Savannah and Florida # 1
(10-29-2004)

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Savannah is the city that General Sherman left standing, so that years later Forest Gump could be filmed sitting on one of its park benches to tell us about life and chocolate; as if we didn’t already know that life is chocolate. The historical area is quite well-preserved with squares and parks spaced regularly. It’s all quite charming, and that means old.

An interesting point worthy of a little “hmm…” In the past, the South (except for parts of Florida) never received, nor encouraged, the number and variety of immigrants that the North did, and therefore none of the advantages. This factor significantly contributed to the South’s relative economic and social stagnation. Hmm….

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

Yup, Florida is where the first European immigrants came to North America, almost a hundred years before Plymouth. And we all know about Ponce de Leon. But whatever gave the four-and-a-half foot tall Ponce the idea that he would find a fountain of youth in this land of La Florida? (By the way, he named the State) Well, it seems that he heard about a native tribe, the Timucua, that averaged over six feet in height and lived an average age much longer than the Europeans. So, being a Spaniard (and the Spaniards were in a very Inquisitive mood at the time), the adventurous Ponce put out his cigar and set out from Puerto Rico to make a little Inquiry of his own.

Ponce thought the answer was the water (why not the mangos, I don’t know) and decided to have a sip. Not long thereafter, he was killed in a battle with the Seminoles and the Timucua were wiped out by the white mans’ diseases. So, Ponce gets honored with a bunch of statues, and the Timucua…well, have you ever heard of them? By the way, I tried some of the water (as if I need it) and it stinks of sulfur.

Wonder of all wonders. Ripley’s Believe it or Not, the original museum which prides itself on being open 365 days per year was, Believe it or Not, closed!

WORLD GOLF VILLAGE

I only spent a short time at this golfer’s equivalent of Cooperstown. It’s a beautiful building with a country club atmosphere and full of memorabilia. A small section is devoted to Harvey Penick, probably the most revered guru of the game. I suspect his words will always have relevance: “Life is full of minor annoyances and few matters of great consequence.” Can I get another “Hmm….

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

But if there’s only one reason to visit Florida, this is the place: From the full sized rockets on display to a trip through NASA and the gantries, from a full size shuttle (with tanks) to the original control room of the first moon landing, from speaking directly with a live astronaut to observing on-going construction of the space station modules. And the best part is being close-up to the overwhelming Saturn V rocket, the cornerstone of the moon missions. There’s much much more, and it’s all privately financed.

One of the many interesting things I learned at the Space Center: At lift-off, the shuttle makes a tremendous amount of noise, so much so that it’s enough to tear the shuttle apart, by vibration. So, in order to dampen the energy, they direct 400,000 gallons of water into the pad, and the huge billows of ‘smoke’ you see at lift-off are comprised mostly of water being instantly vaporized. Thus, the shuttle carries the seeds of its own destruction, but is saved from destroying itself. A little Shakespearean, no?

HURRICANES

Traveling south from St Augustine along old state Highway 1, all the way to West Palm Beach, the evidence of massive damage is clearly visible. Practically every structure has some damage; roofs, sidings, windows. But most of the damaged structures are old, whereas the newer buildings fared much better. In a sense, it’s almost like a forest fire; the older structures are being removed by nature, so the newer ones can take their place. I’m sure this thought pleases all those who were displaced. Ahem.

But the major problem, for me anyhow, was trying to get a motel room. All motels along the major highway, Route 95, had no vacancy. Reasons were many: Some hotels were damaged, while others were occupied by displaced residents, those without power, utility crews, workers from out of State, and insurance claims adjusters. There was so much damage that there was an influx of 35,000 adjusters to handle the load. I ended up staying in a couple of places, along old Route 1, that I would never have stayed in normally. But I was glad to have the room, and I’m sure it was a heck of a lot better than the back country of Niger, right niece? Besides, most of the golf courses were doing just fine.

MIAMI BEACH

Miami Beach, or more precisely South Beach (never call it SoBe) was resurrected in the ‘70s as a playground for adults, but not in the Disney/Vegas style. Instead, it’s incorporated into the older and refurbished Art Deco hotels throughout the area. Even the newer buildings have an Art Deco motif. In fact, there are 32 approved colors, and all new buildings are restricted to this colorful pastel palette. The Art Deco style has many variations, from streamlined and nautical to Hollywood kitsch meets 30’s swing. They call it Cocktail Deco.

I’ve been to most major cities, and this place is definitely party central, all night long and seven days a week. Young people come from all over, many from the Caribbean, just to party. Miami gets more days of sunshine per year than anyplace in the U.S., and the beaches are loaded with topless young ladies. There are more boob jobs here than the Defense Department could ever hope for. Three days was enough.

ADDENDA

That’s it for now. The weather is gorgeous, and indeed this is a great state; more about that the next time. But now it’s on to Key West, the Everglades, and up the west coast of Florida.

By the way, all arrests in New York City on August 31st at The World Trade Center were dismissed; that means mine. But the matter is far from over. Michael Bloomberg (as evil a person as they come, really) and the NYPD have a big lesson to learn. Class action suits will be filed, and the evidence against them is overwhelming. Their actions are inexcusable: using entrapment to arrest a great number of innocent people, treating them like rabid dogs, then saying “Oops, we’re sorry.”

My opinion of the NYPD has changed considerably. Just look at their extreme over-reaction at the Red Sox/Yankee game, stationing a slew of helmeted cops along the sidelines. It was completely absurd. 9/11 or no 9/11, if those in charge can’t use their brains, and they see baseball fans and innocent marchers as potential terrorist threats, then they should be held accountable. And it all starts from that major idiot-brain Bush. Citizens carrying any protest sign, or even a Kerry poster at a Bush campaign are detained by the Secret Service as a possible threat (as if a terrorist is going to bring attention to himself.) That’s the ridiculous policy the dummy citizens in this country are starting to accept, without questioning those responsible. Folks, it’s time to bring back “Animal Farm” and make it compulsory reading in schools.

Hmm….. See ya.