Michael Ojo - number 50 on right - is a graduate student in International Affairs. Son Keith - earned his masters at FSU in that program.
As I type this - it is Sunday 9 AM and 30 degrees - sunny - in downtown Tallahassee. I am not bragging or complaining - just the facts. We are enjoying two great basketball teams here at FSU this year. The girls are 14-2. The boys are 15-1. Yesterday we attended the game between FSU and Virginia Tech boys where the Seminoles won by 15 points. This is the best start our team ever had. 9000 tickets were sold for the arena that holds 12,000. Tuesday night Duke comes to town without Koach K. He just had back surgery over the weekend. The Seminoles are in the middle of an unprecedented run of 6 games - with teams ranked in the top 25. They beat Virginia - then VT - now they play Duke - UNC - Notre Dame - Louisville. The last time such a fete occurred it was the University of Maryland - and they lost all 6. We were hoping for 3-3 in the run - now after winning 2 - us foolish locals are thinking winning all 6. Duke can end that foolishness on Tuesday night. Yesterday - we went to the 2 PM game an hour early. We found a free parking spot - and then a nice fella walked up to me and handed me to FREE very nice tickets. I was wearing the FSU leather letter jacket I bought on Craigslist list for $20 - at 68 and gray - I must look like a sorry sight - and the guy even asked if I needed 4. I was startled at the quality for the $32 tickets - and I said just 2. He walked into the game with the extra 2 in his pocket. I know there are a lot of Duke fans out there - and usually we cheer for Duke because son Drew graduated there. But just this one time - I request that you cheer for this ragtag group of upstarts in Tallahassee. 5 are freshman - 2 will probably go in the NBA first round of the draft in June. We will be back to reset again. FSU is usually thought of as a football factory by the rest of the nation. Leonard Hamilton - our basketball coach - has a 94% graduation rate among his players. Michael Ojo - a 7 foot 300 pound graduate student from Nigeria - has played his first organized basketball at FSU. Who knows where he will be next year - I doubt it will be the NBA. So Tuesday night - when you tune in to see America's Team Duke play - I hope you will be cheering for those playing against the Blue Devil's tripping All-American. Sharpen up your Tomahawks and look for Lulu and I in the stands. There will be 12,000 of us for the first time in years. We will be the ones sitting in someone else's seats.
It must be the jacket. Great seats. We are sitting 30 minutes before tip off.
Seminole won the game by 13.
The Civic Center holds 12,100. I would say there were about 8000 people that showed up.
A nice guy outside gave me two for free. He said - do you need four? I said no. He walked in with the extra tickets. He did not want to sell them.I guess he was given them for free.
Tuesday night Duke comes to town. That will be close to a sellout because FSU has a better chance than usual to win.
FSU is 14-1 and tanked number 12 in the nation. Virginia Tech was number 21.
FSU is playing 6 ranked teams in a row. They beat Virginia and Virginia Tech - both ranked.
The FSU Golden Girls Dance Team performs at every basketball game
Our view for the men's game
FSU men won by 8
The women's game as seen from our regular seats.
We sat with George and Joel Dawson.
Monday we got to see two basketball games. Even though the students went home for the holidays - both the men's team and women's team got an early game in before heading home.
At 2 PM - the boys took on Samford University- beating them by 8. Although the Seminoles have a 12-1 record - they never quite put away the Bulldogs. FSU schedules a hand full of small schools to start out the season and fatten up their record. The crowd was sparse - between the 3000 that they announced and the 1100 I counted. Our friends Paul and Michelle gave us their season tickets - so it was free for us - and we moved down to sit behind the announcer at court side.
After that we went to Sonny's for supper. Sonny's is my favorite barbecue place to eat in town. Next we took a walk in the mall to kill time.
At 6 PM the women tipped off against the University of North Florida - a small school in Jacksonville. It was a laugher and FSU won by about 50 points.
FSU men and women have identical 12-1 records. The men lost to Temple after being ahead by 18. The women lost to UConn by 5 - but were playing without their best player - Leti Romero - the Olympian from Spain.
