Harvest time!
I may have lost an avocado tree in the front yard but there are still two in the backyard and this week as I was meandering back there, picking up palm fronds, cleaning up plants and such, I spotted a shiny green avocado on the ground, which was surely knocked to the ground thanks to those consistently heavy rains and winds we’ve had in the afternoon. It’s not ripe yet but I can’t wait until it is! And now I have to keep watch on the tree to see what kind of harvest we have this year.
Now here’s what went on since last Friday morning when this blog hit your inbox.
Here we are with Kevin and Michelle enjoying draft beers at Cuckoo Clock Miami.
Friday night, during a torrential downpour/lightning storm, our dinner plans with Kevin and Michelle were as quickly derailed as they were salvaged. Turns out Bar Bucce in Little River where we’d planned to dine lost power but we were able to secure a reservation at Meze Miami in the MiMo District, a new Mediterranean restaurant I noticed recently while driving down Biscayne Boulevard. The food was very good even though the service was mediocre. After dinner we hit a couple of other spots, stopping first at Cuckoo Clock for a beer then at Magic 13 Brewing, both are in Little Haiti, for another draft and where they had a live band. It was a little loud but the vibe was still fun and although I enjoyed their craft brew called El Tremendo Lio, I was not however, a fan of their whiskey.
Saturday night Vance and I went to support Kaitlyn and her band Movie Night Mad Dawgs MGRC Finale where Kaitlyn and her band performed at The Ground, click on the link above to see a video of them performing. And because we were in downtown Miami, parking was $26 an hour which was outrageous!!!! But it was all worth it to watch Kaitlyn perform and get to hang out with her sister Hailey and my sister Susy, niece Elena and her boyfriend AJ and their adorable son Jojo! Vance and I went to Dogma Grill, one of our favorite spots along Biscayne Blvd. in the MiMo District, for a bite afterwards.
Sunday, Vance and I went for a late afternoon walk (very humid!) through Biscayne Park and saw the neighborhood sheep grazing in a nearby yard. I know it lives in one of the houses across from where it was grazing and all the neighbors are perfectly fine with it wandering around snacking on their lawn.
I know the photo doesn’t look like the place is crowded but there were people sitting on the right having lunch and waiting for their orders. They did a nice job with it.
Their sliders are my favorite and Vance has had their chicken sandwich and loved it.
Tuesday I was so looking forward to, and went to the grand opening of Burgers & Shakes, where I ordered their sliders and a fountain soda to go. The place was busy with North Miami Police in there grabbing lunch as well as former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns (who also btw, donates all the Christmas trees to St. Martha’s Church for Christmas, my parish since 1990). I went up to Kevin and introduced myself.
Wednesday I drove up to Fort Lauderdale to visit artist Nathan Justice Moyer’s warehouse and see his work up close. We had a great conversation, I got some insight into his latest project which of course, incorporates letters and poetry and he gifted me a pair of adorable earrings (pictured above) that he made from recycled plastic. I’m hoping to pitch a story to WLRN’s Environmental reporter about Nathan’s work as an artist and also founder of Freeplastic.org. I wrote about Nathan’s poetry installation at MOCA for Artburst Miami last year. Click here to read it.
Thursday morning I decided to finally brave the heat and humidity and take one of my long walks through Biscayne Park to kick off the day and it was great until about the last six or seven blocks when I got soaking wet. It was still worth it though.
Frances and I take a quick selfie before the screening.
Then that night, and I’m going to get longwinded here, I went to the Freedom Tower downtown to watch the documentary “The Last Days of the Miami News” which was presented by the Miami-Dade Public Library’s AV Club. Walking into the Freedom Tower again since I was last there a few months ago, gave me goosebumps all over again. The screening was on the second floor and once I saw the setup they had with rolled up printed copies of front pages of the paper for us to take home and books on display telling the paper’s history until its closing in 1988, I knew this would be a special night. It was extra special when I spotted my friend Frances standing next to me, who came to the screening because she read about it in my blog! It was so cool to sit with her and watch the film. Great seeing you Frances and thanks for coming out!
I have so much to say about last night. Starting with my conversation with former Miami News and UPI photographer A.G. Montanari, who strolled in with a blue satin baseball jacket emblazoned with the words Miami News on the back. No way I would pass on the opportunity to speak to him so I walked up and asked him about the jacket to kick off the conversation. He told me some wild stories of his news photography days, like when he was held hostage in Nicaragua and managed to escape with all his body parts intact or when he missed out on a Pulitzer Prize because he was on vacation sans camera of course, and witnessed a crime in progress which he quickly phoned into the newsroom. They immediately sent a photographer out to the scene and so the Pulitzer went to that team instead.
I was transfixed watching the documentary where Director Mel Kiser and his crew truly captured the tense-filled last day of The Miami News of the infighting and frustration between staff and editors in that newsroom, fueled by the uncertainty of their future which hinged on a last minute decision by Cox Newspapers. Hearing reporter Heather Dewar mention Joe Carollo who hadn’t returned her call for an interview, watching the tense decision by the Publisher and Managing Editor to censor the paper’s editorial cartoonist whose final drawing and rude gesture was nixed for something much more appropriate and watching the graphic artist put together one final page featuring several of the paper’s most impactful front pages from 1901 to 1988, were just some of the highlights. The film is a true homage to the passion and grit of the people that make up a newsroom. I can’t wait to watch Kiser’s other films, which all tell Miami stories and are available on the Miami-Dade Public Library’s website. The Miami News documentary will soon be uploaded there so if you want to watch it, keep checking back. And… one last cool nugget I found out. My brother Mario shared with me that he delivered the Miami News as a teenager, my friend Frances helped her brother who was a paperboy for the Miami News, prepare them for delivery and Vance also told me he helped a friend of his with his delivery route when they were kids.
And… I have a soft spot in my heart for the Miami News because when I was in college, I had the opportunity to write a few articles for them and it’s a time in my college years that I’ll always treasure.
On that note, I want to share with you a link to my latest article for Artburst Miami on this weekend’s Vida Fest put on by Carne Viva Dance Theatre. I was ecstatic to see the article published on the WLRN website. I love WLRN and see it as one of the longstanding true South Florida-based news outlets whose broad reporting covers essential stories that affect and impact all of us living here. Click on the links above to read it on either site.
That’ll do it for this week. I’ve got a few fun things planned for this weekend but I’ll tell you about those next Friday.
Now here are a few recommendations:
The Miami FilmLab Craft Series is back, click here to see what they’ve got coming up. Even if you’re not in the film industry, these talks are interesting and provide an insider’s look at the world of filmmaking from every angle. They happen at the Coral Gables Cinema on Aragon Avenue.
Other places that are always fun are the Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach, a beautiful place to visit where admission is inexpensive and where they’ve got free tours happening in August. There’s also Greynolds Park which is just a few minutes north of it and is always worth a visit and I’ll say the same for Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah which I’ve visited many times and is always a lovely place to spend time.
Until next Friday, if you live in South Florida, or wherever you are, stay cool, stay dry and enjoy the last bits of summer we’ve got left.
