Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Meet Omar

 

When I started my new role at the Florida College System Activities Association, the person who manages our building told me that if the black man who played his harmonica near the front of our building during the lunch hour bothered me, let him know. My office is right at the front of the building, with a nice big window, so I hear a lot of street noise.  That was seven months ago, and I'm still enjoying the harmonica music outside my window at lunch time thanks to that sweet older black man, so last week, I took the time to sit down and talk with him.

Meet Omar (his stage name). Street musicians have never bothered me. On the contrary, I've always rather enjoyed them. They've always been one of my favorite things about visiting New York City. I think it takes a lot of courage to sit there along the street and share your music. Heck, I'm incredibly shy about playing in front of someone in my own house! Omar has been a musician for more than 40 years but has only been playing harmonica for about 10 years. He's currently trying to learn some of the oldies, "you know, like Barbra Streisand!" so he can expand his repertoire. He shared with me that back in the 80's, he used to play his saxophone over on Tennessee Street. I may have seen him there while I was in college! He's also from Jacksonville, and graduated from Raines High School. When I told him I went to Orange Park, he said he remembered going over to Orange Park for sports events. Based on his email address, I'm guessing he's only a couple years older than my husband, so having also grown up on the Northside in the Raines school district, Benny wants to chat with him the next time he's in Tallahassee with me to see who they both know!

Omar shared with me that he shares his music because, to him, sharing music is akin to sharing love, and his goal is to simply spread as much love as he can. He believes the world definitely needs more love right now, all the love it can get. I certainly agree with him on that. While I've always smiled at Omar when I've walked by, I've never sat and talked with him before last week. Now I'm so glad I did!

See more of my Friends and Strangers Project posts here.

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Ted

I'm currently taking an online class from Liv Lane called Choosing Beauty.  I discovered Liv a couple years ago and was immediately taken in by her positive attitude and the fact that she is a "human sparkler."  Human sparkler? Isn't that awesome!?  Though I'm typically a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of girl to begin with, this class serves as a daily reminder that beauty lies all around us, even where we might least expect it.

This picture is a great example of that.  It's certainly not a "Best Shot Monday" candidate from a technical standpoint, but when I watched this moment unfolding, it struck me how beautiful it truly was.  I know I've mentioned Chowder Ted's in the past, but here's your official introduction to the man behind the chowder, so to speak.  What struck me most about this moment is the beauty of this little place. No, the kitchen of our great little neighborhood seafood dive is not exactly beautiful, unless the beauty is in its workhorse simplicity.  But "the place"...that's quite beautiful.

Chowder Ted's is literally within walking distance from our house.  We're just east of Brown's Creek; Ted's is just west of Brown's Creek.  We started coming here when we bought our lot, six years before we actually built the house, and our girls have truly grown up there. Their first visit was at six weeks old, sitting in their carriers, thankfully sleeping the whole time. We've been blessed to call Ted and his family friends and have even shared a few Christmas Eves with them. One of my girls' friends at school even said to her one day, "Hey! Why is your picture on the wall at Chowder Ted's?!?!" 

As my girls ran back into the kitchen to give Ted a hug and catch up last Thursday night, I realized what a gift we have been given in this little place. We've made new friends here, shared birthdays here, celebrated holidays here, and even walked over to check to make sure it wasn't getting flooded during a really bad storm when Ted couldn't get to the restaurant! Heck, we even help bus tables! So, a technically beautiful picture?  No. To someone who knows knowing of this place, it's just a blurry snapshot.  But to me, it's another example of how finding beauty isn't always a visual thing; it can also be found in personal connections and a tiny little seafood dive. 

For more Friends and Strangers Project posts, click here. 

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Sherwin

 

Next up in my Friends and Strangers project, meet Sherwin! Having an on-line creative business, I make regular trips to the post office to mail orders. Jacksonville's main post office is close to my campus, so most often that's where I go. I've found all the staff there to be very welcoming and friendly, but Sherwin has always stood out to me. I've wanted to catch his photo for a while, but most often when I'm in there, there's a line of people so I don't want to interrupt. Thankfully one day last week, I dropped in to mail a package on an afternoon that wasn't quite so busy.