The men next play Wake Forest here on Dec 28th. We have 8 tickets for that game and plan to take our kids and grandkids. Games will get more difficult now that FSU starts their ACC schedule.
We are decorating - getting ready for the Holidays. Nature provided a sprinkling of the white stuff to make us feel at home - like back in the Coal Regions of Pennsylvania. Temperature dropped down into the 50s - it was 59 degrees at 4 AM.
Thursday night gave us an opportunity to head over on route 90 to Quincy for two important events - the downtown Christmas parade and the soft opening of Damfino's restaurant. Damfino's is the new enterprise of Max and Cassie Gross and their partners. Max is the son of best friends Josh and Melissa Gross and we love spending time with their family. If you have been reading my web page you know them as the Thanksgiving Pie People. Max and Cassie met when they were students at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park - where they train world class chefs. They have been putting their other talents to work in Tallahassee and FSU but now is the time for Max to put his training to work in the restaurant business.
Damfino's got its name when they were readying the space. When they exposed the brick, a large painted sign with Damfino's appeared on the wall. Home of a former dry goods and grocery store they decided to incorporate the sign and use the name. The exposed brick, modern lighting, and handmade wood tables give the place a nice vibe. For the soft opening black bean chili and a soup made with pork was available which Lulu and I sampled. I had a bowl (which is quite large) and Lulu could only eat a cup - which is also large for a cup. Each was accompanied by a slice of Max's homemade bread (that was his "major" at the Institute) and there were sticks of real butter at the tables. Lulu snatched up the last loaf of bread to take home to freeze and serve at Christmas when the family is here. I also had a terrific hot chocolate.
Damfino's is a place where you can have a meal but also purchase local sourced products like the bread. There was also a load of fresh vegetables, local ice cream and yogurt, honey, and Bradley's sausage. They are open for breakfast, which judging by the reviews on Facebook, was phenomenal.
After we ate we took our camp chairs and set up to watch the hour and a half parade. The floats and marchers were impressive and since it was chilly, I went back for two more hot chocolates.
We wish Max and Cassandra great luck with Damfino's and highly recommend it to our friends.
Watching the Court House while
eating at Damfino's
Quincy is sure proud of their Talquin electric trucks
Parade Float
Antique cars
Court House form the judge's stand
I forgot to post a picture of the Bookmobile - this is not it.
Evelyn and Paul at the FSU Hall of Fame in front of one of the Seminoles three national championship and three Heisman trophies.
Paul standing in front of his namesake building - The Askew Building
Just like us - Paul and Evelyn are new grandparents - of our grandson Max. Paul is Liz's Dad and Evelyn is Paul's wife. Last week - they came to visit with us and stayed a couple nights on their trip to Sarasota and Naples. They were visiting other friends and family down in the tropical section of our long state.
While they were here we toured FSU campus and the Capital City. They treated us to a very nice dinner at The Edison - a restaurant in Cascades Park housed in the town's former coal fired power plant. We also took Paul to an FSU basketball game.
It has been a wonderful 2 weeks for Florida State Seminoles Fans. Today they completed the Grand Slam - beating the Florida Gators in Mens Basketball. Just a few days ago - the Seminoles also beat the Gator Womens Basketball Team - the Gator Womens Volleyball Team - and of course on Thanksgiving weekend - FSU pummeled the Gators football team.
The Gators/Seminoles rivalry is steeped in history starting right after World War II. At that time FSU was called the Florida State College for Women. The University of Florida was for men. Many soldiers - sailors - and flyers were station in Tallahassee during the war. Many learned to fly at Dale Marby Field just west of town. They wanted to spend their GI Bill with the FSU women.
Burt Reynolds and Lee Corso were teammates on some of the Seminoles early clubs. The good old boys from Florida did not want to play the Seminoles. It took a threat by the state legislature of passing a law that finally had the Gators agree to play the lowly Seminoles. For years - the Gators refused to cross the Suwanee River to play in Tallahassee.
