Divorce sends me back to the UK and waiting for my Peppy Miller

By Calvin Palmer

Regular readers of this blog, the three of you know who you are, will have noticed the change in the header photograph. The cityscape of Jacksonville is gone and has been replaced with a photograph of the Cromarty Firth in Scotland.

I am back in the UK for a while and facing an uncertain future after my wife – aged 56 going on 23 – decided to divorce me after 13 years of marriage. Her timing was impeccable. The announcement came on the eve of our wedding anniversary.

The news was not unexpected but it still came as something of a shock. Given that my income last year amounted to $90.40 from amazon.com advertising on another blog site, I had little option but to head back to the UK and take stock of the situation.

I am staying in the Highlands and Islands region of Scotland, courtesy of a friend from my university days who kindly offered me accommodation while I find my feet and rebuild my self-confidence before heading back to the United States to start my life there all over again . I will forever be in his debt.

After living in the Riverside area of Jacksonville, and on a busy road, the first thing I noticed was the peace and quiet. I have yet to hear a vehicle pass by the house at night; mind you, the house in Scotland is situated 150 yards from the road, which is a dead-end.

So the sound of trains blowing their horns at every level crossing has disappeared from my life – I kind of miss that – but I am certainly glad to be free of those inconsiderate bastards who used to drive through Riverside with their drums and bass tracks pounding from the subwoofers in their cars and shattering the stillness of the early hours.

I don’t know whether it is just me but the older I get I find my tolerance of noise is lower than when I was younger, so being surrounded by the Scottish countryside is perfect for me.

But there are drawbacks. My location is a little remote; the nearest village is a 15-minute drive away. I have had little chance to socialize. I am not sure the people in these parts will respond to conversation from strangers in the same way that Americans do. We shall see.

I made my debut back on British roads yesterday and did all right, given that most of the route was along single-track roads. They appear extremely narrow after driving on roads in America.

I have also rediscovered the noble art of pegging washing out on a washing line. In both Texas and Florida, despite the hot climes, washing was always dried in the tumble drier. I know, it was scandalous behaviour, right up there with driving a car powered by 3.5 litre V6 engine.

The highlight of the week was watching The Artist; my hosts had recorded the film on their Skybox. I knew the film had been well received by the critics and won a raft of awards but, hitherto, I had not been drawn towards it – a great failing on my part.

It turned out to be one of the best films I have seen in a long time. The lack of dialogue hardly seemed to matter, mainly because of the superb acting of Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, the masterful direction of Michel Hazanivicius and the wonderful score by Ludovic Bource.

The film got a bit too close for comfort in the final scenes after George Valentin was told to get out of the house by his wife. I readily identified with the character’s slide into reduced circumstances and could feel his growing sense of desperation. Unlike George, I have not sought refuge in a bottle; perhaps that will come later, although I sincerely hope not.

George was eventually saved from the abyss by the charming Peppy Miller, who helped him to bury his pride and resurrect his career.

Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) in a scene from The Artist. Picture courtesy of The Daily Telegraph.

When the film ended, I was left to ponder, where is my Peppy Miller? I hope she turns up soon.

So if any of you delightful women out there can come to the rescue of a writer/sub-editor/proof-reader/photographer and generally nice guy, just get in touch.

Publix adopts Tea Party style of customer care

By Calvin Palmer

“Publix would prefer you took your custom elsewhere.”

That remark was directed at me this morning by the manager of the fresh produce section of the Publix store at the Roosevelt Square Shopping Center, on Jacksonville’s Westside, after I had voiced some criticism of his department.

Since when has a lowly manager become the arbiter of who may or may not shop at Publix?

The remark came after he said, “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

I guess the interpretation of “around” is pretty loose but my with my English accent, it was fairly obvious that I wasn’t born in the United States. However, I have resided in the country for 12 years and for the last five years in Jacksonville, Florida.

When I replied in the negative, the fresh produce manager issued his appalling statement. Talk about a redneck mentality.

This altercation all started when I noticed one of the plastic-bag dispensers was empty, forcing me to go back and forth to a dispenser that did have bags.

