Aids Walk - 2008

It was a great turnout. A "Thank You" for those who sponsored me, participated and volunteered. I saw some old friends and parents of friends. TWIST was really prepared with their water station and was the only one that provided for the four legged friends that participated. Enjoy some pics from the day....

The Aids Walk is this Sunday. Registration begins at 7:3o am, opening program at 8:00 am, start at 9:00 am followed by closing celebration.

The 5k Walk begins at the Miami Beach Conveniton Center and ends at the Botanical Gardens (across the street) after doing a circular trek around South Beach.

TWIST will be haning out water on the route....

Mr. S and some friends and I will be participating. I have been collecting sponsors to donate. If you would like to participate, support or donate you can follow the link and get more info or donate online.

http://www.aidswalkmiami.org/

Happy Birthay to "The Mrs Astor" and My Persian Princess!!

Two birthdays today for two great people..."The Mrs Astor" and one of my girls and my favorite Persian Princess (or should I say Dr. Persian Princess now?)

It is great when you know people that are good at heart and are sincerely cherished by others. I wish them both day full of joy and and continued blessings of friends and family throughout the year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Visit to Southeast Florida from the Presiding Bishop

I know the coverage on the news about religeon has been busy lately with the United States vist of the Pope. That's nice.....I'm not Roman Catholic. I am an Episcopalian. So, it is exciting for me that the Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Sciori is visiting our Diocese this week. She is the head of the Epicopal Church of the United States.

Tonight, she did a service at Bethesda by the Sea in the Palm Beach area (The church at which Donald Trump had his last wedding perfomed). Wednesday at 6:00 pm she will celebrate a service at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Downtown Miami (Across from the Omni). I will be there early. It will be followed by a discussion time.

On Thursday, I will hopefully get some "face time" when she tours the different ministries in the area. She will be stopping at my church for a bit that morning.

Overall, I hope the local television and print news report about it. We are a democratic church and it is a historic visit for us.... The last time a Presiding Bishop visited the South Florida area was in the early 1980's.

FYI: Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, previously Bishop of Nevada, as our twenty-sixth Presiding Bishop. She is chief pastor to the Episcopal Church's 2.4 million members in 16 countries and 110 dioceses, ecumenical officer, and primate, joining leaders of the other 38 Anglican Provinces in consultation for global good and reconciliation. Jefferts Schori was elected at the 75th General Convention on June 18, 2006 and invested at Washington National Cathedral on November 4, 2006.

The Ladies from Provincetown and an afternoon show

Saturday, I met up with Jerry and the Ladies from Provincetown to catch up and see the afternoon show at the Palace. Geraldine and Tiffany were great (as always). They met the Ladies and we took up a whole corner by the front.....there were nine of us (including myself). It is always great to see them and they are truly good people that I love to see over and over again.

Mr. S was feeling under the weather, so he did not attend. We had a nice quiet dinner after the show and watched movies on TV.

The Fire Ball - Ride

Went to the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair with Mr. S, my sis, some friends and their kids. Tacky people in tacky clothes, greasy foods, saw live farm animals, an ice skating show, school kid's exhibits of crafts, writing, etc., a variety of vendor booths and, of course, rides.

The fair has changed since I was growing up. The park was a big dust field and now it is all paved and walkable without getting all full of dust. Though, there is a lesser focus on the "youth' part of the fair than it used to. The focus used to be on the talents of youth achievements in different categories and displaying them for the public (including dance and music). Now it is more on food, shows, rides and how much people are willing to pay to play and win a stuffed animal.

Well, no matter, the "poor man's Disney World" is still fun and will continue to amuse the masses for a long time to come...

(The video is of the ride called the "Fire Ball".....yes, we did ride it...)

Oh Me! Oh My! Oh My Miami!

View from the MacArthur side of Miami of Downtown Miami. Some noticible buildings: The Freedom Tower, Old Courthouse, American Airlines Arena, The Archt Performing Arts Center (Formerly The Carnival Center), Bayside Market Place, Jungle Island (Formerly Parrot Jungle Island, Formerly Parrot Jungle).

The view keeps changing and still all those tall buildings that are spinging up are incomplete or empty........and regualr people and workers can not find affordable housing to buy, rent or lease.....

A good day for a run over the bridge with 2,999 other people...

I was up at 5:30 in the morning to warm up and get to the Celebrity 5k at 7:00am. By the time I arrived the sun was finally coming up and onslaught of the varied age runners and walkers were arriving at the Miami Children's Museum. Traffic was cut down to one lane going over the MacArthur Bridge heading towards the beach in order to make room for us.

I picked up my race packet, number and gift bag in advance, so I wore my Britto designed shirt for the run. When you arrive at the Museum, you can not fail to notice the large statue that Britto made to greet visitors. It is much better up close.

The downtown skyline was the backdrop and we were greeted/welcomed/thanked with loud music and then introduced to the "celebrities" that were in attendance. Then the Miami Heat Cheerleaders did a dance, the Equinox staff lead some stretching and aerobics. Before the start, Nicole sang a great and soulful rendition of the National Anthem. We were off!

The weather was great at that time in the morning with a cooling breeze. You could appreciate how great our city looks in the morning. The cruise ships were preparing for their trips, sail boats were out, birds were singing....it was invigorating.