Sherwin was born into a military family in Texas and through the military, his family ended up in Jacksonville by way of Norfolk, Virginia, when he was in kindergarten. He's been in Jacksonville ever since. I have to admit, I was shocked to hear how old he was because he certainly wears his age well (much like my good friend Walter)!  He's been with the Postal Service for 20 years, so I'll let you do the math.  Thank you, Sherwin, for your always excellent service, positive attitude, and welcoming smile.  Those of you in Jacksonville, stop in to the main post office on Kings Rd. and say hello!

I've been enjoying this project. It's a been a challenge to capture the "strangers" portion as it truly is pretty daunting to ask a stranger if you can take his picture. I've been turned down often. Heck, I've even been turned down by friends who don't want me to photograph them!  Even though I see Sherwin at the post office every visit, it was still a bit frightening to ask.  Recently I finished reading a book a blog reader, Carol, recommended to me after seeing this series of posts.  The book is called In the Neighborhood:  The Search for Community on an American Street One Sleepover at a Time, by Peter Lovenheim.  From Carol's email address, I'm guessing she's from Rochester, NY, and the setting for this book is Brighton, just outside of Rochester.  I really enjoyed the book, and it's encouraged me to reach out to more of my own neighbors, so I hope to start including them in this project.  Our street shares some similarities to the Sandringham Road of the book, not necessarily because we don't feel the need to talk with each other, but rather the nature of the street makes it more of a challenge. We live on Heckscher Drive, essentially AIA, a heavily traveled state road with no sidewalks.  We know all our immediate neighbors and have many times helped out our elderly neighbor directly next door, but beyond our little cluster, we don't really know our neighbors. I'm hoping to change that soon, thanks to Carol's inspiration.

Happy Labor Day to you all!  Sherwin and I are enjoying our day off!  I hope you are, too! See more Friends and Strangers project posts here. 

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Dana

Meet my lovely friend Dana. Dana and I met more than twenty years ago when we both started working at the college. Dana was a counselor at the time and has since switched over to teaching psychology full-time. Unfortunately, she's now on another campus, so we don't get to see each other as much. Over the years, we have bonded over our love of art and animals. That's her sweet girl Faith in the picture with her.

We have very different personalities, but I think it's those differences that keep us close. We have different ways of viewing the world and the day to day trials of life. Being a psychologist, Dana is far more analytical than I am and is much better at digging deep into her thoughts and analyzing why she feels a certain way or why things may be happening the way they are happening. Me, I've never been much of an analyzer; I'm pretty much a "it is what it is...deal with it" kind of girl. Given that, I think she's able to help me analyze when I need to, and I'm able to help her take a step back and just accept what is without the analysis when she needs to!

Last fall, we went on an art retreat up to the Outer Banks of North Carolina together. When Dana discovered Serendipity online, there were just two spots left. She decided that was fate and called me to say we needed to go. Even with the retreat scheduled for the Alabama/Tennessee game weekend, Benny agreed that we needed to go (we do have our football priorities around here). We had such a wonderful trip. We took one class together (Melody Ross) and then one class separately (Dana took Hannah Marcotti and I took Kate Inglis). As we shared our day after our separate class, Dana said she had to hold back laughs several times throughout the day thinking "Oh my, how Kelly would hate this exercise..." Hannah's class was filled with the type of deep introspection that Dana is great at, the same type of deep introspection I have no patience for!

We also had a full day just to play and explore, and since we planned to hit all the antique and vintage shops we could find that day, Benny was concerned with what we'd come home with. After all, we intentially took Sally (my extended wheel base minivan) with the back seats removed so that we'd have plenty of room to bring home whatever treasures we found. Dana was on the hunt for a carousel horse, which we didn't find. I was on the hunt for an old door, which now sits proudly in the corner of my living room with a brightly lit star hanging on it. I so very clearly remember Benny walking over to the van when we got home, looking in the back and saying, "Why is there an old door in the back of the van?" Now, Benny is fully in support of me trading Sally in for a smaller vehicle, you know, for the better gas mileage...

