Can you help Wendy?

It all started with a vintage suit (Pictured).

I went looking for a unique suit to wear for Easter on a rookie teacher's salary. Being a fan of vintage clothing, I happened across a store in Jacksonville's eclectic and bohemian Five Points neighborhood.

As soon as I entered Time Warp, I fell in love with the store's wares and walked away with a suit that cost no more than $50. Not only were the prices affordable, the owner was very sweet.

We talked about how film and television productions often rely on vintage clothing stores to properly capture a time from the past. Being inspired by how decades like the 1960s were half a century ago but still hold a timeless appeal, I liked the aesthetic that came to vivid life in AMC's 'Mad Men'.

I returned to the store and enjoyed conversing with Wendy about how I wore my Easter suit to my tenth high school reunion. I brought a picture of myself having a rip roaring good time at the Omni with Orange Park's Class of 1992. I bought more clothes from what became a favorite of mine.

Somewhere along the way since then, Time Warp closed.

I heard that she left the business after being attacked. I lamented the loss, but the memory of Time Warp soon faded.

I returning home from visiting family in South Carolina for Memorial Day weekend when I saw the front page of the Times-Union. It caught my attention with a front page article about a woman who suffered facial damage. I forgot about it as I was taking my parents and baby niece back home and trying to beat what looked like an approaching storm. [See article here]

I saw a reference to the Sunday front page story when I was casually looking at the news online. I clicked on the link and entered a time warp. The first few sentences of the article brought me back to the unclear and foggy story that I had previously heard of Wendy, but the entirety of the article opened my eyes to what had happened to Wendy and where she had been since then.

My heart broke.

The cheerful young woman who was a highlight of my day when I came to look for clothes for myself or brought out-of-town visitors to see Five Points. I missed Wendy, her Time Warp, and how Five Points was not the same for me after she left.

Now, I learn that Wendy is on the road to recovery but it is an uphill climb made rockier by her medical bills. Please visit Wendy's web pages and consider donating. Wendy Somerset Recovery Donations

Believe! - New lessons for YOU

Photo: (Pictured from right) May Rowland attends the cornerstone laying ceremony at Unity Church of Jacksonville at the corner of Lomax and May Streets with Rev. William N. Grenson and Rev. Dr. Bonnie S. Grenson in February, 1950 as featured in The Florida Times-Union.

This is a lesson that comes from a time of crisis - over half a century ago. When May Rowland wrote "Dare to Believe," it was a world that lived under the shadow of the Cold War. She wrote in her book of daring to believe in Truth through all crises big or small. Today, the Berlin Wall no longer menaces Western Europe and we freely exchange with China and Russia. We still face new situations and challenges that seem today as formidable our adversaries were once back then. I have created "Believe!" based on Rowland's desire to promote right thinking in a modern world by adapting her classic book into a series of lessons for today's youth. I have geared the lessons toward the basics of Unity that form the foundation for the principles that today's Youth of Unity are learning and promoting. I am self publishing this material and am shipping my book to those who wish to pay for a copy. Please see my PayPal link to order a copy today!