Once at the finish line, I received my medal (everyone gets one when you complete the course). Then, off to Nikki Beach Club for a continental breakfast, more music, refreshments and the awards presentations. Overall it was a great morning. I was still hungry afterwards, so Mr. S made me bacon, eggs over easy (cooked in bacon grease), toast and juice....that hit the spot.

As an FYI: The Community Partnership for the homeless has become a model program and should be announcing soon that it will be a template for a national program based in Miami.

Celebrity 5k- Benefiting the Community Partnership for the Homeless

What are you doing Sunday morning? This is where I will be at 7am. It is a good cause and brings awareness. Mr. S will be waiting at the finish line for me... You can read more about the event at http://www.celbrity5k.com/.

Photo Op

While the amazing and glamorous Nancy was visiting, we had a nice dinner and strolled up and down the beach. While we walked up Washington Avenue, I saw a photo shoot going on and there were some video cameras. Being a curious person, I stopped to see what the subject was and this is what I saw. I asked if I could take a picture and I was quickly invited to come in and then also have my picture taken. They asked if I lived here. I told them, yes and then they said it is true Miami Style when you see the outrageous and are not "phased". I think it makes the town fun and lively. (I'm still not sure if the subject was a he a she or a he/she.) Keep it up!

Happy Birthday Henrietta!

The Grand Dame of South Beach, Henrietta, celebrated her 67th birthday on Sunday. Mr. S. and I went to the Birthday Celebration at Twist after Easter Morning Service and Easter Lunch with the family and kids.

Henrietta spent 4 days cooking and baking...it was all delicious and wonderful. The great Mrs Astor planned the event and it was attended by many South Beach and Miami fixtures. I was glad to see some old friends enjoy some time out of the spotlight and from behind the bar enjoy time wishing a great person health and happiness.

It was a rainy afternoon, but when the clouds went away, the boys came out to play. Henrietta holds the flowers we gave her..... Happy Birthday!

Easter Message 2008

Presiding Bishop's Message for Easter 2008

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori offers the following message for Easter 2008.

Your Easter celebration undoubtedly has included lots of physical signs of new life -- eggs, flowers, new green growth. As the Easter season continues, consider how your daily living can be an act of greater life for other creatures. How can you enact the new life we know in Jesus the Christ? In other words, how can you be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of the grace that you know in the resurrected Christ? How can your living let others live more abundantly?

The Judaeo-Christian tradition has been famously blamed for much of the current environmental crisis, particularly for our misreading of Genesis 1:28 as a charge to "fill the earth and subdue it." Our forebears were so eager to distinguish their faith from the surrounding Canaanite religion and its concern for fertility that some of them worked overtime to separate us from an awareness of "the hand of God in the world about us," especially in a reverence for creation. How can we love God if we do not love what God has made?

We base much of our approach to loving God and our neighbors in this world on our baptismal covenant. Yet our latest prayer book was written just a bit too early to include caring for creation among those explicit baptismal promises. I would invite you to explore those promises a bit more deeply -- where and how do they imply caring for the rest of creation?

We are beginning to be aware of the ways in which our lack of concern for the rest of creation results in death and destruction for our neighbors. We cannot love our neighbors unless we care for the creation that supports all our earthly lives. We are not respecting the dignity of our fellow creatures if our sewage or garbage fouls their living space. When atmospheric warming, due in part to the methane output of the millions of cows we raise each year to produce hamburger, begins to slowly drown the island homes of our neighbors in the South Pacific, are we truly sharing good news?

The food we eat, the energy we use, the goods and foods we buy, the ways in which we travel, are all opportunities -- choices and decisions -- to be for others, both human and other. Our Christian commitment is for this -- that we might live that more abundant life, and that we might do it in a way that is for the whole world.

Abundant blessings this Easter, and may those blessings abound through the coming days and years.

Visit from a friend...

'Canoodle My Underpants" (Mr. S's best friend) is in town this week from Boston. She arrived with some applause at Twist greeted by Dr. Brad and Mr and Mrs Astor. We enjoyed some reconnection time and then had a Cuban meal.

She is going to enjoy some sun, beverages, dancing, etc. I think I will make the effort to take her to "The Calle Ocho" event on Sunday. It is the open house/street festival that takes up 23 city blocks full of live Latin/Rap/Reggaeton music, food, people, etc. The drawback this year is that is is (for those of you who know) on Palm Sunday (the end of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week). We'll just have to go with the flow.

Check one more event off the list.....

Last weekend was the Winter Party. It was full of music, fun men and women from all over, some cultural and community events, etc. I volunteered at the Welcome Center desk and was privileged to work with some great people and meet some of the people visiting for the event (some from as far as Austria and Thailand).

I really liked the "Departure Lounge" event on Wednesday evening. There was representation from all the non-profit organizations (about 24) and there was a brief introduction and welcome from Task Force Organizers, local politicians and Judge David Young (now on TV). It was a chilly evening for us locals so the leather, fur, cashmere and wool were everywhere to be seen.

Saturday, Mr. S and I celebrated 1 year together... We went to the Anita Bryant exhibit at the Botanical Gardens (A day without sunshine), went to the Winter Party Happy Hour at Halo and met up with Dennis and Alan. We hit the Palace and Twist, then home for home cooked food and champagne.

Overall, it was great weekend. We did stay away from the big Beach Party and Pool Party, but we enjoyed the weekend.

Up next: "Spamalot" on Thursday

Have a good week.