Well worth losing sleep over
Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 5:22PM FRIDAY
Last Friday evening, it rained. Of course, living in Florida, it can storm at a moment’s notice, bringing with it the wrath of rumbling thunder and lightning. Anyone who reads my blog understands that I take an Internet time out from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm Monday through Friday to watch Jeopardy. Last Friday was no different until, suddenly, in the middle of the Double Jeopardy round and without warning, an intensely brilliant white light burst through the living room window, accompanied by an immediate explosion of sound, louder than anything I’d heard before. CRACK! In that split second, it was gone, and so was our electricity. Within minutes, power returned, but no cable. After the box rebooted, the living room TV cranked back up, but my show was over. Darn, I missed Final Jeopardy.
As sudden as the surge was, I quickly jumped to my feet to peer out the front window because I smelled electricity in the air. Sure enough, a wire was down in the front yard and it was hissing and spitting and reeling like a lithe snake in the dead of night, emitting an eerie orange glow that pierced the night air and glistened on the drops of rain that continued to fall. I walked to the phone to call 911, but there was no dial tone. We had switched to all cable only months earlier, so the phone and Internet were out-of-order. How funny, I thought, because the living room TV was working fine. I took out my cell phone and called to report the incident. Then, I called the cable company and the tech said the modem box that controls the phone and Internet was sending him no signal. Modem fried. The soonest anyone could come would be next Tuesday. To someone with a blog, that’s like… forever! Oh well, back to the matter at hand. I knew I would have the Internet the next day - for a few hours, at least.
Within minutes, the fire company arrived. There was no way I was going to set foot out there and risk a deathly jolt from the wet ground that lay ahead. As the fire/emergency crew assessed the situation, the power went off and off it stayed. The hissing line was dead in the water. Situation under control.
One of the things we know from living in the lightning capital of the world is to be ready, so a battery operated camping light alloted enough brightness for us to move around inside the house. Without power, the air conditioning wasn’t working, either, and it didn’t take long to warm up. After about 45 minutes, I decided to take a walk outside and scope the place out. I walked over to the power company truck and asked the driver when he expected it to come back on. Of course, he could only guess. He was awaiting another truck bringing someone to do the work. His job was to take a look and report. That’s after 27 years with the utility, he said. No more fixing lines. The younger ones do that now. One neighborhood child came by and asked the same question, but by that time we had already moved on to other topics. There was nothing any of us could do but wait. The driver and I talked for about an hour, until it was time for me to take my nightly insulin shot. He told me about some of his experiences with the company and how cutbacks have really streamlined things, but hadn’t made things better. It was more work, in other words, but with that came more hours and more pay. Not so bad, then. Not bad at all for a man in his fifties. I told him I write about the Anthony case. Interestingly, he was quite fascinated by it and he began asking questions like if she did it. He said his best friend’s son went to high school with her.
Someone drove by and stopped to ask what happened. He said he was heading up to the bar on the corner, G’s Lounge. The utility guy said, good luck, the power’s out there, too. He said that under normal conditions, it takes three surges to the substation to shut power off. In this particular case, after the third time, power remained on and he had to manually turn it off. I guess it fused something together. This took out a good part of the neighborhood. I asked him how many volts were in that downed wire.
“7200,” he responded.
Wow, that’s a lot of juice. We turned back to the Anthony case. I said that had I been many years younger and met her in a bar, I’d find her quite attractive, which is what your friend’s son must have thought. Of course, this would mean PRIOR to any murder. He agreed, but then he told me he asked the son if he had ever hit on her. Did he ever do anything with her? No, the son said. “She was passed around too much in high school. Everyone had her.”
That was an interesting observation and one that I wouldn’t ordinarily expect, but there are many surprises when it comes to this case. Of course, in a court of law, that would be hearsay and therefore, inadmissible, so take it the way you want, but it was a statement just the same. Had it not been for the strike that burned a hole in the ground, I wouldn’t have known.
After a good conversation about other things, it was time to go inside. I wished him well and said good night. I went into the house and tried to sleep, but only lightly dozed until, just after midnight, the power returned and the cool, dry blast of the air conditioner fanned across my hot skin. Relief! Good, because I had a football game to go to and I wanted to be as refreshed as possible. Despite the lack of sleep, I woke up feeling fine. There was a big day ahead!
