Christmas Vision , Breath of Heaven

For about the last year I have been trying to meditate about an half hour a day . It helps to clear the mind and , more recently , I have begun to have waking visions . They come when I am in a most relaxed state of mind . Before you say I have become some wacked out New Age fruity , allow me to say I am not sure exactly if , when in this state , one becomes in touch with their subconscious memories or actually becomes accepting of wisdom from those who have come before us . Nevertheless , I do have a recurring vision which I would like to relate involving my family members who have passed on . After allowing myself to enter the relaxed state I find myself as an adult sitting in my skiff with my mother anchored off the bird islands in Roberts Bay . We talk as we always did , me asking questions , she answering and explaining the cycle of life using the birds as examples . Then , as I look at her she says " Mike , follow your heart " . I close my eyes and open them and she is gone . I pull anchor and manuever my skiff back to our dock like I had done hundreds of times . Going through my docking procedure just as my Dad had showed me , I look up and there is my older brother fashioning dock bumpers with Navy knots he had learned while in the service . I never really knew my brother as he was about 15 years older than I . He joined the Navy when I was four and , after discharge stayed with us briefly following our move to Sarasota . He left town when I was seven and I never saw him again . He committed suicide in 1974 . I tie the skiff up , look up at him sitting on the dock and he speaks to me , Mike , life is much like these knots , it weaves in and out and seems very complicated but it is not as hard to follow as it seems ". The knots were woven in and out in true Gordian fashion but he was right , I could follow the strands to their end . I close my eyes and he is gone . I scramble up onto the dock much like I always did as a ten year old using his woven bumpers to boost myself up . Heading up to the house , I see my Dad standing at the BBQ cooking steak just like he did so many times . He is dressed in shorts and has a golf hat on . I walk up to him , give him a hug and we talk like many times before , Turning the steaks he looks at me and says , " Mike , do what is right in every instance ". I close my eyes , then open them and he is gone . Next , I walk to the backdoor open the screen door and head to the kitchen . Standing there near the stove is Reather our maid . Now , to call Reather a maid does not come close to explaining her relationship to the family nor does it do her justice . She was a member of the family , my surrogate mother , and a wise counselor to a boy who had so many questions . I sat at what we called the bar on a rataan stool . I can hear the rataan squeak as I sit . We talk , again like so many times before , then I stare into her eyes and she says , " Michael , stand up for what you believe and let no one take it away " . I close my eyes and when I open them she is gone . I walk through the house passing my room . Pausing , I look in . It is like I left it when I went out in the boat as a ten year old . I walk up to my sister's room . My sister Susan is standing there smiling . Susan died of cancer in 2001 . We talk much like before . She holds her hand up to pause our conversation , then speaks , " Mike , always do what makes you happiest ". I close my eyes once more and as I open them she is gone . I turn and walk back through the house and stand before our Christmas tree on our porch . I take a deep breath and I am back . I think , were they there or was I there ? I believe so . I think they are not gone they are always with me . We get so busy with what we call life and we lose touch with what has guided us . We just have to find a way to get back to where we learned how to live . I hope and pray this Christmas you may glean wisdom from my Christmas vision told by my mother , father , brother , Reather , and sister Susan . Follow your heart , do what is right in every instance , stand up for what you believe , don't make life so complicated , it's knotty enough , and finally , do what makes you happy . Merry Christmas and may God bless you and may you receive a breath of heaven !

