Gimme Shelter

A couple of weeks ago I wore my Miccosukee Indian jacket because we were supposedly going to get the first Miami style cold front of the season. It never arrived, but the temperature did get down close to 70. I was attending the free Friday night Jazz concert that the City of North Miami holds in the plaza in front of MOCA, the Museum Of Contemporary Art. The plaza is also next to City Hall, and on the other side of the museum is the new police station. It keeps things nice and safe, for sure, but I kind of miss the Old Days when an evening concert was usually accompanied by the smell of pot smoke, but hey! Times change.

Now the teenagers and twenty-something guys have crew cuts (or whatever they call 'em now) or shaved heads, and the shoulder length hair and pony tails you see on men is mostly silver colored, and either surrounding a bald spot or creatively combed to cover one. The young women on the other hand have rediscovered the sixties look of hip hugger jeans and mini skirts, while for the most part their moms (and grandmothers) have enough sense to...well, let's just say that they have enough sense.

Out by 125th Street in front of the museum is one of the city's new bus benches. The county runs the bus system, and it's not a bad one either, but they make no provision to protect the bus patrons from the rain or the brutal summer sun, shield them from the chill wind, or give them a place to get some relief for their tired feet. Well, we have a fantastic city administration, and the mayor and council decided to do something about the problem. Obviously they couldn't pass by the opportunity to "Get their name in lights" at just about every intersection, but there is now not only a sheltered bench but a bus route map (on the other side) at an ever increasing number of the city's bus stops. Thanks!