SATURDAY
Weeks earlier, I had published a 2-part series that began with Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling, When karma strikes twice, and finished with John Huggins, Slowly, the wiles of justice churn. In the Huggins case, Jeff Ashton was one of the prosecutors and Chief Judge Belvin Perry presided. Of course, people like to comment and that’s where a lot of thought goes on. It brings my blog to life! During those ensuing comments, a dear reader and contributor, Nika1, offered to take me to a football game, the one against Kentucky, to be precise, and I took her up on that offer. She lives in Gainesville and told me about the wall in memory of those slain by Rolling in 1990.
In back-and-forth e-mails to-and-from my now defunct account, we set the trip up and finished it with a phone call. I didn’t want to drive my car that distance. She suggested taking the Red Coach. The Red Coach? I had never heard of it, but I took a good look. How could I not? It’s first-class all the way, with wide leather seats that fold down almost into a bed. There’s a movie, and wi-fi, to boot. The best part? It’s only $15 each way. Heck, it would probably cost me $20 in gas anyway. All I had to do was drive down to the airport and park. For free.
While waiting to board, riders were dropped off from Miami. I spoke to one gentleman from Ocala who knows the Brantley family, football players all. John Brantley IV is the Gator quarterback. It was nice to learn a little more background before the game.
Off we went! I brought my computer along to catch up on e-mails and comments, but alas, the wi-fi was not working. I tried to sleep a little, but Nancy Drew was blaring from the speaker above me. Our movie du jour.
When the bus arrived in Gainesville, Nika1 was waiting. I knew, as soon as I saw her, that she was my blogging friend and not there for anyone else. I got out and we lightly embraced. Aaaah, such a warm and friendly greeting! We walked over to her vehicle and stowed my belongings. I must tell you that sitting on the front passenger seat were a Gator t-shirt and hat, both brand new. Without hesitation, I took my shirt off in the parking lot to the delight of no one, but I was in Gator country, by golly, and I’m a Gator.
Off we went!
People were everywhere, all dressed in orange and blue, the university’s colors. Young, old, and everything in between, wore nothing else. We parked and took a walk to one of the book stores. The aromas of tailgating barbecues wafted in the air. The book store was a sort of mall with two food courts. We were hungry and it was time to eat. The bus left at 12:30 and arrived just before 3:00. The game wasn’t set to begin until 7:00, so there was plenty of time to kill. I’ll tell you, by the time the day was over, we must have walked 10 miles, but it did me a lot of good. As we milled around the campus, which is vast, she pointed out things of importance.
Tim Tebow is one classy act. That’s all I need to say about him. He’s above the rest, but he’d never admit it. Inside this building sits the NCAA Championship trophy. I saw it through a window. Game day, it’s locked up tight. Too many people.
There were plenty of sites to see and Nika1 was thrilled to show me everything. I had been to a number of games in the past, but not for years, and it was only to go up, see the game, and return home. This was a much more personal look, and I was eager to see as much as I could.
Soon, it would be time for the Gator Walk, where the football players, coaches and trainers walk down the street and into the massive stadium. It’s almost like a parade.
Cheerleaders chanted, to the excitement of the awaiting crowd…
One more…
Oh, heck… just one more…
It was at this time I turned to Nika1 and told her I will now admit I’m getting old. You see, each one of those girls looked, to me, to be no more than high school age. I couldn’t look at them as anything more than children. Time to move on…
The Gator Walk was about to begin!
We stood alongside a Gainesville police officer. He was one of the friendliest guys you’d ever want to meet. He said the motorcycle cop seen here, front and left, was hit by a car last year at a game and broke his left arm. I remember reading about it in the Sentinel or online. Nika1 had told me about how security was so beefed up for the game two weeks earlier against USF. The crazy preacher was going to burn Qurans and the stadium was an easy terrorist target. Fortunately, the threat abated and nothing happened, but 400 extra FBI and other federal/state officers were on hand. Good thing, too, because she said it was so brutally hot, people were dropping like flies. The extra security came to the rescue. She asked our friendly officer how he survived the heat. He said he prepares himself the night before by drinking lots of pickle juice. Pickle juice?!Yes, he learned it years ago as a boy growing up on a Gainesville area farm. Fascinating!
Along came the entourage…
Here they come! Nika1 told me head coach Urban Meyer makes his players wear a clean shirt and tie to the game. It instills discipline and shows respect.
If you look to your right in the above picture, you’ll spot Urban, also sporting a tie.
We still had over an hour to go before the doors opened, but we made the best of our time. There was plenty to do, believe me. A lot of vendors are set up all around the stadium. One is the insurance company, Nationwide, handing out small towels to dip in a trough filled with ice and water. You dab your hot face and neck to help stay cool. Fortunately, this was a night game and it wasn’t as hot as a day game.
