Lakes Parks Farmers’ Market. Ft. Myers, Fla. Jan. 2015. He has unusual goods including small white radishes, multicolored sweet peppers, kale and red lettuce. By Paul Goldfinger . Click to enlarge.
SECRET SISTERS:
Posted in Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography from Florida, Photography series Faces at the Farmers' Market, tagged Faces at the Farmers Market--Ft. Myers on July 22, 2023|
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Posted in Photographic Gallery, Black and White, Photography from Florida, Photography Ft. Myers, tagged Florida wedding on Blogfinger, Photo: a decisive moment on May 18, 2023| 1 Comment »

Wedding Party. Edison Estate on the Caloosahatchee River. Fort Myers, Florida. Photograph by Paul Goldfinger. -Blogfinger.net .
—Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
This photo requires a bit of narrative. It’s a gorgeous Saturday in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Edison Estate (the winter home of Thomas A.)
We’re milling about, sizing up the tour which we are about to take, when a white limo pulls up. Out spills the bridal party. The wedding photographer is fumbling with his equipment, and the women form a protective ring around the bride.
So here I am with my camera, and this scene unfolds right in front of me. I pick up my Leica M-9 and start shooting. I’m caught up in the event. I’m a paparazzi, circling the scene like a shark—moving in with my wide angle lens.
Just then, a cell phone rings multiple times, with the sound coming from the right side. It’s the bride’s mother’s phone. I snap the photo, and then the bride says, “Mom!! I think your phone’s ringing!!”
Editor’s note: The bride was so beautiful; I can’t leave it like this–with Mom’s phone ringing. Let’s fast forward and imagine a moment later in the day when all attention is focused on the bride.
Here are the JAGUARS: This is one of the all-time great love songs—-By Jerome Kern (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics.) Dorothy said that she cried when she first heard Kern’s melody.
Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography from Florida, tagged Connie Evingson, Gasparilla Island Florida on February 1, 2023|
Posted in Florida connection on Blogfinger, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography from Florida, tagged Bunche Beach, Florida on January 16, 2023|

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Tropicanaforum.net
Ralph Bunche (1903-1971) reminds me of Paul Robeson because both were involved in the civil rights struggle for African-Americans long before the “Civil Rights Movement” actually began.
Bunche wrote books about that subject and he became the first black to win a Nobel Peace Prize–he won the award in 1950 for his work in Palestine during the ’40’s. He grew up in Los Angeles, graduated UCLA summa cum laude, and received his Ph.D. from Harvard.
During WWII he worked for the OSS (the precursor of the CIA) and he also was instrumental in the formation of the United Nations. For over 20 years he was the chairman of Political Science at Howard University.
In 1963 he marched with Martin Luther King on the occasion of the “I Have a Dream” speech. He also was on the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
Ralph Bunche walked the walk and talked the talk, and society valued him greatly during his lifetime.
We remember Ralph Bunche on Blogfinger on MLK’s birthday, January 16, for his role in racial justice, but also because he was a great man who performed good deeds all over the world; and I have my eye on his memory specifically for the work he did in mediating peace–an “armistice”– in 1949 between the new State of Israel and the Arab side—Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.
He said, “I have a bias in favor of both Arabs and Jews in the sense that I believe that both are good, honorable and essentially peace-loving peoples, and are therefore as capable of making peace as of waging war …” – Ralph Bunche, 1949
In Fort Myers, Florida, there is a lovely beach dedicated to the memory of Ralph Bunche. Ironically, it was the site years ago of a segregated beach for local black citizens.
SOUNDTRACK: Silver Wings: by Garrett Hedlund:
Here is a link to our main article about Ralph Bunche:
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KERMIT RUFFINS:
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HANS ZIMMER, GEOFF ZANELLI, AND BLAKE NEELY—– “Honor.” This is the main title theme from the HBO Miniseries The Pacific.
Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Florida connection on Blogfinger, Fort Myers Florida, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography from Florida, Photography series Faces at the Farmers' Market, tagged Gulf Waters Bicycle Riders on June 4, 2022|

Gulf Waters Bicycle Riders Club. Lakes Park Farmers Market. Ft. Myers. March 6, 2015. Click to see who’s who’s who . Photo by Paul Goldfinger. ©
.By Paul Goldfinger from the Tropicana Forum.
They came into the rest area single file, or close to it, slowing down as they rode around me. “Hey, you better get out of the way,” said a man sitting at a table nearby. He was promoting the Bible, but instead of saving a soul, he was trying to save me. I realized then that I should stop daydreaming, so instead I starting shooting photos.
The Gulf Waters Bicycle Riders are a social group from a nearby mobile home community. “Candominium” corrected one rider referring to the metal construction of their houses which are not far from Tropicana Park which we wrote about recently. They didn’t seem tired, because they apparently take their time as they ride about 10 miles to get to their destination—the Farmers Market.
They saw me taking pictures, so they requested a group shot. They assembled in about 5 seconds. It shows how fast a group of seniors can move when they are asked to pose for a picture. One said, “Don’t put us in Playboy.” Another called out, “We need to show more leg.”
I call this a “Coaster shot.” That’s when persons stand in a horizontal row and grin at the camera.
But I did them a favor and then discovered this was my best shot, achieving a high rate of smiles due to some ribald remarks coming from both sides of the camera.
One of the group, Artie Johnson, stepped forward and asked me to be sure to send them a photo which he would share. He said he was from Calverton, NY and he handed me a card that identified him as an Ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association.
I didn’t know about that, but there was a merchant at the market who sold only pickles. I went up to him and made an offer, “Will you sell me half-sours for half price?”
He replied, “I’m not going to fall for that one.”
Sometimes my jokes fall flatter than a fluke in winter at the Belmar Marina.
I mailed Uncle Artie the photo and a link to this site.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
BETS MALONE from the Marvelous Wonderettes
Posted in Photography from Florida, Photography series Faces at the Farmers' Market, tagged Faces from the Farmers Market in Ft. Myers Fla on May 18, 2022|
KERMIT RUFFINS “Exactly Like You.”
Posted in Faces at the Farmers' Market, Florida connection, Photography from Florida, tagged Florida farmers' market on April 11, 2022|
ELIZABETH COTTEN “Jenny”
Posted in Faces at the Farmers' Market, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography from Florida, Photography portraits, tagged Skateboard girl in Florida on March 17, 2022| 1 Comment »
PATRICK RIGUELLE AND JOHN TERRA. This song’s lyrics were written by Neil Diamond in 1967. From the album Songs From the Brill Building: