May 14th, 2017

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Mother’s day May 14 in Green Cove Springs, Fl.

Sunday, May 14th, 2017

 

“Fleetwood” is high and dry sitting right at the “porch”. The noise of my sander is drowning out the tales and lies spun here on this porch with the appropriate sign. DSC_0003_edited-1This is still a magic spot with its permanent human fixtures  and an excellent facility if you can live with the long trek up and down the river and to the town on my folding bike.  But the atmosphere is not what it was when I first came here in 2008 and again in 2009, there is lot of unnecessary bitching and discord among the crew.

After washing/scraping off the one year growth on the bottom the underwater hull is in good shape and will only require a light sanding and anti-fouling. The iron keel has a fair amount of rust and I finished sanding down to bare metal the starboard side on the first day. There is a new magic solvent to seal the cast iron keel (details/pictures on next blog). I expect to be done by next weekend and be on my way to the Chesapeake.

Yesterday evening I attended the Spanish mass at the original Sacred Heart Church in town. The new facility can only be reached by automobile or the geriatric shuttle and, frankly, I feel more at home with my Latin American hermanos/hermanas. In 2008 I rode in with Howard and Susan to the new church. In 2009 I discovered the old church and its proximity with my folding bike. On entering the church we were given white roses for our deceased mothers which we later placed near the altar in a large vase. After the mass the children were doing a skid for their mothers which was very well choreographed with audio and projection. The mothers received their red roses. Then there was a superb Latin American buffet, served by the men and a Mariachi singer. I sat with a Venezuelan and Puerto Rico couple and a Mexican family from Vera Cruz. When I heard the first stanzas of “Malagueña” (Que bonitos ojos tienes!”), I could not help myself and rushed up to the microphone. The crowd must have wondered where this blue eyed Gringo is coming from. There was a round of applause. It is the only Spanish song I happen to know the entire text of. I sang it last March in Trinidad, Cuba with “Trio Ensueño”, for a much smaller audience.

Buffet Sacred Heart

Buffet Sacred Heart