Move Over Nashville - West Palm Cowboy Club Has Opened On Clematis Street

West Palm Cowboy Club, seen in the background of the photograph above, opened this past March on Clematis Street, bringing Nashville energy, barbecue, and country music to downtown West Palm Beach, Florida. South Florida native Thomas Wesley, also known as DJ Diplo, serves as the venue's musical director, which is evidently a big deal, and Miami chef Adrian Ricouz of "Slab Daddy BBQ fame" is the culinary director. The venture was put together by Brian Swanson, who says the club is a "refined, grown-up version" of Bristol Republic, his Columbus, Ohio barbecue restaurant. And why am I taking an interest in this South Florida honky-tonk? Mainly because back in December while I was down here in Stuart, I saw a news report on television that said West Palm Cowboy Bar had ties to a $61 million Ohio political scandal. Now something like that gets my attention. Evidently a man named Juan Cespedes pleaded guilty to participating in a federal bribery case involving more than $60 million and focusing on former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder. When asked, Cespedes said that he was just a consultant on the West Palm Cowboy Club project, no doubt something to do while waiting to be sentenced in the bribery case. And now that the club has opened, Cespedes has disappeared from the scene. Not nearly as exciting as initial news reports seemed to imply. I was expecting The Godfather but got reality instead. And by the way, Cespedes expects to be sentenced to less than 6 months in prison in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors. My advice to Cespedes: in the future, stay far far away from politicians of any stripe. 

Remembering Dancin' In The Streets

This is August, and since it is not exactly tourist season here in Stuart, Florida, what with the 90-degree temperatures and 100 percent humidity, not much is happening around town. However, back in the day, August was when Dancin' in The Streets (sometimes called "drinking in the streets" by locals) took place on a Saturday evening in downtown Stuart. And it seemed like everyone in town looked forward to this street party and music festival each year. People would talk about it in stores and restaurants and ask each other if they were going, which everyone, of course, answered with an enthusiastic "Yes!" Working at the University of Denver Bookstore for almost 30 years, the best time to take a 2-week vacation for me was in August, while the students were gone, and so I was always here visiting my mother Mary when that event took place. However, she was not a "dancin' in the streets" kind of person, and so I never actually attended the festival until 2015. And I must say, I really enjoyed it. It was great fun. Sadly, just a few years after that, it was canceled, and I still don't know why. I contacted Stuart Main Street, the festival's sponsor, and was told people just lost interest in it, although judging by the size of the crowds the time I went, I found that hard to believe. Still another of life's mysteries to ponder. And yes, that is indeed my sister Susan standing in front of a poster advertising the festival, which I took well over 20 years ago. About as close as can nail it down these days.

Casino Royale - The Luxury Yacht, Not The James Bond Movie

Casino Royale is a 236.2-foot luxury yacht which was built in 2018 and refit, whatever that means, in 2023. It has all the requirements needed for a luxury yacht, including a helipad, swimming pool, movie theater (showing guess what!), you name it. All for a mere 75 million dollars. I first saw this yacht at the Palm Beach International Boat Show this past March. It was being hyped on the show's website as a must see, and so I was sure it would be snapped up immediately. But lo and behold, as I was walking along Lake Worth in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida the other day, I spotted it sitting at the end of a pier, as seen in the photograph on the left. Where it must have been sitting since that boat show. And why hasn't it sold? Does the movie theater have only one screen? Is the swimming pool not Olympic size? Questions, questions. The website states that the Casino Royale sleeps up to 12 guests in 6 staterooms, which means, of course, that even if it is a luxury yacht, you might very well have to have a roommate. That's luxury living? The website also states that there is room on the boat for a crew of 18. Great - sharing a room AND having to pay for a crew of 18. 

The agent for this yacht, by the way, is Merle A. Wood, whose office appears to be located in the Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Travis McGee, mystery writer John D. McDonald's famous fictional "salvage consultant" and knight in tarnished armor, moored his 52-foot houseboat, the Busted Flush, at Slip-F18. Years ago, my sister Susan took the photograph on the right of me posing with at that plaque, which marked the spot where that famous fictional houseboat was docked. I really enjoyed seeing it. However, Bahia Mar was reconstructed in 2003 to replace fixed docks with floating docks, in order to accommodate - you guessed it - Superyachts, and Slip F-18 was no more. The plaque is now located in the Dockmaster's Office and Gift Shop. Life just keeps getting better, doesn't it? And by the way, I am just amazed to see that I haven't changed a bit since that photo was taken.

Watching Baseball Games That Matter: I've Forgotten How Stressful That Can Be

My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, are still in first place in the American League Central, 2 1/2 games in front of the Cleveland Indians (I mean Guardians), but the Sox have been struggling a bit since the All-Star break. I was able to watch their last two games, against the Texas Rangers, on MLB.com and both games were pretty exciting, by which I mean stressful to watch. Tuesday night the Sox were ahead in the 9th inning by a score of 11-7, with two out, and their pitcher walked the bases loaded, with the tying run at the plate. I was sure they were doomed, but Grant Taylor came in and got the final out and his 8th save, and the Sox won the game 11-7. And last night, in the 6th inning, the Sox were ahead 10-2 when Johathan Cannon, just recalled from AAA Charlotte, came into the game and promptly gave up 2 runs. Here we go again, I thought. But Cannon settled down and the Sox won 10-4. 