I noticed an assistant filling shelves close by and wondered how many times he had passed the empty dispenser without giving a moment’s thought to replenishing the plastic bags.

It was then I noticed someone else filling one of the display stands. He was not wearing a green Publix T-shirt, so I figured he was more than likely a manager and wearing a shirt of his own choosing was probably one of the perks of the job.

When I pointed out the empty dispenser, he said that he could replenish it or I could use the other one, which had plenty of bags.

I said, “That’s a marvellous attitude, isn’t it? I am expected to traipse back and forth to get a plastic bag.”

He went to fill up the dispenser.

A little later, I passed him again and said that I was not complaining out of ignorance. I told him that I grew up in a grocery store and knew how to treat customers and present fresh produce for sale

He replied, “Publix is the best store there is.”

I said, “Not quite. Many times you have rotting fruit and veg on display and ask top dollar for it.”

“You aren’t from around here, are you?”

“No.”

“Publix would prefer it if you took your custom elsewhere.”

“We will see what the store manager has to say about that.”

“Go ahead. The name is…” He gave his name.

After completing my shopping and checking out at the till, I said to the assistant that I wanted to see the manager.

The manager duly came and I recounted the incident with his fresh produce manager who seems to have an attitude problem.

The manager assured me that he would have a word. I said I think it needs something stronger than a word, with an attitude like that he probably needs to be fired.

“I’ll take care of it, sir,” the manager replied.

What I found appalling was the fact that not being American was followed by the suggestion to shop elsewhere.

It struck me as being like the Tea Party approach to customer care.

Perhaps Publix should incorporate this rhyme in its advertising material:

If you are red, white and blue, we are here to serve you.                                                                                                                                                             If you belong to the stars and stripes, we will listen to all your gripes.                                                                                                                                 But if you are not true to Uncle Sam then frankly we don’t give a damn!

It always amazes me that people who cannot deal with the public end up in jobs dealing with the public. Appointing this guy to the position of fresh produce manager does not say much for the recruitment and selection process adopted by Publix.

Then again political donations given by Publix in the past eight years clearly point to how a person holding such bigoted views is able to reach the position he has within the company.

Why use five words when 16 will do?

By Calvin Palmer

At EverBank Field on Sunday I was seated next to a New Orleans Saints fan. To be sociable, I struck up a conversation.

“Did you go to the Super Bowl game?” I asked, referring to the Super Bowl 2010 when the Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy.

“My career was at the stage where I could not spend $1,800 on a football game,” he replied.

Okay. Good answer, I suppose. But what was wrong with keeping it simple and saying, ” I could not afford it.”

As was expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost 23-10, although rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert showed one or two nice touches and did throw a touchdown pass.

Pre-game provided me with a few photographic opportunities for the Ricoh GRD III.

EverBank Field stadium, Jacksonville, Florida. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved.

EverBank Field stadium, Jacksonville, Florida. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved.

EverBank Field stadium, Jacksonville, Florida. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved.

EverBank Field stadium, Jacksonville, Florida. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved.

The  game had resumed by the time I returned from my half-time cigarettes in the designated smoking area. I asked the Saints fan if I had missed anything.

“Only six Hooters girls streaking across the field,” he replied.

Who says Americans do not have a sense of humour?

Given that is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States, it would have been an appropriate gesture.

The NFL is doing its bit. Players are carrying pink towels, wearing pink boots and pink mouth guards. Perhaps they could persuade all the cheerleaders to dance topless. It would not only boost attendances for October’s scheduled games but also increase TV viewing figures.

Ah, I was forgetting. The USA is the land of the “wardrobe malfunction”; a country where the sight of a bare breast is considered more egregious than the sale of handguns to the general public.

Only in America!

Smoke from Georgia wildfires hangs over Jacksonville

By Calvin Palmer

I can taste smoke, not the rich tobacco smoke of a Winston cigarette but acrid wood smoke from one of the many wildfires burning in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.

