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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