Al Sharpton, Louis Farakan and us…
Well who would have ever thought we would travel all day in the hot sun at great expense to attend an Al Sharpton rally but that is exactly what we did. If you have been living in a cave you might be unaware that there was a tragic event in Sanford recently. A man(of Hispanic origin) who lived in a gated community had organized and headed a neighborhood watch. He had a concealed weapons permit. A 17 year old black youth was in the neighborhood supposedly walking to see his father’s girlfriend who lived there. Then something happened that no-one else actually saw and the youth lay dead.
In Florida they have a new “stand your ground” law that essentially provides that one does not need to retreat in order to avoid using deadly force to protect themselves. No arrest was made and the pot began to boil. The story went viral and national. Al Sharpton came to Sanford and held a rally last night for an estimated 10,000 in the park just across from the marina. We missed that, darn it. What a great picture for the blog of Brother Al and me. Alas it is not to be.
To be honest it is a bit strange here. One side of town is in an uproar and the other where we went to dinner seems like nothing is wrong. They are even having an arts festival.
Now Obama has commented and the Justice Department is here. Louis Farakan has made incendiary statements about taking the law in their own hands. The New Black Panther Party is handing out wanted dead or alive posters on the courthouse steps and the shooter has disappeared which might be wise given those posters.
Enough of that and back to boating. Here is a quick and dirty review of some events I may have missed in the last few days.
Beautiful old churches in Palatka.
Historic home in Palatka.
Seeburg speaker on the wall at Angel’s Diner. They don’t use them anymore and I will bet they would be worth a fortune to some hifi buff.
An unusual boathouse at Saratoga.
Something we all should aspire to do.
Churches in Welaka.
A note for our daughter Karen who owns Lava Hairstyles in Dawsonville. These folks are cutting your prices in Welaka. Maybe you need to think about an April Fools special.
A very unusual old Florida home near Acosta Marina. It features a wrap around lanai and full balcony. They are restoring it now.
The office at Acosta Marina.
Ma and Pa Osprey setting up housekeeping on the river. You see these everywhere. They seem unafraid and will fuss at you sometimes.
One person’s idea of where to have fun. Too bad we did not stop.
An airboat in Astor to take the tourists to see gators.
Now we are seeing big gators swimming in the river and that boat hightailing it are gator poachers. Real live swamp people. They did not want their picture taken as they had a gator in the boat.
A fuzzy picture of the king of the river, a bald eagle.
The opening of the Whitehair Bridge from Cbay’s viewpoint.
Life and death, the beginning and the end. What are you looking at here? Answer tomorrow.
In this fuzzy picture is a rare Limpkin. Birdwatchers can spend a lifetime and never see one. We have seen two. They are disappearing because they only eat apple snails and those are disappearing too.
The water police at Blue Springs. Total no wake idle speed zone.
Well let’s hang it up for tonight. My Stetson Royal Flush.
