“Not if you don’t break mine, Ransom.”
They arrived at food truck row and Caleb bought a couple of tacos from Tito’s Tacos before they headed back to the motel. What just happened? Did they confess they liked each other? Should he make it formal? She was leaving before the end of summer. So he should just let it be.
Back at the courtyard, a soft fire flickered, and music drifted down from the speakers. Emery took one Adirondack. He took the other. They ate their tacos, and when she looked over at him, smiling, the fire’s flame in her eyes, Caleb knew without a doubt that Emery Quinn would definitely break his heart.
12
Main Street Initiative Underway
with Historical Mural
By Emery Quinn
Editor-in-Chief
January 26th—Sea Blue Beach’s Main Street initiative is launching several projects. First up is a mural to be painted on the eastern wall of the defunct Doyle’s Auto Shop, recently purchased by Mayor Simon Caster.
“The East End is the original site for Sea Blue Beach,” said Mayor Caster. “The mural will depict our history from when Prince Blue landed on our stormy shore.”
Lulu Chan had been commissioned for the work. Chan is internationally recognized as a premier muralist.
“She one of the best in the world,” said Caster. “We’re lucky to get her. But our window to get it done is small. Still, we’re really proud to get rolling on improvements for the East End.”
Members of the Main Street initiative will determine the mural’s focus.
“We want a historical portrayal,” said architect Caleb Ransom. “But also something that shows the heart of Sea Blue Beach, what our town is really all about.”
Chan, born and raised in Seattle, has painted murals from California to Maine, and across the Atlantic in France and Italy.Her pastoral scene of the French countryside won the Horizon Muralist Award.
“We’ll be looking for volunteers to help Lulu get started,” said Mayor Caster.
Sea Blue Beach was founded in 1882 by Prince Rein Titus Alexander Blue of Lauchtenland and freed slave Malachi Nickle. The two men developed a lifelong friendship, overseeing the town’s growth and development into the gem of the north Florida coast.
Prince Rein, also known as Prince Blue, died on the Somme during World WarOne. He was sixty-two. Malachi Nickle died in 1950, just shy of his one hundredth birthday.
“My great-great-grandfather and Prince Blue wanted a town where men and woman of all nationalities lived in harmony,” said attorney Bodie Nickle of New Orleans, a descendant of Nickle’s. “A freed slave and a prince? Who’d have ever thought they’d meet, let alone be best friends. I’m happy to see measures being taken to preserve the history of the East End. Sea Blue Beach is a special town. Let’s not forget.”
From: [email protected]
Subject: Main Street Thing
Love the idea of a mural. Why haven’t we done it already? When is the next meeting? My grandmother was good friends with the Nickle family.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Move on!
You can spin it any way you want, but SBB needs to move into the twenty-first century. A mural isn’t going to make a lot of difference. We can’t afford to preserve the part of town that’s falling apart. We’vegot the Starlight and the old Sands Motor Motel, what else do we need? Move on. I like the idea of a golf course.
From: [email protected]
Subject: I missed it!
