Step Right Up in Sarasota

Rule #20 – Draw inspiration from anything and everything

     A trip to Sarasota was in the baseball cards this past March. Yes, I saw the Orioles play; but this year, I saw them in two different stadiums. The baseball was great and the baby Birds looked good… now if they can only stay healthy. Now many of you may wonder how much baseball a person can tolerate. What can someone do on the days off? Golfing is an option, but I don’t golf. But I do like to get into the local history of all the places I visit. Sarasota is the same – and there is plenty of local history on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

     It seems that Sarasota Florida was the winter home of the circus. Each winter season, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus would make camp the in Sarasota area to stay warm, practice, and develop new acts. During that time, performers would get some much needed rest. They could stay in one place for more than a few days at a time.

     In the early 1920’s, John Ringling and his wife, Mabel, fell in love with Sarasota and decided to have their winter home built here. They commissioned Dwight James Baum to design the home and Owen Burns to build it. The result was a combination design of Venetian palazzo and Middle Eastern palace with Sarasota Bay as the transportation canal. Building began in 1924 and finished just before Christmas 1926. The finished product is an estate, with Casablanca flair. What they built in the 1920’s is now the Ringing Museum complex, with a circus museum, art museum, performance venue, walking trails and gardens, and a mansion that rivals anything you’ve ever seen.

Entrance of the Ringling Museum, Sarasota FL

Lions guard the entrance

     Pull up to the front of the Ringling Museum and prepare yourself for a day of memories. Enter by land, Gatsby-style. Walk on to the property and head into the circus museum to your right. Here you get the chance to revisit your childhood circus dreams, with posters and playbills from the past. Stroll into the Tibbals Learning Center and immerse yourself in the circus times of the 1919 through 1938. You will find a 3800-square -foot miniature train garden with over 44,000 hand-made pieces. The detail in the train model is authentic. The activities displayed around the big top are down to the smallest detail. You will spend at least one hour touring this portion of the museum alone, learning about how the circus crew would set up the area with tents, trailers, and cages. The circus was a traveling city of its own.

Tibbals Learning Center entrance to the Circus Museum

Circus posters from towns across the country

Model of the circus big top, center ring action

Model of the circus chow tent - a performer has to eat too!

Parade into the Big Top

Detailed model of the entrance to a circus show tent

    In the circus museum, you will also find memorabilia from the early years of performances. A horse-drawn band wagon and calliope look like they can still draw a crowd to the circus parade. In an interactive portion of the circus museum, you can try your hand – or foot – at walking the tight rope, or riding bareback, or stuffing a clown car with people. Watch a video and transform yourself into a clown. The circus of today is not much different when you think of the types of performances, but the life of a circus performer certainly is.

Calliope wagon from the early 1900's

     Now take the time to hike past the banyan trees given to the Ringlings by Thomas Edison. These were mere saplings when John and Mabel lived here. Now, you walk past the set of the “Lion King”. The forest of banyans swallowed up some of the Ringling garden statuary. Walk among the trees and find many small surprises tucked into the roots of the trees.

Banyan trees - courtesy of Thomas Edison

Ca D’Zan, home of John and Mabel Ringling

      Next stop on your tour is Ca D’Zan, the Ringling Mansion. So far, you strolled toward Sarasota Bay and you can feel the temperature change as you near the water. Here, you have the option of a self-guided tour of the first floor only, or a paid guided tour that includes the second floor rooms. My advice? Spend the extra few dollars and tour the second floor. The first floor rooms are decorated to showcase the wealth of the circus owners. They are meant to impress visitors. As you tour the first floor, you are just waiting for a party to start. Go to the second floor and learn more about the owners of the Ringling Circus. See marble bath tubs and bath rooms. Walk on Italian marble staircases. Learn about how John and Mabel’s personal tastes are reflected in their bedroom décor. Pretend you are a guest of the Ringlings when you get to the guest bedrooms. And don’t forget to admire the tapestries hung in the second floor hallways. The Ringlings collected art masterpieces from all over the world. Their home became their showcase.

