Sheer romance

A couple of years ago I wrote a column about how Sarasota was wooing me. I wrote about falling in love with a city — how a smart city seduces you little by little with equally little unexpected moments of charm and captivation. (more…)

Sarasota … definitely not a Spike Lee Joint

A year ago … just about this time … I attended a press conference to interview the filmmaker Spike Lee and also attended his talk that night at the Van Wezel … here’s my story and I think it’s still relevant. (more…)

Seriously seductive …

Here’s an exerpt from an article I wrote for Sarasota Downtown & Beyond … about Maison Blanche … a restaurant on Longboat Key. You can read the full piece in the January issue of that magazine, on newstands now. If you go, make sure you take your A+ game. This is no place for sophomores in the arena of seduction. (more…)

All Faiths feedback … finally!

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Um, that’s kind of — almost — all I can say.

MC Reality Online readers dug deep, counted coin, wrote checks, and typed in credit card numbers to the tune of … $1,943 in collective donations to All Faiths Food Bank to help feed the hungry in our community. (more…)

Labradoodles love books too!

Was so much fun being at Circle Books on St. Armands Circle yesterday afternoon. Big thanks to all the nice folks who stopped by to say hello or to buy a copy of my book, Sideways in Sarasota!

It was a gorgeous day; I got to sit outside and people watch and meet lots of nice people, many of whom were accompanied by dogs. One very cute and cuddly Labradoodle dog (and hey, the owner was pretty cute too!) spent quite a bit of time on a bench in front of the store and he was adorable — if I’d had half this dog’s mojo I probably would have sold boxes of books! People could hardly resist stopping to pet him and ooh and ahh over him. The Labradoodle was clearly a book lover as evidenced by his decision to rest his paws near my table … lucky me!

Circle Books is going to continue to carry my book; it’s in the Sarasota section — which I really appreciate, and they invited me back for another signing in March.

Thanks again to everyone who expressed interest in the signing!

Teach a boy how to fish …

Last week I had dinner with some folks who were — hold on to your hats — native — Sarasotans and Floridians. It was such fun to hear their stories of “old” Sarasota — a place called Byrd’s (hope I got that name right) that used to be a great place for a burger as you headed over to Longboat Key. Smacks — a drive-up restaurant downtown that used to be the absolute in spot for anyone and everyone. Old-style, hand-crank drawbridges; half-built buildings (was it going to be a Ritz?) out on St. Armands where, for years, kids got into a little … and a lot … of trouble; stories of young kids rowing out to the islands near the North Siesta Key Bridge … camping out, drinking beer, and torching up dead palm fronds … just sounded like a simpler, slightly naughty, but somehow more real, time in Sarasota’s history. (more…)

A bag lady’s legacy

A little over a year ago I wrote a column about trying to make the transition from plastic bags to cloth bags only (see below). I’m glad to say that it’s been months and months since I’ve forgotten my cloth bags when grocery shopping. I consider this change a present to Mother Earth and encourage everyone to give her the same gift!

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Today I walked out of the supermarket carrying my groceries – some chicken, a frozen dinner, a bag of cat food, and a bottle of salsa. (Sure I can’t convince you to come to my house for dinner?)

Passersby looked at me like I was a thief. And no wonder. I was carrying the items in my hands – no bag.

You see, I’d gone into the store yet again having forgotten to carry one of the three cloth bags that I keep in my car. I’ve been using cloth bags for months – in grocery stores, bookstores, bakeries – ever since hearing Jane Goodall lecture last March. The bags are always there, riding shotgun, ready and waiting for use, but as sometimes happens, today I’d forgotten to grab one as I jumped out of the car.

In the past, I’ve always figured, “Oh, it’s okay to use plastic every once in a while — I always reuse them or put them in the bin for recycling.” Responsible girl and all that.

Then, yesterday, local earth-steward/Sarasota Herald-Tribune columnist Meg Lowman had to go spoil my illusions of little-miss-earth-friendly me.

