I'm back at my brother's house now. (That's not it above.) I think my poor mom needed a break from playing host!
This super-patriotic driveway is in Atlantic Beach. We saw it on car repair day but I couldn't shoot it because we were unable to stop. But I couldn't get it out of my mind, so when Mom and I went to Castaway Island on Friday I made a little detour and revisited it. I'm so glad I did. It's definitely too flag-wavey for me politically, but it makes a great photo.
Last night we went to dinner at a Mexican place in an old municipal building, where they seemed thoroughly perplexed by my order of a gin martini. I suppose it's not a common drink at a Mexican place. But they cranked one out, even with olives, and it tasted fine.
Then my brother indulged in one of his impromptu driving tours of the city, taking us through downtown and down the west side of the river. I'm always up for sightseeing, and my brother loves to drive. He doesn't hesitate to take the long route anywhere.
This is a cicada. They're buzzing in the trees at this time of year. They're usually pretty hard to see, but this one was caught in a doorway at Mom's apartment building. We walked through the door, and when it closed behind us we heard a loud, unmistakable buzz.
"What is that?!" I said.
"Oh, it's just the door," Mom replied.
But I knew it wasn't just the door. So I opened it again, and the cicada rolled out from under it -- I think it had been trapped between the bottom of the door and the floor. It seemed unharmed, fortunately, and I moved it out to a plant in the surrounding woods. Adult cicadas don't live very long, but hopefully this one at least got to mate and continue its species!
"Let Freedom Ring" with an American flag would look great on the pavement (NOT sidewalk) outside your flat in West Hampstead. I am sure the neighbours and the local council would applaud your patriotic gesture. Thanks for the picture of the cicada. Noisy little blighters!
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely getting the Whole Florida Experience, aren't you? I sort of love the patriotic driveway. I mean- everything is spelled correctly and the flag looks good! Someone spent some time on that one.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen a cicada shed its shell and emerge new? Whoa! It's the craziest weirdest thing ever!
Sounds like your brother would be great on a road trip. "Let's try this road! See where it goes!"
summer and cicadas. haven't heard too many so far this year. and yeah, I don't get the almost devout attention some people give the flag. it borders on idolatry. I don't find anything patriotic about that.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh pretty bug! The drive way is some white honky drive way for sure!
ReplyDeleteYou're not wasting any time on your trip and are seeing many things even a cicada!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me happy to hear about your rescue missions, Steve. We can't save everything, but we can save what's right in front of us and make a difference to those critters.
ReplyDeleteLove the bug, and your kind attention to its wellbeing. The driveway not so much...Hi to your family.
ReplyDelete"Let freedom ring! Let freedom ring!" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that in his unmistakable, goose bump inspiring cadence. Because I can hear him when i read those words, I kind of like the patriotic driveway.
ReplyDeleteI like the driveway. An artist lives there! I only ever hear Dr. MLK pronouncing those words in such a declaratory fashion--in my mind's ear. They never sound political at all. Freedom should ring, and our right to be free should resonate across the world. An orator I am not, but those words belong right next to "Give me liberty, or give me death!"---leftovers from July 4th? Peace.
ReplyDeleteANOTHER great photo. (The cicada, I mean.) Keep on keepin' on, Steve.
ReplyDeleteI like how the flag appears to be waving -- great photo! And thanks for the photo of the cicada -- I, of course, have HEARD them as I grew up in Georgia, but I don't think I've ever actually seen one. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's a good point that "Let Freedom Ring!" doesn't have to be seen in a jingoistic way. When I think of it in the context of MLK, that makes it a much more positive statement. I'm just always wary of excessive flag-waving.
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