Finally, we were let in. When I arrived at the bus station and we drove away, I noticed her drawl, but wasn’t completely sure where she was from. Why, right here in Gainesville, born and raised. Aha! At the game, she said she has been a season ticket holder for 36 years. That’s a dedicated Gator! She knew the people who sat around us, obviously, and before the game began, her niece and nephew arrived with their young daughter. They were just as welcoming.
Here’s the view from where we sat. Trust me, there’s no such thing as a bad seat and these were just perfect.
The game was going to begin soon and I came to watch. There’s a lot of history in The Swamp.
I took no pictures of the game. I wanted to see everything with my eyes, not through a camera lens.
It was a thrilling game. The Gators scored first and went on to win 48-14. The announced crowd was over 90,000 people. I had a wonderful and memorable trip, but there was one sad note. When the third quarter ends, it’s tradition to stand and sing together, We are the Boys from Old Florida. It’s sort of like the seventh-inning stretch, only college football. Then, the final quarter began. Within a minute after the song ended and play began, someone collapsed about 4 or 5 rows above and to the left of us. All I could see was someone frantically performing CPR on a person laid out on the bench. I never did see the gentleman. Police officers situated in close proximity jumped into action. Within minutes, a uniformed paramedic arrived and he was taken out. Everyone kept turning to look at the game and what was going on with him. When one officer passed by me, I asked how things had gone. Not so well, he answered. I asked him how old the guy was. He said very old. The officer was probably in his late 30s. When it was quite obvious the Gators had a lock on the game, Nika1 said we should probably leave before the crowd. I agreed, but on the way out, I stopped and asked another officer. I was concerned about the poor man. This officer was about my age. How old was the guy, I asked him. Oh, in his late 50s, early 60s. I guess age is relative depending on who you ask. He said it didn’t look good. The man was not breathing and his heart had stopped.
I want to take a moment to remember Jerry Lee McGriff, of Starke. A true-blue Gator fan, he died watching his beloved team. My sympathies go out to his family and friends. You can read more here.
SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
When Nika1 and I were enjoying our pre-game lunch together - a lunch, I might add, she refused to let me buy - I mentioned that she must be a very trusting soul. Here I was, a virtual stranger, and she was ready and ever so willing to open her arms in friendship. She even offered me a place to sleep for a few hours until the bus returned at 3:30 am to take me home. She admitted that she is a very trusting person and always has been, but she also said she pretty much knew what sort of character I was from my writing. That’s a nice thing to know, that people trust me. I am harmless, after all, but it goes deeper than that. While Gainesville is a University city with a college, small-town feel, Nika1 exuded friendship and I was welcomed from the moment I stepped off that bus until I left to return to Orlando.
She lives in a very rural town south of Gainesville, and not far from Cross Creek, home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. No? The name doesn’t ring a bell? Yes, it does. She was an author who won a Pulitzer for writing a book, The Yearling. Perhaps, you’ve heard of it.
There’s something inherently romantic about the deep south. That’s why my best friend Stewart and I like to take road trips. Over the many years of living in Florida, I’ve grown to love and admire the pockets of land still left that are truly remnants of Old Florida. Where Nika1 lives is just such a place. It’s something you can’t really explain. Although her house was built in the late 1800s, it’s more of a feeling and you know it when you’re there. It is a step back into a time when post cards and billboards didn’t exist. No roadside attractions. Citrus groves and cattle ranches abounded and you kicked your feet up on the front porch of your homestead at the end of a long day. Along with that is the southern hospitality we’ve all heard about. Nika1 is the embodiment of that, pure and simple. Not only did I have a bed to put my weary feet and head on, she had two books for me to take home, BEYOND THE BODY FARM and DEATH’S ACRE, both written by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Tucked into one of those books were two tickets to the Gator’s homecoming game against Mississippi State, a game she can’t attend.
When I awoke after a couple of hours sleep, freshly brewed coffee awaited me, along with two breakfast sausage crescents, a banana, an orange juice and a bottle of water for the ride back.
While sitting at the bus stop in the dead of morning, we talked once more about the Rolling murders. She has a real sense of history. She said that the poor girl whose head was separated and posed on a bookshelf was an intern with the Gainesville police department. It was so sickening, seven officers left their jobs after they saw her. You may find it to be an odd thing to discuss, but at just after 3:00 am sitting in a parking lot, you keep your doors locked. So does the whole town because of people like him.
