[IMPORTANT- The homeless situation is tragic. There is no attempt to make fun or make light of anyone in this situation. While this is a true story, empathy and help is still offered.]
In 1990, thirteen works were stolen from the Isabella Steward Garden Museum. Among the pieces taken was a Vermeer and a famed Rembrandt painting valued at some $500 million.
Certainly, I have nothing of that value in the artwork that I put in a rental in 2025 but what was stolen from the small 1 br/1 ba rental unit was nonetheless, mine. The artwork was removed in January, between the hours of approximately 2 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. the following day. Someone had “squatted” in the rental and upon leaving removed the artwork from the walls.
Had a handyman and I not been looking to cover pipes for weather protection, this devastating loss may not have been discovered until it was too late. We opened a small fenced area beside the rental unit and found a person’s bedding, boots and bags of clothes along with three paintings. The artwork depicted the 19th-century creative movement of the “impressionists” work. In one art piece, the muted blue-grey colours captured life centred around windmills. In the other two paintings, the works showed life in countries such as Italy, Spain, or Greece. All three paintings still had the beautiful gold frames intact and had not been harmed otherwise. Obviously, the squatter had moved out and was soon to move on- with the paintings.
Fortunately, we were able to collect the paintings and place them back in the small unit for future guests to see and appreciate. We are still on the lookout for the thief. We believe it to be a female because of the go-go-boots left behind. The paintings are back on the wall.
See you tomorrow,
Nan
Category: Art, People, Random Posts | Comments Off on Not a Vermeer or a Rembrandt But They Were Mine
The Iwo Jima is known as a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship in the United States Navy. This week she navigated the waters from the Atlantic Ocean through a 500-foot wide entrance into the St. Johns River. That area provides direct access from the Atlantic Ocean into the naval base harbor allowing large ships and aircraft carriers to navigate in deep-water access gaining access to the Mayport naval base Mayport has a base on San Pablo Island in Jacksonville, Florida right on the Atlantic Ocean for some time. The Department of Defense controls its day-to-day operations as it serves both as a naval base and naval air station. It was established in 1932.
There was apparently no fan fare or welcoming committee to greet the 40,000 long ton ship to harbor however, several Facebook folks took photos and posted them online noting that the Iwo Jima was in port at Jacksonville.
A friend of mine, Ainsley gave me the opportunity to go with her on base to see the huge 843 foot long ship where we were able to walk alongside it, take photographs and wonder about its mission. Too, we talked to some of the marines living on the ship as they came and went during this stay on the St. Johns River. Busses accommodated them and their families to get on and off of the base. Some met with family and friends as they stayed in the east coast waters for less than a week.
The Iwo Jima came back into the news recently when it was used January 3, 2026 to “launch strikes in Venezuela resulting in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cila Flores”. President Donald Trump subsequently posted an image of Maduro on Truth Social with the caption “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.”
Sources: “According to initial reporting and later confirmed by General Dan Caine in a press conference, the president and first lady were taken into custody aboard the Iwo Jima, during Operation Absolute Resolve.”( USS Iwo Jima(LHSS-7)s Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,January 12, 2026).
Rosa Parks was a civil rights advocate and icon. She came to Jacksonville on many occasions including in 1986,1994 and 1996. Ms. Parks was also at the Sheraton St. Johns on one stop banquet for the Florida Voters League. She also spoke at the SCLC convention in Jacksonville in 1886. In 1994, Ms. Parks talked about her days of segregation reported by news stations when she visited Edward Waters College.
On one of her visits Mrs. Parks had been traveling the country commemorating the 40th year bus boycott. On this particular day, she was being honored at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce which was “by invitation-only”. The day I got invited in to see her was a Wednesday, February 7, 1996. On that day in history a photograph of Mars was featured by NASA, the number one song in the US, ”One Sweet Day”, sung by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men and I was invited in to meet and greet Rosa Parks at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.
It was late afternoon on Wednesday when I went to the First Baptist church in downtown Jacksonville, got my children settled into their classes and was heading up the back stairs of the singles building on Church street to go to my meeting. A friend of mine said, “Hey, why are you here? I thought you would be photographing Rosa Parks? She’s at the Jacksonville Chamber just down the street”. I had no idea but with a thanks to my friend and having my camera in the car, I immediately turned around and went out the door to head to the chamber. When I got to the chamber of commerce door there was a very large sign to my left in the glass window announcing Ms. Parks visit. I noted immediately that it said, “By invitation only”. Not long after I read the signage, Bob Ingram, a tall black man, walked up, held the door for me and said, “Let’s go, Ms Parks is waiting for us”. I was personally invited in and the rest is history.
The day I met Ms. Parks I had a broken arm with a cast. That cast caused her to motion for me to come and sit by her. She looked straight in my eyes and patted the seat next to her and motioned for me to come sit. I walked over, sat down and we had much to talk about. She wanted to know what happened and from that conversation, we had many others including talking about her journey having refused to move her seat and give it to a white man. Before the evening was over, Mrs Parks and I were BFF(Best Friends Forever). Certainly I was honoured.
Rosa Parks started a huge movement in 1955 as she was fined $14 for not giving up her seat to a white person as it was considered “a deliberate act of civil disobedience”. On that day she was arrested which brought about a boycott. This lead to more than 90 other defendants in other cases sparking a total change to the way black people were viewed and treated. The boycott according the to to library of Congress lasted 381 days and led to a 1956 Supreme Court decision banning segregation on public transportation. ( Library of Congress). And now, she has her own station named in her honor in Jacksonville.
Mrs.Parks was born February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was 83 the day I met her having a birthday only a few days prior. She married Raymond Parks and attended and was a member of the AME serving at St. Paul AME church in Montgomery, Al. She is said to have served as a stewardess and Sunday School teacher, another thing we had in common.
Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005 at her home in Detroit, Michigan. She was captioned as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”. There are many who give her credit for the fame of Martin Luther King as he took on her cause making important changes to freedom for all.
On October 29, 2005 at her hometown church in Montgomery a memorial was held. So many special and important people came to honor her life such as then, Secretary of State, Condi Rice,MLK III, the son of M. L. King, the Reverend Joseph Lowry; co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with MLK, jr., Reverend. Al Sharpton, actress, Cicely Tyson and more. The AME church was full with hundreds outside as well. I was in that group and proud to have met her personally years ago.
Parks body was carried from the Ross-Clayton Funeral home in Montgomery, transferred to a horse drawn carriage and taken to the AME church on N. Ripley Street for the memorial service. She had died of natural causes at the age of 92. Mrs .Parks was taken from the funeral home in a white hearse and then transferred to a horse-drawn carriage for public viewing. to a I walked behind the carriage that day was thankful to have met her and vowing that I would seek to stand up for what is right in a world gone wrong.
After the celebration of her life in Montgomery , Rosa Parks was flown to Washington DC for 2 days as the nation paid its respect. Those attending her Washington Memorial service were many such as President George W. Bush and First Lady, Laura, Majority Leader Bill Frist, Minority Leader Harry Reid, Secretary of State Condoleeezza Rice, Oprah Winfrey, Julian Bond, U. S. Ted Kennedy, former President and First Lady, and Bill and Hillary Clinton and many more.
February 27, 2013 a statue was unveiled in the U. S. Capital in National Statuary Hall of Mrs. Parks.
Sources: Personal experience, Wikipedia, Google, Library Congress, St. Pauls’ AME church,Henry Ford Museum. Photos:Public domain, Police dept., Nan Ramey.
Category: History, People | Comments Off on “Rosa Parks is Waiting for Us”