Florida State has won the last 4 football games. It is becoming a little embarrassing for the Gator fans that their big SEC east champions football team has had to go into their championship game 2 years in a row after a loss to FSU.
Probably the best victory in the last 2 weeks was the Womens Volleyball team. The match was held in Gainesville. FSU offered free bus rides and game tickets for people to make the 150 mile trek southeast. In that match - Florida jumped out to a 2 game lead - the Seminoles were losing in the third game and the Gator fans were being a bit boastful. They started too soon - because FSU stormed back - and won the last 3 games. FSU won and moved onto the NCAA Sweet 16 playoffs.
Today it was Mens basketball at 4 PM. Lulu and I went over without tickets. It was a good crowd - but nowhere near a sellout of 11,000. I am guessing there were 8000 tickets sold - and maybe 7000 attended. The ticket price was $40 - but no one was asking over face value. Then a very nice lady gave me a pair behind the Gators bench for free.
FSU carried a small lead most of the way - small enough to keep the crowd sitting on its hands the whole day. At one time FSU shot up to an 13 point lead - but the Gators had one more run in them. In the end - the Seminoles won by 5.
It was dark when we got outside the arena. After a 3 block walk to our free parking spot - we drove home enjoying the Grand Slam - 4 straight victories over the Gators in 2 weeks.
Our good friend - Don Serfass - posted this picture of the Tamaqua Train Station. The train station was vandalized and set on fire in the 1980s. There were calls to tear it down. But a group of Citizens led by Ken Smulligan - made an effort to collect money and get state grants to restore it. Now it is a beauty mark in town and the pride of the community. Every time we return to town - we have supper in the station.
Tamaqua and the Station are at the intersection of Route 309 and 209 in Schuylkill County - Pennsylvania. Tamaqua was the center of the railroading and Anthracite coal industry. The Florida Coal Cracker grew up and spent the first 55 years of his life here. Lulu was also raised one mile from the building. We both made train trips from this station down the Schuylkill River - thru Valley Forge - to Philadelphia.
Our great buddy Dick Davis was here for the first Seminole game of the year in September. As you can see - he is a convert. His family was meeting for Thanksgiving in Nevada - and he surprised "niece-granddaughter-aunt" Jessica who likes the other team. I love the picture and obviously Dick does too. They look like a typical half-breed brother/sister family here in Tallahassee. The Seminoles pounded the Gators 31-13 - and have now beaten them 4 times in a row. But the Gators have the last laugh - they get to play Alabama next week in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. We can hardly wait and will be cheering for the Gators :-)
Back in the old days - the Florida at Florida State game usually decided who was going to be in the national championship game. Things have changed a bit - but it still is exciting for the people in Florida. Florida State has now beaten their two biggest opponents - Miami and Florida - 4 of the last 4 years straight. That has never happened before. Yes - the Noles are 8-0 against these two in-state rivals. They can retire the state trophy after 4 years!
But with a season record of 9-3 - the Seminoles are not even in the playoff picture of the ACC championship. That belongs to Clemson and Virginia Tech. FSU is also not even considered for the 4 NCAA playoff births.
The Florida Gators are 8-3 - and ironically after this 31-13 pasting - they will play Alabama for the SEC championship next week.
Our day was an effort of pacing ourselves for the big game. You know I am old when we turn down a pre-game dinner at the Dawsons - to catch some rest for the 8 PM start. At 5 PM - we had a light supper in front of the TV - watching Penn State and others on big rival Saturday.
At 6:30 PM - with no tickets - we drove across the street to pick up George and Joel Dawson - and off we went with our parkas and blankets. We have a new way to our special parking place - we travel through Florida A&M University campus - bypassing all the traffic on Gaines Street. At 6:40 PM - just 10 minutes from home - Joe was guiding us into our reserved slot - a bargain at $30. Last time - Joe had given us free parking and 2 free great tickets - so it was about time we paid the freight.
