Chillin’ in the Backyard, Miami Style with Jeff Wasielewski
It has been a minute since I have written on the Lucid Communication blog. In Fact it has been more than a month. After spending time in New York, Miami and the Caribbean It is time to start sifting through the 1000 plus images and selecting some stories to tell.
Today’s is about my mate Jeff Wasielewski’s home and luscious Miami garden. I first met Jeff back in Killian High School spanish class. We had, without question, the worst spanish teacher on the planet. All she ever had us do was to copy chapters out of the textbook. On the first day of class the teacher was calling the roll, when she came to the name Dickie Wong. There was no reply. Shea paused and gazed over the classroom. She called it again, a bit louder this time. Still no response, then out of no where Jeff screams out DICKIE WONG! and all the class bursted out with laughter. That is how we met.
We lost track of each other as people do, and thanks to the wonders of the world wide web we got back in touch with each other. Jeff had been working at Farichild Tropical Botanic Garden when we reconnected and we realized that we both have a love for the outdoors and gardening.
This trip back to Miami we wanted to meet up and he invited me over to explore his garden. It just so happened to be on a beautiful Sunday afternoon that I was able to meet and reason up with Jeff and some of the alumni of the Fat Man Calypso Band.
It was so peaceful walking around his home in Kendall, only a few blocks away from my own childhood home on South West 127 Street. He had a few variety of mangoes, bananas, mulberry and other tropical delights.
He had constructed, with his own hands, a small pond that included some mosquito eating fish. He truly had created a home I would have if I were to lay down my roots back in Miami.
All the landscaping used native plants. They are all drought tolerant, and thrive in the blazing Miami sunshine. Even his daughter Sammy got in on the gardening action and just the other day dug out some carrots she had planted by her own hand and without her poppa’s help.
It was a sweet afternoon eating some barbecued hamburgers sides with old friends and marveling at what a productive garden in suburbia can be. I have the utmost respect for Jeff and his daughter for keeping Miami the way it shout be. green, soaking in the sunshine and full of LOVE.
