Dump Trump! Deport Musk!

Yesterday at the Collier County Government Complex in Naples, thousands of people turned out for a non-violent protest against Donald Trump and Elon Musk.  It was one of hundreds of "Hands Off!" rallies around the country.

Signs opposition a great many of the Trump/Musk policies, practices and actions.  And the men.

People gathered at the Collier County Government Center for a few speeches, then marched out to nearby U.S.Route 41 to wave signs and shout at passing cars.

It was striking to me how many and how loud -- but also how polite -- the protesters were.

Collier County is peopled with retirees from up north.  It is strongly conservative and Republican.  And yet, there were many folks who would have looked more comfortable playing golf or bridge who instead were carrying signs and shouting slogans. 

Sure didn't feel very conservative or Republican on Saturday.

This guy was very proud of his sign.

I haven't seen crowd estimates, but there were a LOT of people there.

Signs were printed.  Signs were hand-made.  But all expressed strongly felt emotions.

Quite a few protesters were veterans.

Luna Tick.

Lots of cars honked in support as they passed.

Quite a day.

Dog Park

 

Bark-N-Play Dog Park in Bonita Springs.

Intimate Strangers

Karen and I barely know each other, but we know each other very well.  We live in the same community though we don't spend time together.  But we are Facebook friends and Instagram connections, so all the time I see where she is and what she is doing and who she is doing it with.  And she sees my photos.

A few days ago we ran into each other "in real life" and talked for a while.  We remarked about how odd it is to know so much about one another without knowing each other.  She said we are "intimate strangers," which I think is perfect.  It fits the relationships we have with some people whom we have never met or have rarely met, but with whom we have longstanding online relationships.

1960 Cadillac

 

As I have written many times, I am not a car guy, but I do like beautiful things.  I grew up in the 1950s when fins became a big feature of cars.  I thought the last cars with fins were built in 1959, but after running into this beauty in a parking lot, I did some research.  It is a 1960 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

Copeland Baptist Church

 

Copeland is a small town of fewer than 300 people, far east of Naples and at the edge of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.  Copeland Baptist Church was built in the 1940s from timber logged in Fakahatchee.  It served a mainly Black congregation, workers in the logging business.

Light and Shadow, Rectangles and Stripes

A medical office building in Naples, Florida.

The April theme for City Daily Photo is "stripes."  Click here to see other interpretations.  Here are some more of my favorite "stripe" photos.

The New York Fire Department marches every year in Naples' Saint Patrick's Day parade.  They include a float with 343 American flags, one for each firefighter who lost his life on September 11, 2001.

Palm frond shadows on a white rock.

This was a favorite photo from an August 2017 trip to Kenya and Tanzania.  These zebras were in Maasai Mara National Preserve, Kenya.

Boardwalk.

Freedom Park in Naples has a though-provoking display honoring those who died on September 11, 2001.

In September 2017 I was in Barcelona, Spain, on a provincial holiday.  There was a spirited parade of passionate Catalan patriots waving their flags and shouting loudly in a show of support for splitting Catalonia off from Spain.