Blown away. . .my day at the Miami Book Fair



I spent a windy morning yesterday helping to man the WLRN booth at the Miami Book Fair.  It was a (mind) blowing experience.  I arrived at the Fair site in downtown Miami, as per e-mailed instructions, at 9:30am, to meet a young staff member named Dee Diaz, and to quickly realize it was just the two of us wrestling with a zipped up tent stuffed with endless boxes of "stuff".

Our location, as the very first tent Fair-goers encountered, once they passed through the main entrance, was either the best, or the worst, that the Book Fair had to offer.  The best, because we were the first thing they saw as they entered and the last thing they saw as they left.  The worst, because nothing protected us on our north side from the unrelenting north wind.

The boxes of "stuff" turned out to be cd's and dvd's by the likes of Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney (George's aunt, remember her?) and Dinah Shore!  Also lots of Celia Cruz, and for some ungodly reason, a dozen of Il Volo, that young Italian singing group.  Don't laugh, we sold lots of them, at $5 a pop, with all monies going to the station.  More expensive, at $25 each, were the original documentaries done by WLRN through NPR.  These were fascinating and also sold well.



"Honk If You're Weird!"

Then we had books.  Boy did we have books.  With titles I never hear of, but a lot of them sold at $5 each.  We also had give-aways, including the "Honk If You're Weird" bumper sticker I'm holding in the photo.  Not so surprisingly, young people passing by, scooped them up. Please note the green "money apron" I am wearing in the photo.  We were a cash business, Dee and me.  None of that credit card stuff for us.                      

 It was not a pretty day, on and off drizzly, but the Book Fair is amazing.  Once my shift was over I got to walk around and even grab an arepa (my addiction at outdoor events) for lunch.  Couldn't resist buying a book at one of the tents dedicated to kid's books.  Got one about dinosaurs for my great-grandson Grayson, who is a dinosaur aficionado.  If you've never been to the Miami Book Fair, you don't know what you're missing.  Put it on your calendar for next year!
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An eating experience. . .

I made a return visit to the 18th Annual Americas Food & Beverage Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center today, and I may never eat again.  It's a trade-only event and I've written about attending  it in the past. I seem to be on the Show's books as the "Secretary" of Collins Fish & Seafood Company ever since Benard enrolled me with that title several years ago, even though I've never worked there.  But that's the reason for my annual invitation  and why we made the pilgrimage to Miami Beach this morning. 

When I say I'll never eat again, I'm not kidding.  You need strength and a huge appetite to make it through the multiple aisles of this giant show where every booth is offering something else to eat or drink. Latin America is heavily represented so the spice-level of some offerings is more than you can imagine.  However, everything gets washed down with little paper cups of wine, coconut water, mango juice, energy drinks, a few fluids you never heard of, and even a welcome bottle of ice cold  Icelandic Water.

The pictures tell the story.  Particularly the one of the very tired lady after three hours of walking and eating.
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Cheese, wonderful cheese, in every flavor

Brie with chutney.  Yum!

Luscious lobster.

He's not real, but the wine was.

H


Unbelievable fruits and veggies

No caption necessary.

A very special weekend. . . .

If you have to have a "big birthday", this was definitely the way to do it.  The celebration began with Andrea's arrival on Tuesday and really ramped up with the arrival of the kids, grandson Adam and his wife Amy, and great-grandson Grayson on Friday morning.

Pool party, l to r: Andrea, Jo, Grayson, Adam

I adore Adam and Amy, but the real attraction was the little one, and in truth, the weekend revolved around this three year old bundle of deliciousness. This was Grayson's first visit to Grove Isle and I wanted it to be perfect.  He totally approved of his great-grandmother's arrangements for an apartment on the same 7th floor as my condo, and showed it by his obvious enjoyment of the view from the wrap-around patio, his favorite spot in the apartment, his love of the swimming pool, and his expertise on the swings and slides in the kid's  playground on Grove Isle. 

In between, we grown-ups (including great-grandfather Ralph and grandfather Eliot) supped our way through a sushi feast (Adam's favorite) on Friday night and Pollo Tropical (Andrea's favorite) on Saturday night, all washed down with mucho bottles of beer, wine and diet Coke.

Fun on the swings

Five years ago I celebrated the big "80th" with a fancy party at a restaurant.  Sunday, the 19th, was the actual date of my birthday.  After the kids left, Andrea and I were invited to a private celebration dinner at Capital Grille.  For the hell of it, I decided to wear the same outfit I wore five years ago to that party..  That was my way of defying the calendar and saying "Age is just a number. . .especially if you are lucky enough to be healthy and still have your wits."

The good news is, it still fits!
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Running on the condo patio

Look at that smile!

The birthday girl.

 

October 19th is fast approaching. . . .

