Club Park Avenue Trip Report: A Cocktail with the Cosmos

Tallahassee is in the Deep South. The largest employer in town is the State government which headquarters in a phallic Capitol complex. The city is also home to Florida State University and Florida A&M. In the late 1980s, the town held about 100,000 people, half of them being university students. Set in rural Leon County… Continue reading Club Park Avenue Trip Report: A Cocktail with the Cosmos

Phantom Galaxy, M74

“The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be.Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us --there is a tingling in the spine,a catch in the voice,a faint sensation, as if a distant memory,of falling from a height.We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”~ Carl Sagan, Cosmos Phantom Galaxy, M74,… Continue reading Phantom Galaxy, M74

At the Crossroads of the World: Scenes from a World Heritage Site

Erin and I are staying all week in Casco Viejo, Panamá’s 500+ years old, UNESCO World Heritage Site at the heart of the country. The district serves as an entertainment and culinary hotspot with chefs from around the globe vying to make a name for themselves. We celebrated my sister’s birthday last night. This was… Continue reading At the Crossroads of the World: Scenes from a World Heritage Site

Thirty+ Years Ago, What I Remember from my First Pride

My first Pride event. The year was 1988 or 89. I was an undergrad at Florida State University in Tallahassee. My boyfriend and I drove my clunky Toyota Starlet to Atlanta for pride weekend celebrations. We stayed with a friend near Piedmont Park and met up with a lesbian couple (Vicky and Wendy) we were… Continue reading Thirty+ Years Ago, What I Remember from my First Pride

Bridge of the Americas

The Bridge of the Americas spans the Panamá Canal on the Pacific side. Ancon Hill, is the green hump rising above on the far side of the canal in this picture. Casco Antiguo (the colonial quarter) on the upper right, with the Cinta Costera highway curving into the bay of Panamá and encircling this historical… Continue reading Bridge of the Americas

Happy Valentine’s Hour

In Panamá, “pushbuttons” are motels that rent rooms by the hour. You pull into an open single-car garage, press a button to close the door (and conceal your vehicle), and enter the connecting room. All transactions (eg., room charge, drink orders) occur through privacy-ensured sliding openings so the staff can’t see you. Rooms look similar… Continue reading Happy Valentine’s Hour

Canal Zone: Stamps of a Forgotten American Colony

Found my childhood stamp collection! Here’re some Canal Zone stamps. Heroes commemorated include: President Teddy Roosevelt, who championed the building of the Panamá Canal as a national security necessity.Dr Gorgas who discovered the source of Yellow Fever, which killed workers by the hundreds. Canal construction stopped for a year while they worked to eradicate the… Continue reading Canal Zone: Stamps of a Forgotten American Colony