Memorable People I Have Met

The Man Who Gave Back

The sun was bright with a crisp, coolness in the air. My group of photographer friends and I had journeyed to a tucked-away community park and small butterfly garden in the town of Safety Harbor.

As we ventured in, it appeared as if we were the only people in the cozy park. I noticed that this garden park was not like most, not big nor commercially kept. It had much more appeal than the larger and perfectly manicured gardens. It had the charm of loving touches that usually are found in private gardens.

 I saw more than flowering blossoms and small dirt pathways leading around individual flower beds but among several of the flowerbeds accented jewels of multi-colored wind-spinners complimented nature’s beauty. Secrets were everywhere to be uncovered, hidden treasures like a miniature Nome carefully placed in a hollow of a tree stump.
​
All of us scattered to find what each of us envisioned as the best photographic story. A caterpillar on a leaf, or the sun pushing through the petals of a brown-eyed Susan. You see, photography is not just about the mechanics of the camera; a truly great photograph involves the eye of the beholder, the camera, and the soul of the artist behind the lens.
​
I absolutely love going on my camera club field trips because I am never pressured to hurry along. Each person in the group is also discovering their next best picture and they, too, need time to capture it.

You see no matter how many photographers take a picture of the same subject, all of them will be a little different. What makes it different is the vision of the artist behind the camera. Club members love sharing how they saw a subject and why the subject touched their hearts. That is the beauty of photography.

The garden was magical; however, little did I know that the true treasure was yet to come when I would meet a man on a pathway walking his dog.                                                                                                               
​I had just finished shooting a hibiscus and I thought I would follow a dirt pathway toward a naturally growing area of shrubs and trees. I saw one of the club members taking a photo of a fallen tree that looked interesting. I waited for her to finish, and then I approached it, as I circled it, I noticed an older man with a small dog coming toward me.

“Good morning,” I said. “Beautiful day isn’t it.”
“Yes. Are you enjoying the park?”

“Oh, yes,” I answered. By now, the little dog was at my feet, loving animals as I do, I asked what the dog’s name was and if I could pet him. Max was his name, and although my first thought was it was way too big and strong of a name for such a little dog, I soon realized Max fit this dog’s personality to a tee. Then, I asked if I could take Max’s picture.

After getting permission, I bent down, drew my camera up, and focused. Max moved forward but when he heard the click, he backed up—but only for a second. Then he moved forward to investigate. Another click and the small dog backed up, again. This dance between subject and photographer went on as long as I took pictures.

When I stood to thank the man and he extended his hand, “I’m George. I’m glad you are enjoying the park, I donated this land for the park to the city.”

“Really," I said shaking his hand. "Do you live here in Safety Harbor?”
He answered no, in Clearwater, but he told me that he comes most mornings with Max for a walk.

We moved over to a bench where I took a photo of George and Max. This quiet, polite man asked me about myself. I told him I was an author and a lifetime artist, that in-between writing and traveling, I still followed my passion for photography. As an author, I’m never at a loss for words, or questions when meeting new people. So, I asked for some details and he answered. He donated land to “give back to the community” as he said. To conserve green space and preserve that this little spot of heaven would never be paved over with housing or commercial builds. The intent was to provide a place of beauty for visitors and residents to enjoy the park, butterfly garden, and included was a common ground area for community gardening.

The name was Folly Farms so of course; I had to ask if that was his last name.
“No, Weiss,” George answered.
“Why the name Folly?”

He shared that his wife and he in their early years of marriage had bought land and wanted to raise chickens. Their friends laughed at their plans and said it was just a folly idea. Many years later, he decided to donate his land as a way of giving something back to the community. His wife had loved gardening and the butterflies that the flowers brought—the butterfly garden was for her.

When I got home, being an author who always checks sources, I Googled, George Weiss. He was not hard to find. I found that after his wife, Lucille’s passing, George gifted 8.6 acres of the farm to the City of Safety Harbor in 2014 with only three wishes: The property was to be dedicated in honor of his family, that it be rezoned, and there would be a five-year plan to create a natural, passive, park-like preserve.

By 2017, a 90th birthday party was planned for George in the park that he made happen. Not a Folly idea anymore.  
​
Sometimes an opportunity will present itself, like when I sat and chatted with a kind and wise man walking his dog. In our busy world, we must make time to enjoy the beauty around us, and if you do, you too just might find a treasure as I did, and meet someone memorable.    
 
    

---

Please note blogs are copyrighted. 

We welcome you sharing the link to the blog, however, any reprints are not allowed with the author's permission. For permissions or inquires for author presentations email: [email protected] or publisher@johazelpublishing. Thank you