Pete the Pirate

I grew up on Roberts Bay between the north Siesta Key Bridge and the entrance to Phillippi Creek here in Sarasota . Before the fill islands were created by The Army Corps which are now generally referred to as " Edwards Islands" , there was an island called Edwards Island . The island today faces north and provides a clear view of the north Siesta bridge . The island was often used by commercial fishermen to organize their catch , mend mullet nets , eat lunch , or simply talk about fishing . I would beach my skiff and pass the time listening to them talk and watch them as they went about their daily routines . All of them were weathered by the sun and salt , hands rough hewn from hauling their catch and working with nets . Many seemed to be worn by a tough life and again , most , were missing teeth . Relaxing on the island meant smoking mullet and drinking lots of Busch beer . Some of the fisherman ignored me . I was the kid who would come from the mainland in his skiff and bother them but one in particular began to trust me and would talk with me showing me how to mend nets and smoke mullet . I knew him only by Pete and this was from the others calling him by name since he never formally introduced himself . He would talk of fishing , the freedom , drudgery , and hard work . I think he was a pirate at heart because he would always talk about the pirates who had worked and hidden in the waters around Sarasota . So , I began to talk about Pete the Pirate who stayed on Edwards Island to my parents and friends . I rarely took friends out to see him because he didn't like being around many people . Pete was the only fisherman who basically lived on the island . Eventually , he laid a slab foundation , still visible to this day , built a shelter out of wood and tin , and constructed a concrete cistern to catch rainwater , the remains also still visible today . Pete had all the amenities of home including a privy built out of the same wood and tin as his shack . He even constructed a shower of sorts using rainwater flowing from a hose stuck in a galvanized bucket . Sometimes I would glide my cyprus skiff onto the beach and he would be asleep which meant he had been on a beer bender so I would leave and come back a few days later finding him fine smoking mullet to sell on the mainland or at the Siesta Fish Market . I would while a way the time especially in the summer visiting Pete . Sometimes we would talk or I would just watch him work . Then , one day I arrived and he seemed to be out of sorts . I asked him what was wrong figuring he had a hangover . " Corps gonna come and dredge the new channel , things will be changin " . He was a man of few words anyway but I could tell this really bothered him . " Corps folks been here " , he went on . " What did they say ? " , I asked him . " Said I would have to leave when the dredgin starts , gonna make some big fill islands ", he added . This was one of the last times I saw Pete . I visited him a couple of more times and each time his face seemed to become more accepting that his world was coming to an end . About a month passed and finally I took my route to the island . As I cut my engine and scratched up on the beach I was in shock . Gone was the shack , nets , shower , smoker , everything . The only thing left was the concrete slab which is the only vestige of Pete The Pirate's encampment . Gone too was an era of independent and self reliant fishermen who could make a little money on Roberts Bay . Also gone was a friend who showed me how to smoke mullet and mend nets , and , a little about life . I stood there on the slab for what seemed an eternity crying and wondering what would become of Pete The Pirate .

It's Reunion Year : Scotland '09 !

Hard to believe it is almost here but 2009 is reunion year in Scotland , my other homeland . I am a McMillan on me mum's side ! Next year all the clans will converge and celebrate with many festivities starting in June . If you plan to go , and I hope you will , start planning now because hotels are already filling up fast in reunion HQ Edinburgh . This city put the cos in cosmopolitan . Standing high above the city Edinburgh castle gives visitors dramatic views . Both medieval and Georgian styles abound and of course Edinburgh is home to the greatest arts festival in the world bar none . Coming down from your perch at The Castle you will walk The Royal Mile the city's medieval heart . Coming off this road are many lanes , cobbled and storied by Burns and others . At one end of The Mile you will visit Holyroodhouse , a Renaissance palace once home to Mary , Queen of Scots and the Scottish home to the English Royal family . In August the famous Arts Festival gets cranking . You will also visit the New Scottish Parliament building . Scotland now has its first Parliament since The Act of Union disolved it in 1707 . Check out http://www.cometoscotland.com/ for more on what to see and do in Edinburgh .
Like to shop ? Then go to Scotland's largest city Glasgow . Be sure to see Charles Rennie MacKintosh's tour de force , The Glasgow School of Art . This city must be Britain's greatest Victorian city though through MacKintosh Glasgow also became the center of Art Nouveau .Go to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and MacKintosh's own house at the Hunterian Art Gallery and you will see why this Glasgow architect is so revered today . Only London can compare to Glasgow for shoppers . A must is Princes Square and Sauchiehall Street . Next , finish at the Merchant City District . Support your addiction by buying casmere , Celtic jewellry , tartan scarves , shortbread , and whisky , without an "e" please as Irish Whiskey has the "e" . Glasgow nightlife , in my opinion has no equal . Diverse is the word for food and eateries and please go to some noodle bars which were converted from banks and other public buildings . Finally , go to the Highlands . My favs are , Armadale Castle , Museum of the Isles on Skye , Dunrobin Castle , and as me eyes tear up , the beautiful Loch Lomand , and yes , the banks are indeed "bonnie" ! The heart of Loch country is the 720 sq. mile Trossachs National Park made up of loch , hill , forest , and moor . Go to Lomand Shores and the Gateway Center at Balloch which will introduce you to the Park and loch . Everyone asks me , " What whisky distillery shall I visit ? " Easy ! Strathila Distillery at Keith . So , come and walk the ways your ancestors did . You will feel your spine tingle with excitement and a tear in your eye when you do . Check out http://www.ancestralscotland.com/ . These and all adventures can be found on my website at mpage.paradisenetwork.com/welcome/ . Mike Page is certified by VisitScotland and by The National Tourist Office of Scotland as a SCOTS Destination Specialist . Keep those traveling shoes on !

