FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY, AND FABULOUS JAZZ....OH, AND A REALITY CHECK, TOO!

A series of essays.....

JAZZ SAXOPHONES OF A DIFFERENT COLOR

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes 

Cocoa Village, located mid-way along the East coast of Florida in Brevard County, still resembles the small, quaint village it must have been so many years ago. Back when Henry Morrison Flagler was running his new train tracks along the coastline of Florida and creating a legacy for himself from St. Augustine, down to Palm Beach, and on to Miami! 

Tucked away just off Highway 520 and connected to Florida’s Space Coast today, Cocoa Village is noted for its colorful little shops, coffee houses, Riverfront Park, antique malls, restaurants, and art galleries. Truly, a small slice of heaven. With all that it has to offer everyone, we’ve become especially partial to two places within the village that have captured our hearts and thoroughly satisfied our cultural appetite for great jazz and incomparable theater productions.

TOP NOTCH JAZZ PERFORMANCES AT THE
BLIND LION, SPEAK EASY AND JAZZ BAR

Nestled behind Brevard Avenue (the main street) and the Ossorio Bakery & Cafe and up a flight of sagging, wooden steps, we take a left turn at the top landing and enter another dimension; a time of inaudible whispers and fleeting promises, booze generously flowing like a mountain stream after a heavy rain, and the high-pitched laughter that springs from the joy of momentary forgetfulness. Welcome to the Blind Lion, Speak Easy and Jazz Bar. We swooned with the best of them as talented jazz notes beckoned us in with their seasoned personalities and kept us there with brilliant, top-notch performances!

THE HISTORIC COCOA VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE

Have you ever been so ‘blown away’ by the professionalism and talent of a community theatre production that you just couldn’t stop talking about it for days afterwards? The production of The Secret Garden, performed at The Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse, open since 1924, was beyond brilliant and rivaled any theater production I’ve seen while living here in Central Florida. With its family of local performers and technical staff, the Playhouse’s full line up of Broadway Musicals has earned it the nickname “Broadway on Brevard” and, I believe, Broadway itself would be proud to have these productions performed on its hallowed stages.....any day of the week!

For the past several weeks we’ve been sharing our little corner of the world with others and introducing them to the wonders of Cocoa Village, spending a lot of time at the Cornell Museum of Art on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park, and feasting at local restaurants all along Central Florida from Orlando to Cocoa to the warm, sandy shoreline of Port Canaveral. Unfortunately, SpaceX did not have any launches scheduled during the time our company was here. A space launch is always a sight to behold. For over fifteen years we’ve been observing the Space Shuttle Program from our front yard and now, SpaceX has launched its way into history while boosting the importance of the Space Lab experiments, as well as initiating future space exploration.....Mars and beyond?

Closer to home in Orlando, the Cornell Museum of Art, located on the beautiful campus of Rollins College, is featuring a French Impressionism Exposition that rivals most intimate, European expositions and is guaranteed to captivate the heart of any art connoisseur. 

SUN-DAPPLED SHORES OF LAKE VIRGINIA,
ROLLINS COLLEGE, WINTER PARK, FL

After indulging in the wonders of French Impressionism, a lackadaisical walk around the sun-dappled grounds of Rollins and along its Lake Virginia shoreline made us all think about walking in the footsteps of one of her most intriguing graduates (1951). Fred McFeely Rogers, creator of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, is being honored with a walking tour on campus by featuring the classrooms and other places he frequented while a student there. It’s an interesting and insightful walk down memory lane while honoring a man who has given so much back to his community, country, and the people he loved.

PORTRAIT OF FRED McFEELY ROGERS,
PAINTED BY DON SONDAG

 HAND-KNIT SWEATER BY MR. ROGER'S MOTHER
AND TENNIS SHOES HE WORE ON SET

At this very moment, the dust is settling a bit after the whirlwind of the last few weeks. Rental cars have departed after being loaded with overstuffed suitcases that, eventually, rolled out the front door. Laughter and soft spoken conversations linger within the high-ceilinged rooms of our home accompanied by the gentle thoughts of mere mortals who shared time and space together while creating memories of ‘jazz hands’ and friendly games of Euchre at the kitchen table.

