#91 Go to Books & Books lecture

I didn't just go to another author lecture at Books & Books, the premier bookstore in town.


I had the awesome luck to hear Patti Smith -- the rock star godmother, a literary legend and deeply wise soul -- read and sing at the Miami Book Fair International. (The annual event is basically a huge 8-day literary party.)

She spoke just days after she won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. It deals with her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and living in the Chelsea Hotel in the 1960s. 


She read excerpts, carefully marked with scraps of paper, about leaving home, how she met Allen Ginsberg and other very cool stuff.


And she rocked, first on an acoustic guitar and then at the end, singing a cappella Because the Night, with the crowd.


She was so inspiring and so wise - telling us about how she wrote that hit waiting for a phone call from her then boyfriend, later husband; how she thinks about her readers/listeners when writing music or prose or poetry; how fame is fleeting.


To listen to Patti read from her book, check this out at NPR.

Another List from Miami New Times

Guess I'm not the only list-maker in town.


Here are the top 50 Reasons to Absolutely Love Living in Miami. It's from the Miami New Times, the local altweekly.


Some of my favorites:


#32 Even if you're an hour late to something, you're not really late. It's Miami time.


#14 Guayaberas are considered formal wear.


#6 We're the only city sandwiched in between two National Parks.

#54 Eat a croqueta

This was the scene of CroquetaFest 2010.

I did not start it. I swear.

I enter the bakery section at the Publix grocery in South Miami and am perusing the pastries. (Much to my diet's chagrin.) Suddenly I hear a guy in Spanish say: "Qué estás haciendo?"

I turn around and I see a man in a green Publix uniform leaning against this glass case and dumping as many croquetas as he can into a plastic Publix bag. A platter of freebies had just been set out. (It was an hour to close.)

"Te están mirando," another employee tells his chubby coworker, nervously snatching the croquetas. "Las cámeras," he added.

I thought it was funny, and sad at the same time. The guy seemed very excited about the croquetas. (Hey, I love free food, too.) But he was almost too excited. I thought maybe he was hungry. Maybe they should just give the leftover croquetas at the end of the day to employees every day.

When the employees left, I had a couple of croquetas myself. Again, to my diet's chagrin. They are totally fried.

#98 Go to art fair

The art walk in Wynwood happens every month, when industrial spaces turned art galleries open to the public. I love the people-watching almost more than the art crawl. Miami hipsters and culture vultures turn out.


The art is an interesting mix: huge murals at the Wynwood walls, graphic twists on pre-Colombian art and detailed diagrams of apparently our daily apocalypse. 


I like the snow cones, too.

#62 Run @ Venetian Causeway

The Venetian Causeway connects the mainland of Miami with Miami Beach. It crosses Biscayne Bay and strings together small islands along the way. 

It's also super close to the Herald and lovely to run. The views distract and inspire so, you nearly forget to lift your knees, swing your arms and breathe as you run. And the breeze is  better than air conditioning.

Here are some snap shots from a run I did today. The men fishing remind me of Bolivar, Texas.

#95 Watch Dexter

I am making my way through the first season of Dexter. It's a television show that follows Dexter, who works as a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police and is also a serial killer . He tries to follow the code his adopted dad Harry - also a police officer - taught him. That is, kill only murderers who deserve it.

At first I wasn't sure if I could watch it. Some scenes in the first episode are pretty gruesome.

But I like the Miami in the series: the crazy crime and the scenes around town.

Also, Dexter talks a lot about wearing a mask. I think we all do that, to some degree.

#25 Join youth group

Faith is important to me. So is community. And the St. A's young adult group has helped me feel rooted in Miami. We have weekly discussions on faith, and hang out afterwards. We help out on service projects, like serving at a soup kitchen. And every so often, we play volleyball at the beach or at the University of Miami. Pray and play.

#37 See Fairchild Gardens

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a Miami gem. It is home to more than 50 acres of palms, mangroves, agave, orchids, bamboo and ginger plants. Some are native to South Florida. Others come from around the world, from the Caribbean to Madagascar. 

I didn't just see the botanic garden.

I became a member of Fairchild. (Thanks to Groupon!)

I recently made my first visit with my sister E. and can't wait to head back, especially for the chocolate festival and later the mango festival. It is a fascinating escape from the urban grind.

We saw:

Lots of palm trees;

Bright and pretty plants that I don't know the name of;

Fruit so big it grows on the ground;

More crazy fruit; and 

A giant spider on a giant spider web. I'd call her Carlota.

#20 Make own cards

A little card-stock. A little stamp. Some crayons and pen. Et voila!

My signature home-made card.

I love making them. They are nice for thank you notes and birthdays. Or just to say, 'Hi, I'm thinking of you.'

I also like finding photos in magazines that remind me of mis queridos and then building a card around the photo. They're highly amateur, but fun.


To my grandmother:

For a sister:

# 85 File radio story

Radio is pure storytelling. Or the theater of the mind, as a great professor once told me.

This piece was so fun to report for radio. (The Miami Herald and WLRN have a partnership, which rocks.)

The piece is about a group of artists and writers in South Florida - the Foryoucansee collective. They're trying to break Latin stereotypes and celebrate the Miami they know – 17 syllables at a time.

So, here’s some Hialeah Haiku to go with your rice and beans.

(This aired on Aug. 4 on WLRN-Miami Herald News. I created the video in order to post online.)