By 6:50 PM - we were at our favorite ticket begging spot - right outside the 50 yard line. I was really surprised at how many tickets were available and at reasonable prices. The face value was $125 - which I think is obscene for a college football game. But one nice fella came to me and had 4 tickets together on the 20 yard line - row 13. One was on the aisle - but I kinda like that. He wanted $80 each for them - but with a little talking - and me playing the old age card - he settled for $40 each. George was just about to buy another pair about 40 feet away - and I yelled - George stop! We arrived at our seats at 7 PM - a full hour before kickoff.
Doak Campbell Stadium holds 81,000. They announced a crowd of 78,000. They play it loose with attendance figures. I would say there were easily 5000 empty seats. I wish they would honestly announced attendance - as people in the seats - or people that paid and stayed home. The fact that in Florida you can legally sell tickets for any price - has kept prices low. People are not afraid to sell extra seats. It drives the prices down for me.
Temperature was already down to 59 - we enjoyed the festivities - but were very happy we brought the wool blankets. Lulu wanted a seat back - a $10 premium. So I got one. George and Joel carry their own.
I had 4 cokes tucked in various pockets. They search kids for booze going into the stadium - but let us old folks breeze by. Little did I know that Lulu had snacks stashed for everyone.
It was a good game. FSU's freshman quarterback was spectacular. Dalvin Cook - the junior running back broke all FSU running back records for yards gained and touchdowns scored. Floridas daunting highly ranked defense could not stop the Seminoles.
The temperature dropped to 48 - there was no wind - but a clear sky can suck the heat out of you.
We got home by 12:20 AM.
Winning this games sets up an interesting situation. Florida State will probably end up in the Orange Bowl which is played Dec 30th in Miami. Penn State could possibly be our opponent. It would be so much fun seeing all our old Pennsylvania buddies on a warm evening in Miami. Lulu has already booked 3 hotel rooms just in case.
I meet Josh at a party about 10 years ago. We had a lot in common. Our wives are library science professors at FSU - we are trailing spice. We love rhythm and blues music - weird cars - and gadgets. Josh's real job at Florida State is a psychologist. He serves students every day.
Josh has always talked about getting a Jeep CJ some day. He scans the Craigslist pages constantly. One day he listed a tractor for sale. No one wanted to buy it - but one guy offered a trade. So Josh ended up with a Polaris ATV - sort of a Jeep but not legal on Florida roads. After playing around with that - and trying to sell it - he tried a different angle. He offered the Polaris as a trade for a Jeep CJ.
A guy in Alabama said he had a running Jeep sitting in his barn that came with the property - it did not have paper work. Of course I warned Josh many times about getting stuck with an un-registerable vehicle. I warned him that he might be buying stolen property. But Josh took the risk.
This 1980 CJ7 Jeep is a rare bird. It has the stock 304 V8 engine in it. It also has the 4 speed transmission and stock dual exhaust. It has a little bit of rust - but nothing that can't be repaired. The frame is rock solid. The Jeep spent most of its years in Louisiana and then later Alabama. Now it is a Florida car.
Josh got a bill of sale and an old registration card in the glove box. He called to Montgomery and found a nice lady in the DMV who did a little computer search. The Jeep was legit and registered recently. He had the local police examine it and take the numbers. Josh took the letter from the police and the letter from the Alabama DMV to the Florida Tag Office. Wednesday - I got a single solitary picture from Josh of the new license plate and title. Mission Accomplished.
A company called JeepRehab.com in St Augustine specializes in frame off restoration of Jeeps. If I heard correctly - it is going to cost about $7000 for a complete makeover. All new seats - dashboard - body work - paint - tires - wheels - belts - hoses - wires - etc. Josh is going round and round about what color it will be. He has a chart of the original paint colors for 1980. I liked tan.
In Florida - if a car it 30 years old - it can be registered as an antique.
Josh and Melissa live on a private lake just 20 miles north of Tallahassee. I am guessing this Jeep will have a spot under their carport for a long time.
