

   It says great things about our 'hood when so many residents jumped into this fun-filled procession. 

  *Fabric artist Teri Hamill flew her home-made pig.  Lee and Gina had them flying from bamboo sticks. 

*Bobby and his grand kids led the procession.



 

*Eddie and his band, "Ramos Pinta" got the crowds dancing,

*Ward created the Runaway Ballot Box that would not  let anyone vote,

 

* Megan supplied a golf cart for the Star Theater group.  *Kevin was a parade marshal and *Francesca wrangled the groups at the parade's start. *Carol and David were puppeteers operating Mr. Bones!

 *Tina and Shirley

pranced and danced with "Girls Who Just Wanna Have Fun" and  *Pam and Carol led the spectacular Banned Book Brigade.

What an incredible showing from the talented residents of Florida Park!

Start planning your performance when the pig flies again on December 28th!


The Queen of Creativity, Savannah Elliot




UPNA MEETING

Subdivision with 400 s.f. houses in Austin, Texas
    UPNA has monthly online board meetings that anyone can attend. At the most recent, UF professor Peggy Carr shared her views on how our city commissioner, Bryan Eastman's proposed zoning changes to increase residential building density, will affect our city.  The next meeting is tonight (3-12) at 7.


 SAVING ENERGY

 I volunteer with the Community Weatherization Coalition. We do free home energy "tune-ups" for local residents. Last week my CWC partner and I visited the home of Suzetta Riggs on NW 4 St.  In our effort to reduce her GRU bill we, among other things, installed energy-saving light bulbs, a low-flow shower head, and connected her with a non-profit that can help her with insulation and roofing problems.  If you'd like CWC to help reduce you energy bills contact them at info@communityweatherization.org.


NEW NEIGHBORS

We've got new "creekers", folks that have purchased  houses on the amazing creeks in Florida Park. 

Sita, Romain, and their kids moved into the brick house on the west end of 14th Ave last month.

 

 

Brian, Jaclyne, and their children move from their lake house in Melrose to be closer to everything that

Gainesville offers. The family loves their new place on 10 Ave.  

We welcome them all; its great to have more families with kids living on the west side of 18th.

EATING THE PAPER'S HUMBLE PIE

   I have enjoyed the luxury of the morning paper landing in my driveway all my life. I didn't know it was luxury until deliveries stopped last month. "Too few readers", I was told. Reading newspapers online to me is like watching a movie on a phone.               It ain't right.


MOVING ON

Why do obituaries get buried in the news? Many of the departed led remarkable lives. Our neighbor, Geoff Pietsch, left us Christmas Eve. The retired history teacher/long-distance running coach was much loved by his high school students. Former ones visited him often. Over the years you probably enjoyed his many thoughtful letters in the Gainesville Sun.

While Doug Massey lived in Duckpond he always enjoyed marching in Florida Park's Halloween parades. The retired  educator loved world travel too. Last year he and his wive, Anna, spent two weeks in Tajikistan (it's just SW of Kyrgystan). That's Doug was wearing one of that trip's purchases as he holds up Mr. Bones' right hand in October's parade (see photo at the top). Doug, who was the "Silenced Professor' in December's pig parade, died during a Shands operation on 2-21-24.

I'd like to also say "so long" to the hundreds of sandhill cranes who left for North Dakota last month.
Their annual high-flying formations


with warbling song are one more  North Florida delight.

They will return and and so will I with more neighborhood news.

That's it from NW 12th Road.

May the good news be yours.

Your faithful scribe,

Glenn


 


Sharing in Florida Park



 

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

GOODBYE TOO SOON

   

    Four days ago I had a long conversation with my friend, Doug Mackey. We joked about his heart operation coming up on my birthday (yesterday, February 20th). I assured him he'd do fine, that nothing bad ever happens on the day I was born. 

 
       I was wrong. His wife just called to tell me he died a few hours ago,  "Complications", she said.    

      Doug and I had a lot in common. Friends in Miami, we both moved up to G'ville just before Covid.  Sharing a bent sense of humor he'd help with my parades and other projects.

 

Just last December he was the "Silenced Professor" in the Flying Pig Parade. A year before that he wore the nine-foot puppet in our "Dr. Fauci Look-Alike Contest". 

       

 

 

 

The 76 year-old retired educator died, I suppose, surrounded by medical personnel. His wife, Anna, was nearby in a waiting room hoping for good news.

       That's all I know.  My friend is gone and the silenced professor will speak no more. 

                     _________________________

 



 

Monday, January 22, 2024

THE WORLD'S FIRST FLYING PIG PARADE

      It took a year to put on a one-hour parade but it was well worth it.  The first Flying Pig Parade stepped out at 2 p.m. on December 30, 2023.

   There were cameras everywhere, including my own. I'd like to share a few of our photographs.

   We lined up with our groups in the staging area. This was a great place to shoot paraders-in-waiting.

 

These people below were from the distant past, looking for a new site for Gainesville's renaissance fair.


Pink with passion, Julie Anspach encouraged her "Weird Barbies" to practice their dance.
The Star Center Theaters Baton and Flag Corps were anxious to march.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Fauci was chill,  hanging out with his fans.

