Sunday Afternoon Trip To Palmetto

Just felt like a ride today so I went over the Skyway and drove around Palmetto for a while. Not too far from the dog pound is this cemetery. I don't know the name of it, but Hard-Scrabble might be appropriate.

It is a very unattractive piece of ground. Those who live up North are certainly used to lush green grass and nice landscaping. Here there is sanely soil with vegetation more akin to weeds than grass. If dying is bad enough you have to endure resting in this place.

I think I'd rather be in Philadelphia, as W.C. once exclaimed as his epitaph. Looking at this place, me, too.

This is a home-made canopy to protect it from, well, whatever. It never rains so must be the harsh sun. A little shade for the plot.

Here is a homemade cross made out of PVC pipe. Classy.

Some of the older plots and perhaps more well-to-do have these cement slabs, apparently to keep animals from digging at the remains.

Cemeteries down here certainly do have the slabs, something Northern plots do not have.

It is a little creepy, but, I suppose, it's what ever you are used to.

A well cared for plot, if a little gaudy.

Once back on the road, these birds lined up along the Bay ready for a snack.

The majestic Skyway.

Nice day, and it even rained on me. Just like home.

Waders fishing.

I might not be brave enough to go too far into the Bay.

A freighter heading to Tampa. That's St. Petersburg in the distance.

A rain spout, and it did rain on me. Only time that's ever happened down here.

Comments

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me, they came right from the MDH website. I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access. After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances. But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs. I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered. The original MDH at this site was just the front part. The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library. It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place. He passed away around 2002, I think. Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

Flashback Friday - Cold Case - Part One

53 years ago today, Gordon "Peel" Duncan walked into the dark post office in Seaton Illinois and was brutally assaulted by an individual or individuals. He died two days later. The murder was never solved. Gordon Duncan was one of the publishers of the Seaton Independent, a weekly newspaper in town that started in the late 1800's and stopped publishing in the 60's. We boys were just young children when this took place, but we have been fascinated by it ever since. The imagination of kids, I suppose or maybe the fact that it was unsolved. Regardless, this was a big deal in our little lives. For our parents it tended to shatter the idea that Seaton, our town, was safe. That it could fend off the forces of evil in the world, that in our little universe we would be impervious to harm was gone forever. For us kids I don't suppose we were old enough to know real fear. Fear for us was not getting our list ...

Existing In BFE

Search This Blog