North Miami Beach in the 1970s

Recently a friend's status update on Facebook gave me the idea to start a new group, "Growing up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s," and it became an instant hit. Hundreds of "kids" from NMB in the 1970s jumped in with their memories of restaurants, record shops, various stores and parks. Dozens of names I haven't heard in decades suddenly streamed across my computer.

Do You Remember...

• Greynolds Park
• Skipper Chuck
• Skylake Mall
• Sandy's Drugs
• Pirates World In Dania
• on West Dixie Highway
• 163rd Street Mall
• Vibrations Records and Tapes
• Victory Park Pool
• Uleta Pool

If you grew up in North Miami Beach the 1970s or are curious about "the way it was", check out the Growing up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s Facebook group. And if we knew each other, add me as a friend (just send a note with the friend invite just in case I can't place the face).

Empire State Building - Purple Green and Gold for Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras 2009

Since January I've received two dozen inquiries about my campaign to color the Empire State Building in Purple, Green and Gold. I usually pitch the folks who manage lighting the ESB and emphasize that it's a

nod to the survivors and lives we lost when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. A silent acknowledgment that "we remember" and understand rebuilding is a slow, painful process.

Since we sucessfully pitched the ESB folks in 2006, requests [via forms, faxes, email, and voice mail] for the past two years to repeat the purple-green-gold lighting tribute led to a dead-end. I assume that the group who manages the ESB lighting is overwhelmed with daily requests and probably feels that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast had their acknowledgment in 2006 and Hurricane Katrina is just a memory.

The Meaning of Purple, Green, and Gold
In 1872 Rex chose PG&G as the official colors of Mardi Gras:
Purple = Justice
Green = Faith
Gold = Power

I'd like to see cities, large and small, who don't normally celebrate Fat Tuesday, take Purple Green and Gold, and in their own creative way decorate structures to send the "We Care!" message. Fat Tuesday is February 24, 2009: Lets use Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc) to spread the word. Reach out to the leaders in your home town.