Homosassa Springs
Uncategorized
The Yearling Restaurant
Step back in time to “Old Florida” at The Yearling Restaurant, a local landmark in the Cross Creek area (way off the beaten path!) that first opened its doors in 1952 and specializes in Southern “cracker-style” cuisine. Enjoy live music courtesy of legendary bluesman Willie “The Real Deal” Green. Named after Marjorie Kinnan Rawling’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning 1938 novel, The Yearling, the award-winning Yearling Restaurant lies less than a mile from the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park (I personally advise visiting this must-see attraction in the morning followed by lunch at The Yearling). Or choose to spend the night at the adjacent Secret River Lodge, which boasts seven restored cottages. The eclectic menu at The Yearling features such offbeat delicacies as Florida Gator, Frog Legs, Free Range Venison, Fried Portobello Mushrooms, Conch Fritters, Stuffed Grouper, Blackened Mississippi Catfish, Maple Leaf Duck Breast and Domestic Quail, as well as steaks, burgers, sandwiches and more. Save room for one of the signature desserts such as Key Lime Pie, Pecan Pie, Sour Orange Pie and Buttermilk Pie. The Yearling Restaurant is located at 14531 County Road 325 in Hawthorne, just 14 miles from Gainesville. Don’t be scared off by the eatery’s rather rough exterior – it’s all part of the charm! It is open for lunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday. For more information, visit www.yearlingrestaurant.net.
Gamble Rogers
“When I look back on the causes and effects that have brought me to this stage in my life, I do believe I have kept my guardian angels quite busy. I say angels, because I feel that with the lifestyle I have chosen, more help is required and they have been quite good at providing me with the right kind of help at the right time. Gamble Rogers was the right kind of help. I vividly remember the days I spent traversing the folk club circuit in the Southeast, roaring down two lane black top roads with Gamble at the wheel of his black fastback Mustang listening to the glass packs ricocheting through the pines as he offered words of wisdom to an up and coming folk singer from the Gulf Coast. I would open shows for Gamble in places like The Hub Pub Club in Buoy’s Creek, North Carolina or the Tradewinds in St. Augustine or the Gaslight in Athens watching him weave the magic with just a guitar and a story. Gamble Rogers taught me how to move an audience with dialogue and delivery as much as with music. I never tired of listening to him expound about the Maitland Turkey Farm Massacre or deliver a history lesson on the Seminole Chief, Osceola, as he sang a Will McClain song. I was the apprentice and he was the master.” – Jimmy Buffett, liner notes, Fruitcakes, 1994. (Photo by Robert S. Blount, ca. 1986)
Fort Jefferson
The largest all-masonry fort in the United States, Fort Jefferson (named after Thomas Jefferson) was constructed with more than 16 million bricks between 1846 and 1875 on Garden Key, which lies approximately 70 miles West of Key West. A federal outpost during the Civil War, Fort Jefferson held more than 500 prisoners by 1865 and in July of that year added Dr. Samuel Mudd, Edmund Spangler, Samuel Arnold and Michael O’Laughlen – all of whom had been convicted in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Mudd was eventually pardoned by President Andrew Johnson after treating the victims of a yellow fever epidemic at Fort Jefferson in 1867. The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), which starred Warner Baxter and Gloria Stuart, was loosely based on the life of Mudd. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated the area as Fort Jefferson National Monument and the fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Fort Jefferson lies within the 64,701-acre Dry Tortugas National Park, which is accessible only by boat or seaplane.
Stop-Time
“My faith in the firmness of time slips away gradually. I begin to believe that chronological time is an illusion and that some other principle organizes existence. My memories flash like clips of film from unrelated movies. I wonder, suddenly, if I am alive. I know I’m not dead, but am I alive? I look into the memories for reassurance, searching for signs of life.” – Frank Conroy, Stop-Time (1967)
Only One Day
“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.” – Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1940
O. Brisky Books
Whenever I used to pass through the charming town of Micanopy just South of Gainesville, I used to stop by one of my favorite used bookstores, O. Brisky Books, which had a great selection of Florida-related literature, among many other topics. In fact, just about my entire Harry Crews literary collection was obtained there. Since the bookstore didn’t accept credit cards, one time I had to run over to the ATM at Pearl Country Store to get enough cash to buy a rare edition of Crews’ third novel, This Thing Don’t Lead to Heaven (1970). I can assure you it was well worth the hassle! The owner, O.J. Brisky, would always engage me in a conversation about Crews (1935-2012) that would go something along the lines of this brief exchange:
Brisky: “Have you heard anything about how Harry’s doing?”
Me: “I heard through the grapevine that he’s not doing too well healthwise.”
Brisky: “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been hearing too. It’s too bad. Hope he’s feeling better soon.”
Me: “Yeah, me too.”
Ideally located at 112 N.E. Cholokka Boulevard in downtown Micanopy, O. Brisky Books had no air conditioning and the door was always propped open. There was a bench outside where Brisky himself often could be found greeting customers and reading one of the books from his diverse inventory. The adventurous browser at O. Brisky Books would often walk away with a handful of books totally unrelated to anything he or she began their search for!
Born in Hungary, Brisky grew up in Louisiana and attended LSU, where he majored in American Literature. Brisky, who served as a reporter and editor before opening his first used bookstore in Tarpon Springs, later helped start the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of his inventory of more than 50,000 books, a sizable selection of which I’m sure he read over the years. Sadly, Brisky passed away in January 2014 at the age of 71 and the bookstore closed down for good shortly thereafter. I haven’t been back to Micanopy since.
Wandering Florida 