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Now that tourist season is upon us I must take the opportunity to write about what has to be the greatest man made treasure here in Sarasota , our own Ringling Museum , The State Art Museum of Florida . A most wonderful legacy of circus magnate of John Ringling and wife Mable , left to the state of Florida at his death in 1936 , the museum houses works by Titian , Veronese , Rubens , Hals , and Velazquez as well as numerous antiquities . Now the museum displays American , European , and Asian works as well as stunning Baroque period paintings . Ringling contracted John Phillips in 1925 to build a Renaissance/Baroque palace and courtyard . Cultural disaster was averted in 2000 when , short on funds and threatening to close this treasure , the state of Florida gave stewardship of The Ringling Mueum and estate to The Florida State University thus creating one of the largest museum and university complexes in the world ! Today , more than 300,000 visitors come to see works of art , circus museum , Historic Asolo Theatre , and the Ringling mansion known as Ca d' Zan or House of John . Today a one time admitance charge will allow one to tour the art museum , grounds , circus museum , the Tibbles Center , a newer addition depicting in miniature a typical circus grounds of the 1930s , Historic Asolo Theatre , and of course the mansion itself . If you desire a private hour long tour of the mansion tickets can be purchased separately . The mansion is a must see for it represents a true Venetian Gothic palace . Completed in 1926 it soon became the hub of a who's who of American society notables that had come out of America's Gilded Age . The Palmers , Fields , and others were frequent guests . In the early 1950s The Ringling purchased The Historic Asolo Theatre , a 1798 Asolo , Italy theatre . Restored in 2006 , the theatre remains a center of Sarasota's famous art culture . The newest treasure is The Tibbals Learning Center showing the brainchild of Mr . Tibbals , a circus in miniature ! Also new is Treviso , a fine Italian restaurant found in the Visitors Center . The Ringling Museum can be found off North Trail at 5401 Bay Shore Rd . Telephone 941.358.3180 or on the web at www.ringling.org . Until October 26 see Ringling Retro : Modern and Contemporary Art . Until Jan . 4 , 09 see Modern Masters of Japanese Print and until Jan . 11 , 09 check out To Live Forever : Egyptian Treasures from The Brooklyn Museum . My traveling editor gave this one a " WOW " . So , if you are visiting Sarasota you must go to The Ringling and stay the day or , if you live here and haven't gone in a while get up and go ! Memberships are available for as little as $ 75.00 USD per year ! For these and all other traveling adventures go to my website at mpage.paradisenetwork.com/welcome/ and keep those traveling shoes on !

Travels to County Kent

I think of all the places in England , I love County Kent the most . My ancestors hail from Shorne , a small village in the NW corner of Kent in the Gravesham District . I am a direct descendant of John Page born there in 1310 and named for him . London may be my second home but Kent is where my heart resides . Getting to Kent from London is easy and most places are an hour to two by rail . If you have never traveled the UK by rail you must plan to do so ! The events of Kent are numerous and always the summer is kicked off by a music festival in May in Maidstone . Madonna was this year's headliner attended by over 60,000 ! But it's the fall season so let's go . 25 October to 2 November is the famous Kent Coastal week in Margate and the same dates mark the fun " Old Boney Legs " Folklore Festival at the historic Dockyard , Chatham . Of course , 31 October is the Halloween Fest and 1 Nov . is the Firework display at Quex Park , Birchington . Like I said if you are in London go to Kent by train . You can go for the day as I have several times by going Mon-Fri leaving off peak (after 9:30 AM) . Try Group Save allowing 4 travel for 2 and 4 kids for 1 ps(pound sterling ) . Or do the Weekend Saver traveling out of London off peak , leave Fri return Sun . This one is great . Enjoy the Kent Rover Pass . Three days consecutive for 24 ps each adult . Go to www.railpass.com/uk for tickets or just get them in London . Travel times are easy so enjoy the countryside and towns . Examples of destinations are : Canterbury is 1 hr 30 with group save it is 11 ps . Chatham Marine and Dickens World are 50 min and 7 ps each adult . Dickens world is fantastic . Take the Great Expectations Dark Boat Ride , kids love it ! Dover Castle is 1 hr. 30 and 13 ps and Leeds Castle is 55 min and 8 ps . Margate and Ramsgate are 1 hr . 45 and 12 ps . An all time favorite is Lympne Wild Animal Park 1 hr and 10 ps . If you want to stay overnight in Kent the accomodations include cottages , B & Bs , fine hotels , and self catering housing . So , don't be tied down in London . See the sights there first but then break out and let yourself go ! Also check out these other websites : www.atob.org.uk/bike_rail.html , that's an underscore after "bike"for touring Kent by bike and rail . www.visitkent.co.uk/bytrain/southeastern.asp for an overview of Kent by rail . For these and all other adventures go to my website at mpage.paradisenetwork.com/welcome/ and click on Book Travel . Keep those traveling shoes on !

