The Upside of the Downside - Aiden Lowell Fitzgerald

 

The theme for the first of July is "Upside Down."

The photo features our latest great-grandson.  His name is Aiden Lowell Fitzgerald.  I prefer that he be known as A. Lowell Fitzgerald, but I don't think that's going to happen.  Nevertheless, I predict he will become a great poet or possibly a comedian.

The picture features his downside.  The upside is that once A. Lowell is down, he will remain down for quite awhile. Or, until he gets hungry.  Which means his mother can do other things, like take a nap.  

And some clown thought this funny enough to turn upside down in celebration.  The clown's name is William S., another poet with a small reputation.

If you click HERE, you can view other takes on the theme by City Daily photographers.

A Handsome Steed

He was a handsome steed
of indeterminate parentage
and what were the odds
such a one-of-a-kind wonder
should end up captured and confined
in an art gallery
in a small little town
in the middle of nowhere
in Florida of all places
where most of the faces
were lined and worn
from the wind and the sun
where people went not to galleries
but rather the beach
to have their fun

So he was left to himself
to gaze out the window
at the walkers and gawkers
who sauntered along
who sometimes caught his eye
and then stared and wondered
how in the hell he got there
which of late is what he'd been
wondering himself
'cause it had been a long time
and the sign said "Don't Touch!"
which drove him mad
and made him sad
for like most equines
he loved human contact
and now he was aging fast
and was plasticized with fear
that soon he'd be put on the shelf
where the only thing that
could ease his mind
was the thought he would not
be made into a couch.

You've Been Warned!!

Busy Day on Saturday at Cedar Key

On Saturday, the fishermen and fisherwomen come out in droves to Cedar Key. They bring their boats. On trailers. Sometimes I think there are more boat trailers than their are residents!

Sugarmill Restaurant Sign

The Sugarmill area is southwest of Ocala. We stopped at the Sugarmill Restaurant for lunch the other day. It was not a good experience. The service was lacking and the food mediocre. We won't be going back again. The beat-up old sign with flags waving in honor of Memorial Day or the 4th of July or something gives you an idea as to what the place is like.

Aspiring Aspirations

Photographic Poetry ...

a symphony in leaves
and all the earth sings
songs of joy and
breathes, breathes, breathes.

A Real Hot Rod!

We found this is The Villages. From the emblem on the back it appears to originally have had something to do with the Chrysler Corporation, but I'm not positive.

Afternoon storm

This is a typical afternoon storm rolling into our area, formed by the collision of hot air with cooler air, usually from the Gulf of Mexico.

Pawn Shop Army Jeep

As far as I can tell, this vehicle is used primarily to garner attention from passers-by; it is an advertisement for a pawn shop.

A Hot Summer Day at Ormond Beach

A sculpture or ?

This is not meant to be a puzzle, but I'm just not sure what the heck it is! We discovered it downtown. There are lots of goofy things downtown!

Ocala's Downtown Square Renovated

Ocala's downtown square had been neglected for a long time and was looking downright tacky.  Not anymore.  As part of a larger plan for revitalization of the downtown area, it has been renovated and updated and is now a much more pleasant place for our residents and visitors... and even the homeless. 

The "new" square also provides a nicer venue for various events which are held there such as concerts, art shows and the Farmer's Market which is a Saturday feature.

PERCHED ON THE EDGE - Lowell's new book

 

Lowell's new book, Perched on the Edge (Poems & Songs for Everyday), has just been released and is now available at Amazon and will soon be available at other book retailers.

Posted here are the front and back of the paper cover.  The book will also available in hardback and as an ebook.

If you decide to purchase a copy and then determine that your money was not totally wasted, I'd very much appreciate a brief review on Amazon.

The Amazon link is here.

Thank you and for those who buy it, I hope you enjoy it!

Ocala Wine Experience

The Ocala Wine Experience is located in downtown Ocala, just up the street from the La Cuisine restaurant, which we have featured on this blog a couple of times. I've not been in the Ocala Wine Experience and see no reason to visit in the near future. There's a pizza joint on the corner that I would consider, though.

The link to the Ocala Wine Experience website is here.

