Pictures

Time for a pirate.

Recently friends Pat and Deneice and I met this bonny fellow at the Sponge Docks at Tarpon Springs, Florida.

A lifesize hand-painted resin sculpture. $875.00. Sorry if you want one, but I've no further reference.

The area around Tarpon Springs features a set of bayous feeding into the Gulf of Mexico. In the 1880's Greek immigrants began arriving and went into the growing sponge diving industry. That business became so big that Dodecanese Island Greek sponge divers were recruited to immigrate to America to work in the industry.

A red tide bloom in the 1940's pretty much wiped out the sponge business in the Gulf. Now the Sponge Docks are kitschy shops and tourist attractions, that try, but fail to convey the rich history of the area.

Wikipedia source.