100 things # 46 I love Drive-In Movies ...

There are still quite a few drive-in theaters across the country and here in South Florida we are fortunate enough to have several of them close by. There is something a little nostalgic and romantic about watching a movie on such a large screen under the stars, plus ... it's a pretty good value for your buck!

David and I saw Funny People at the Trail Drive-In Theatre & Swap, in Palm Springs this weekend. The movie was a comedy about comedy (stand-up). The story line was good, a celebrity's search for a real life friendship, even if he has to buy it .

100 things #45 I have searched for a Palm Weaver ...

I was having dinner with David on Saturday night at City Pizza, we were catching up and making small talk when I mentioned that on Friday I got a text from my sister saying "I need a palm frond weaver next Saturday."

My initial reaction was to text back saying "good luck with that" but instead I typed "When?"

Because my sister and her family are event coordinators, I assumed they were putting together an Island Party of some kind and their customer was requesting a palm weaver. I know that for a recent East Indian party they did, a live elephant was requested to give elephant rides and they were able to come up with one. (Thanks Angela)

how great is that elephant?

and the elephant handler ... could Hollywood Central Casting with all of it's resources create an elephant handler that looked any more authentic than this guy?

and then there was the elephant handler's assistant ... but that's a story for another time lol. Hi Nikko!

Anyway back to my palm weaver story...

August 15th was short notice but I told her I know where one weaves. After continued back and forth bantering by text we decided that even though I only knew where the guy was on Thursdays, we might find him if we asked around on the weekend.

The minute I told David my text message story he knew just the guy I was talking about. He aslo knew that he was usually at Clematis By Night on Thursdays, so he did not seem all that surprise when I asked him if he felt like taking a look for him since we were already in the neighborhood.

We hopped on a trolley and went to Clematis Street from City Place in search of a palm weaver.

It was a beautiful evening for a trolley ride, we laughed out loud as we made gumshoe jokes and mental notes of who we would ask and where they might lead us.

It's not like we were going to walk up to a desk when we got there and order a palm weaver for the night. Most of the ones we've run across in our travels are street people, not successful palm weaving businessmen.

We knew that the first person we would ask would be the owner of the corner bookstore directly across from the fountain and the park where Clematis by Night is held. He gave us good leads saying that he sees the palm weaver every day, he would either be across the street by the fountain or hanging out with the valet parking attendants and if that doesn't work try Starbucks.

We walked across to the fountain and asked a local who had set up camp for the evening at a picnic table in the park, about the palm weaver. He said "oh, you mean Pablo ... by the way do you have any change? I gave him a buck and he said I would find him at Starbucks.

I sent a text to my sister letting her know that David and I were looking for her palm weaver and asked what she wanted me to say to him once we found him. She asked me to get a sample and a phone number, we didn't really think he would have a phone but off we went to Starbucks.

There they were ... two of them, obviously they set their tables up at Starbucks to make a buck or two offering palm frond roses and crickets to passers-by for tips.

We sat down at the table to chit chat with one of them, the other one was nowhere in sight.

We pulled out a glittery Party Perfect card and invited the man to spend a couple of hours in Boca the next weekend entertaining some party guests by weaving his palms.

Much to our surprise his fear of the unknown was much stronger than his need to earn an extra 300 bucks. He was all to happy to sit at his familiar table at Starbucks and chit chat about the art of weaving palms, but made it very clear that he would not be attending the party. "Maybe Pablo would do it for you " he said. We waited patiently for Pablo to return, when he did the other palm weaver handed him our card and said "Pablo, you're invited ..."

Pablo bounced over to his own table returning with a palm rose and handed it to me saying "a rose for a perfect rose. "

but as soon as he heard that we were looking for a palm weaver to work a party next weekend he bounced and I mean bounced! He didn't come back ... obviously not interested in hearing our proposal and far less able to express his fear and doubts about trying something new that the first guy.

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised at their reaction but I was. On our way home my sister called to see how it went, somehow she seemed less surprised than I was at the reaction to our invitation.

I told her that they offered to supply us with as much of the finished product that we needed and I suggested to her that maybe she could hire the hunky snake charming guy...

to give the illusion of weaving the palms and he could hand out the roses and say a rose for a perfect rose or better yet ... we could teach someone that looks like a palm weaver to weave. Jokingly I suggested David.

I could hear my brother-in-law in the background saying "that's a great idea, he would be perfect, he's already got the tan, he's already got the look ... David would be perfect."

I turned the speaker phone on so David could hear the conversation, we were all laughing hysterically. His father is from Costa Rico for goodness sakes, we could teach him to weave ...

come on ... take off that hip scarf and give him a straw hat and viola, a charming palm weaver if ever there were one.

I love David, he is always such a good sport. I knew he wouldn't mind us joking around a little after the whole palm weaver excursion we had just been on.

His reaction was to say "oh stop it ... you're using the wrong vernacular here. Don't say you'll teach me to do something you don't already know how to do."

"I would be willing to learn how to weave and then teach you" I whispered, " if you learn how to weave then you can be the palm weaver" he replied. "We both know that I don't look like a palm weaver, but good try my friend." Finally he says okay, okay ... we'll get a book and I'll try to learn, all I can do is try.

My sister said okay, you learn to weave, Coy will greet people at the door and put your roses in their hair and I'll keep you booked. That was that, now I have to find a palm weaving book, any suggestions?

100 things #43 For weeks now David and I have been throwing around some ideas ...

about photos we might take to submitt as recession images. My neighborhood does not give much of an outward image of how hard the recession has hit here but there are surounding areas where it is much more obvious.


Over the weekend we saw what we were looking for ... there was a large group of homeless people sitting around a circle near a very long but narrow group of trees on Southern Blvd in West Palm. Some were in wheelchairs others sitting on milk crates. We imagined them as storytellers, news bearers, historians of sorts with the ability to paint visual images and create a greater measure of understanding for those who choose to listen.


We also immagined ourselves driving to the nearest convienence store to buy a case of beer and inviting ourselves to the circle as story listeners and photo takers, that might capture a story
of our own that we could paint for other listeners. We didn't didn't do that but the image of that circle stayed with me all week. Opportunity lost.


Yesterday afternoon we passed by the same location and even though the people were not there the circle was ...





We passed it up then decided to go to the trouble of circling around to take the shot. What we found was more than just an abandoned circle, it was where they live ...


Where they sleep ...
Where they bathe ...

Where they put their things ...

yes, maybe did get a little personal ...

without being invited ...

and maybe we did not get the exact photo that we envisioned ...



but we did get a story, and this is my version ... it would be interesting to hear what Dave would tell if he were the writer here.

maybe we'll get brave enough or lucky enough one day to capture the real story, but for now this one will have to do.

100 things #27 Sometimes I’m so afraid of making the wrong choice…

that I will choose not to choose.

Luckily, David seems to have the same tendencies. Sometimes the two of us remind me of these two flamingos I photographed a while back. We look like we’re out shaken a tail feather, but actually we are just being really careful where we step.

Or maybe ... it’s the other way around, maybe all the careful stepping is really just our own imperfect funky flamingo dance, who knows?

100 things #20 I love being in the midst of a crowd ...

especially when it's an artsy crowd like this one.

Over the weekend, David and I went back to Lake Worth for the street painting festival.

Every year, these artists gather to paint the streets with chalk.

The amount of work involved in compleating one of these pieces is difficult to describe and the thoughts of the whole thing being washed away with the first rain, sort of makes you wonder why ...

I guess it's like the sand castle artist ... they create the art for the love of art.

My new camera really got a work out ...

There were literly hundreds of pieces to look at, sort of like being at an outdoor musem.

It was interestging watching these people work and trying to figure out why they chose the reference pieces that they did.

I have to share my camera with David now, he is starting to become as hooked as I am when it comes to searching for color and flavor to capture. I'll have to start posting more of the photos here that we take on our one day adventures.

It wasn't easy choosing just a few favorites to post today but space is limited, I am saving my very favorite for a post of it's own.

I have every intention of returning next year, if any of you feel like joining me let me know ... I will say it was about 80 degrees here in Sunny South Florida on Sunday, not a cloud in the sky.

West Palm Night Photos

Saturday night, David and I walked the streets of West Palm taking night photos of some of the buildings there.










West Palm for the most part a very clean city and very beautiful.


When I was in Atlanta at Christmas time, I gave my camera to my daughter and replaced it with a new one. I wanted to try it out and play with some of the options.

Anyway … our travels eventually lead us to one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, The Palm Beach County Court House.

With it’s granite walls, magnificent arches and dramatic lighting, it was begging to be explored from every angle.


About 20 minutes in, a voice shouted out from the dark “ Can I help you?” again “CAN I HELP YOU?”
























Okay, it wasn’t exactly hands behind your head, face down on the ground or anything, but the voice did ring out with the same authority.


As the officer approached we instinctively headed towards him and mentioned that we were just taking photos. We were informed that since 911 this property has been closed to the public after hours and that it was his responsibility to make sure that rule was not violated.

We must not have looked like that much of a threat because he did buy the photo taking story and decided to engage himself in conversation long enough to tell us about a photography class he was once in and about an expose he did of this building for that class. He couldn’t help himself from showing us the exact angle he shot the building from.

We walked off into the night quietly laughing at some of the humorous coulda, shoulda, wouldas of our court house experience and searching for other night shot opps.





Which as you an see, were not that hard to find