 

 

 

 

 

Shana and her friend,  magnificent winged pigs (on skates), found our parade route's bricks


impossibly bumpy. They stuck to the sidewalks.

 

 

 


 

 

  Gainesville is a "Bee City", part of a pollination nation.  Here's Jackie (right)  is about to celebrate  with two of her flower girls.

 

 

 

I was all over the place making sure the pig would fly.

 

 

 


Thanks to Hutch and his band, "The Weeds of Eden", we had a flying pig float waiting to enter our procession.

 

 

Our emcees, Gregg Jones,

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Stan Richardson,

 

 

 

 

introduced our grand marshals, Sheila Payne and Paul Ortiz, 

along with special guests (on vacation), Daddy and Mrs. Claus.

 

Then we waited,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and waited,


 

for the flying pig to land. We could not begin until it did.


When she finally descended our grand procession took its first steps.

 

 

The Altman family led the way


Followed by the Star Center Theatre's Baton & Flag Corps


This group was promoting banned books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and members of the Dr. Fauci Fan Club shouted, "In Tony we trust!".

 

Bee City came buzzing by then 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" turned SE 1st into a street dance. 

 

 

City officials told us early on that we could not have real pigs in our pig parade. 

Jim Harper told me his dog, Emmet, was as chubby as one so we had them join us.

 

After the parade I discovered  this little girl had carried her little oinker in our procession.  She had not been aware of the no pork decree.

 

 

 

 

The magnificent Dragonbox Theater entry

Griffin Wulf towering above puppeteer, George O'Brien

 

 The amazing artist, Savannah Elliot, could have been her own parade.

 

Multi-talented Jill Dumas has led her colorful clown band in parades for years. They loved performing in The Pig so much they went around twice.












 


 

Soon the entire city commission will be wearing purple pork-pie hats

A few of our elected officials even joined the fun.

 

The Smooth Flava dance crew were a crowd favorite with their fan-snappin' moves. 

 





Regina, the leader of this group, had to ask the audience for quiet so they could read.






The Morris Dancers showed us how they "got down" in England 500 years ago.





The Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery featured their Grave-Digger Drill Team along with a classic funeral casket and cart. 

Their chant: "Hey, hey, ho, ho, we dig the hole and in you go!"

 

 

 

 

 

Their twelve-foot mascot,  "Mr. Bones", followed.

Carlos carried the bones while David and Carol kept them moving.



Our Melrose friends came to Gainesville with their wild  DANCING DINOSAURS.

They boogied so hard its no wonder they went extinct.

 



Even our local math aficionados were in the mix.

,,

as were happy fish reminding us that the seas are rising.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Barbie movie was huge in '23 so our edgy endeavor brought out the WEIRD BARBIES.






 
THE KRAMPUS TWINS

 

followed by Iver Thue as BIG PIG

 

and Michael Shields as Super Swine!

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peggy Bowie put this incredible group together  standing up for women's rights.




We had music too.  Our bands included the "Weeds of Eden" (above), "Head Stash", and the salsa group, "Ramos Pinta".

     The Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice sponsored the "Pinta" group and  also partnered with us in seeking grants.


 

Many of our groups asked, "Where's our country headed?  For instance, it's getting harder and harder to vote.

These voters had to chase down a ballot box and as soon as they deposited their ballots, the box spit them out!  It happened twenty times.

 

We thank Ward Shelly, the guy inside the box, for running away from the voters so quickly.


 

 

This family spent the whole time looking for their lost chicken. Sadly, they never found it.

 

 

King Mango came up from Coconut Grove to see what all the fuss was about.


Maha danced and pranced

while a former President asked an important question (when he flipped his sign the other side read, "Absolutely!").

 

Our local Veterans For Peace chapter marched solemnly reminding us that war is good for nothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our procession finally ended with Santa and his wife heading out on a well deserved vacation. 

 


                            ________________

                         ___________________

                               _____________



  

Afterwards we retreated to Bo Diddley Plaza to celebrate Bo's 95th birthday. 


Had the Gainesville legend still been alive he'd probably would have marched with us. The Showtime Band entertained singing "Happy Birthday" as we shared Bo's cake.                   
   ______________

 

The parade was a huge endeavor by a devoted group of volunteers. I thank them all along with the photographers whose work you see above. Many made videos too.

I thank my wife, 

-Francesca, who helped in many ways and put up with my craziness for the last year,

-Shirley, who created our website (flyingpigparade.org) and maintained it magnificently,   


-Heidi, for designing our popular poster, and,

-the many organizations and donors who "shared the dream" and funded our unique event.

To see more photos, many have posted on our Flying Pig Parade Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/619570883232508 .

Ron Cunningham wrote an excellent photo essay about the whole  affair at https://freegnv.com/2023/12/31/wait-i-missed-the-flying-pigs/

I have no photographs of a number of groups for this blog but I thank you, just the same, for being a part of our zany event.

A friend is editing a ten-minute video that will include most groups. We'll gather for its grand premiere in a couple of weeks.

Something tells me we started something good. Next December let's make the pig fly again!

              _____________________________
      








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