The Skiff and the Bird Islands

When I was eight my parents bought me a 15 ft . cyprus skiff . My dad had found it wasting away under some pepper trees at Hansen Boat Yard and contracted the yard to do some painting and patchwork . It could hold a small outboard so he bought a 10 horse Evinrude and within a couple of weeks the boat was ready to go . I was taught how to handle the skiff dubbed Mike 1 and soon it became a part of me almost an extension of my being . My mother who had grown up with boats would go out in the bay with me and it became a favorite pastime of ours to anchor near the bird islands in Roberts Bay just south of the Siesta Key bridge . She would talk of the cycles of life while we passed time watching the pelicans and other birds tending their young . At that time there were more mangroves and natural islands for the birds to roost on . It was around 1961 so the Army Corps was yet to execute its plan to dredge the Intracoastal waterway through Sarasota and Roberts Bays . Today , as you come south through the present day north Siesta Bridge if you look right the first island you will see is one of the original Edwards Islands , however the next island called Big Edwards is a fill island created by the original dredging . The fill unfortunately covered up mangroves , oyster beds , and grasses but created a large island which is still enjoyed today by boaters . Perhaps not a good tradeoff considering the bay began almost immediately to lose fisheries and rookeries . As you continue to head south look to your left and you will see two things . One is the old channel which led to my favorite old boatyard , Reigles and the new wave break which was a brilliant idea by several high school students . The breakwater is now protecting what is left of the bird islands of my youth . Fortunately , the birds have taken quickly to the rocks , grasses , and soil placed there . Mote Marine and Resaearch facility does say the bay is improving through efforts to switch from septic systems but we still have a long way to go . Continuing south , look right again and you will see another fill island also part of the Edwards islands . The very next island on your right directly across from The Field Club is named Skiers Island yet another fill . The area around this island is an official watersports area so watch out for skiers and tubers ! Visitors can go on any of these islands which are NOT rookeries . Never land on a rookerie island as it is against the law and dangerous for the birds . If you go to one of these fill islands please leave it cleaner than you found it . I keep garbage bags in my whaler and pack out any trash I find . Please recycle cans , plastic , and glass . Also if you are not familiar with sea life laws it is highly illegal to take any type of sea life away fro its habitat . This includes , well , anything except fish and bluecrabs ! So , don't do it ! Mote has several times daily sea life tours which land on Big Edwards and is presently promoting " 30 Days of Discovery " so get out and enjoy our bays !

Favorite Places to Eat in Sarasota

I don't very often write about restaurants but once in a great while one really strikes my fancy and I just cannot get enough . That's the way it is with Carr's Corner Cafe at 3025 N . Tamiami Trail here in Sarasota , Fl . A few words on what Carr's is not . It's not fancy with this latest decor or that latest cuisine . What it IS , is this . It is a real restaurant with real people cooking , greeting , and serving . Sharon Carr owner and cook/chef serves up dishes to die for . Whether it is an old fashioned breakfast , creative omelette or lunch specialties she creates , there is something for everyone . Between MLK and Myrtle on the west side of the Trail in the heart of The University district , Carr's is an intimate destination for art and university students , professors , writers , and long time locals . Sharon herself is what I call " old Sarasota " In short her family has been here since BBP ( Before Brazillian Peppers ) . Here , that is a long time ! As one enters there are about 10 tables inside and seating outside on the deck . Patron conversation can run the gamut from local fishing , politics , art history , philosophy , to just about anything . But it is the food that keeps all the folks coming back . Ample portions of specialty salads , curried shrimp salad on croissant , a divine hamburger , and several vegetarian dishes will delight even the snippy . Like I said , if you are somewhat of a food snob get over it ! Check the specials board when you go in because Sharon cooks for the moment and that my friends is what excites me about this place . She uses whatever is fresh so one never knows what the next creation will be . Carr's does have the daily standard menu offerings , but be bold and try everything . So , if you are looking for that intimate place for lunch or breakfast try Carr's Corner Cafe . Sharon is open M-F and call for seasonal opening and closing times . 941.355.4051 or email at carrs_corner@hotmail.com . Remember , keep those traveling shoes on !