Robert B. Parker's Showdown

I just finished reading Robert B. Parker's Showdown, the latest Spenser novel by Mike Lupica. I've always loved this series, created by the late Robert B. Parker, and when he passed away, I thought that would be the end of it. Happily, his family decided to hire first Ace Atkins and now Mike Lupica to continue the series, and both have done a good job of imitating Parker's style and producing new stories. The novels feature Spenser, a wise-guy Boston private investigator with a shady but fun sidekick named Hawk and a girlfriend, Susan Silverman, who is a Harvard-trained shrink. This time attorney Rita Fiore hire's Spenser to help a young man named Daniel Lopez, the son of an undocumented Guatemalan woman recently murdered in an apparent robbery attempt. Going through her papers, Lopez begins to suspect that Vic Hale, one of the biggest podcasters in the nation, who rose to fame with right-wing, anti-immigrant rhetoric, is his father, and wants to prove it, this at a time when Hale is about to sign a huge new contract. Revelations about the affair and a potential child could jeopardize his big deal, and when more bodies start to turn up, Spenser is determined to find out who is behind it all. I really did enjoy this story. The characters are witty and likeable, and it is very much like Parker's novels of old. Be sure to pick up a copy at your local library today.

My Father Nelson's Birthday

My father Nelson Hoyt was born on this date 117 years ago, in Chicago back in 1909. I am just amazed when I think about how long ago that was. It makes me realize how fast time passes without you even noticing. My father was a dentist and always hated it. He and my mother Mary were finally able to retire in 1976, at the age of 67, to a condo here in Stuart, Florida, and both were never happier. Dad had only 7 years of retirement before he passed away but enjoyed those years very much. My mother lived in Stuart for almost 30 years before coming to live with me up in Denver, although we would travel back to Stuart 3 times a year and stay at the condo until she passed away. In any case, I took the photograph above of dad at Circle Bay, which is a condo complex next door to our building, where we would sometimes walk around and look at the boats docked there. The Monterey Yacht and Country Club, where the condo is located, has a 9-hole golf course, and most people who live here are all about golf, as was both my father and my mother. At Circle Bay, everyone has a dock space, and so they are all about boats. My parents had friends at Circle Bay, and so nobody minded us walking the grounds. These days, those people are long gone, and so if my sister Susan and I decided to walk over there these days, multiple people would probably draw their guns. This is Florida, after all. In any case, I am glad my father at least had those 7 years of retirement after all those years at a job he hated. He deserved more but luckily had those.

Back To Stuart Beach!

I spent some time at Stuart Beach the other day - as seen in the self-portrait above - now that the big cold wave is over and highs are currently in the 80s every day, as God intended. And I am happy to report that things are back to normal: people are back sitting on the sand and actually going into the water, even the natives. The only negative is that we will not be seeing all those snowbirds in their bikinis and speedos putting on a brave face and diving into the ocean in 50-degree temperatures, which is always quite amusing. Serves them right for taking all the tables at the Sailor's Return's outdoor patio every night, not that I am bitter about that.  And believe it or not, people are now actually saying they miss the cold temperatures now that it is getting hot and humid again. The same old story, just like back in Denver: counting the days until summer in the middle of winter, and longing for the snow during the 90-degree summers. People never change.

Watching A Spring Training Game At Roger Dean Stadium

I went down to Roger Dean Stadium in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida yesterday afternoon to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Baltimore Orioles. It was a perfect day for baseball, and the home team, the Cardinals, beat the Orioles 7-2, hitting 4 home runs in the process. The Cardinals are 9-5-1 so far this spring, while the Orioles are 7-8-2. But what does this really mean? Actually, nothing. The ballclubs are trying to put together the best teams possible with which to start the regular season, which is now just two weeks away, and focusing on each players individual performances is the only thing that matters right now. You leave in pitchers past what you would in a regular season game to see if they can get out of jams and leave in hitters who keep striking out to see if they can adjust to the pitching. Winning the game is the last thing to worry about right now. 

Which I have to keep telling myself, since yesterday out in Arizona, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, beat my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, 12-3 and are 11-7 so far this season. Which means the White Sox might very well be better this coming season, but by how much, who knows? As for the Rockies, they were historically bad last season, and are expected to be horrible again this season, but with new management will be slowly getting better. As for the Chicago Cubs, the White Sox's North Side rivals, they have a 7-9 record so far this spring and are expected to win the National League Central. Only once the regular season begins on Wednesday, March 25th will the true picture begin to take shape. Until then, I can look at that12-3 White Sox win over the Rockies and begin to think dynasty!

ArtFest By The Sea!

My sister Susan and I attended the 36th annual ArtFest by the Sea in Juno Beach, Florida this past Saturday afternoon, and I must say, I was very impressed. I attended this festival last year, but do not remember it being nearly as large as it was this time. There were over 250 artists displaying their work all along Juno's Ocean Drive, which runs along the Atlantic. There was a great variety of art on display, and to my surprise, quite a bit of photography, including a booth featuring Scanlan Windows to the World, as seen in the photograph on the left, and which is also a regular participant at the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver. 

The best thing about this festival is that it takes place right along the beach. Every so often there is an opening from the street, such as the one in the photograph on the right, letting festival goers see and even step onto the beach for a break before continuing on with the art. The beach around here goes on for miles, and this time of year it is very popular, especially on weekends. Every parking spot along Ocean Drive was taken as we drove toward the festival. When I got to the point where the road was closed off for the festival, I drove through several parking lots with no luck. Having given up on ever finding a spot and at a traffic light waiting to turn back onto Ocean Drive, I noticed that someone had pulled out of the lot I was just in. After a simple U-turn and almost running down a few senior citizens, I was finally able to park. And I must say, those seniors can really move fast when they need to.

And since this is Florida, there was, of course, a guy at the festival with a parrot on his shoulder, as seen in the photograph on the left. This is not unusual at all down here. I have seen people walking along the sidewalk on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach with those huge parrots on their shoulder, as well as at Hobe Sound Beach, but am not really sure why they do it. To get attention, to show that they are free spirits, because it is their support parrot? Who knows? In any case, I really enjoyed ArtFest By The Sea this year. It really was worth the fight for a parking spot. And yes, the City of Juno Beach did provide a shuttle service for people who wanted to park in a different county and spend a few hours getting to the festival, which I imagine some people did. But where's the fun in that?

The St. Lucie County Fair - Part II

As I discussed in yesterday's blog post, my sister Susan and I went to the St. Lucie County Fair, which takes place at the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds west of Port St. Lucie, Florida this past Thursday. This is a traditional county fair that takes place in the middle of cow country, and a very well-attended event. Which is no surprise, since there is not much else to do in Port St. Lucie most of the time. In addition to lots of food booths and carne games where you can take a chance at winning a prize, the fair also has amusement rides, including 2 Ferris wheels and a ride seen in the photograph on the left which I would not recommend taking on a full stomach.

As I mentioned yesterday, the highlight for me was the petting zoo, where you can buy a cup of food for $5.00 and feed all the animals, of which there are many, including that hungry goat in the photograph on the right. I have never gone in much for taking video, but this past Thursday a video would have been the best way to capture those animals jumping over each other to get to that food. I suspect the fair people must hold off feeding the animals in the morning in order to get them to behave like that.

I was very surprised to find a number of camels at the petting zoo. It does seem strange that people would be raising camels in South Florida, but there you go. I have yet to see any camels making their way along the beach carrying a snowbird from up north, but when I do, I will definitely take a photograph to share on this blog. One thing I found interesting is that there was only one kind of food with which to feed a variety of animals, and it looked kind of like a potato chip. But no matter whether it was a goat or cow or even a camel, they all gobbled it up as fast as they could. I am not sure what was in it, but I do wonder if I might be able to get a bag of them at Walmart and try 'em out. 

In any case, today is the last day of the fair, which runs from noon to 11:00 P.M. I checked the schedule, and today's events include Andy Rotz's Wild West Showdown, whatever that might be, musical acts, Racing Pigs, and Laser Tag from 1:00 until 9:00. And I do have to mention that on Thursday I watched a mother and her three young children playing laser tag, and it felt truly weird watching them running around tagging (i.e. shooting) each other with handheld laser guns. Of course, this is Florida, a big gun rights state, and so I suppose that is considered perfectly normal down here. In any case, the St. Lucie County Fair is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. Be sure to visit the petting zoo, buy a cup of $5 food, and feed my pals, the two goats in the photograph on the right. They will love you for it.

County Fair!

My sister Susan and I went to the St. Lucie County Fair this past Thursday afternoon. This was the first honest-to-God county fair I have ever attended. This event, which runs through this Sunday, takes place at the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds, located way the hell to the west of Port St. Lucie. And if you think Florida is not an agricultural state, think again. Once you get way from the coastline, whatever isn't swamp seems to be filled with cows and horses. And I must say, I enjoyed this fair very much. It seemed to me like a traditional county fair, the kind you see in the movies, with a midway, lots of food booths, and more carnival style games to test your skills and win a prize than you can count. There were also plenty of amusement rides, if you want to live dangerously.

The best part of the fair for me was the petting zoo. At the entrance, you can purchase food to feed the animals. I don't know what they put in that food, or if they simply don't feed the poor things before the gates open, but all of those animals were frantic to get those treats, as seen in the photograph on the right. They were literally crawling over each other to get to the person handing out the food. 

There was a wide range of animals at the petting zoo, ranging from goats to miniature cows to camels (Yes! Camels! In Florida!) to llamas and alpacas, which is what I think the animal in the photograph on the left that those children are feeding might be. After leaving the petting zoo, we headed to a number of barns featuring different types of animals, including goats, cows, horses, and small animals such as chickens, roosters, geese, and even a large turkey, which actually does go gobble gobble gobble. Who woulda thunk it? In the buildings featuring the cows, goats, and horses, their young owners, no doubt members of the local 4-H club, would be standing next to their animal ready to proudly tell you all about it. Amazing how different a lifestyle exists just a short drive west of here.

And yes, I think that goat in the photograph on the right has taken a shine to me, even if I didn't have any food to give it. I would consider adopting it and taking it home to our condo in Stuart, but the complex doesn't even allow dogs or cats, let along goats. And this particular HOA takes its rules and regulations very seriously. I can just imagine having to explain to them that this was a service goat. In any case, it was a fun afternoon, and both Susan and I enjoyed the fair very much. It was like a trip back to the America of old, a much simpler and happier time. And if you are in the area, I recommend going. Today and tomorrow are the last two days, with hours from 12:00 to 10:30 today and 12:00 to 9:30 Sunday. And be sure to buy food for the animals at the petting zoo. They are truly desperate for it.