Blog

We've found out it really is a small world since we've been writing this blog. When we agreed to write a blog about growing up in Sarasota little did we know that tales of our personal experiences would be so far reaching.

After I wrote a blog about the Bee Line Ferry across Tampa Bay a friend of ours gave me an aerial photo of the opening day of the first Sunshine Skyway bridge so I decided to do a follow-up story and in order to verify the date of the Skyway opening I Googled "Sunshine Skyway" and to my utter surprise, there was my previous blog.

Recently our editor notified us that he had received an email from a man stating that he had read our blog about his aunt, Margaret Myrwang, "The Bicycle Lady" whom he remembered seeing many times in his youth when she came to visit his family. He requested a meeting with us when he was visiting here in Sarasota the following week.

Before their visit we went to the Sarasota County History Center to do some research in old City Directories to provide him with addresses and dates where Margaret had lived during her years in Sarasota.

He and his wife came to our house and we had a lovely 2 1/2 hour visit. They live in the DC area and he is a retired Lutheran Minister.  We were able to give them information on areas where Margaret used to paint, and he even found a retired minister in South Carolina who had one of Margaret's paintings and was willing to give it to them. It would be wonderful if this blog uncovered more of her art works they could obtain.

While they were in Sarasota they visited some of Margaret's old haunts and they went to McCown Towers where they found some folks who remembered her. And, the world seems to be getting smaller all the time.  Life was/is good.

Back in the late 1960s, I was in our shop (Sarasota Cycle & Key Shop) one day, by myself, when a trucker came in with a shipment for us. After he unloaded his goods he came into the shop to get a check for the shipping charges.

I asked him how much the charges were and he said $54.40 to which I replied: "Or Fight." He said, "No lady I don't want to fight, I just want a check for $54.40," to which I replied, "Don't you remember back in your history lessons in the mid 1800s there was a clash over the border between the US and Canada and the rallying cry was '54/40' or fight?" He looked at me like I had two heads and said: "No lady I just want a check for $54.40." I realized I shouldn't pursue this conversation any longer so I walked up to the front of the shop to get the check book and proceeded to write a check for him.

About that time a man walked into our shop with a wheel in hand for repairs. I looked up at him and told him I'd be right with him as soon as I finished writing a check and I turned to the trucker to verify the amount and when the trucker, who was getting a little perturbed with me by this time, said "It's $54.40" and with that the man with the wheel said: "Or fight."
 
I turned around and said to the man with the wheel: "I'm so glad you said that because I said the same thing to the trucker and he thinks I'm nuts". To which the wheel man replied: "Well I don't know about you but I am." I pointed to the front door and told the wheel man:  "Out, out and never darken my door again." 

The trucker grabbed the check and was scratching his head as he walked out and the wheel man and I stood there and roared. If this little scenario had been scripted it couldn't have been more perfect.  

Life’s good.