Aloha, My Friend,
Too often my monthly diatribes include the phrase, “A long time ago”, and this is starting to make me feel like I am living in a high school civics class newsreel regarding stuff that happened just back in the ‘70’s. So, I am changing it to the code phrase, “It seems like just yesterday”.
It seems like just yesterday I wiggled out of high school pretty much undamaged and ran away from home for the first time. Because I went for Europe instead of California nobody recognized it for what it truly was. I told my parents that I was just following Mark Twain’s prescription from Innocence Abroad–
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on those accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
I know that it sounded brave and noble and beyond the ordinary wisdom of the teenager crowd I hid among. In a truth that I will share with you now, it was just tasty frosting on the wormy cake that I was afraid that I was doomed to be a land surveyor all of my days.
I wasn’t fortunate enough to have parents who could afford to send me to 6 colleges so I had to work as a land surveyor in the swampy cow pastures we now call Carrollwood in Tampa. Before the strip malls, the restaurants, the gated communities and the country club there was just that endless savannah of grazing grass blowing in smooth waves across the top and snakes of ill temperament slithering below.
I do find it amusing and a brilliant twist of fate that the company which undertook this massive transformation from pastoral to parking lots and rooftops became a victim of insider pillaging to such an extent that it once held the Guinness Record for theft by industrial sabotage. They hold it still for all I know. It was for something like $25 million.
But that was after I got my last paycheck from American Cyanamide. By the first warm breeze of springtime I was aboard an Italian cruise ship from Miami to Cannes, France. For you cruise minded folks, keep this in mind, apparently all of the major cruise lines rotate some of their ships, in this case, the Leonardo DaVinci, spending the winter months in the Caribbean and the summers in the Mediterranean. Instead of leaving Miami empty the lines would fill their cabins with poor students and thrifty travelers. Among these adventurers and vagabonds was a young woman who would go up on the promenade deck after midnight to play her guitar beneath the Milky Way and the wandering constellations. Another was heading to climb the Alps. He was sponsored by some hiking boot company and was supposed to submit an article about searching for the trail of Sherlock Homes and Professor Moriarty on the Matterhorn. One drifter mostly just sat in the 3rd class bar drinking vodka gimlets and thinking he was The Boxer. He said he was going to discover Spain. He was not amused when I told him that I was pretty sure that had already happened. Yet another one was going to rendezvous with his sister in Florence, Italy. He promised that if I would meet him on the steps of the Santa Croce Church on a certain date he would introduce me to her. I was there at the appointed hour but, of course, they were not. The silver lining to this aside is that I found the best gelato in the world that day, and Laine will testify to the truth of that bold statement. Besides his trickery, I remember him best for the note that he handed me when he was disembarking the ship. In the closing was sort of a blessing of his own concoction. I have shared it with others and today I will share it with you and wish it for you.
I happen to think of it now, as I often do, because of the chill in the air. The window to winter is surely open. But, if you should chose to use this humble prayer you needn’t limit it to chilly night well wishes. I have used it as a spice within a note for friends embarking on their adventure and for friends who need a hug that I cannot give them.
So, from BALI HI to you, for today and always – “May the Angels keep you warm and safe in the folds of their wings.”
I’ll turn it over to Elaine to share with you what’s happening around the Square.
This month is all about the pets at Bali-HI and Railroad Square. We will feature the art of Pattie Maney. For those of you who may have missed Pattie’s art, she has been featured at Kool Beans, De Vine Wine & Tasting Bar, 1123@Midtown, and a multitude of other locations. Pattie’s portraits of pets are whimsical and charming, disarming you with the intensity of their gaze and their sometimes Mona Lisa smiles. Pattie constantly donates her time and her talent to many causes. Her art and grants have benefited Guardian Ad Litem, Big Bend Cares, Boxer Rescue, the Animal Shelter Foundation and more. The soft spot in her heart though is to the animals she so lovingly captures in her paintings. Pattie and Bali-HI will contribute 30% of the sale of her art to ComforTPets, a therapy pet organization. Come meet Pattie at an artist’s reception on 1st Friday, November 7, from 6-10 PM and then enjoy the amazing adventure of Railroad Square on 1st Friday.
Then please join us for one of our favorite annual events on Sunday, November 9, 1-5 PM when 2nd Sunday Fair at the Square will feature, “Pets on Parade”. The pet parade around Railroad Square Art Park will begin at 3 PM. After the parade there will be a judging of the costumes by Emma Cornwell of PAWS and Stephanie Bell of The Trained Dog. Prizes will be awarded for the cutest, most original and funniest costume, the pet owner look alike and the crowd favorite. As always live music, food and drink, many open galleries and unique shops. Animal service and rescue agencies will be here with adoptable pets and information on how you can help. Stephanie Bell of The Trained Dog will share some tips on training your dog the compassionate way. This is a benefit for 2nd Harvest so all entrants should bring a non-perishable food item. Pets must be leashed with up to date vaccinations.
We also hope to charm you with our new shipment of wonderful goods from Bali that is if U.S. Customs will set it free. Wait until you see how easy we can make your holiday shopping, many beautiful and unique gifts selected by us from recycled to Fair Trade. We have some wonderful new items from Hawaii and finally we have an amazing new selection of bone carvings and Hawaiian hooks from Sami Fevaleaki our favorite Hawaiian artist! Sami is very selective about who he chooses to sell his art and we are his only Florida gallery, in fact we are probably the only place on the East Coast where you can find Sami’s bone carvings on his hand tied linen cords which will last a lifetime. There are a few beautiful Honu (turtles) I am trying to keep out of Bill’s hands and off his neck so come early for the best selection as we only have 20 pieces. Avoid the crazy parking problems at the mall and support your locally owned businesses too. We always offer free layaway too! Bali-HI should also have our expanded space open in November and we have some amazing deals on a few large furniture items.
1866, when he toured the Hawaiian Islands, Mark Twain
The native language is soft and liquid and flexible and in every way efficient and satisfactory–till you get mad; then there you are; there isn’t anything in it to swear with. Good judges all say it is the best Sunday language there is. But then all the other six days in the week it just hangs idle on your hands; it isn’t any good for business