Living Statue

I've seen a lot of statues in Sarasota, but never a living statue.  And, this one was attracting a lot of attention.

This guy was at the downtown Farmers Market yesterday performing as a statue, which occasionally would transform into a robot which would then play the guitar and sing and then transform back into a statue.  His name is Ralph and he told me with a nice North Carolina twang that this is the third time he's performed at the Sarasota Farmers Market.  He was really quite good...as still as...well, a statue...and he could make robotic whistling and whirling sounds that were right on the mark.  And, his brief singing stints were pretty good as well.  Rather entertaining.  I can't help but wonder, though, what it's like to wear all that white makeup for so many hours.

Ernie Not Bert

One of the neat aspects of this blog is meeting people --- all of you in the CDP blogosphere, those that I've accosted for random street portraist and....my neighbor, Ernie (not Bert).  Shortly after I moved into the neighorhood nearly six years ago, I met my neighbor Ernie.  He literally lives next door and yet I could probably count on one hand the number of times we've actually seen each other.  Then, this past Christmas I was in my driveway, camera in hand, when Ernie pulled up.  He spotted my camera like a heat seeking missile.  Turns out he's quite the photographer with an impressive blog of his own:  ErnieNotBert.  Not only does he shoot incredible wildlife photos, but he's an avid collector of Christmas music.  The guy hunts down old vinyl, rips it and shares it on his blog during the holidays.  It's amazing.  If you like Christmas music, check out his blog between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Now, getting to this photo...about a month ago we hit the downtown farmers market for a quick photo shoot.  I'd never been out shooting with someone before and it was fun.  Hope this shot doesn't reveal too much of you, Ernie!

Jimi Gee

Okay.  Before I answer the question which you most likely are pondering right now, let me introduce Jimi Gee.  While strolling through the downtown farmers market recently, I heard the melodic sounds of a guitar.  It was Jimi Gee playing, as I recall, a Beatles tune -- and sounding quite nice.  Turns out, Jimi Gee has played for 43 years and toured with Cher, the Temptations and many other popular bands before settling down in Sarasota.  Jimi Gee noted happily he now cross dresses and gets paid for it.  Not a big deal here. This is the city that a few years ago, short listed a cross dresser for consideration to become city manager.  Whether in slingbacks or wingtips, you sound great, Jimi Gee! 

Mr. Strudel

Doesn't Bill resemble the guy on the sign behind him?!  I spotted him selling strudel at the downtown Farmers Market.  He was as pleasant to chat with as his convivial appearance suggests.  He used to own seven strudel stores in Rhode Island, then sold his business to Cathy's Kitchen in Sarasota.  Unfortunately, for dietary reasons (darn it), I couldn't try any of the samples he was offering.  But they looked yummy and I overhead more than one 'Mmmmm' from those who did.  Although he's got the look, he insists he's not German.   

Sniff Test

I must admit, I was completely captivated watching this woman at the downtown Farmers Market.  Methodically, she selected a melon, pressed the rind to  her nose and sniffed deeply a couple of times before she returned it the stack only to repeat the process with a different melon.  She did this about a half dozen times and was so focused on her task, she didn't even notice yours truly a few feet away frantically adjusting camera settings and ducking down to include those lovely shades of yellow and green in the foreground.  Turns out her name is Linda and she determines the freshness and sweetness of a cantaloupe by smelling it.  And, here I thought the only way to pick a ripe melon was to push the end with your thumb!  Thanks for the tip, Linda.  I'll look forward to incorporating it into my fruit selection process.  I just hope my schnoz is up for the challenge.