This antique CJ7 is going to JeepRehab.com in St Augustine
and will receive a frame off restoration -
these are the "before" pictures
The barn find - has the stock 304 V8 engine - 4 speed -
and all numbers match - body - engine - transmission
It will get news seats - new dashboard - new paint -
new wheels - new tires
AMC 304 V8 engine - 125 horsepower
Jeep currently sits in Josh's car port - but soon
JeepRehab.com will haul it to St Augustine
for a full frame off restoration
Max - Cassie - Zack - Rachel - Melissa - Josh GROSS
and The Pies
Lulu loves holidays. I am sure her favorite is Christmas - as I type she is out there slugging it out on Black Friday. My favorite was yesterday - Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for - and there is no pressure to buy gifts to prove it.
Josh and Melissa Gross are special friends. Melissa is a professor with Lulu at FSU. Josh also is a psychologist at FSU - but he is my partner in crime with craigslist and trading cars. Add to his skills - in spring he tests for his black belt in karate - and 50 years of Blues guitar playing. He may truly be the "most interesting man" from the TV commercials.
They are the first family of culinary artistry. Food to them is a way of life. Max and Cassandra graduated from the Culinary School of the Arts in Hyde Park NY. Melissa truly wears the crown as the best cook I have ever met - Lulu will heartily agree. Everything is made from scratch right down the the salad dressing and the catsup. So when you get an invitation to their place for dinner - it is better than going to the President's Box in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Their home sits on a lake about 20 miles north of town. It is an eco-friendly lake - no gasoline powered boats - no hunting. Our dining table was maybe 40 feet from the shore. One of Lulu's favorite TV shows was the Waltons. The setting for our dinner was a long table - in front of a stone fireplace - with the lake view out thru the Florida room. The kitchen and living room form one homey setting. Good night John Boy.
Two big news items - in 3 weeks Max and Cassie are opening up a restaurant in Quincy FL. The restaurant is on the Town Square directly opposite the County Courthouse. They will specialize in Farm to Table food. We are excited to tell everyone to take the short drive to Quincy over US90 West - and try their wonderful food. The other big news is that it looks like there will be a 7th Gross at the table next year. Rachel and Zack are expecting.
Dinner was at 5 PM - the sun was setting over the lake - the pies were arranged in the Florida room. Of course - we wished we were up north with our Everhart 9 - but they are coming south for Christmas. We were honored to be in the Gross Family for a day.
Two special friends of ours - Dr Josh and Dr Melissa
Last weekend Sandi Jimmerson drove the 5 hours to Tallahassee after teaching a full day of classes at her new library at Citrus Ridge: A Civics Academy. In 2009 - Sandi earned her Master of Library Science degree at Florida State. She was selected to participate in Project LEAD from a long list of applicants. The committee was selecting exemp
lary teachers that showed high leadership qualities. The Federal IMLS program was designed to take these proven leaders - and turn them into school library media specialists that are school leaders. It was a full scholarship.
Read Sandi's Words on Scholarship Here
Sandi was a geography teacher for 15 years. She was very popular with students and her fellow teachers. When the Project LEAD opportunity knocked - Sandi answered. Most of the graduate level courses were taught online - although some classes were offered in the summer on campus in Tallahassee.
This fall Sandi took a new job opening up a brand new library in a brand new school. She can see the Disney EPCOT ball from her school.
We have been pestering Sandi to come visit campus and go to a football game. She chose the Boston College game weekend because it had an extra day due to Veterans Day.
It was a full weekend. She stayed 3 nights in our guest room. Thursday FSU won a girls basketball game for her. Friday night was the FSU v Boston College football game - another blowout. We were lucky - someone gave us 5 FREE tickets to the game - just 5 rows behind the BC bench. Next was a special screening of "Citizen Soldiers" in ruby Diamond Auditorium. Finally - FSU boys basketball defeated Jacksonville State.
Girls Basketball
Neighbors George and Joel Dawson came along
The Governors Mansion
Library Girl with the kids
Chief Osceola from our seats
Our seats at the game
The jackets are not replicas - they belonged to our kids in 1988 - the year Lulu went to FSU