Main entertainment area for the Ringlings

Display of treasures from all over the world

John Ringling's marble bathtub

Pull your yacht up to the dock on Sarasota Bay

Join us for cocktails on the veranda

     Outside the house, walk around to the Secret Garden, to see more surprise treasures worked into the landscape. Stroll out on the rear piazza of the home. Imagine you are arriving for your visit by yacht and mooring at the Ringling dock. Step right up and become entranced by what you see. Walk into the Rose Garden, and find almost every type of rose available today. Many roses are hybrids and tea roses, and are used in the décor of the house.

Rose Garden

The formal layout for the Rose Garden

     Past the Rose Garden, you will see the Art Gallery. The Ringlings collected so many masterpieces that they could not display all of them in their home. So John Ringling commissioned a three-wing art gallery be built on his property. All the art treasures are now located in the Gallery. Plan to spend several hours admiring Renaissance art from the masters.

     When I visited, I spent approximately six hours at the museum and only made it through the first floor of the Circus Museum, the Ca D’Zan house, some of the grounds, and a quick walk (or jog) through one wing of the Gallery. You better believe that next year I’m going back. I’ll start by planning my visit using the museum website, www.ringling.org. Here I can plan my route, check for garden programs for the young (and those of us young at heart), check for featured art displays, and more.

     Step right up, boys and girls of all ages, and be amazed!

Photos are the property of Marge McGugan. No reuse or reprint without permission.

Parts are reprinted from "A View from the Passenger's Seat" by Marge McGugan, Arden on the Severn Newsbuoy, May-June 2015 issue.

Excuses... excuses...

     It is now June 15. The entire month of May is history. We are officially half past June. And this is my next post? Oy, vay!
     They say that life gets in the way of writing. And it really does. In this past month-plus, I have been working on other projects. I know it's a lame excuse, but it is true.
     I've been at Oriole park as often as my season tickets permit. I would have been there on May 3rd for the Tampa Bay Rays game, but some local insanity caused the game to be moved to Tampa. So I rescheduled my tickets for tomorrow, and I will see the O's play the Phillies at Camden Yards. My brother - a Phillies ticket holder - called me today to ask - no, beg my O's to be easy on the Phillies. Bro, the O's have been playing hot and cold running baseball. Your guys have the same chance to win as we do.
     My trusty garden is in varying states of completion. The front beds were done a few weeks ago. The back ones are in process. Ma Nature has been a pain in the tush with hot and humid weather before it's time. These HHH days are always accompanied by mega rain showers. It would have been done sooner, but each day I want to devote to outdoor work, has had interruption after interruption. I hope now that things seem to be settling down, I can get the back yard finished and looking great. At least the power washing was done.
    There were a few trips tacked into all of this hiatus stuff. A trip up to my sister's for Easter dinner was in order. That is now a two-day event, and I'm not complaining at all. I was back up to Philly at the end of May to see my nephew graduate from Rutgers Camden. In between, I went to Harrisonburg Virginia to see another nephew graduate from James Madison University. While in Virginia, I needed to make payment on my daughter's wedding venue. I can' forget my trip to Massachusetts, either. I needed to get up to see my son's family.
     Some writing did get done. My Newsbuoy article was on time, along with the two others I was committed to for the last edition. My church newsletter was done and out on time. That's a purely editorial gig, but it still takes time to collect the articles and organize the edition.
     After all that work, my computer decided to take a dive. Now I am typing this on a new system, while my old files are copied from my external back-up drive. And three hours later.... guess it's all those pictures.
     Now to set more goals for the summer months... I will post again in the next few days. While on my trips, I collected more fodder for this blog. Now to sort through it all and write about it. I am going to enjoy all the baseball I can. I will also go sit by my community beach as often as Ma Nature allows. I will even out my farmer tan - mainly because my mother of the bride dress requires it. And I will relax more this summer. There's only one trip planned before the big wedding day in Virginia and that involves wedding planning. I will shop my two picture book manuscripts to other publishers, too. My garden will look great too, by the end of the summer.
      And all of this will happen........ when?
     Can I get an "oy, vay"?