You've Got a Friend

"Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call, Lord, I'll be there, yeah, yeah,
you've got a friend. You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Oh, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend"

--from "You've Got A Friend," by James Taylor

Can you guess what this is?

Does this picture show:

1) A sculpture of Jay Leno laughing at Dave Letterman?

2) An ancient rune?

3) The face of the 17th Republican presidential wannabe?

4) Limestone quarried from Florida soil?

5) An X-ray of Einstein's brain?

The 17th Green and 18th Fairway - Royal Oaks Golf Club

Bridge over reflected waters - Silver Springs State Park

Re-purpurse-ing

One of the interesting things happening all over the world these days is the repurposeing of older, often vacant, and frequently industrial-type buildings. Sometimes they're remade into offices or condos or both.

It's a great idea, I think. Women, I have found, often need to repurpose their purses. Actually, in their case, it means buying a new purse as the old one has become too small too accommodate the many items they need to carry on their persons.

It was exciting, while out traveling around, to find a site for re-purposeing purses because I thought my female readers would appreciate looking over the purses available, while my male readers might find it a place to purposely avoid.

The House that John Built

Well, John Travolta didn't build the thing himself, but word is that he put up some money to have this "house" established in downtown Ocala. Travolta has a home just north of Ocala but has kept a low profile in this area of late. We go by this "house" often when in the downtown area, but seldom see more than one or two people go in or out of the place. I'd guess it will take a long time before Scientology gains a foothold in this community where fundamentalist Christianity rules the roost.

Vulture en garde

This is not a good photo and I apologize for that, but the subject matter was so interesting I couldn't resist snapping a couple of shots off. The scene is a local golf course. The debris was collected from tree trimmings and tree branches blown down in a recent storm.

The vulture was not afraid of us or was perhaps guarding a food treasure down in that trash!  He was watching something for sure!

Condo's for rent

Carwash for glasses and rings

No doubt the rings and the glasses you wear on a regular basis are getting a little scruffy and could use a good cleaning. Well, the next time you're in the Oaks Mall, you can go right to this machine, the "Carwash for Glasses and Rings," hand the machine some money and get your rings and your glasses cleaned quickly and thoroughly. Maybe. I've not tried it yet.

A fixed fence

Mimi's Cafe - It ain't what it used to be!

We have shown photos of Mimi's Cafe on several occasions in the past several years. Recently, some changes were made. It became more of "French" restaurant and the powers-that-be thought it wise to provide a number of new "French" menu items while at the same removing some of the old favorite menu items.

That did not work so well. Many people stopped dining at Mimi's. We stopped dining at Mimi's. From the looks of things, Mimi's has brought back some of the popular menu items, such as the delicious Cobb salad.

Still, it has not regained the status it had in former years. We stopped there the other day. No one greeted us. No one said hello. After a few minutes, we decided it wasn't worth the wait and left.

Goofy or stylish?

This was a photo I considered for our "stylish" theme day, but I figured I'd save it until we have a "goofy" day. I felt kind of goofy today, so here it is.

Rolls Royce in the rain

Some years back, we lived in Boca Raton, an upscale community in southeast Florida. We saw numerous Rolls Royces there. Rolls Royces are rare in Ocala. This is, I believe, the second one I've seen in the 10 years we've lived here. It might belong to John Travolta, who has a home in the Ocala area, but I don't think so.

Birdseed Bench in the Oak Run community

The Escalator

The other day, while riding an escalator, my mind became befogged with questions: Who invented the escalator? When was it invented? How rich did the inventor become from this invention.

As to riches, I drew a blank.  But I learned a couple of things from an article by Mary Bellis.  Back in 1892, Jesse Reno had come up with an idea for moving stairs.  He thought he would use it for fun and in 1895 built a ride at Coney Island which had moving stairs and raised passengers upward at an angle of 25 degrees.

It was Charles Seeberger, however, who came up with the word, "escalator," and he's the one who redesigned the escalator and who, with the Otis Elevator Company built the first commercial escalator in 1899.

Their contraption, which was made of wood, "won first prize at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle.  Seeberger, in 1910, sold his patent rights to the Otis Elevator Company.

I wonder if he ever regretted that?