But hidden in the heart of the Everglades is a secret those harried travelers will never know, a quiet beauty known as Big Cypress National Preserve. This national park is neither showy nor gregarious, but rather shy and reserved. It is the place photographer Clyde Butcher calls home. Find out what hundreds of swamp walkers discovered mucking about in Clyde’s wild and wonderful “backyard.”
www.clydebutcher.com

We’ve had a lot of fun, met fascinating people, visited beautiful places, been inspired by courageous lives. So we thought we’d put a few of these memories together. If our program were a record album it’d be called “The Best Of … “ Selecting a “best of’ is very subjective … and in this case, very personal. Jack Perkins chose stories that are his favorites. It wasn’t easy. There were so many to choose from. The segments are compiled into four chapters: Best music, Best Beauty, Best Art and Best Fun. The programs feature snippets of more than 55 great stories featured on The Journal and topped off with Jack’s all-time favorite shown in its entirety.

What are the secrets of living to the healthy age of 100? Some folks in Sarasota thought they’d go right to the experts! Everyone in Sarasota county who has a Century or more under their belt is being invited to the party. We’ll hear from them about the secrets of a long and happy life, and find out if living on the Gulf Coast has a long term benefit.

Get a glimpse into the life of some dedicated animal lovers as they take on the task of rehabilitating two Risso’s dolphins. Can staff and volunteers at Sarasota’s Mote Marine nurse these animals back to health and return them to their natural habitat? Follow along on this unprecedented journey to save the lives of these rare creatures.

Go behind-the-scenes of the Manatee Community College 50th Anniversary bash. MCC has been chosen one of the top film schools at a community college in the country!

While some artists find inspiration in landscapes or people, Linda Thompson finds reflections of life in the animals she paints. On canvas she takes viewers below the surface, into the world of marine life to show you animals and events never before witnessed. Themes of vulnerability and survival gracefully flow through Linda’s art. Unsuspecting, they became themes in her own life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jack’s postcard is Sarasota’s Mote Marine

His art was already an inspiration to collectors across Venice, but since his car accident, his work has become a life-saver for his own spirit – and an example to those who need some encouragement. Meet Roger Skelton, who’ll tell you his tragedy has not crippled him, it has made him stronger.

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron is a not-for-profit organization designed to encourage the sport of sailing, and to make it accessible to as many people as possible. This is not a yacht club – it’s an active, community-minded sailing group that keeps fees low and offers a world of opportunities to both serious sailors and to those new to the sport.

Fashion photographer Giovanni Lunardi has traveled the world, photographed many famous models and worked in all the fashion capitals. Yet his favorite place to shoot is in his own backyard of Sarasota. Find out why after 3,000 magazine covers and more than 40 years in the photography business Giovanni’s focus remains on the Gulf Coast.

Jetson Grimes has been a barber for 40 years. His salon has been a mainstay in New Town for almost 30 years. During that time he’s seen his neighborhood change from segregation to integration and has been a part of that change. When drug dealers vandalized his shop and tried to run him out of business, Jetson refused to be intimidated. His persistence is a powerful example of how the actions of one person can bring hope and change to a community.

Jack Perkins postcard features the sunset at Siesta Key.

Meet, Al Fuller, a well known bluesman along the Gulf Coast, especially at the Five O’Clock Club. Whether he’s playing, singing, or writing songs, Al is an entertainer first and foremost, but equally adept at passing on those skills to the next generation.

In 2002, Jerry and Terri Finn founded the Banyan Theatre Company. Skeptics told them theater in the summer couldn’t survive, but the couple proved them wrong.

Take a tour of Venice and Casey Key on land and sea with Captain Leonard Stewart aboard Just Ducky’s Vietnam-era amphibious military vehicle J.D. Dolphin.

After more than two years of painstaking restoration, America’s only 18th century European Theater made a triumphant encore. The jewel-like theater called the Asolo Theatre has been reset inside the Visitor’s Pavilion on the Ringling Museum estate. Designed to honor a queen, the newly equipped theater is now ideally suited for today’s discerning patrons of the performing arts. A treasure hidden in plain sight and one that deserves an encore for many years to come. Jack’s postcard features the escapes.

It is the largest Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in the state of Florida and one of the biggest in the nation, and it all began 25 years ago when a local resident reached out to help an injured pelican. Dale “Pelican Man” Shields spearheaded a unique center for housing birds that can’t be returned to the wild, and rehabilitating those who can be set free. Jack Perkins postcard takes a closer look at the Pelican Man bird sanctuary.

The Sarasota Ballet is keeping kids off the streets by showing them a love for the stage. Dance-The Next Generation (DNG), a full-scholarship, seven-year program for at-risk students, has helped more than 600 kids in the past 15 years.

Boats of every shape and size speckle the gulf coast waters. But it’s not every day that you see the most romantic of waterway vessels. It’s not every day that you find… a gondola. During the one-hour journey, every day worries are left at the dock. Passengers are treated to serenity, romance, and a little bit of Italian lore. Take a romantic ride with neighborhood gondolier, Boris Tsatskin, a man whose personality is as distinctive as his boat.

It took Howard Tibbals 50 years to build the largest miniature circus in the world and one year to ready it for its world premiere. Thousands of photographs helped him recreate an exact replica of the Ringling Barnum and Bailey Circus during its heyday circa 1925 to 1938. But the true test of validity comes from family… the circus family who lived and heard tales of the great tent city. Ladies and Gentlemen . . . Step Right Up and See the Largest Miniature Circus in the World – the Howard Bros. Circus!” Stroll down memory lane with two former Ringling circus performers as they reminisce about the days of Ringling’s traveling Big Top era.

Everyone knows Habitat for Humanity uses volunteers to build homes for families facing hardships. What you might not know is to encourage more women to participate, the organization established Women Build-construction sites made up mostly of women.

There are treasures in the Selby Public Library in Sarasota…and not just in the volumes on the shelves. Here, a modest librarian has managed to turn children’s story hour into a sensory experience, and reading, into a grand adventure. In the age of flashy video games and mindless TV, Marilyn Nykiforuk has little ones reaching for the books.

Why would a church congregation say “no thanks” to a developer’s $17 million offer to clear out? Members of the First United Methodist Church of Sarasota like their historic downtown location so much…they’re not giving it up for any amount of money.

Retirees… bikers… homeless people… hardly models of society or professional models. But in the world according to sculptor Jack Dowd, these snapshots of American diversity are all pure models of art.

Jack Perkins postcard is the Season of Sculpture.