Love Speaks

Posted on by Thor

An exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center marked 3 years since the Pulse Massacre which took 49 lives. Three years after the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016, this remembrance exhibition shared artwork from across the nation created in the wake of this senseless act of violence. These diverse works – from paintings to basketry to graphic novels – both pay tribute to those who were taken and also inspire a better tomorrow for those who remain.

Since we are all isolated at home, there is a 3D virtual walk through of the exhibit online should you like to experience it for yourself. Orlando responded to this horrific event with love and compassion while the nation elected Donald Trump who lead the country towards hate and divisiveness.

As of May 9, 2020 Orange County has tested 1% of its population for Covid-19. There are 1339 confirmed cases and 30 dead. Since at least April 20, the Florida Department of Health has blocked the Medical Examiners Commission from releasing their own detailed spreadsheet of the COVID-19 deaths. On Wednesday, the state released the medical examiners’ spreadsheet but redacted the narratives and cause of death entries making the spreadsheets useless.

Before the DOH clamped down, Florida Todayobtained an unredacted version of the spreadsheet from April 15, which recorded the first 601 Florida deaths attributed to COVID-19.
Of the 601 deaths reported on April 15, 62 happened in Central Florida:
  • 5 deaths in Brevard County
  • 1 death in Flagler County
  • 8 deaths in Lake County
  • 4 deaths in Marion County
  • 23 deaths in Orange County
  • 6 deaths in Osceola County
  • 6 deaths in Polk County
  • 1 death in Seminole County
  • 1 death in Sumter County
  • 7 deaths in Volusia County
Though not fully standardized, the data provides grim insight into the early failures of state officials and the medical system to contain and respond to the virus. It tells a story of patients denied testing until their second or third hospital visit, and reveals deadly clusters of infection at nursing homes and cruise ships.
The detective work in the medical examiner reports expose the missteps of the haphazard response to the Covid-19 pandemic well over a month into the crisis. This is what the State of Florida doesn’t want you to see. Moving forward we only see the rosy facts that state government officials want us to see as they open up the state. With government clamping down on the facts it is hard to believe the numbers reported moving forward.

Pamdemic Kitchen

Posted on by Thor

Pam Schwartz, the head curator at the Orange County Regional History Center has teamed up with Brendan O’Connor at the Bungalower to produce Old Florida themed cooking shows on Zoom during the pandemic.I sketched he first show where Pam demonstrated how to prepare Chicken Pilau (pronounced Pur-lo) in an instant pot. Pam based her creation on a recipe by Florida author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings who is best known for writing The Yearling. It was a fun hour of watching Pam and Brendan joke together while she taught him how to prepare the dish via Zoom.

The Pilau had diced white bacon (Pork Belly), Chicken, 1 chopped Green Pepper, 4 medium onions chopped fine, 1 clove chopped garlic, 4 cups chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/8  teaspoon pepper, 6 cups long grain rice, and 6 cups water. If you like hot, add 1 hot Datil pepper shopped. The recipe calls for things to simmer for several hours, but with the instant pot, it took just 10 minutes to cook. The process, after cutting and dicing seemed to be to just throw the ingredients in the pot, set the timer and forget about it while chatting with the audience and Brendan. You can tell the dish is done when the pot’s pressure nipple pops up. The great thing about this show is that I get to taste the leftovers for the next couple of days. This dish was delicious!

Yesterday they were back at it making sour orange pie. The pie was Pam’s personal recipe. Sour oranges are the types of oranges that used to grow in Florida before farmers started growing the sweet navel  oranges. I didn’t sketch this recording session since I was working on one of my pandemic themed illustrations, but I heard them joking and of course tasted the final result. Sour orange pie is a real taste explosion covered in a gorgeous lightly toasted meringue. Someone offered her to pick oranges off a tree in her yard but the yard was way out on the Atlantic coast. This seemed an excessive drive for a few oranges. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings had one abandoned sour orange tree on her property in Cross Creek Florida. When she wanted to make a sour orange pie she had to ask her assistant where the tree was. The assistant had been using the trees oranges for herself. The tree was right across the road in a ditch from the house.  Pam had to call all over Orlando to find a grocery that carried the rare sour oranges and she found them at Fancy Fruit (7192 East Colonial Drive Orlando FL). There is nothing fancy about sour oranges, they are wrinkly and ugly but make a great pie.