I Just Have to Say Something About Nicole Susi

Nicole and Jared are newish in the Park.  I'm guessing something like three or four years.  Nicole will correct me, if I'm wrong.  They got a funky house that had been left unattended-to for some years, and they've put a lot into it.  I dropped Jared off at home a few nights ago, and the house looks great from the outside.  Then, they had a baby while they lived here.

Despite being relatively newish, and having loads of stuff to take their attention-- the house, the young'un, Jared's work-- they have been conspicuous for their involvement in various aspects of Village functioning.  They seem almost to have fallen in love with Biscayne Park.  They're everywhere, attending everything, participating, contributing, being on Boards.  And they're both so nice and friendly about it.  They're not pushy or domineering or demanding or high maintenance.  They just like their home and neighborhood, and they want to be good citizens. They're better citizens, in some respects, than are some people who have lived here much longer.

The other thing I would say about the Susis, and I can't imagine they would mind, because they aren't shy or embarrassed about it, is that their politics are, I would say, very conservative.  They don't spout partisan rhetoric or anything, but whenever a conversation turns to philosophy of society, matters of government, and related specific issues, they're pretty consistently conservative in their approaches.

On Thursday, Nicole was at my house.  She's never been to my house before.  She was there to receive her two new cast iron skillets.  (She left the other one for Linda Dillon, who picked it up yesterday.)  I told her I'd bring them to her house, but she chose to come to my house instead.  And she came with junior, who was a dramatic object lesson about how childproof my house is not.  He was all over the place, touching everything, and threatening the breakables.  I have to say I was in awe of how composed Nicole was the whole time.  She was alert, attentive, and gentle, in continuous motion, constantly intercepting her son, and often holding the squirming young gentleman, who only wanted to run around exploring Uncle Fred's shiny glass curiosities.  Nicole demonstrated an amazing combination of energy and patience.

Because Nicole has never before been to my house, she could not have expected the disastrous profusion of art.  It's pretty bad in here.  I recently had the inside of a window sheetrocked over, so I would have more wall space, because I got a new and relatively large painting.  It was that painting that led to my being even more impressed with Nicole than I was before.

The painting is five feet tall and four and a half feet wide, and it's a portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama.  I would never say I think Obama was one of our greatest presidents-- I think he was good in some ways, and ineffective in others-- but I bought the painting, because it is a magnificent portrait.  The faces have such attitude, power, and humor.  I also wanted to support the artist.  I told the artist she did the Obamas a favor.  She made them even more than they are.  My inadequately educated impression is that they seem like cool people, but they really "pop" in that portrait.

Well, you don't see that painting, unless you're in the house, and facing the street, as if you were leaving.  (I blocked out a front window to make a wall for that portrait.)  That's probably when Nicole saw it.  She didn't flinch.  She didn't grimace.  She didn't let me know how disappointed she was.  She brought junior over to the painting, to point out the color red (the backdrop of the portrait is an American flag).

Talk about a cool person.  That Nicole Susi...  (And to her similarly very great credit, Linda Dillon didn't flinch, either.  Linda is another story of steadfast dedication to the Park.  And she's been cultivating her commitment here for decades.  Linda is the only person I know who has never, in my experience, missed a Commission meeting.  Never.  And she's like Dale Blanton, another gem, both of whom are soft-spoken, kind, and serious long term members of the Code Compliance Board.  We really do have some very cool neighbors.)