A haze hangs over Jacksonville today, the result of northerly winds carrying smoke and ash from wildfires in the Okefenokee Swamp areas of Camden and Charlton counties in Georgia.

Haze hangs over College Street, Riverside, Jacksonville. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved.

For the past two days, the sky over Jacksonville has been a yellowish grey rather than the azure sky one normally associates with the Sunshine State.

The National Weather Service forecasts the wind to change direction in the next couple of days and blow from the south. But that will bring little relief. To the south of Jacksonville an area of wildfires extends from Orange County to St Johns County, with a particularly heavy concentration of wildfires in Flagler County.The smoke and ash being blown in from Georgia will simply be replaced by Florida’s own.

On Monday, Gov Rick Scott declared a state of emergency. This morning 429 wildfires are burning throughout the state.

One phone call away from the full story

By Calvin Palmer

Florida is one of two states forecast to lose restaurant jobs this summer, according to a report by the National Restaurant Association. The other state facing a fall in restaurant jobs is Arizona.

The Florida Times-Union carried this story in its Business Section, on Thursday, stating restaurant employment in Florida is estimated to shrink by 3.1 percent, from 614,100 to 595,100 jobs, as well as pointing out that Alaska’s growth is projected at 23 percent; Delaware’s is estimated at 20.6 percent and Maine’s is projected at 31.1 percent.

Given that Florida is a state where tourism forms a large part of the state’s economy, this story immediately begs the question, why is its number of restaurant jobs projected to fall?

Sadly, The Florida Times-Union was not prepared to go the extra yard and provide its readers with an explanation.

The Jacksonville Business Journal, however, was on the ball. It contacted the National Restaurant Association and concluded its coverage of the story with the following paragraph:

Florida and Arizona’s busiest seasons for travel and tourism are not the summer months, an association spokeswoman said.

Was that too difficult a task for Florida Times-Union reporter, Kevin Turner? Apparently it was.

[Based on reports by The Florida Times-Union and the Jacksonville Business Journal.]

British newspaper article on Florida’s pill mills fails to keep up with events

By Calvin Palmer

The Guardian newspaper today carried an article about the thousands of people flocking to the pill mills of Florida to obtain the powerfully addictive painkiller oxycodone.

The White House has described the abuse of prescription drugs as the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States, pointing out that people were dying unintentionally from painkiller overdoses at rates that exceeded the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and the black tar heroin epidemic of the 1970s combined.

Florida is described as the epicenter of the oxycodone epidemic. Guardian writer Ed Pilkington states that 98 percent of all the nation’s doctors who handle the drug are located in Florida, which “has no comprehensive database recording prescription histories”.

Pilkington goes on: “Even more astonishingly its recently elected governor, the Tea Party favourite Rick Scott, has blocked the introduction of a database on grounds of cost.”

Now, I am no fan of Gov. Rick Scott but I do believe in accurate and fair reporting. I am from the old school of journalism.

Last Friday, if Pilkington had bothered to read or find out, Scott signed a bill aimed at cracking down on clinics that frivolously dispense pain pills.

“Florida will shed its title as the Oxy Express,” he said at a bill signing ceremony in Tampa.

Scott had concerns about the prescription drug monitoring database on the grounds of its effectiveness and privacy. But even he had the good sense to bow to the pressure from elected officials throughout the country to do something about the proliferation of pill mills in Florida.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, one of the advocates for the database, said: “The governor has made a huge turnaround. He has signed a bill today that not only preserves the prescription drug monitoring database. It makes it better.”

The bill tightens reporting requirements to the database from 15 days to seven days, a change critics said the program needed to make it more effective.

The measure also increases penalties for overprescribing oxycodone and other narcotics, tracks wholesale distribution of some controlled substances, and provides $3 million to support law enforcement efforts and state prosecutors.

It also bans most doctors who prescribe narcotics from dispensing them, requiring prescriptions to be filled at certain types of pharmacies.

“The toll our nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic has taken in communities nationwide is devastating and Florida is ground zero,” said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy after Scott signed the bill.

