Attended a grand opening event this morning with a bunch of friends. That’s Donna Wilson and her husband and school board candidate Ed Wilson, Marion County historian Judy Delk, me and Morrey Deen, who’s done more for our military veterans than can be counted!

Dead Man’s Road by Randy Denmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Author, Denmon obviously has a great handle on the mechanization of the railroad business and well presents it here. He even crafts a decent story around it. It’s the rest that stinks.

Let me begin with the very good part: Denmon does an exemplary job of writing the construction of the rails and the physical, mechanical and governmental needs. The engineering part of it all from the plans to the trusses needed for a bridge are very accurately written into the story.

I find almost all types of music,TV, movies, books, etc. created in the past 20 years has elements of the Valley Girl in it. I was surprised to find elements of the Valley Girl in a western novel by a man. but it’s very much there. The use of superlatives is ridiculous. Just the last two pages include: amazing, magnificence and totally.

The dialogue is presented as if all have had some fine education. Even those described as being illiterate. The indians sound as if they attended primary school in New York. This is the worse element of the book. It’s one of the good guys that curses more than any other character. The bad guys are written with rather gentle dialogue and then written with very rough action. Most of the characters are written in narrative and dialogue very similarly.

Denmon also approaches the opening of chapters the same way. Seemed to me each opening had some color involved to describe the setting. Denmon did his best to include a solid setting, but it read as very mechanical.

The good guy was very frustrating and I had trouble liking the character. As much as he was written like the others in dialogue, Denmon included a lot of inner thought that didn’t match with the dialogue.

I could go on. I believe this book is just another example of a contemporary book missing a good editor who would’ve pegged so many obvious troubles and could be straighten out.

The overall book is fine, though pretty predicable.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 5 out of 5 points.

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This is me and, my art teacher from Robert E. Lee Junior High School, Mr. Seaman ( as I still only think of him as). He’s known more today as Del Seaman.

Mr. Seaman has an art gallery in Oviedo, Florida, The Artistic Hand Gallery & Studio. We had a great chat and heard a small bit of his Florida experiences since 1953.

As with Gina Taylor yesterday, I leaned Mr. Seaman’s mother skied at Cypress Gardens but, instead of using the Dick Pope skis, used hand crafted skis by a relative. I plans to interview Mr. Seaman in January, too! 🙂

I’m temporarily grounded as my brakes in the car have decided not to operate as they should. This meant on Tuesday I needed a ride to a memorial service for a friend. Maxine Thomas was kind to give me that ride out to Dunnellon to say goodbye to our mutual friend Penny Fleeger. The service was held at a favorite spot of Penny’s, Rainbow Springs State Park (Photo above).

Penny was born and raised in the same city my mother and aunt were born and raised, Coral Gables, Florida. It was one evening Penny and I were talking about Coral Gables and high school. Suddenly we found that Penny went to elementary, junior high, high school AND the same college with my Aunt, though they didn’t really know each other.

Penny moved on from Coral Gables to other places, married and ended up in Dunnellon, Florida. Widowed and wanting to help the community, she was voted in as a Dunnellon City Council member. She also got involved with the local historical museum, the Chamber of Commerce and helping preserve the Rainbow River, which she lived along.

I met her several years ago and we were very good friends until the her health took her. Penny loved everything that drove my Swampy’s Florida efforts. It was Penny’s efforts that produced the ‘Swampy’s Florida: Dunnellon’ book.

Penny’s gone now. In a place she can rest from the maddening crowd – One of her favorite places – the Rainbow River.

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Started the day with an early morning run to the monthly Orlando Remembered meeting at the Orange County Regional History Center.

From there I slipped over to Beefy King and got together with a crew of friends. I was showing friend and Apopka native Melanie King my Apopka illustration I had done. Her friend Joe was there and took the photograph.

I hadn’t seen most of this lot in a few years. Standing is Pam Treadwell. Seated are Charles Treadwell, Marvin Bennett and Kim Cullars, who was celebrating his birthday.

Marvin has just published an ace of a book, ‘Trutles, Tortoises and People’, full of information, art and Marvin’s scientifically accurate paintings of slews of turtles. This book is not widely available. Let me know if you’d like one and I’ll help you get one.

After Beefy King I had a rather long business meeting about a project and then just had to stop. I was pooped!!! I guess my age slowing me down.

I got back on my horse and rode out to the Winter Park Library to sit and hear my friend Susan Trewick and her group pick guitars. While heading in, I noticed the library book store sign still out and went in to see if they would like me to bring it in. Oops! I spotted a Florida history book I needed. Then found another and another! I got back to Susan’s group half hour later stayed too short a time and ran on to meet with pals Robert Bauerle and Ken Culotta, below, to write a set of political cartoons.

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I just learned that Bill Partington died. He was a hero to anyone trying to save #Florida from those wanting to exploit it selfishly. My friend, Jeff Parker wrote it far better than I could:

“Bill Partington, has passed away.

Bill was a founding member of the Florida Native Plant Society and instrumental in persuading President Nixon to stop the construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which led to Bill creating the Florida Conservation Foundation and ENFO. He is recognized as one of the foremost movers behind establishing a wildlife corridor system throughout Florida, He also is known for his efforts to stop alligator poaching, and lobbied tirelessly to reclaim agriculture lands for Everglades preservation.

So much of my life has passed through this Steak ‘n Shake in Winter Park, Florida…. Here’s my first Ocala pal Marguerite Cavenaugh to stop here after ‪#‎FPEA2016‬.

It was me, Marguerite & Randy Osborne manning our table at the Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA) convention the past few days. Busy week after 4 days at the International Trademark Association (INTA) convention !

Was helping cartoonist buddy George Pieper with his cartooning class booth here in The Villages, Florida, and who comes by? One of the most efficient people ever to work at Orlando City Hall, my fellow former City Hall pal, Peggy Peterson!!!