These days, Dana and I make time to get together for lunch dates, art play dates, and wandering through antique shops, some of my favorite things to do. And usually the redheads join us. They love when "Miss Dana" comes over to play. Thank you, Dana, for all these years of special friendship. I look forward to many, many more!

Click here for more Friends and Strangers Project posts. I wrote about what I learned at Serendipity here.

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Nikki

 

Meet Nikki Harris, my most recent lunch date! Nikki is the Division Chief of Animal Care and Protective Services. We met when I started volunteering at the shelter photographing the animals more than two years ago now. Nikki was the shelter manager at that time and has always worked very closely with Friends of Jacksonville Animals. Nikki's been instrumental in working with our area animal rescue groups, including Jacksonville Humane Society and First Coast No More Homeless Pets, working hard to make Jacksonville a no-kill city. Last fall, these efforts landed Jacksonville the national Best Friends Animal Society National Conference!  And Jacksonville's Animal Care and Protective Services has been named the most outstanding shelter in Florida three years running.  Under Nikki's leadership, I feel strongly that recognition will continue and we'll move closer and closer to the no-kill goal.

This weekend is our next Mega Adoption Event at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. North Florida area rescues and shelters will be banding together to find new homes for as many animals as possible. Our last Mega event found homes for 908 animals.  Here's to topping 1,000 this weekend!  The event is this Friday-Sunday, July 18-20, 10am-6pm, at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. But you don't have to wait until Friday!  Animal Care and Protective Services is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-6pm, at 2020 Forest Street, Jacksonville, in the Riverside area.

Click here to view more Friends and Strangers Project posts. 

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Walter

 

Last week, I had a lunch date with my dear friend Walter. Walter and I have been friends for right about twenty years now, having started in our roles as campus Student Life coordinators at the College within sixth months of each other, Walter at South, me at Kent. He broke my heart when he decided to retire early two years ago. We had a deal! We came in together; we go out together! Now Walter's enjoying life to the fullest, working when he wants to and traveling often.

While Walter was with the College, rarely a day passed that we didn't check in with each other. He truly was my best friend at the College, and the phrase I heard often was, "Dr. Warren, I need to sit on your couch!" And of course there was the "You didn't hear this from me, but..." Oh, how I miss talking with Walter every day. Now that I don't get to see him as often, the girls and I are living vicariously through his travels since he sends us numerous pictures from wherever he happens to be. Most recently it was New York City, one of our favorite places ever! Last summer Walter traveled to Paris and took requests from the girls regarding the things they wanted photos of. Of course, we requested the Eiffel Tower, and he sent us a stunning nighttime picture of the tower, but the girls also had tougher challenges for him, like fountains with animals. But sure enough, "Uncle Walter," as my girls call him, came through. The next day we woke up to nearly a dozen photos of fountains with animals! Some were actual animal fountains, glorious sculptures with sparkling water, and some were animals NEXT to fountains, enjoying the water.

There are co-workers that simply remain co-workers. And then there are those co-workers that truly become very close friends. Walter most definitely falls into the latter category. Love you Walter!

See more Friends and Strangers project posts here.  Happy Memorial Day to you all!  I hope you've had a lovely weekend and have kept the families of our veterans who gave their lives for our country in your thoughts.  

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Ian and Harolyn

Meet Ian and Harolyn, two of my favorite people. I've know Ian for years. He's been involved in theater in Jacksonville for many, many years, and we first met when he was teaching some acting classes on campus about 15 or so years ago. He's an immensely talented actor and playwright, and as you may have guessed from this photo, pretty hilarious. One of his one man shows is titled "Eb Scrooge: A Southern Fried Christmas Carole." That should give you a pretty good idea of his sense of humor! His most recent Jacksonville project is Swamp Radio, a very cool live radio/variety show experience that travels through the region.  He lives most of the time in the NYC area now, furthering his acting and play writing career, but we are happy to have him back in town when we can.

