Save Old Seven

Meet the Old Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon, Florida. Half-way between Key Largo and Key West, this 2.2 mile span is a remnant from Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad that first carried passengers in 1912 from the mainland of Florida to Key West. The original 7 mile span was a construction feat. The newer bridge (on the right) was built to accommodate automobile traffic.

The bridge ends at Pigeon Key, which housed the workers who built the bridge and part of the railroad. It is now a historical site with museums and educational programs. Motorized traffic has been prohibited, so access to Pigeon Key is now by ferry only. Last year, "Old Seven" was closed to fishermen and is in danger of being closed to pedestrian and bike traffic due to structural problems.

The Florida Department of Transportation does not want to spend the money needed to repair the bridge. So a non-profit, called Friends of Old Seven, was organized this past year and has a mission to try and raise the money to not only save and repair the bridge but to create a recreational setting for residents and tourists. Hundreds of thousands of persons come to walk the bridge every year. Similar grassroots projects include the Kinzua Bridge in Pennsylvania (a favorite of my family who spent much time growing up in the Mountains at my father's hunting camp), the High Line in NYC and the Walkway Over the Hudson.

I have been involved with this group and am busy as the organization and its tasks grow. I have taken on the graphics end which I love. We have a rudimentary website that I manage but have hired a design group to do a snazzy site and I am in charge of that. We are doing fundraisers to get money to cover costs and the account is slowly growing. When we have our non-profit status, we will go after grants and the big donors. I designed the logo that they are using with an old postcard from the early 1900's as it's center. I found the postcard on eBay. The people involved are hard working and committed. This is a great cause to preserve a piece of history. Wish us luck!

Hiatus

After a few weeks of non-blogging, I am back. And, today my toenails are not green, like in my profile, but blue. Literally. Because last Friday our Wheaten Terrier, Guinness, died in a tragic drowning accident. And I felt blue, so had the toes painted to match.

We will never know what happened. All we do know is that Guinness was very old, getting deaf and blind and had a seizure disorder. After being let out at 4AM to go to the bathroom since he couldn't make it through the night anymore, he did not return. Most likely, he had a seizure and stumbled and fell down onto the dock and into the water of the canal. He never went near the canal in normal circumstances, but after a seizure he was temporarily blind and half conscious. And, so debilitated by age that he wouldn't have been able to swim very far, if at all. A neighbor spotted him far from our home in the main canal leading to the open ocean. Harry and some wonderful people in a boat rescued his body. Although we knew his "days were numbered, it was a very painful way to lose him.

News from Bizarreland

Got to work this morning at the motel a little before 8 AM. While standing in the office at the counter doing some paperwork, I noticed a very disheveled man looking around in our water heater closet out front where we store brochures, beach chairs and other such equipment. I went out to ask him what he was doing and he informed me that he had fallen asleep last night in the closet and where was he? Was he in Key West? I told him no, that he was 50 miles north of Key West. He wandered off into the sunrise. And here are photos of his glorious accommodations last night. Temperatures here were in the 50's, but hey, he had his own personal hot water bottle to hug.

Burma Shave

I was thinking about Burma Shave for some reason and thought it would be fun to see if a.) I really have anyone reading my blog and b.) would they comment if asked.

Burma shave was originally a liniment and then a brushless shaving product which, according to Wikipedia, created an advertising solution to their slacking sales. "Burma-Shave sign series appeared from 1925 to 1963 in most of the contiguous United States. The exceptions were New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada (deemed to have insufficient road traffic), and Massachusetts (eliminated due to that state's high land rentals and roadside foliage).

Six signs were placed at intervals along the roadside and together, created a short poem. I think it was genius advertising because to this day, I can remember seeing the following one. I believe it was on the drive to our father's hunting cabin in the Pennsylvania Mountains:

Going somewhere?

Coming back?

Drink can

Throw you

Off the track.

Burma Shave

I even discovered a website listing all of the jingles (although I could not find this one) - http://www.burma-shave.org/.

So, if anyone has a favorite that they remember, please email it to me at cgcaplan@aol.com and I will post it. Happy Memories and Happy New Year!

Nancy Skriner Huber in Phyllup, Washington wrote "Our family took road trips down south.. or over to the Civil war battlefields in Pa..or Amish country... my twin brother and I so enjoyed those Burma Shave signs! Good memories... we also liked the Mail pouch tobacco bill boards painted on the old red barns out in the Ohio country side." Nancy remembered this one -
a peach/ looks good/ with lots of fuzz/ but a man's no peach/ and never was/ Burma Shave

Anonymous - http://oldfortyfives.com/DYRT.htm

Holiday Cheer

The holiday season would not be complete, for me, without this little red beauty - the Bacardi Cocktail.