I have a birthday coming next week.  It's what some would call a big one, but I've decided to down-size it.  When you are my age, you are allowed to do that. 

I'd rather count my blessings.  Not sure from what side of the family my older sister and I got our genes, and I'm not sure either of us have done a very good job of passing them along to the next generation, but we are definitely the lucky ones with remarkable health and agility despite our age.

In the meantime, I've decided to re-do my bucket list.  My desire to visit the polar bears in Antarctica is still near the top, but so far not a soul has offered to go with me and it seems like a kind of cold trip to do on my own.  I still want to climb Machu Pichu while I can make it without help, and I've added Rio on my list and a visit with my friend Axel who lives there.

Most exciting this past year has been a remarkable up-tick in my free lance writing business. . . the paid kind, not just the pro bono stuff!  (I always did love a good pay check!)  I've seen my writing published in newspapers and magazines many time over the years in my role as a public relations person, but rarely with my name attached.  Have to admit I was excited to find myself recently on the masthead of a very fancy upscale magazine called the South Florida Luxury Guide as a "Contributing Writer of Home & Design".  Wow!  I'm still here, folks!

The best part of the upcoming birthday celebration will be the arrival of my family. . .daughter Andrea, grandson Adam and his wife Amy, and my delicious great-grandson Grayson.

Speaking of my bucket list, check off one more wish.  I always wanted to ride the carousel with my great-grandson. It happened at the Zoo in Jacksonville recently. That's Grayson on the tiger and Great-grandma Jo riding the leopard next to him.  And I actually hopped up there without a drop of help from anyone!
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Hope springs eternal. . . .

Why, oh why, do I buy a lotto ticket?

Because I have big plans for what I will do with those multi-millions when I win them.  Starting with paying off all of grandson Adam's and his wife's school loans, my condo mortgage, etc. etc.  I've already decided I am going to purchase me a 2-bedroom suite on that ocean liner that sails constantly around the world.  I'll set up a calendar for who gets to sail with me, when you will get on and where you will have to get off, because my next friend is waiting. "You get on in Nice, France, and get off in Barcelona, Spain."  That sort of thing. I promise I'll be a wonderful hostess and traveling companion.

The reason I am ranting is because I just checked the numbers on the ticket I bought yesterday at Publix on my way out of the store.  I refuse to spend more than $1 at a time on a QuickPick.  Makes you think I don't hav much confidence in winning, doesn't it? 

Once again I don't have a single matching number.  They should give a booby prize for pickers like me.  I am practically professional at not picking a single matching number.  I mean really, not a single one?  Jeez, gimme a break.

Has anyone you know ever actually won one of these things?  Maybe I have to travel to some remote little North Florida town and stop at some tumble down 7 Eleven one of these days.  Those always seem to be the only places that manage to sell winning tickets to the Florida Lottery.

I've got a birthday coming in October and a few mil would make a lovely birthday gift, don't you agree?  Any one out there have some lucky numbers I can borrow?????.  You can be the first guest in my round-the-world ship suite, if you do.
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A word about voting this November. . .

Last week marked the 94th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, the congressional act that gave woman the right to vote.  My mother taught my sister and me that voting was a sacred trust because she well remembered how important that right was to her mother and to her.

My mother was born in the United States, but her mother came to America as a very young woman from the town of Gyngos in Hungary.  Her proudest days were when she became an American citizen and that historic moment in 1920 when she cast her first vote. Mother told us how she took off from work on election day to accompany my grandmother to the polls because she knew there would be many people (read that as men) objecting to the ridiculous idea of women voting.  And object they did, hooting and hollering in a threatening manner as lines of proud women walked bravely up to the voting place for the very first time in our nation's history..

Democrat, Republican or Independent.  Man or woman. The right to vote is very precious. If you don't express your opinion at the ballot box this November, you have no right to complain.

Need I say more????
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Some wisdom from Maya Angelou

I've always admired Maya Angelou.  So when a friend sent me an e-mail this morning with a series of her remarkable quotes on life in general and women in particular, I had to pass some of them on to you, my faithful blog readers.  (Even if you're a guy and not a girl, they're still worth reading.)

I've selected some that reflect my own thoughts on the situation and particularly appealed to me.  Let me know if you agree!

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.. . a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age. . .

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE. . .a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.. .

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE. . one friend who always makes her laugh. . and one who lets her cry. . .

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE. . a feeling of control over her destiny. . .

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW. . how to fall in love without losing herslf. .

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW. . when to try harder. . and when to walk away. .

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW. . how to live alone. . even if she doesn't like it. . .

AND FINALLY. . .

BE YOURSELF. . .EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN.

Way to go, Maya. . .you were one amazing lady!  Thanks for the memories.

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