Harolyn is a speech professor on campus and is also very involved in theater in Jacksonville. A very talented actor herself, Harolyn and I have worked together on several theater-oriented projects on campus, and she's a lovely person to work with. Harolyn was the artistic director of the Shelby County Community Theater in Kentucky for many years and then also did demonstration lessons with students and coached elementary and middle school teachers on how to infuse drama into core classes as a learning opportunity for the Galef Institute before joining us here at the college six years ago. Our most recent project included her portrayal of the poet Emily Dickinson in a one-woman show complemented by student poetry and artwork with a nature theme.  It was a great learning community that brought together three disciplines:  performing arts, visual arts, and literary arts.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with these two last week at Mojo No. 4, Urban BBQ Whiskey Bar in the Avondale area of Jacksonville. Great name for a restaurant, huh? Since I had to go back to work, I couldn't partake of the whiskey part, but the BBQ and fried pickles were mighty tasty. Ian has some ideas to beef up the visibility of the college's performing arts projects in the neighborhood, thereby gaining some opportunities to bring the neighborhood back to campus with us.  We'll be getting together again when Ian makes it back to town and see what happens. I'm looking forward to some fun times ahead with these two!  Sadly, I've never been able to live my dream of performing in musical theater on Broadway (that'll happen when you never even take a theater class), so I get to do things with these two to vicariously keep the dream alive. :-)

Friends and Strangers Project, Jim

Photo credit: Moe's

No, I didn't meet a burrito this time. I met Jim.  And though Jim and I had a lovely conversation, he would not let me take his photo, so therefore, you have a picture of a burrito.  Because I met Jim at Moe's.

Jim and I have been on the same lunch circuit for about three years now. I'd see him at Moe's (my usual Monday lunch spot for Moe's Monday), the Loop (my usual Tuesday lunch spot for Double Punch Tuesday), and Panera another day of the week. I'm not loyal to Panera on any particular day.  And for the record, Friday is usually Chick-Fil-A day, and occasionally, I'll hit Crispers or Tom and Betty's. I've seen Jim at all those neighborhood haunts too. I realize I could save a heck of a lot of money by brown bagging it, but I've just never been the brown bagging type.

So back to Jim. As I mentioned we've been on the same lunch circuit for a while, but we've never officially met. A head nod here and there has been the extent of our interaction. Last week I decided that if I saw him, I would sit down and talk to him.  When I walked into Moe's on Wednesday (totally threw on you that one didn't I, since I usually go to Moe's on Monday!), there he was.  So before ordering, I walked over to his table, asked if I could ask him a question and sat down. By this point I imagine he was thinking, "Oh holy hell, this blonde that I've been seeing around for three years now is actually stalking me."  I mentioned that we've been on the same lunch circuit for a while now and he just laughed and said yes, that's true. When I told him about my Friends and Strangers Project, he said he'd love to get to know me, but he didn't want me to take his picture.  Now, Jim is definitely not an unattractive guy, so I'm not sure why he was so camera shy, but what the heck, we continued our conversation.

He lives in the Avondale area (where my campus, Moe's, the Loop and Panera are located) and is a project manager for a family business specializing in home design.  When I asked him if he was an architect, he told me that in residential design, you do not have to work with an architect when designing or remodeling your home because you are not required to meet ADA requirements as you would for a commercial building. I did not know that! We talked about home design for a while, and then he asked me what I did in the neighborhood. When I told him I worked for the college, he said that only those who've grown up in the neighborhood know all the different names the college has had. I actually graduated from my very campus three college names ago, as did he! 

I haven't given up on getting a photo of Jim yet, and since I'll undoubtedly see him again, I'll keep trying.  In the meantime, you may now imagine eating one of those yummy Joey's above. See more Friends and Strangers posts here.

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Sheila

 

Meet my sweet friend Sheila, next up in my Friends and Strangers project!  Sheila and I have been friends for more than 22 years. I guess you could say we've grown up together on the job. We first met at a Florida Public Relations Society meeting when she worked for United Way and I worked for Amelia Island Plantation.  Who knew that just a couple years later, we'd end up at the college where we both now work?!

Sheila's our college webmaster and a huge help to me and the entire Student Life team when it comes to getting publicity for our events.  She amazes me with how much time she dedicates to not only our college webpage, but even more all-consuming, our main college Facebook page! I don't know how she keeps up with not only sharing all our campus posts, but also creating posts of her own and answering student questions.  She inspires me every day with her always upbeat attitude towards life. She exudes positivity, and that's a quality I've always admired in her.