Even as far back as April, while testifying before a congressional committee with Kentucky Gov. Steve Bershear, Scott pledged to address the problem and give up his push to kill Florida’s prescription drug monitoring database.

So just how much research did Pilkington do for his article? Not a lot, it would appear. His article is lazy journalism at best; inaccurate and biased reporting at worst.

[Based on reports by The Guardian and The Miami Herald.]

Romney pitches for Republican nomination with idle rhetoric

By Calvin Palmer

Mitt Romney today threw his hat into the ring to become the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential election.

Romney’s declaration opened with typical Republican rhetoric, concentrating on the shortcomings of Democrat President Barack Obama rather than offering any policies that might capture the imagination of the electorate.

Any Republican candidate’s stance is simply President Obama has done everything wrong but I will do everything right, without actually spelling out what that involves.

Romney says: “Barack Obama has failed America.”

Romney further states: “Government under President Obama has grown to consume almost 40 per cent of our economy. We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free-market economy.”

Whoa there Mitt. Aren’t we getting a bit carried away there? I haven’t seen any state-controlled supermarkets while doing my grocery shopping. The malls all seem to be full of stores firmly rooted in the private sector.

I am unaware of the federal government taking vast swathes of the private manufacturing sector into public ownership. Does the government own Exxon? Does the US government own Google, Apple, Johnson & Johnson? Oh and Chrysler has just repaid $7.6 billion of the bail-out money it was given to keep the company afloat.

If that is the measure of your argument, Mitt, I would call it quits now and save yourself a boat-load of money. You frittered $40 million of your own money failing to gain the Republican nomination in 2008. It looks like you are heading for a similar outcome.

But Romney like all candidates of the right promises to balance the budget. It’s a pity such a goal has remained so elusive for states such as Texas, with Republican Governor Rick Perry at the helm for the past eight years.

And we all know how the Republicans will attempt to balance the budget by cut, cut and cutting again on the services that the rich and select few have no use for but which millions of ordinary people value highly, the simple things in life such as public education.

The Daily Telegraph columnist and Obama-hater Nile Gardiner reckons Obama may be heading for election disaster in 2012. I think the piece should be entitled “I hope Obama may be heading for election disaster in 2012.” For all his evidence garnered from right-wing organizations – the Murdoch-owned Fox News and The Wall Street Journal – he fails to grasp the reality of what is going on in the country and the world.

Gardiner states: “There is a great deal of uncertainty, nervousness, even fear over the future of the world’s only superpower.”

How can you be the only superpower when you are in debt to China to the tune of $900 billion? The fact that nearly every manufactured item you pick up in a store in the US these days is made in China, could make you believe that America is not alone in the superpower stakes. Not Gardiner apparently, despite being billed as a foreign affairs analyst and political commentator.

For a political commentator, he also seems to have failed to notice that last month, the staunchly Republican city of Jacksonville elected Democrat Alvin Brown as its new mayor. If people are so tired of the Obama agenda, how did Brown managed to defeat Republican Mike Hogan who looked a shoe-in for the position? Looks like Gardiner is in de Nile.

Could it be that people are more fearful of the Republican agenda, which favors corporate America at the expense of ordinary people? Could it be that the white trash, retired veterans and petty-minded clerks who normally support the GOP are beginning to cotton on that it doesn’t have their interests at heart?

Abolishing Medicare to balance the budget is really going to appeal to ordinary blue collar and white collar voters. But the owners of small businesses, men and women who really know how to run cities, states and the country, will no doubt be dancing in the streets.

And that brings me back to Romney. Does America really want a president who doesn’t know his arse from his elbow?

Obamacare, which Romney pledges to abolish if elected, is based on the state health care plan he introduced while Governor of Massachusetts. You couldn’t make it up, could you?

So stand by for 18 months of Republican candidates full of hypocrisy, demonization of President Obama and empty rhetoric filled with patriotic fervor but not a single positive policy that will enhance the lives of ordinary working folk.

