Category: Uncategorized

One Afternoon in Miami

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. in Miami, April 13, 1966. Speaking to reporters at the Historic Hampton House.

Based on a film frame from footage in the Wolfson Archives collection.

It Selectric

IBM Selectric I

“The IBM Selectric typewriter was a highly successful line of electric typewriters introduced by IBM on 31 July 1961. […] Selectrics and their descendants eventually captured 75 percent of the United States market for electric typewriters used in business. […] Notable Selectric users from the world of literature include Isaac Asimov, Hunter S. Thompson, David Sedaris, P. J. O’Rourke, Stephen J. Cannell, and Philip K. Dick.”

–Wikipedia

The Creature, Revisited

I’ve cast my own reimagined version of the Frankenstein saga by cherry-picking three of my favorite performances from the many films made over the years.

Elsa Lanchester reprises her role from Bride of Frankenstein as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of the source material and narrator/Greek Chorus in my retelling.

Michael Sarrazin is back as The Creature, offering the beauty and pathos he provided in Frankenstein: The True Story.

Finally, Gene Wilder is Baron Victor Frankenstein, with a less comical (but equally unhinged) turn than in Young Frankenstein.

Water Walker

For the first time, I ran into an invasive/exotic Basilisk Lizard in our backyard. |

“The common basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus) is a species of lizard in the family Corytophanidae. The species is endemic to Central America and South America, where it is found near rivers and streams in rainforests. It is also known as the Jesus Christ lizard, Jesus lizard, South American Jesus lizard, or lagarto de Jesus Cristo for its ability to run on the surface of water.” -Wikipedia

Madam Secretary

Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

On December 17, 2020, President Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 15, 2021, by a vote of 51–40. Following her swearing-in on March 16, 2021, she became the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary and the second to serve in the Cabinet. –From Wikipedia

Mutual Admiration Society

Brian Wilson on The Beatles:

“Rubber Soul is probably the greatest record ever. It wasn’t just the lyrics and the melodies but the production and their harmonies.”

Paul McCartney on Brian Wilson:

“God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian.”

Local Hero

M. Athalie Range

I grew up in Miami when the struggle for civil rights was first cresting in the 1960s and 1970s. One name became quite well known as a relentless local champion for equity: M. Athalie Range.

Ms. Range was a Bahamian American civil rights activist and politician who was the first African-American to serve on the Miami City Commission. Later, Governor Reubin Askew selected her to be the first African-American since Reconstruction and the first woman to head a Florida state agency, the Department of Community Affairs. She also served as a federal official during the Carter administration.

“While on the [City of Miami] commission, Range sought to have garbage collection improved in black neighborhoods, which sometimes went three weeks between garbage pickups, while white neighborhoods got twice a week pickups. After a vote on her proposed ordinance to equalize garbage service was twice postponed, Range had her neighbors bring bags of garbage to the commission meeting and dump them on the commissioners’ desks. After that, the ordinance was passed.” -from Wikipedia.

Back to School

“In Desi Arnaz’s autobiography, A Book, he never mentions Miami High. […] School records show that Desiderio Arnaz entered Miami High School on October 2, 1934 and withdrew on January 24, 1935. […] That he did not mention his enrollment in the school in his autobiography would indicate that whatever little time he spent there was not satisfying. ‘He was teased a lot,’ recalled Lamar Louise Curry, who remembered him in her social studies class; she couldn’t recall why.”

The Stingaree Century: A 100-year History of Miami High School
-Howard Kleinberg

Probably his accent and permanent suntan had something to do with that. I drew him at the front door of his brief alma mater, having the last laugh (with a Latin beat).