Sheila and I have had a few conversations about some of the fun new challenges that might be down the road for us.  Who knows just what we might come up with, but I'm looking forward to traveling that road with her!

Thank you, Sheila, for being Sheila!  Though you often call me SuperWoman, I think you are the real SuperWoman. :-)  Love you! 

Read more Friends and Strangers project posts here.

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Benny

Those of you that know me well know that this not just a friend; this is my husband! When I started my Friends and Strangers project, the goal for the friends portion was primarily to get out of the office for lunch more and photograph my lunch dates. Well, guess who my Valentines Day lunch date was? The one and only Benjamin.

He cringed a bit when I brought out the camera as he truly hates to have his picture taken, but the redheads and I appreciate the opportunity to have a nice shot of him without him sticking his tongue out or making a silly face.  When I showed this picture to the girls, they both said, "Oh my goodness! He actually looked at the camera!"  Thank you, Benny, for a nice Valentines Day lunch and a frame-worthy photo.  You've been my Valentine for 22 years. Here's to at least 22 more.

Take a peek at more of my Friends and Stranger project here!  

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Lajana

 

Confession: I am an antique store junkie. Have I told you that? Growing up, I spent a good chunk of time with my Nana every summer. Every weekend, we'd spend all day Saturday going to the flea market just south of 103rd St. on Blanding Blvd. and then to Skaff's Produce and Antiques. The flea market is still there, though it's really full of junk now. It had much cooler stuff back then, or maybe it was just cooler to me because I was a kid. Skaff's is no longer there. It was a bit south of the flea market, just a bit north of I-295, on the left if you were heading north. There was a super tall sign with a cow on the top. The cow stayed long after Skaff's closed, but I think it's finally been torn down now. So my love for the hunt started early. My mother also loved poking around antique stores. I did that with her quite a bit, and I have quite a few of my mother's finds in my home today. And now, I'm indoctrinating my girls with the bug.  Olivia likes to hunt for small porcelain animals. Her biggest find was a collection of 11 tiny glass frogs for $8 at the Big Peach Antique Mall about an hour south of Atlanta. It was there that I also found our cow butter dish, aptly named Buttercup, and Sarah found a five-piece furniture set for her dolls, her favorite thing to search for.  

My love for these little shops led me last Friday to Park Street Antiques, just five minutes from work, and to the next entry in my Friends and Strangers project.  Meet Lajana, who just so happens to be the owner of Park Street Antiques. It was serendipity that I met Lajana because, though she owns the shop, she only works on Friday!  The rest of the week, she has other help minding the store.  She's been there for 13 years!  I have no idea how I managed to pass by this little gem for 13 years without stopping in.  I used to love to stop in to Bungalow Artworks, which I believe used to be right next door, so the love of all the art must have distracted me.

Lajana told me she has "a real job" as a property manager, managing 140 properties, and her antiques store is her "play job."  She's also built four houses and is looking forward to building her fifth, and last, on a lake down in Hawthorne, where she plans to retire. She's thinking about starting a blog to document building her last house. That would be great fun to follow.  I poked around Lajana's shop quite a while and fell in love with what is always my greatest weakness: dishes and glasses. Aren't these lovely (below)?  Luckily for my husband, I managed to pass them up and made it out the door with nothing more than some vintage valentines from the 50's.  Stop in to see Lajana at Park Street Antiques, 2766 Park St, Jacksonville.  Take a peek at more of my Friends and Stranger project here!
     

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Cathie

 

Next up for my Friends and Strangers project is the lovely Cathie Lambert!  I've met some amazing people since I started volunteering with Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) nearly two years ago now, and Cathie is one of them. Cathie and I actually "met" on Facebook and became Facebook friends before we finally met in person at the shelter. We were both regular visitors to the Friends of Jacksonville Animals (FOJA) page, and she regularly commented on my pictures and added comments about the personalities of the dogs she'd personally interacted with.  She quickly became one of the biggest supporters of my shelter photography. 

