More of only in Miami Beach

The scene I witnessed on Monday morning on 41st Street was even more bizarre than sable hats with palm trees. Black yamulke propped on dishwater blonde hair, a forty something wearing shorts and holding a long turqoise skateboard looked like a panhandler, but I didn't have to turn him down. He only seemed to be approaching fellow yamulke wearers who also had prayer shawls. And by the time I got close enough to hear his spiel, I heard him say, "I'm not asking for a handout- I do accounting, web design, taxes..." Obviously this is the kosher way to street hustle in the heart of Miami Beach. Where else could I have been amused, but not surprised , to be the audience for a sketch like that ? (The art of the deal mid- beach syle)

The capstone to my trip through diversity ended when I went to the west end of the street to take a picture of the belltower of the St Charles Catholic Church. Resting thirty feet up the building's side was a monumental statue of Jesus. One of his hands was holding an orb, while the other seemed to be offering a benediction to the building across the street. It used to be the bayfront Howard Johnsons Hotel I stayed at years ago when I first started coming down to buy plants. Now it serenely houses the Talmudic University. I'm pretty sure I saw an image of Buddha being formed in the clouds that rose up above the aqua blue waters of Biscayne Bay behind it.
(Jesus gives his benediction to Talmudic Univ.) (My old Howard Johnson as an institution of higher learning, Talamudic University)

Miami Beach Anachronisms

The mixture that makes the beach such a great town inevitably spawns some anachronistic images. One of my favorites, which I've witnessed before, was on last Friday night. On the 41st street bridge crossing Indian Creek, a middle-aged blond haired hasidic Jew wearing the most beautiful giant sable hat. The headgear would have been perfect for a snowy day in Kiev, but set against the palms and sultry July night in Miami Beach, the effect was truly surreal.

Lincoln Road Miami Beach for Dinner

We took a cab to Lincoln Road. My old favorite haunt, a Belgian restaurant, has closed but my second favorite, Carnivale did not disappoint. I'm really glad our waiter didn't arrive in a few minutes, because after I caught one of the owner's eyes, he came over and asked if we had been helped already. When I said no, he immediately summoned the nearest waiter and said " We've cooked all day, wr made the ravioli. the sauces and all the rest and now they've finally come, our guests! Let's get them some food, what do you say?" The rest of our experience was flawless-penne with vodka sauce was extraordinary and beef carpaccio salmone was as good as I have ever tasted. Our experience was of course enhanced by the passing parade that is Lincoln Road. And a clever sense of humor turned a negative into a memorable experience that showed how quickly a sense of humor can turn things around.

Miami Beach breakfast at Lincoln Road

We arrived about six last night at our "boutique" hotel, The Atlantic Beach. By the time we provisioned ourselves and settled in, I just didn't have a blog in me. But today, I can't wait to write.



We started out the day with a terrific breakfast at Balans on Lincoln Road. It's one of the few cafes there to open early. A few years back, we had a stint at selling orchids and bromeliads right next to Balans at the Sunday Farmers Market. That's when I took the picture of a couple shopping that became the basis for a painting. You can view my other artwork at http://www.floridagardengallery.com/.

After going back to the room, I headed north to the Fountainebleu. Ten blocks north of 44th and Collins, this amazing construction from 1954 is considered a masterwork of Morris Lapidus. This architect, who was snubbed by the cognoscenti of his day, has rightly assumed his role as one of the founders of post-modernism. His style is defined as MiMo (mid-century modern) and he is single handedly responsible for setting the style and tone for the whole section of Miami Beach north of 41st Street.

This was my first visit back since the latest remodeling, which was an attempt to restore it to the original Lapidus look that had been bastardized in previous attempts to "fix it up." And although it's managed to undue some of the previous harm, it is still not as good as the original. I can only imagine what the Mona Lisa would look like if a trio of less talented artists had been invited to over paint Leonardo's masterpiece.
Nothing about it now trumps my memory of it as a sixteen year old. Every year in high school, my debate team spent the week between Christmas and New Years at a competition held at Miami Beach High School that attracted National Forensic Leaguers from all over the country. My friend Brian and I donned suits that we brought just for the occasion and proudly presented ourselves to the maitre'd of the main dining room of the Fountainebleu. If anything seemed strange to him about seating a couple of unattended young men ( I looked fourteen), nothing in his demeanor betrayed it. The surroundings surely enhanced the taste of the vichyssoise and escargot, but I'm pretty sure they really were good.

Certainly we were living proof of Lapidus' adage that if you build a wonderful set, its occupants will have a great time acting in it. That evening we two starred in our production of a grand little play that is fondly enshrined in my memory. Little wonder that the botched attempts at improving on the site of our production seem so much like heresy to me. But a glimmer of some that is great from the original has been returned. The reconstruction of Morris' "Stairway to Nowhere" is most appreciated. Originally constructed solely as an entrance to the coat room, its real purpose was to allow the hotel's clientele, after dropping their outerwear and hats, to make a grand entrance to the throngs of guests milling around the lobby. Each was probably expecting that they would become the star of the history of their own lives. I think Morris would have been amused at the little drama a couple of boys played out in his place that December night in 1966.

Plans for Tomorrow, In Miami Beach

We'll leave around around 10 thirty and should have late lunch at Lincoln Road cafe. I'm excited to go as usual. Orlando is my pretty sweet and comforting wife, we have beautiful children together and I'll always love her. But Miami Beach is my hot seething mistress who makes my blood boil. It's a yin/yang thing. Every life should have it. Too much of one or the other could unbalance me. But when the proportions are right everything flows just fine,

Landscape Windermere

This week has seen us focusing on some of the more mundane aspects of the hacienda project. Fine tuning the irrigation, bed work and mulch installation have helped polish off the front. We are working on addressing drainage issues created by the new gutters. We have ordered new pavers to match the existing ones for the expansion of the back terrace. Railroad ties for creating the berm that will eventually house the water feature have been requisitioned. And today we begin the painstaking job of creating 28 2x6x12 crossmembers for the pergola top. Each has to be cut with a proper end, then filled , sanded and painted before being installed.
Steve, Jose and Primo are working on three little sod jobs on the east side of town, while Mike and Roland work in Windermere.
The prediction is for heavy showers this afternoon, but fortunately the carpentry for the pergola can go on in one of the two huge garages at the hacienda. I'll be going to ranch country to pick up the sod today and tomorrow and later I'm doing two little design projects for places in Winter Park and Altamonte Springs. It's not as exciting as doing a big installation, but everyone deserves a little help. And watching a team of highly trained monkeys working in your front yard in the rain should be at least mildly amusing for someone to see.

Progress in Windermere

Friday we wrapped up work on the front of the hacienda with everything but the pedestals and their accompanying urns. Monday we start the retaining wall in the back in preparation for the new terrace, pergola and water feature. The owners, Lawrence and Debra were in town for the holiday and couldn't have been happier with the progress. And I brought over a few orchids, just to show them some of the beautiful things they could grow here. We have so many hundreds of growers of orchids and bromeliads around us that the bounty available is almost an embarrassment of riches. With Lawrence in particular being an avid gardener, I'm pretty sure he'll become as much an addict as I am. At least the physical effects of this addiction all seem to be good. It's about as evil as being addicted to exercise and healthy food. If something's going to kill me, let it be these things.