Off and Running

Rule #37 – Everything is better with friends and family

     The date was Friday, April 10. The place was Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The scene is set for a cold, dreary day with plenty of opportunity for the rain gods to hammer the local area. The weather guessers had the audacity to say it would be 70 degrees and sunny by game time. Temperature was 50 degrees at best. The only thing missing was steam breath from all participants.

     Enter… me – through the newly installed security system at Gate E, to the awaiting ticket scanner.

     Yes, I did say that to the ticket taker. She smiled and yelled, “Welcome back!” And, yes, I felt like I came home.

Home opener - Orioles hosted the Blue Jays

     There’s something about baseball that signals hope. I felt it at Spring Training in Florida. So many people made the pilgrimage south to get away from an uncommonly snowy and cold winter. Just thawing out for that week made me wonder if a perch of my own in the Sunshine State might be in order. Must think hard on this one and consult Taxman.

     Yes, we all were hoping for warmer weather. We are all were hoping for dryer days. We are all hoping arthritis and allergy triggers go away.

     So there I was, back at the Yard, just soaking up the atmosphere. It was time to do some walking and picture taking. I headed to Hall of Fame Statue Park, behind the bullpens. Here, Oriole legends are immortalized for all to see. Guess I need to revisit Cooperstown and soon.

Hall of Fame statue of Cal Ripken, Jr...

...Jim Palmer...

...Frank Robinson...

...Earl Weaver...

...Eddie Murray...

...Brooks Robinson

     It amazed me how many fans believed the weather guessers. So many fans showed up in tee shirts, shorts and flip flops, all in the hope that the 70 degree prediction would come true. It also amazed me how many of those fans were in Toronto blue and white! Well, a 50 degree day may feel like summer to someone from Ontario Canada.

Party to the strains of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

     While sitting on Eutaw Street, at Boog’s, eating a pit beef sandwich, I had a bird’s eye view of some of the fan outfits. Many fans seemed to confuse Opening Day with Halloween. There were people dressed in bird costumes, Mardi Gras costumes, and one in an orange body stocking, ala Blue Man Group. You can’t beat a ballpark for serious people watching.

American League East champs last year - can they do it again?

      I found the banner celebrating the 2014 American League East championship. I got to see the Orioles Hall of Fame wall. I found many a marker of Oriole home runs that jettisoned out of the park and on to Eutaw Street. Strolling past the Team Store, and the long line to get into Dempsey’s, I really believed that all was becoming right with my world.

Orioles team Hall of Fame wall

Now Atlanta Brave Nick Markakis and his dinger mark on Eutaw St.

One of two dinger marks for Luke Scott

Coach Brady Anderson made his mark on the street...

...and so did a Hall of Fame player named Eddie

     I continued with my therapeutic lap of the ballpark concourse, right passed many a TV reporter. All of the local stations had remotes throughout the Yard, as if Opening Day was an undeclared holiday. Well… it is. I wonder how many people who stepped before the cameras had to explain their “sick day” to their boss on Monday.

Cooperstown crew banners on the main concourse of Oriole Park

Cue Springsteen and his "Glory Days"

      Now to find my seat – it wasn’t my regular seat for the season. I made my way up to Section 368, and found my seat. My poor feet were in a puddle from the last rainstorm. It was windy and the wind had a March-like bite to it. I was grateful for my common sense, which told me to layer up and dress warmly. But, oh, did I miss my regular seat. I missed the people that sit with me. I missed my great view of the game. I missed the ability to warm up inside the Club Level.

Orange carpet ready for the ceremonies

      Pre-game ceremonies began with player introductions on both sides, an In Memoriam segment (where a church friend was listed), and the Gold Glove award presentations to J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones. Then an honor presentation for Hall of Fame pitcher/broadcaster Jim Palmer on the 50^th anniversary of his start in baseball – he threw the first pitch to Rick Dempsey. Time to play ball!

Player introductions for both teams

Jim Palmer throws the first pitch to Rick Dempsey - ah, the days of old...

Local children help the Oriole Bird bring this year's squad down the carpet

And here they come, our 2015 Baltimore Orioles

J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones receiving their Gold Glove awards for 2014

     I got a chance to catch up with my regular seat mates on Sunday, April 12. Now that was a homecoming. We got a chance to compare winter notes. I met the little guy who was born over the winter. I looked around and saw familiar faces all over. My regular usher was back too. Normal has returned to my life.

     Oh, and the Orioles lost both games. They lost a Sunday game. Like I said, normal is back. My status as a “cooler” is still in tact. But at this writing, my orange Birds are playing 500 ball. And it’s still early in the season. This weekend was proof that anything can happen in baseball. That’s why they play the game. Another day, another team, another hero, and another outcome. Or a trip to the minors... no job is safe, no lead is safe for Buck's boys.

Love Buck Showalter's revolving door policy - play well or back to the minors till you get it right.

     It’s only the beginning. Yes, here’s to baseball – and normal!

All photos are the property of Marge McGugan. No reuse without permission.
"Lucy" clip via YouTube.com is public domain

Now What?

Rule #57 - Revisit. Reflect. Recommit.

     Wow – already it’s the end of March. Where has the time gone? What’s been happening in life at this time? We are in the middle of Holy Week, in my religion, and nearing the Lenten finish line. I have a duty to look back and see what I’ve done, how I may have changed, and what more I can do to improve the world around me.

     These are tough questions. It may seem that this whole change thing is narcissistic. I mean, gotta change me, be a better me, do things better, accomplish more… whole lotta self, right? Then I think of the words of the song “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me,” and I think, “Self, are you spreading peace?”

     That’s a judgment I’m not sure I can make.

      Let’s revisit what’s been happening in the past few months. The biggest item is a break-up with a man who I thought would be a forever friend. I haven’t heard a word from him – kind or otherwise – in over two months. I’ve been working hard to forgive him for his rude and selfish behavior. And I’ve been working on forgiving myself for falling so quickly in love again. I know I have to learn to trust others in relationships. But I also need to trust myself too, to know when things are right. I need to tap back into my “Inner Dude” – the guy in my head that tells me to think twice and be hesitant. I need to allow time to work its magic on my heart.

     We’ve also been deep into planning for my daughter’s wedding. There’s been lots of talk about missing Hub on a day like that. I’m feeling his loss more and more with each wedding item checked off the planning list. I’m anticipating a rough, but happy day.

     It’s been easy to stay cocooned up this winter. The cold and snow, and no place to go at times, can be so depressing. Now with spring technically here (someone forgot to tell the weatherman some days), I am starting to feel more alive and energetic. Here’s a big thank-you to those who moved daylight savings time to earlier in the month. 

     With the time change, and weather changes, come sports changes. My Lady Terrapins are heading to the Final Four. The men’s team did exceptionally well for their first year in the Big 10 conference. Spring training is almost over for baseball.

     I did get back to Sarasota for some baseball and friend-visiting this year. I brought a widowed friend of mine (her loss is very recent) who needed the break from all the legal and financial paperwork that happens after a spouse passes. We both let loose and had a great time. I am still recovering from the sinus infection I picked up on the trip.

      Plans changed for the Easter feast. I was supposed to visit my son in Massachusetts. If I thought I got too much snow this winter, they got more. Schools are making up lost snow days this week.  Sports events are doing the same. Jobs – same thing. Yes, I am disappointed I can’t see everyone up north. But I’ll get up there soon – perhaps over Memorial Day weekend.