It took a while before we finally ended up at the shelter at the same time on the same day, and when we finally did, of course we recognized each other immediately!  Since then Cathie has stepped up to lead our Sunday Funday program to much success.  On Sundays, the shelter is closed to the public and minimal staff are there, so the dogs don't get out for a walk and the cats don't get cuddled.  FOJA, the non-profit that supports ACPS, started Sunday Funday to solve that program.  Each Sunday a large group of volunteers comes to the shelter to ensure all the dogs are walked, all the cats are cuddled, and all dogs and cats in adoptions are photographed.  Cathie and I worked the same run yesterday, so while she and another volunteer brought the dogs outside for a walk, I photographed each one. This is Cathie with Peanut.  Isn't she adorable!?  And I'm referring to both Peanut AND Cathie!  Thanks for all you do for our animal friends, Cathie!

You can follow the FOJA Facebook page here, and follow the ACPS Facebook page here.  See more of my Friends and Strangers project here. 

Best Shot Monday: Friends and Strangers Project, Retha

I'm happy to report that I mustered up the courage to meet and photograph my first stranger for my Friends and Strangers project. Meet Retha!

Just about every morning on my way to work, I hop off of I-95 at 8th Street to get a sweet tea/half cut from the McDonald's at 8th and Davis (the best run McDonald's in Jacksonville, by the way). And just about every morning, I am greeted by a sweet smile from a sweet lady who I now know is Retha. Retha stands on the corner I-95 and 8th Street selling newspapers for the Florida Times Union. Every morning, I see her smile and wave at everyone waiting at the light. Last Thursday, I rolled down my window, introduced myself, asked her her name and told her about my project.  I asked her if I could stop the next day and talk with her for a few minutes and photograph her.  She was happy to oblige!

So Friday morning on my way to the shelter, I got off at 8th Street and pulled over in the grass.  When she saw me, she smiled, waved and walked over. I think she was a little surprised!  We chatted for a while and I learned she has three children, aged 18 to 31, William, Patrice and Santoria.  Patrice and Santoria are out of state, but William, the youngest, lives in Callahan so she gets to see him fairly often. She lives not far from where she sells the paper and has been working for the FTU selling papers for nine months. She said business is not great, especially since the cost went up, but she enjoys meeting the people. I'd have to agree with that. She truly is so sweet and that smile just lights up the morning.

After I took a few shots of her, I showed her them in my camera, and she said, "Oh, I look just like my mother!"  Well then, Ms. Retha, your mother must have had a lovely smile. It was a pleasure to finally meet you. I'll be bringing Retha some copies of this photo to share with her family this week. Next time you exit at 8th Street, wave to Retha, and buy a paper from her. Even if you don't need one.   

Happy New Year and a Goal or Two

On the Black Rock Trail, Big Talbot Island

Happy New Year! I hope you've been enjoying the Christmas holidays as much as we have, and now it's time to welcome the new year.  Every year on Christmas morning, after the gifts have been opened (oh, usually by 6am), we load the dogs up in the Trooper and head to Big Talbot Island's Black Rock Beach trail. It's our way of giving the dogs their Christmas present!  And every year, I always take a photo similar to this one, the girls and the dogs on the trail. It reminds me of walking into the new year ahead.

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but I have do have two main goals for the year, so I might as well throw them out there to give myself a little more accountability. I'll call it my "Friends and Strangers" project. For the friends part, my goal is to get out of the office and have an official lunch date with a friend at least twice a month.  I have so many friends right here in town that I hardly ever see!  As part of our lunch date, I also hope to photograph them (there's your warning, local friends!).  For the strangers part, I'm working on a 100 Strangers sort of project.  My goal is to seek out two strangers a month, maybe someone I might see on a regular basis but have never actually met or someone I just happen to come across that looks interesting, and talk with them to learn more about them and photograph them. This will be the true challenge for me.  I have no trouble speaking in front of large groups of people, but I tend to be a little shy around people I don't know (I realize this may be surprising to those of you who know me well... :-)

So there you have it. My hope is that this project will get me out of my office more (and maybe eating better lunches!) and out of my comfort zone more. What are your plans for the new year?  Whatever they may be, I wish you a year filled with good health and happiness.