Judi Baller-Fabian poses with members of the Guardia Seville at Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain, in this photo taken during a vacation trip in the late 1970s.Judi Baller-Fabian poses with members of the Guardia Seville at Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain, in this photo taken during a vacation trip in the late 1970s.
Mom’s friend Judi was killed in a hit-and-run the other day, and I didn’t know what to say to Mom, or even if I should say anything at all. I guess I was still in shock myself. She had known… READ MORE
Michael Foran of Flickr via Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixorama/
This is what I remember of that awful September 11 morning in 2001. The air was cool, crisp and clear, which was unusual for a September morning in the Florida Panhandle. The newsroom was empty except for Ralph Routon and… READ MORE
Del Stone Jr.
I was privileged to have grown up on the Miracle Strip. To my loss – and everyone else’s loss – the Miracle Strip is now a thing of the past. It has been replaced by an asphalt and concrete monument… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Paul Sableman by way of a Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasa/31911920834
Another mass shooting. Ten people dead this time in what has become a depressing affront to human decency. We will react the way we always react – with declarations of “thoughts and prayers,” angry remonstrations over gun control or mental… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
This is a copy of an email I just sent to the Fort Walton Beach City Council: My name is Del Stone Jr. I consider Fort Walton Beach my home. I’ve lived in the city since 1964 and my mother’s… READ MORE
It was an unpleasant reminder of life under the previous administration and I refused to be a part of it. I unfriended two people on social media today for circulating rumors about the current president and vice president. I’ll do… READ MORE
GPA PHoto Archive, Flickr, via Creative Commons license
The 2020 election is not a done deal, but from the close results one can draw several broad conclusions about many of the voters in this country: 1. They don’t care about climate change. Either they don’t think it’s happening,… READ MORE
Del Stone Jr.
When I lived in my noisy townhouse, the one with paper-thin walls, I sometimes climbed aboard my bicycle and pedaled off into the relative quiet of surrounding neighborhoods, a journey that often carried me to a winding lane in Cinco… READ MORE
Del Stone Jr.
I don’t know what I was expecting – fire, pestilence, world-ending earthquakes. It is 2020, after all. In truth, Halloween was like all the recent Halloweens. Here are the highlights: 1. I was afraid the weather would be chilly and… READ MORE
Recently I posted a link to a story about former Republican Congressman Aaron Schock, who finally admitted he is gay. Schock was known for opposing gay rights measures while in office. In my post I said something to the effect… READ MORE