     I did attend another writer’s conference with my local SCBWI chapter. This past weekend had me hobnobbing with so many published writers that I was in awe of the talent. I met EB Lewis, an artistrator, whose watercolor illustrations are artwork in their own right. His ability to draw me into the pictures with the blends of colors, and attention to detail is mesmerizing. I can look at his work and find something new every minute. I also met Fred Bowen, from the Washington Post. He is writing in the area that I want to write – chapter books aimed at boys ages 8-12. He uses sports themes to teach life lessons. I am compelled to read him! I want to know more about his work.

     The barbershop chorus I sing with also had a dress rehearsal performance. We are getting ready for our contest weekend in April. I now believe that I am participating in the ultimate team sport. Yes, I sing a specific part – specific set of notes, words and timing. But I am one of several to blend and make one complete sound. Sorry, sports purists, there is no ball in this sport, but it is a sport nonetheless. Singing is fun, emotionally purging, and physically satisfying. I want to do it well. I hope I am doing it well. I am committing to being better at singing.

     I’ve gotten a chance to revisit a lot of things from the past few months. Been reflecting on them too. My writing is one thing that is top priority for me, even going forward into the spring and summer. It’s not just about the adventures. It’s about how I tell the story of those adventures, about what I’ve learned from them. I noticed that I haven’t been using the Gibbs Rules for a while. I think I’ll go back to using them, but only where it’s appropriate. If the piece is journalistic, I won’t use them. If the piece is reflective, I will. Does that make sense?

     With extra time on my hands at home, I’ve noticed that the house has been a bit neglected. Yes, basic cleaning occurred. Don’t want the health department at my door. But now it’s time to get busy doing other things. Heavy housecleaning of the upstairs needs to happen this spring. It’s time to clean out closets and all that other spring cleaning stuff. And I can’t forget the outside. I ordered lots of flower plants for the yard. I need to get outside and finish the spring clean up. Time for me to plot this out on my to-do list and get it all ta-done. Time, too, for Ma Nature to give us some warm, dry days – several in a row would be nice.

     Commitment – something a lot of people fear. Why? Because then, you are accountable. If you say you are going to do something, or commit to a relationship or task, you have do show that you mean business with your actions. Too often we say we commit and don’t follow through. What do I want to be held accountable for? I want to be there for my family and my friends. I want to be able to help them as best as I can, when I can. I want to work for the greater good through my worship community at church. I want to expand my social network to include singles of my own age. I want to write, and be a published author someday. I want to enjoy the process of writing success (and the “failures” that go with it). I want to enjoy my life as it is, and as it will be, with God’s grace.

     There… I said it. Now to do it.

A Match-less Experience - What Happened

 “You hope to be smart enough to choose right… I had to kiss a lot of frogs to get there.”

                        Mark Harmon to Larry King on a successful marriage,

                        “Larry King Now”, Season 2, Episode 154, May 2014,
                          www.sharetv.com

    On to my personal experiences in this dating swamp…

      Let’s take a look at my matches. The first fellow billed himself as a foreigner living in the Baltimore area. We went back and forth on e-mail. He professed his love for me having never met me. I called him on it several times and tried to get a public meet-up. It never happened. I don’t miss him at all, but I was matched later on with a fellow with similar credentials and different pictures. I called him on it, saying that all of his information sounded very familiar. His profile came down really fast. Creeped out yet? So much for frog number 1. 

      I got a chat request from a fellow who billed himself as a retired Marine. The conversation denigrated to sexual content within five minutes. I told him he was a disgrace to the Marine uniform for showing such disrespect to a female. I swore off using the chat feature after that. Frog number 2…

      I did get e-mails from other gentlemen. I posted that my match choices were to be in an age range close to my own. I also required that the matches be local, or at least on the East Coast. What happened to that idea? It proved to me that many do not read the profiles they are sent. I was “favorited” by fellows on the West Coast, Midwest, or who are 25 (eeewwww) or younger. What part of “this is what I want” do you not understand, guys?

      I sent some e-mails too. Some fellows looked really interesting in their profile. So I wrote to ask about specific things they listed. Yes, I did get responses from many very nice gentlemen thanking me for my interest. But mostly my e-mails were ignored.