Yup, life is a lot simpler in the land where Nika1 lives. It’s too bad, but even there, she’s got to lock her doors at night.
I rolled into town about a quarter to six. I had practically missed a whole night of sleep, but it was well, well worth it. What better way to lose sleep than over a Gator game spent with a lovely person, surrounded by a cast of thousands? Nika1? I may have just met you, but I feel like we’ve known each other for years.
Tonight, the Gators face #1 ranked Alabama. Good thing it’s a home game, but still, this one scares me. Thank you, Nika1, for everything. Something tells me I know exactly where you are right now, and your TV is already warmed up and ready to go.
Dave Knechel | tagged Cross Creek, Dr. Bill Bass, Florida Gators, Gainesville, Gator Walk, Gators, Jerry Lee McGriff, Jon Jefferson, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer | in Casey Anthony, Caylee Anthony, Dave Knechel, FBI, Florida, Human Interest, Marinade Dave, Marinade Dave’s Caylee Anthony Posts, uNIVERSITY OF fLORIDA | Share Article | 1 Reference 
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Reader Comments (67)
boxcarbob, what an amazing story! You are very lucky to be alive.
Very interesting, boxcarbob. Living in the lightning capital of the world keeps me on my toes. What we've always been told by the TV weather people is that if you can hear thunder, you are in danger.
I'm glad you liked my story, too. Thank you. I'll be back later. Chores to do.
Snoopy you did not miss anything, I kept going back and forth to see what happened and soon they switched back to the Petit trial going to jury.[TERRIBLE CRIME} I saw Judge Perry no more. Does this mean you won't get to see Casey's trial? How can we fix that?
Margaret, I expect CNN Prime will carry the trial but am not 100% sure. They may just air segments of it. I am hoping that WFTV will have it live on the internet. I got Court TV installed just to watch the hearings and trial. It is uninstalled now as it is no use paying for channels that I don't watch.
Snoopy- I imagine interest in this one will be off the charts by the time it finally rolls around- wouldn't be at all surprised to find it somewhere in your part of the World...
It is SO good seeing Boxcarbob come by again, and what an amazing post! Timely, too, my kid has to do a poster for class on weather safety! BCB, you are my hero!
What an amazing post Dave, you never fail to surprise me with your writings. You can make us actually see what you saw and that is something that you do so well. From a electrical storm to a football game with a new friend from the blog, you had an amazing w/e.
I did find it interesting that you found out more information about Casey. I am not surprised that Casey was "passed around". She was then as she always has; looking for someone to love her.
Thank you Dave for sharing your w/e with us. I am glad that you had a great time, you deserve some fun for a change. Keep up the good writings I for one love them.
I am sure you know this, but the trail that In Session has on right now has Judge Perry presiding. He is making sure this trial goes smoothly and rather quickly. I look forward to the next Casey hearing, do you know when that may be?
Documents Could Damage Casey Anthony Defense
This has to do with Laura Buchanan who says Suburban Drive was not under water when she searched. It is worth the read.
Mary Jo, thanks for putting up that link. I haven't trusted Laura Buchanan from day one. It is turning out exactly the way that I stated some time ago. Laura was an ex LE out of Kentucky and came to work for the Baez Law Firm. I don't know if she was ever compensated for her services or just volunteered to help. In fact, I am unsure how she ended up being associated with Baez et al.
I know Laura tried to push herself on Joe Jordan to the extent that she wanted him to agree that he searched with her. Joe was having none of it and then Mort Smith tried to convince Jordan that he searched with Laura. Mort showed Joe a TES search form that looked like it was doctored. I hope that Baez, Mort and Laura get caught for falsifying that record. As far as Cheney Mason goes, he was too busy throwing 12 dollars on the table when the defense viewed the TES files. He thinks his word is golden and that is all that counts. Bull.
Snoopy, I totally agree with everything that you said. I hope they get in trouble for falsifying evidence because it looks like that is what they did.
Thanks Mary Jo for bringing this to us, very interesting. It makes me wonder just how far Biaz will go to try and get something to stick to that wall he is so famous for. He now won't talk to reportors, what on earth is that all about? Falsifying records, that is serious business. Something is afoot as Sherlock would say.
Hi Dave Snoops Mary Jo Peggy Karen C EVERYONE With Halloween just around the corner.Some costume shop should sell Casey an Cindy masks.Anyone one of them turning up on my doorstep would frighten me.
