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Side Trip

You know why I love about Florida?  I love the sensation of being wrapped in a wet, warm beach towel every time I go out the door.  I also kind of like how flat it is here.  It takes virtually no effort to walk from place to place.  I mean, yeah, you're dripping with sweat by the time you get there; but you're not frickin' mountain climbing up Madison.  Madison and James seriously need some fixed ropes installed, but that's besides the point.

Today I was walking to an outlet mall, because it was only 2.6 miles away.  That's like a hop, skip, and a jump.  Anyway, I was almost there, dying to sit down in the shade and drink something cool, when I stumbled on the most unlikely place.

Well, hello there.

I saw signs along the way that said "Queen Mary Shrine," but it wasn't until I was standing in front of a huge sign that said "Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine," that it struck me.  This wasn't some oddly named hotel, this was an actual shrine.  This fascinated me mostly because I've never heard a Catholic church referred to as a shrine before.  

Saul on the road to Damascus

Stained glass detail


Main cathedral

Front entry way

No idea

Check out that stained glass!

"My soul glorifies the Lord."
My Latin is not as rusty as I thought.

My unplanned visit turned out to be the highlight of my day.  I looooooove the architecture and all the statues.  Especially Saul against the backdrop of palm trees.  Just wow.

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I know I haven't been posting a whole lot lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing.  I've been working on a series of short stories that I've dubbed "Ramen in Common."  The whole thing keeps kind of skidding sideways, so I doubt any of it will ever see the light of day, except for the very first story, Distraction, which I already posted on here.

Other than that, I've been playing with dolls, basically.  I'm a little addicted to Episode Interactive right now, and I've been scripting The Culling into it.  If you have an iPhone or an Android, you can check it out here.  It's been challenging since EI caters mostly to Romance and Drama.  I've had to significantly cut down on the action because there aren't any weapons.  I also had to replace their SUV with  a . . . er, pink car.  It's been transformative.  

Oh, before I forget: I'm still posting bits of Egregious on my other webpage.  Check out this week's installment: The Enchiridion.

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