But still, the White Sox are 5-5 over their last 10 games, while the Indians - I mean Guardians - are 8-2 over their last 10. And so, it will not be a walk in the park (no pun intended) getting to the playoffs. But the Sox have some very good players, having brought up 14 rookies this season, and so however the team finishes, things are looking very positive for the future. As for their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, they are 4-6 over their last 10 games and 6 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, although still in good position to make the playoffs as a wildcard team. Such is life for baseball fans on both sides of the city. But in the photograph on the right, both White Sox television sportscasters Steve Stone (on the left) and Connor McKnight (on the right) seem very confident in the team, and so I will not worry. Except while they are actually playing a game. As for my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, they are 3-7 over their last 10 games and solidly in last place in the National League West, 28 games out of first. And so, their rebuilding efforts are still ongoing, to say the least. And by the way, watching the game last night, I was surprised to learn White Sox fans still sing nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye whenever the opposing team takes out their pitcher. Good to know some things never change.

A Visit To Bob Graham Beach

Most of the time when I go to the beach here in Stuart, I go to Stuart Beach, located on Hutchinson Island just to the east of that South Florida city. But just for fun, the other day I stopped at Bob Graham Beach, about a mile or so to the north. It is a lot less crowded, and much less developed, as can be seen in the photograph above. The main reason I chose this particular beach to visit is because of its name. Bob Graham was the governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and represented Florida in the Senate from 1987 to 2005. He was a liberal Democrat back when that was still socially acceptable here in Florida and very popular. He focused on education, diversifying the state's economy, and the environment, and was responsible for the biggest environmental protection program in Florida history. Hence the reason for naming this still pristine beach after him. Good call.

Meanwhile, Back In Denver...

I saw in the Denver Post yesterday morning that a bear was found in a tree in Denver's Platte Park neighborhood. The exact location was at East Louisiana Avenue and South Pennsylvania Street, which is just 1 1/2 miles from my condo. Wildlife authorities say they have no idea how it got there, since there have been no recent bear sightings between the foothills, where it is assumed to have come from, and south-central Denver. My guess is Uber, but since I am originally from the Brainerd neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, where bear sightings are even more infrequent than Denver, I am, of course, not an expert. Wildlife officials tranquilized the bear and removed it to a "more appropriate location," which I hope is nearby Washington Park. I really want to get a picture of that Denver Bear. The only other Denver Bears I have taken photographs of were players on the AAA baseball team of that name that played at the old Mile High Stadium before the Colorado Rockies, a National League expansion team, began playing in Denver in 1993. And it is really not quite the same thing.

The Norton Museum Of Art

My sister Susan and I visited the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida yesterday afternoon. I visited this museum once before, and was very impressed with its photography collection, which includes works by Edward Weston, Henri Carter-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Edward Steichen, Nan Golden, and others, but unfortunately, the photography gallery was closed due to the installation of a new exhibit. No matter - there were some photographs in the other galleries, including a Diane Arbus, and the museum itself is a very pleasant place to just wander around, no matter what is on display. The Norton has a number of impressionist paintings in their collection, but we toured the entire museum without seeing any. Until we were leaving, that is, and discovered them displayed in the very first gallery, near the entrance, right off the closed photography gallery. I was no doubt so focused on the blocked entrance to the photography exhibit that I completely ignored the paintings in that first room when we arrived. That collection includes works by Monet, Cezanne, Dega, and Pissarro, by the way. Not bad for a city the size of West Palm Beach.

Like the Denver Art Museum (The DAM), the collection is pretty heavy on contemporary art. Some I liked, and some I didn't. Jackson Pollock's Night Mist was very nice, although both Susan and I were a little confused when we saw Joseph Beuys "Filzanzug" (felt suit) hanging on the wall. Basically, it was a suit of clothes on a hanger. Susan speculated that a visitor must have left it there, no doubt not needing a felt suit in the middle of August in Florida, but it was definitely part of the collection, no doubt paid for with real money. Go figure. I was happy to see that the Norton had several works by Marc Chagall on display, including the one in the photograph on the right, which I liked very much. I don't think I have seen any works by Chagall since visiting the Art Institute, back when I lived in Chicago.

And one of the Norton's most impressive works, in my opinion, is glass artist Dale Chihuly's Persian Sea Life Ceiling, seen in the photograph on the left. I remember being very impressed with Chihuly's work when it was exhibited at the Denver Botanic Gardens back in 2014, but for some reason, I could never remember Chihuly's name. The only name I could come up with was Gilhooley, who was a character played by Lee Marvin in the movie Donovan's Reef, a John Wayne film from the 1960s. But no matter - everyone knew who I was referring to when I would mention the Gilhooley exhibit at the Botanic Gardens, although it does explain why I could never get a job as an art critic.