And let’s remind everyone just why America’s economy is in a parlous state, a financial collapse that occurred during the presidency of George W Bush, who bailed out the banks in order to stave off economic meltdown, combined with costly military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By the way, did anyone ever find Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction?

[Based on reports by The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.]

Beck’s mix of power and emotion almost defies belief

By Calvin Palmer

Jeff Beck tore into the hearts and minds of a Jacksonville audience last night with the searing tones of his guitar. There are guitarists and then there is Jeff Beck. His virtuoso performance at the Florida Theatre demonstrated just why fellow guitar legend Eric Clapton describes Beck as the most innovative guitarist in the world.

Florida Theatre, Jacksonville. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved. Ricoh GRD III.

The near sell-out crowd greeted Beck’s driving rhythms and amazing licks with unbridled enthusiasm. They knew they were in the presence of a true master of his craft. Some of Beck’s solos, the sheer dexterity, had me shaking my head in disbelief as well as adulation.

In the course of his set, Beck raised and lowered the tempo to perfection, allowing both the band and the audience to draw breath for the next sonic onslaught. He covered a wide spectrum of genres – rock, jazz fusion, blues, soul, and rockabilly – each one receiving Beck’s unique style and treatment.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Beck has accumulated a vast repertoire. His latest album Emotion & Commotion featured prominently in the set list but Beck turned the clock back and reached into his musical past. I was lucky in that two of my all-time favourites – Big Block from Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop (1989) and Brush With The Blues from the 1999 Who Else! album – received an airing.

Jeff Beck, Florida Theatre. ©Calvin Palmer 2011. All Rights Reserved.* Ricoh GRD III.

The last time I saw Beck was in 1990 at Manchester’s Apollo Theatre. On that occasion his fellow musicians were Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas on keyboards, the latter providing the bass.

Last night, Beck’s band featured Rhonda Smith on bass, Jason Rebello on keyboards and the legendary Narada Michael Walden on drums. That is some line-up, particularly Smith who takes bass playing into another dimension pretty much in the same manner as Beck’s guitar playing.

Beck is normally the kind of musician who lets his music do the talking. The previous two times I saw him, the first being in 1972 at the Students’ Union at Manchester University, he never addressed the audience. Last night, not only did he speak on a couple of occasions but also conducted the crowd’s response in Led Boots. He even shared a joke near the end of the set when he donned a pair of sunglasses looked down at the fretboard and then said, “Now I can see what I’m playing.”

Another feature of last night’s concert was the inclusion of several rock and pop covers – A Day In The Life and Something by the Beatles, Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix and I Want To Take You Higher by Sly and The Family Stone. Becks’ version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow and Nessun Dorma, which both feature on his latest album, completed the range of his musical versatility.

With four encores — including How High The Moon as a tribute to Les Paul when Beck switched from his trademark Fender Stratocaster to a Gibson Les Paul, well it had to be, didn’t it – Beck further endeared himself to the Jacksonville audience.

As he acknowledged the crowds cheers and applause, Beck touched his heart and then the bicep of his right arm. That sums up his music — power and emotion — the ingredients that have fueled his creativity and playing throughout five decades.

*If anyone would like to donate $500 so that I can buy a Ricoh GXR P10 camera in order to take better shots of bands playing on stage, feel free to click the donate button at the top of the page. 🙂

Fairy-tales have no place in the science classroom

By Calvin Palmer

With important local elections coming up in Jacksonville, The Florida Times-Union yesterday chose a letter on five key political issues as its letter of the day.

Only in Florida could the teaching of evolution be described as a key political issue. Surely a greater political issue is the way expenditure on public schools is being eroded away to the point where children are not going to get much in the way of an education.

But that suits the tea party idiots and ultra-conservative Republicans. Why would they want educated voters who are able to think for themselves about issues?

The reader from Jacksonville Beach suggests that intelligent design or creationism be taught alongside evolution.

Well, there is a perfectly good reason why it isn’t.

Evolution is a theory based on scientific evidence and has underpinned scientific inquiry for more than 150 years. Creationism, on the other hand, is a bloody fairy-tale!