The reason Mortimer Smith, PI for Baez, called Jordan and interviewed him is because he thought he could put words in Joe's mouth. The idea was for both Laura and Joe to swear under oath that they searched out at Suburban and there was no water and also, that they searched where the remains were finally located and there was no body. Now it seems that Laura was searching at Jay Blanchard on the same day that she swore she searched at Suburban. How will the defense get out of this one?
They will blame it on Laura's recollection and deny knowing anything about falsifying the TES record. Sadly, I doubt if the jury will get to hear about all this.
Hey Ecossie, good to see you are not behaving yourself tonight. I expect there will be Anthony costumes for Halloween. I would like to see one of Cheney Mason, rubber face, black tuxedo and bowtie, smoking a big cigar. Oh yes, a top hat too.
ecossie possie, you just made me spit water all over my computer screen with your comment. That is very funny, but true. It will be interesting to see what happens with all of this now.
I just glanced at the TES files at that link. I notice one that Laura made out has Joe Jordan as team leader on it. I wonder if that is the falsified one.
Aww Dave - such a nice story about the day trip to Gainsville. (except the part about the man dying). Gosh, when you were describing the area including Cross Creek, it brought back so many memories of my childhood - taking day trips - driving through the Everglades, which for some odd reason always made me think of the Yearling (and the movie Cross Creek!). And you're right Florida is rich in history and steeped with the romanticism of the old south - the very old south. How, I used to love to camp and fish throughout the state. I've never really been to Gainesville - just a drive through once....but my ex-brother in law went to school there. got his Journalism degree - he's a darn good writer too - started a weekly column "People Etc." at the Miami Herald in 1971.
He's won several awards for his stories - not the column of course but his first award was back then, It was a story about german immigrant, Carl Van Cassel. Remember him? A real creepy tale. This man pined away for a young lady he knew in his town (circa 1920's Key West) She died young of Tuberculosis. Just days after her funeral he dug her up and took her home made a cast of her face and covered her in wax - kept her in his museum for a couple of years then brought her home - performed necrophillia on her for many years! What's even more creepy is when I think about all those people who went into the museum and saw her wax figure in there and they had no idea her dead body was underneath that wax....Big Shudder! Ah, but I digress I meant to say that you remind me of my brother in law - ex - who I don't get to see anymore....You're a writer and you even look a little like him!. He writes for the Sacramento Bee now but in the past he wrote a lot of stories on his travels throughout Florida. Fishing trips, camping, etc..... places to go and things to do. Mostly out of the way places or hardly known restaurants.
He has a knack for describing the area and the food - so much so that these places would attribute an annual boom in business due to his stories about them - I witnessed it first hand...in 1978 (we had all moved to california by then) I worked at this tiny little bar/restaurant in Lake Tahoe, they had only been in business for about 6 months when I started there. Back then bars were scarce on the Calif side - there were only 3, so we did a pretty good local lunch business. Anyway, this place had really fantastic food and quite unusual for it's time.
He and my sister came up to visit - to get remarried actually on the same day they married the first time. Dec 22nd! (don't know why because the 2nd time didn't work out either) That was an adventure in itself - but that's another story...... lol...I took them there for lunch and he loved it, so he wrote a story about it. At that time he worked for the Mercury News. It was published in the Sunday magazine in Jan/Feb and the following Summer we were bombarded with hundreds of tourists who could not stop talking about how they heard about us! (another award winning story for Al) They went home - told all their friends and came back year after year. My boss was so happy he cut the story out had it decoupaged onto a piece of wood and hung it in the vestibule. It's still there I think...needless to say I got a big fat raise!
:-)
Anyway, your wonderfully described trip to Gainesville got me thinking about Al, and all those great stories he used to write about Florida.
Thanks, Mystical Pippin. That's a very interesting account on your part, too. Plus, your ex-B-i-l. Yes, I do remember the story about Carl Van Cassel. He's been profiled on some of the spooky shows and probably Ripley's. What an odd character he was.
I know it took me several years to settle down and find comfort in my Florida surroundings. Coming from the north, where the history is rich with the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, it was an empty feeling at first, but I look at St. Augustine and the ancient Indian burial mounds and I understand it more. I've felt that Florida is my home for at least the past 20 years and I moved here almost 30 years ago.
I'm certainly glad my story got you to thinking about Al. That's what a writer is supposed to do, and if I am able to do that, I've succeeded. Thank you very much. I wouldn't mind knowing his name someday, if you ever want to e-mail it to me. I'd like to read some of his stuff.