My former husband's father made this drink every Christmas Eve. According to my former sister-in-law, Susan Urich Hildebrand, "The Bacardi saga began about 1948 when Grace and John now had 2 kids to do Christmas for. Doug and I would go to bed on Christmas Eve and there would be nothing in the house. Nothing, not a tree or other decorations. But when Doug and I woke up on Christmas morning, it was wondrous, it was all there, the tree, the decorations, and the presents. It looked like the room had been filled overnight by Santa. But we know that it was Grace and John who did all the work. Putting up the tree and wrapping the packages. They said often Doug and I would wake up as soon as they got into bed. They would spend all night making this happen for Doug and me. And they would drink a lot of Bacardis."

I first started imbibing in the tart treats around 1970 and haven't missed a year since. This year, in order to create the photo, I mixed up a batch a week early. Shocking! No, not really. I need fortitude when I watch my Brown's games.

The drink was mixed by Grandad (John) Urich by taste and tinkering until 1989, when for some unknown reason (premonition?), he actually wrote the recipe down. He died the following summer, on his beloved club's golf course. So, how can we not carry on this tradition when there is such a wonderful legacy involved?

The drink itself is incredibly tart. My ex, Doug, hated the drink because it gave him horrendous heartburn. I find the taste to be wonderfully complimentary to the savory and salty snacks and appetizers of the season. And, if there are leftovers on Christmas morning, it goes quite nicely with the sweetness and richness of cookies. How do I know this? Well, how do mothers survive Christmas and all of the insane work and preparations? Duh!

I am sharing the recipe in honor of Grandad. But beware - if you have to help Santa and assemble any toys - please do that before you start imbibing.

Cheers!!

9 oz. rum
4 oz. grenadine
3 oz. lime juice
3 oz lemon juice

Blend with a few ice cubes. Serve over ice. Be ready to pucker up so get the mistletoe ready.

My Christmas Letter

It has been a wonderful year. But, the truth is, I don't live a perfect life. So my Christmas letter doesn't come in a red or green envelope with a holiday themed return address label. And, there are no cute snowmen stickers, and no glitter. And, no USPS holiday stamp.

My Christmas letter does come with my realities. Harry and I are healthy and amazingly happy. We are constantly appreciative of how content we are with each other! No, we don't have enough money in the bank to make the retirement future airtight and carefree. The economy affects us just as it does most everyone. But, we have more than what we need. Dinner is on the table every night and it shows in our waistlines (which by the way is shrinking for Harry on his new diet). We don't worry about where we will get our next meal, or if we will have clean water to drink. We can bathe as often as we would like, and in hot water. We don't use a hole in the dirt as a toilet. In fact, we have more toilets than residents in our home. We know that if we get sick, we can find a nearby medical facility to help us and no matter what our income, we would never be turned away. We do not worry at night about how we will survive. In fact, our worries seem pretty petty.

We do not have to bribe anyone to operate our business. We can gripe about rules and regulations, without fear of retribution. We do not live in fear of our personal safety. We gate our home to keep the pets in and not the neighbors out. Our home is heated on cold nights and air conditioned on hot ones. We have TV, Internet, cable, wireless, iPads, iPhones and newsprint to tell us the truths about what is happening around the globe. There is no censorship. We can criticize our government, and we can state our religious views without fear.

We have cars, fuel and access to nearby airports giving us the ability to travel all over the world. How hard we work determines our ability to indulge in recreation. The opportunities are endless. We were blessed with the intelligence and the moral foundation presented by our families to fulfill our potentials and therefore indulge ourselves in our leisure time. But, a great amount of luck was involved. Where we were born and who our families were let us live this incredible life.

Our children are thriving. They are honest, hard working and ethical. None are self destructive. All have clear priorities about hierarchies of what is important - their families and friends first, and careers second. All were given mental and physical health and the ability to succeed. Our grandchildren are, of course, exceptionally bright, gifted and charming. That is not an exaggeration...

We are surrounded with amazing family and lifetime friends. I especially appreciate the harmony I experience with my siblings. I believe it is important to let go of those persons who cause you pain, and embrace those who bring joy. And, there are always new persons to enter in a life and enrich it. There is no limit to how much love you can share.

So, this holiday season I will allow myself to chuckle at the Christmas letters I receive that feel a bit like gloating, and I will be saddened by those that bear bad news. I will enjoy and savor the ones that share news and photos to bring me closer to the sender's lives. Whether you celebrate the religious historical meaning of the holidays, or just enjoy the sparkle and festive aspects, I hope that you find some joy and spend a few moments reflecting on the miracle of just how wonderful your life is.

The Yard

A couple of orchids are blooming on the trees right now. I still get such a kick out of the fact that they are epiphytes and hang on with roots only, getting what they need from the air and rain and bird poop. Isn't nature grand? They are survivors!