Nov 9: Paddling to SOFLA

One of the great things about living in an interesting place is that it attracts interesting people. That's sure true of South Florida. Tourists and residents, people who come for work, people who come to play. Last weekend, I was fortunate to meet two more of these folks. J.J. Kelley and Josh Thomas were visiting town to present their documentary at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Called "Paddle to Seattle: Journey through the Inside Passage," the film was a genuine hit during its Saturday showing at Cinema Paradiso, where it won the Independent Spirit Award. I loved it - the most refreshing new documentary I've seen in years, really. (You can find out more about this movie at www.paddletoseattle.com, by the way.) I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure angle of their three-month paddle from Alaska to Seattle in homemade kayaks. But to me, the personality of the paddlers made this flick a charmer. These are two very funny dudes.

Like I said, SoFla attracts interesting people. It's terrific to host up-and-coming directors such as J.J. and Josh during the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, which also attracts some very well-known directors and actors. "Paddle to Seattle" is one of more than 200 movies being shown at this year's filmfest through Wednesday night.

Of course, many other events draw many other interesting people to Greater Fort Lauderdale throughout the year. The just-finished boat show, for one. Then in a few weeks, the Winterfest Boat Parade floats down the New River and up the Intracoastal again. Actually, boaters are one of the big reasons we get so many wonderful characters around these parts. I recall bumping into a small family that had just docked beside the 15^th Street Fisheries early one morning to freshen up from their journey - around the planet. In a very small sailboat. They were Australians, a mom and dad and two young kids as I remember, stopping in Fort Lauderdale as part of their grand sea voyage. See what I mean? Our bars and restaurants are full of wanderers who've wandered all the way to Fort Lauderdale, whether as their home port or one stop along the route. We get salty boat captains and glitzy film stars, local kite surfers and international race car drivers. Sometimes we even get a couple of young guys who put every dime they had into making a film they believe in. If that's not interesting, I don't know what is.