      My luck seemed to change with one gentleman, however. He approached me first and we communicated for a while by e-mail. He suggested we talk on the phone. We did. We met in a public place and had dinner. We talked for over three hours. We both thought we had a good match and agreed to stay in contact.

      Then came what my mother called the “Bum’s Rush”. Several phone calls and dates followed, along with his helping me around my yard with leaf raking. He wanted to try everything I usually did. We shared activities except for golf – too cold to play and I don’t play.  He asked to join me at church. I went with him to his church. We started celebrating the Christmas holidays with a barbershop choral concert. I met some of his children and grandchildren. He met my family members and friends. There were flowers, moonlight walks holding hands, movie dates, dinners out, dancing on New Year’s Eve, concerts and ….then nothing. It was like I fell off the face of the earth to him. He rudely refused to respond to my e-mails and phone calls. There was no explanation or excuse – no contact whatsoever. He who I thought was a prince turned out to be just another frog in the pond. This one hurt badly, because I didn’t see any of it coming and it happened so suddenly. I console myself with the knowledge that he is a total idiot (my kids’ assessment) and this is all his loss, not mine.

      So what’s next for me on Match? My six months are up and I’m considering packing it in. I am ready to date again, but I need to meet normal gentlemen my own age. The old fashioned face-to-face meetings are the best. But as I understand the site policy, my profile will be archived for one year, just in case I decide to venture to Match again. And true to my personal policy of learning something from every adventure, I want to share what I learned as an online dating service customer.

1. I learned that I’m braver than I thought.
2. I learned that I deserve a lot better than I got – from any of the men.
3. I learned that men think a 42-inch waistline and a beer belly is “about average” body type.
4. I learned that most men want to date women at least 10 years younger than they are. For some reason, they are uncomfortable about their own age. What’s up with that? Some of you are lucky you lasted this long (can we say “I lived through the 60’s and 70’s?”)
5. Men really need to get rid of baseball caps in photos. So what if you are going bald? If it was good enough for your father and grandfather, it should be good enough for you. Wear bald proudly.
6. Most men want women with colored hair and no grey. Guys, news flash, there is no woman around over a certain age with natural colored hair that does not have some grey in it. Women, here’s to you who let yourself show your greys. Fire Lady Clairol and be yourself.
7. Please smile in your pictures. Smiling makes the face more attractive. And it uses fewer wrinkle muscles.
8. Speaking of pictures, how about pictures of YOU? Not places you’ve visited, or your “daughter” or you and your last girlfriend. It’s ok for action shots of you doing the things you like to do. When there are a lot of irrelevant pictures, it makes me wonder who is really behind the profile.
9. I learned that I can love again, and I want to be in love again. That makes me vulnerable, I know. But I was so happy for a very brief time over the holidays. I liked the feeling and want it back again.
10. I deserve to be romanced, to have a man do activities that I want to do with me (not to only do things he wants to do and my things I do on my own), to be wooed. I deserve flowers – just because. No, I am not high maintenance at all.
11. I deserve respect and true, open communication. If there is something you don’t like, I expect you to tell me. Don’t feed me the line that you don’t want to make me angry or hurt me. Just saying those words makes me angry enough to go postal on you, because you think you have the right to control how I feel about a situation. Man up, speak your piece, and take the lumps if they come.
12. I know what is very important to me in a relationship, and what I am willing to compromise on with a date. Yes, I have standards. And, fellows, they are high and they will be met. (which also means I may be alone for a while, but that’s ok too)

     I’m sure the men out there have their own lists for the women they date. Let’s hear them. We can finally get a dialog going on this subject. We women can’t know what you want unless you speak up. We really are not mind readers. Men, I triple dog dare you!

      So with this writing, it’s Adios Match.com. Archive me if you want. Maybe I’ll try a different site… maybe I won’t.

      Vent over… for now.

The opinions expressed in this piece are my own, based on personal experience. Your experiences may be different – and I hope lots better.