Getting the name right is half the battle

Ever since the neighbors near Merrie Christmas Park won their battle over the workout equipment issue, they feel empowered.

I get emails quite often now with the ideas they have about things they would like to see done with the park. Many complain about litter, others complain about parking problems, most don't like outsiders there, but they should be reminded that outsiders like myself are the ones who helped them win their cause with the Commissioner. I don't think that much would have been done if the media didn't shed light on the issue.

But the funniest part about many of these park protectors is that they don't know how to spell the name of the park correctly. It's Merrie Christmas, not Merry Christmas. It's named after the daughter of a former mayor of Miami. He was Mayor for only two years in the 1950s and was a City Commissioner for a couple of years, before that.

But I joke with them when they email me because they claim to love the park so much yet they don't know how to correctly spell the name.