Life Is Starting To Look NORML at Last

NORML stands for National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. I thought that this photo sort of looks like I'm toking on a joint in front of my local Starbucks a few nights ago. Actually when I made the photo that was far from my mind. I just wanted to get an interesting photo showing those gorgeous legs on the young lady wearing one of those currently fashionable black and white skirts. Then I discovered that it had been April fourth,420 Day which it seems has a lot of significance to the pot smokers in this country. Google 420 and be overwhelmed with information about the day!

Last night, four days later, was the last Friday of the month. That's the night of North Miami's monthly Gallery Walk, when all of the art galleries start their new exhibits and offer glasses of wine (or Coke) along with various munchies. The Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA, starts a new exhibit, and the Luastar Cafe has a variety of overpriced imported beers to go along with their expensive cups of exotic coffees.

The galleries are clustered around the museum, City Hall, and the police station. At least in theory it's against the law to drink in public but this is the night when it's cool to wander about, glass of wine in hand. The cops won't bust you!

The city sets up the Showmobile, a trailer that unfolds into a stage, in the plaza in front of the MOCA and there's a live jazz concert lasting a couple of hours. Last night there was a new "feature" at the concert! Several slightly chubby fifty-something women were working the crowd on behalf of NORML, clipboards in hand, getting folks to sign petitions to legalize marijuana. They had no trouble getting signatures either. After all, the crowd consisted of pretty much the same people who had filled the air with a pungent haze at 1960's rock festivals. As I filled out and signed a petition the woman told me that they were forming a local chapter of NORML and expected to be holding monthly meetings.

My neurologist would love to see the law changed. It seems that smoking pot is a great way to control epilepsy, more effective and less expensive than the legal pills from the drugstore.

ROOTZ Gallery ~ My Photographs On Exhibit

Rootz is a new gallery located on the corner of West Dixie Highway and N.E. 124th St. For the longest time it was the location of Jaybo Photo, a custom lab and photo supply. Now Mario Flores has rented the place, cleaned it up, and put some fresh paint on the walls. It's now an art gallery! There are several rooms in the place, including a small upstairs.

The grand opening tomorrow night, Friday July 25th, will have oil paintings, etchings, drewings, I think some sculpture, and photographs by myself and another photographer, along with the usual opening night wine & cheese.

I'll be showing a number of my black and white photographs from the 1960's and 1970's, but for a change I'm also showing some of my new experimental black and white work. I know a lot of you enjoy seeing my older photos but now that I don't have to keep clients happy I've struck out in a new direction. I hope you like them.

Most all of the art galleries as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art will be open for the Friday night Gallery Walk sponsored by the City of North Miami. There'll be live jazz in the plaza in front of the museum. Across 125th St. from the plaza is the Lunastar Cafe, a coffee house with a wide assortment of coffees plus teas, imported beers and wines, and light food type things. Tell Alexis that I sent you...LOL

ROOTZ is about two blocks to the west of the museum.