SELFIE WITH JANIS!!!!

JANIS AND FRED ENJOYING THE FLORIDA RAYS

JANIS, DAN, AND FRED....CHILLIN'

Family and Friends have gathered beneath the rafters at Morgan’s Mill Circle for, perhaps, the last time. After our last guests pulled out of the driveway Friday morning, I knew that the final chapter was being written; more than twenty-one chapters of ‘real life experiences’ were being wrapped-up, decorated with a huge, red bow, and neatly prepared for delivery and eventual publication within the eternal archives of human existence. And, I will never allow myself to forget a single spoken word; an individual moment in time....!

MARSHA & MICHAEL AT BLIND LION

DAN, LEO, SUSIE & ME AT A DETROIT TIGER,
PRESEASON GAME  

WITH MARSHA & MICHAEL AT CAPE CANAVERAL BEACH

ENJOYING GREAT JAZZ
AT THE BLIND LION SPEAK EASY

Instead of mad, last minute grocery shopping for vital items needed to create an Easter masterpiece for Sunday’s dinner, we were spending Saturday in Lowe’s and Home Depot purchasing small, heavy-duty cardboard boxes, packaging tape and paper, and other various moving paraphernalia we deemed necessary to have on hand. Sunday’s meal consisted of a delicious salad with avocado dressing; total compensation for all of the rich meals, bread, over abundance of wine, and occasional dessert consumed prior to this Holy Day. “Bless me, Father....!”

ANTIQUE OAK HUTCH IS DOWN

MY PITCHER/TEAPOT COLLECTION....
WAITING TO BE WRAPPED AND BOXED

Heavy pieces are coming off the walls (the antique oak hutch in our kitchen) while matching paint is being pulled from its hiding place atop a tall storage shelf and stirred to its original, cohesive smoothness before touching-up the walls. Did that hutch choose to relinquish its right to oversee our personal kitchen activities after so many years? Will it continue to hold my unique teapot collection and ‘unspeakable’ secrets close to its bosom when it resides on Hazel Avenue, soon? Does it even matter at this point in time? It certainly does, to me.

LET THE SUN SHINE BRIGHT AS
DIAMONDS IN THE POOL

You see, our lives are changing. We are being split into two identical parts, as if, at this age, our cell division has yet to halt, with one part packing up the memorabilia from two decades of living while the other part is wondering where it will all fit in the ‘little yellow cottage’ up in Michigan. We are learning, first-hand, that our path is not a monotonous straight line, but rather...a bright, multi-colored spiral and we return time-after-time to learn about what we believed we understood years before only to discover more about ourselves each time around.

We are forever appreciative of our friends and family who are helping to make our transition a bit softer, better, and kinder....! Dan and I could not do this without you!

I PROMISE TO REMEMBER THIS.....

By: Higher Perspective

Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

Photos Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

ORLANDO 'BLOOM~ING'

A series of essays.....

.....as seen through my eyes!

"Home. Home tastes like the first bite you take of your favorite dish. You, then, open your eyes to see that family and friends are all seated at your same table."  JEH

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Living and working within the sun-drenched, palm trees swaying, culinary delightful, and culturally diverse area that comprises my adopted city of Orlando, Florida, does not come without its many daily challenges, as well as some amazing rewards!

Yes, we have our own 'growing pains' and they can sting us with a preponderance of furor that can be unsettling to the faint of heart yet, curiously, encouraging to those who learn to thrive on overcoming adversity in an attempt to make our tiny 'dot on the map' a better place to live in.

Sitting here in my home office, i-Pad at hand and in the pleasantness of my own home, I feel safe and comfortable. For years I had been what I call a 'commuter warrior!' Joining the thousands of others, I would set-off each morning armed to the teeth with, what I hoped was, armor plating set on wheels, four rubber tires to assist in absorbing the shock of minor road moguls and ruts, tinted glass helping to protect me from the sun's heat and glare, and plenty of hot, black coffee to fortify me until I reached my office. Oh, and did I mention with plenty of A.C. pouring out of the vents with the intent of avoiding possible heat exhaustion while attempting to keep my hairstyle fresh and perky during the forty minute drive into work?