If you read Lowman’s August 26th column, you learned that a single plastic grocery bag takes 1,000 years to decompose.

One bag? One thousand years?

I had run to the computer to verify Lowman’s statement. Not that I didn’t believe her, but because I couldn’t fathom that this bit of information is “out there” – common knowledge – and that by and large, none of us are even aware of or concerned with that fact. (Or is it just me?)

And, as Lowman pointed out, the question isn’t really “paper or plastic” – because paper isn’t a heck of a lot better when you factor in how the production and transportation of paper bags chews through trees and fossil fuels. And did you know that plastic bags contribute to sea turtle deaths because they mistake the bags for food? I love sea turtles and apparently, I’m killing them!

Today, not even twenty-four hours after reading Lowman’s column, I was standing in front of the cashier who was asking “Paper or plastic?” and I’d once again forgotten my cloth bags on the passenger seat of my car.

“Enough is enough,” I told myself. I don’t have a right to forget my responsibilities to this sweet planet that gives life to magical sea turtles, awesome oak trees, and gentle, lovely butterflies. (And yes, I know how hokey and un-hip that sounds, but it’s true.)

“Paper or plastic,” the cashier repeated. “Neither,” I replied, as I scooped up my groceries and juggled them out to the parking lot.

I got more than a few stares as I walked out holding groceries that looked as if I had lifted them without paying. I felt funny for sure, but at least I knew my forgetfulness wasn’t going to have a thousand-year reign in some future-world environmental meltdown.

Paper or plastic?

Like Lowman said, it’s just not an option anymore. At least not for this bag lady.
All rights reserved M.C.Coolidge 2011.

Salvaging the season … with a little karmic reinvention

Behind in your holiday shopping? I’m not big on consumerism, but if I had to recommend you shop at one place in Sarasota, I guess it would have to be my favorite haunt – Sarasota Architectural Salvage, located at 1093 Central Avenue. Owned by local Sarasotan, Jesse White, SAS isn’t so much a salvage yard as it is a heavenly holding place.

The special treasures found here haven’t died and gone to heaven, they’re just in a little karmic state of suspension waiting for you to reincarnate them in your own home or yard. (more…)

Sexy at any age

My walk on the beach night before last reminded me of all that I love about Sarasota …

Sarasota is a little like a woman on the other side of thirty-eight: still gorgeous enough to beguile on looks alone; but with an alluring maturity that captivates all who see her. We all know Sarasota’s got the looks. But as with any woman really worth knowing – and loving — you’ve got to look beyond the superficial if you want to know her heart and soul.

Sarasota’s heart isn’t found in the fabulous restaurants or the world-class shops, no matter how much they satisfy our lust for luxe. Her soul isn’t found in the halls of the Van Wezel or Asolo Theatre, no matter how much they do for our “cultural coast” bona fides.

Sarasota may knock socks off with her postcard-perfect views: the sexy, blue light that underscores the Ringling Bridge at night; the old-world glamour of the Cà d’Zan mansion; the stunning waterfront bay that is the city’s backyard.

But just like you don’t know a woman until she takes her clothes off, (more…)

New Year’s … past and present

Last night, I walked along Siesta Beach — something I rarely take the time to do. I meandered … mosied … along the water’s edge. Nudged seashells, watched some kind of dive-bombing kind of bird — not a pelican … had the tail of a swallow, I thought. Stood in sun salutation with a ragtag army of gulls, and tried to stand still in a swarm of sanderlings. The best part was I saw a dolphin — a young one — making his way through the water; slipping down under the small waves and then reappearing again a few feet away.

I was thinking of New Year’s Eve — thinking I might make a sojourn out to the beach that night to celebrate the coming year. Thinking that watching the sun go down on 2008, maybe with a shot of Sambuca in my pocket, might be kind of sweet.

Thinking about the eve of the New Year coming up, made me reflect on past New Year’s Eves since I moved to Florida … and that made me remember a column I wrote on the very subject just a couple of years ago. (more…)