#21 Swim in ocean

The sea is beautiful - Pacific, Atlantic and even my beloved Gulf of Mexico, where the water is always brown, sandy and warm.

Is there anything more relaxing than swimming in the ocean?

It’s like a massage, for free. And there must be some fish in my genes. My grandmother, even in her 90's, loves to go in the surf. Her father would row out on the Gulf and swim in the deep.

In South Florida, I am always amazed by how clear the water is. (This time I took a dip in the Ft. Lauderdale beach at dusk.)

# 100 Go blonde

This is as blonde as it gets.


(Thanks to out-of-control summer highlights.)


I can't go more blonde, unless it's a wig.

# 46 Hear Latin jazz & #83 Watch show at Arsht Center

This was a show I didn’t want to miss back in the spring.

Eddie Palmieri and his band – including sax, bongos and timbalis – headlined at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

The show, dubbed Piano Latino, was part of the Jazz Roots series.

I was really curious to hear the debut of Alfredo Rodriguez, a 23-year-old virtuoso who was discovered by Quincy Jones and recently left Cuba. His music was interesting - a step beyond jazz into almost complete post-modern musical deconstruction. He even plucked the strings from the open piano.

Some of my favorite music at the concert ended up being Michel Camilo, a Dominican pianist and Grammy winner. His piano playing was so smooth, emotional and playful at the same time.

And I was glad I was up in the paraíso, near a big group of high school students on a field trip, I think. They ratcheted up the energy vibes from the music a few notches.

Yes, people danced in the aisles.

#3 Dance tango

It had been many moons since I had danced. I realized exactly how long and thought: I cannot continue without dancing.


So, I went to a milonga in Aventura. It was a bit of the viejito lonely hearts club, but fun.

I was nervous I'd trip on my feet and stumble on the giros. Luckily, dancing tango is like riding a bike. You just hop back on.

Dancing brings so many emotions - joy, sadness, peace. And many memories of Buenos Aires, friends far away, tango buddies. In my head, I hear the voices of my last teachers -- Valencia y Dina y Luciana en Villa Malcolm.


I feel like I'm back in Buenos Aires. But the song ends, and I'm here in South Florida and want to be there.


Years ago, Enrique Santos Discepolo said tango is a sad feeling that is danced. Maybe instead of sad feeling: nostalgia, danced.

#6 Walk in Coral Gables

I love walks. They are so relaxing, even when it's hot and steamy.


I have three favorite walks in Coral Gables.


One: walking around the youth center, where almost always there's a pick-up basketball, softball practice, or soccer game going on. It's also the lazy, short walk.

And the trees along the street are amazing: huge and prehistoric.

Two: The walk to the Biltmore, the historic, elegant hotel that's millions overdue in rent.

I get to stroll through the lushly green neighborhood.

And there are always lizards scurrying from my path.

And finally, three: the extra long walk around the Coral Gables golf course.

Can you see the steam?

#50 Eat at Versailles & #55 Eat ropa vieja

Versailles is an institution on Calle Ocho - even if it feels kitschy and over the top with all the etched mirrors that line the walls.

Recent example: Gloria Estefan was here when she led the solidarity march in Miami for Las Damas de Blanco a few months ago. So I had to take my friend F. there on her recent visit.


And the food is good. I had the ropa vieja - another Cuban classic of shredded meat - with rice and beans and plantains. It was so tender.

There are a lot of stories of how ropa vieja - meaning old clothes - got its name. One reason is that the meat is so tender it can be shredded into a pile of rags.


A more romantic one: A very poor man has nothing to feed his family. So he grabs his old clothes, cooks them with his love and it becomes delicious meat stew. I like that one better.

# 76 Have a cortado

I love café cortado, or cortadito. It's the perfect combination of espresso with a bit of milk to cut the coffee. My friend F. says it's the Argentina in me. And there's a machine in my office. 

So I can have one for 75 cents every day.

I don't mind the paper cup. Again, a very easy one to cross off the list - again and again.

#19 Write postcards

I love writing postcards and letters.


I'm terrible about mailing them though.


I had my first pen pal in second or third grade. I don't remember the year, just that out of the blue a card arrived from my mom's high school friend from Pennsylvania. I had never met her, but she asked if I would be her pen pal. I felt special. And she promised to always try and find peacocks cards for me, because she liked peacocks and peacocks were special.


I saved them all.


Later I was pen pals with my best friend who moved to New England and  then with my aunt who left to work in Ecuador. I saved all of those notes, too.


Here's to the nearly lost art of handwriting notes.

#26 Meditate at la Ermita

La Ermita de la Caridad is the national shrine to the patroness of Cuba - Our Lady of Charity who appeared as a floating statue to three men at sea nearly 400 years ago.


The shrine itself is built to resemble a 90-foot Virgin, covered with a mantle and overlooking the sea.

People sit alongside Biscayne Bay and pray. The seawall looks toward Cuba, if not in reality at least in spirit. It is the wall of lament, the wall of hope for many exiles.

Some throw ofrendas - bright yellow sunflowers and coins - into the water. (I can't help but wonder what name they call la Ermita in Santería.) Many Cuban exiles want the site to be their last resting place. Some scatter the ashes of loved ones, despite the rules against the practice.


I sit and meditate. The water laps at the shore. The constant bay breeze rustles the palms. Our little boats get so easily lost at sea, I think.


Caridad.