My saving grace: I really, really liked my job!

'THE I-4 CORRIDOR' INTERSECTS CENTRAL
FLORIDA FROM TAMPA TO DAYTONA BEACH

I consider my alternate 'saving grace' was not having to spend too much time along the I-4 Corridor, affectionately known to locals as the I-4 parking lot. Often considered the bane of motorists driving through Orlando, Interstate 4 stretches from I-275 in Tampa to I-95 at Daytona Beach and can be a bit confusing to our out-of-town guests as it maintains a diagonal, northeast-southwest route for much of its length, although it is signed east-west.

I-4 PARKING LOT THROUGH
DOWNTOWN ORLANDO

Throughout my twenty years of living here, I have often believed that my beloved Orlando is as quirky as quirky can be and I don't think I would have it any other way. I truly enjoy living here.

However, as with the changing times happening in our world (our country) today, I liken them to the struggles of our very own Interstate 4: No matter how many engineering improvements take place today, you can count on each one of them being outdated by tomorrow! Whether the excuse is politics, power struggles, lack of insightfulness or funding, we always seem to be one step behind and a day late instead of well ahead of the game.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
~BLUE MAN GROUP~

For an area that depends on the reliance of imagination (imagineering) and the enormous amount of tourists it can attract in order to keep our 'La La Land' attractions lucrative, Orlando and the surrounding areas have never been able to keep up with the high-traffic demands placed on our roads and highways. 

It's as though Orlando continues to operate ten years in the past with regards to its infrastructure in ratio to the permanent residents it has attracted via employment opportunities, especially within the medical profession. Add in the influx of tourism in this area, and you now have a recipe for transportation chaos and ongoing nightmares.

GAVIN & BRENNA ABOUT TO BOARD
ORLANDO'S SUNRAIL

Adding SunRail, Orlando's commuter rail line, several years ago, represents exciting new travel for locals traveling to and from work, dining, and shopping. SunRail now runs from the town of DeBary north of Orlando to Sand Lake Road and the attractions of International Drive located on the south-west side of the city, with expansions of the rail projected in the near future.

Despite everything in its way, the Orlando area has certainly bounced back with a flourish after the economic recession beginning in 2008. She keeps attracting tourists from all over the world as judged by the air traffic associated with the Orlando International Airport (MCO) as being not only the busiest airport in Florida, but the thirteenth-busiest airport in the United States.

FOUNTAIN LOCATED IN ORLANDO'S BEAUTIFUL
HARRY P. LEU GARDENS

Speaking as a local, I will be the first to tell you that I agree with the fact that the, nothing less than, sketchy driving rituals of many of our tourists leave numerous safety habits to be desired! From International Drive to all of the attractions on the west-side of Orlando and heading east towards Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center, tourists abound, twelve months out of the year. So, we locals do learn to adjust, look out for the 'other guy,' and hope for the best while navigating to and from work, shopping, or play.

Now, let's get off of the streets, park our vehicles, and have a look around at our fair city dubbed, The City Beautiful. 

We are a good-sized city with a population of around 1,998,000 souls living within close proximity to one another and, like all major cities, we have our share of crime, homeless citizens, and (sadly) a terrorist act that devastated the world let alone our close-knit community. Pulse Nightclub was horrendously attacked last year on June12, 2016, and was the scene of a mass shooting killing forty-nine people and injuring fifty-three.

I apologize. That was not the 'upper' story I had intended to tell. However, the event at Pulse Nightclub is a fact and has been written down in the history books as the scene of the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. We will never forget our fallen heroes.....