The reader states:

Since the debate involves public schools, why not teach both views in an unbiased way and let the students choose for themselves what they believe about a subject that is as much an emotional issue as it is science?

I love this appeal to objectivity. I wonder if the same reader, in the interests of objectivity, would be in favour of Islam being taught in public schools so that children could decide for themselves on the true religion?

Thought not.

There are none so blind as the ignorant and bigoted.

Schools crisis in Jacksonville exposes selfish attitudes

By Calvin Palmer

Jacksonville’s public schools are facing a crisis. Duval County School Board, which runs the city’s schools, is facing a $97 million budget shortfall as a result of the education budget proposed by newly-elected Governor Rick Scott.

The school board is proposing to cut sports and put schools on a four-day week to remedy the situation.

The board also presides over four failing schools and its plan to turn them around has been rejected by the Florida Board of Education.

It seems that not for the first time, education in Jacksonville has been in a mess. In 1964 all 15 of Duval County’s public high schools lost their accreditation.

Whereas it is all too easy to point fingers regarding the rights and wrongs of the situation, I would go as far as to say that no one is entirely blameless.

Governor Rick Scott is certainly no friend of public schools but Duval County School Board does not exactly strike me as the most efficient and well-run school board in Florida. It seems like the Jacksonville factor of incompetence has once again reared its ugly head. Out of 67 school districts in Florida, Duval County is the only one advocating getting rid of sports in schools.

What I have found most interesting is the comments by people responding to the news stories concerning this issue. They make for illuminating, and at times frightening, reading.

One woman writes:

The fix for the schools is to get the current group who are running the schools out and privatize the schools. Children are not being taught what they need to survive once they graduate (at least the ones who do graduate). The current school system from the feds all the way down to the local folks has failed miserably, and the more money that gets poured into the system, the worse it gets. If you are doing something wrong and failing, pouring more money on the problem is not going to fix it.

She goes on:

Actually, we need the federal government out of the school system totally. We need parents to take some of the responsibility for their chidren’s education and involvement. Perhaps if more parents were involved, they would have known long before now just how bad the schools are. Throwing more money at them is not the solution because we have been doing that hand over fist and things just continue to get worse. We now use the schools for so many things that are not even part of the education of these children and we use the system to propagandize children as well. We need, somehow, to get back to doing what schools were meant to do. Teach these young people math, English, science, and history (our real history and not some warped version someone made up to fit their ideology). We need to keep these kids out of religion, global warming and social issues and let their parents take care of that. If we eliminated all the things the schools aren’t charged with doing and focused on educating, we might actually educate our young people!

I wonder if her teaching of science extends to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and the fact that the Earth is a lot older than 6,000 years?

Someone else writes:

I have a huge issue with the way my taxes are spent. I am a single person that owns my home. My annual part of my county tax bill to the school system is almost 1500 per year. In addition, relative to my income, single people pay more into federal taxes than any other group. Frankly, we pay more than our fair share and some of us do not have the kids in this system that can be used as a tax write off. So, in essence parents get some of that back. I do not.

So yes, I want the elimination of the school board taxes from my propety tax bill. It is NOT my responsibility to educate your kids. That is your job! It is time those that live in apartments with kids pay up. Raise sales tax 1 cent to offset that loss of revenue if need be, whatever it takes. The state will make more money taking the burden off the property owner and raising sales tax.

And there you have the tea party mentality. Tea party members are only interested in themselves. It is like they exist on their own planet with no communal responsibility, no part to play in the betterment of society. If they do not use a publically funded service that benefits others, they do not think they have to pay for it.

Tea party members are the kind of people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. They are happy to decry big government over which they exert some influence by means of the democratic process but then use that process to elect politicians who pander to the needs of big business at the expense of the needs of ordinary folk. They are happy to see poverty rise and the crime rate increase because tackling those means increasing expenditure that they are not prepared to fund by increases in taxation.

When selfishness and greed outweigh compassion and consideration, I think it is safe to say that America will cease to rank among the civilized nations of the world.