The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: Jacksonville

  • Things I Miss About Florida

    It occurs to me that I trash-talk Florida quite a bit in this blog. I never thought I’d say this, but there are things I miss about the Sunshine State. After all, I lived there for 40 years. Granted, I spent most of those years trying really hard to get the hell out of there,…

  • Package Thieves

    When I arrived in Seattle 3 ½ years ago, I was shocked to discover that you could pretty much count on your packages getting stolen off your doorstep out here. That never, ever happened to me in Florida. I had no idea what a fool’s paradise I had been living in. Based on conversations with…

  • Andy Johnson, or Unethical Politicians are Nothing New

    Not a day goes by when there isn’t some outrageous story about a corrupt politician. I’m relieved that most of us are still shocked by this, but I can feel the cynicism growing all around me like kudzu on an abandoned Southern house. I rue the day when we all become so used to it…

  • The Giving Gift

    A dear friend of mine gave me the best Christmas gift ever this year. It was a card. A simple card. But inside, it said, “In the spirit of the season, a night of housing, hot meals, and hope at the Sulzbacher Center were given, in your honor, to a homeless man, woman or child.”…

  • The Milk Bar

    Once upon a time in Jacksonville, Florida, the hippest venue in the entire city was a place called the Milk Bar on Adams Street. It’s no longer there. That’s a shame. It’s sort of my white whale. Just so we’re clear: I’m not hip. I never was. And the ship has long since sailed that…

  • Violence Radius

    A friend just sent me a link to an article about a man who had been stabbed to death in a park in Florida. I was horrified. For 27 years I owned a house not more than 50 yards from the scene of the crime. If I had still been living there, I could very well…

  • Architectural Salvage Yards

    “Hey, where was that place that you got all the cool used doors and grates and glass blocks for the house you used to own here in Jacksonville?” He asked. “Burkhalters,” I replied, and a tsunami of nostalgia washed over me. I absolutely love salvage yards. I don’t know why more people don’t take advantage…

  • Reach Out

    I used to love to sit on my porch swing when I owned a house in Jacksonville, Florida. I could look out on the park across the street and take in a game of softball or lacrosse, or watch people come and go from the public library. I especially enjoyed seeing the various neighborhood dogs…

  • Working a Tropical Storm

    We’ve had our fair share of natural disasters this year. But when you pair that with an increasing disregard for workers, you get a toxic combination. People are getting fired for having to mandatorily evacuate and therefore being unable to show up for work. People have been forced to work in extremely unsafe situations, leaving…

  • Public Art as a Yardstick

    I love the fact that I’m now living in a city where public art is the norm. I often pass by sculptures and murals here in Seattle, and they never fail to make me smile. It’s always a pleasure to have a bit of beauty and humor or a dash of whimsy injected into one’s…