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL

Fun history fact: According to Neil J. Young in his blog entitled, Public Seminar, the nickname of The City Beautiful dates back to at least 1908 when local officials borrowed it from the "City Beautiful" urban planning movement transforming places like Cleveland, Detroit, and Denver. In those cities, progressive city planners designed parks, museums, and public plazas to beautify and organize the urban landscape. In Orlando, a rural cow town at the time, City Beautiful represented something different, an aspiration rather than a reality. A hope that the small assortment of ranchers and citrus growers could one day develop into a full-fledged city.

Orlando is the home of the University of Central Florida, UCF, an American metropolitan public research university. It's diverse student enrollment currently stands at over 63,000. The university opened the UCF College of Medicine in 2006 and it is one of the first U.S. medical schools in decades to be built from the ground up. The college is a founding member of Orlando's growing Medical City at Lake Nona.

Rollins College, located in Winter Park, is the alma mater of Fred Rogers, the noted figure on the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) who is best known for creating the educational preschool television series, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which featured his kindhearted, gentle, soft-spoken personality. 

STROLLING AROUND ROLLINS COLLEGE

Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Winter Park, situated along the shores of Lake Virginia. The small campus defines Southern charm between its architecture and moss-draped live oak trees, to the boardwalk that meanders the shoreline of the lake. This has been a special place for us to take our own visitors to for a slow-paced afternoon walk, a visit to the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, or a current production by students and staff being performed at the Annie Russell Theatre on campus.

Ethnic restaurants abound in Orlando, the surrounding area, as well as in the theme parks themselves. With our current emphasis on eating fresh, eating healthy, many local chefs gear their menus toward seasonal choices of locally grown fruits and vegetables, grass-fed meats, fresh non-farmed fish, and desserts that guarantee not to enlarge the waistline. Season's 52 is a prime example of eating well, eating healthy.

HEALTHY SELECTIONS AT SEASONS 52

In addition to the many themed attractions located on International Drive, such as WonderWorks (the upside down building) to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, eating tapas delights at Cafe Tu Tu Tango to juicy steaks at Charley's Steak House, this is a great spot to spend time at. Comedy Clubs, shopping, and catching your favorite movie are adventures available along this very busy, exceptionally touristy, location.

Yes! We do have our very own Orlando Eye that was completed in 2015! We have yet to venture high above the maddening crowd in one of its suspended, swinging boxcars....by choice. This may be something we will gladly scootch over and allow the tourists to enjoy all on their own!

THE ORLANDO EYE

I haven't even gotten to the topic of sports and entertainment yet. What was I thinking? In addition to our football stadium, which tends to change its name every few years or so, Orlando is proud of its new soccer team, Orlando City Soccer Club, who recently opened their brand new stadium located downtown. Nearby, The Orlando Magic live and play basketball in their own 'new house,' the Amway Center, which often hosts live entertainment performances, as well.

My favorite addition to the newly blossoming Orlando scene is located just across I-4 from the Amway Center and, in my estimation, is the crown jewel of the entire City Beautiful. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts looks as stunning in the mid-day Floridian sunshine as it does all dressed-up in a myriad of bright lights in the nighttime! Stage, acoustics, lighting, sound....all based on perfection on the inside. I was fortunate to have experienced the amazing sounds of Joe Bonamassa, the great American Blues and Rock guitarist, here within the first year of the Center's Grand Opening which was on November 6, 2014.

A 'GEM' IN THE HEART OF ORLANDO
DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Well, there you have it, my home in this moment and time. A place I have grown to love, hate, feel sad for, happy to be a part of, and always, always, delighted to have my own, small niche in for the past twenty years. 

Sure, we've been scared as hell by numerous hurricanes along the way. We've had to say good-bye to our daughter and her beautiful family when the four of them moved up to Michigan a few years ago to begin a new life. In our forty-three years of marriage, this has been the longest time Dan and I have settled down in any one location. Orlando has, truly, become 'Home' to us.

Since our future appears to be heading back up north to be closer to family and friends, my life will be changing once again. Will I be ready for the change? I certainly hope so. Until then, I will continue to enjoy every aspect of my adopted hometown of Orlando and, like observing a small child, continue to marvel at how it has grown-up these past twenty years.....right before my very eyes!

Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved