Metrofail and Trifail: Oy What a Mess! Part I

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By Seth H. Bramson

First, I must express my personal mea culpa to Mr. Berkwitt as well as to all of you.

I considered it a great honor to have been asked by Mr. B. to write a regular column and for some weeks was able to maintain the twice-a-week schedule. Unhappily (don’t want to use the term “unfortunately”) “time and the tides” managed to intercede and threw me off, much to my dismay.

It is important that you all understand that Brad Berkwitt, an honored military veteran, is a total gentleman and, if I may use the expression (which I may!) a “real and true stand-up guy,” who not only takes “no crap” from anybody but who is a man who, like my beloved brother, Bennett (or, yes, Bennett’s nearly lifetime friend, Gerry Goldstein) a person who I would be honored to “have my back.” That is the kind of persons Brad, Bennett and Gerry are.

At any rate, “what threw you behind?” you ask, and if you didn’t ask I am extending the interrogatory for you!

As some of you (may) know, I am involved in almost innumerable civic activities, among them the presidency of both the Miami Memorabilia Collectors Club and the Greater North Miami Historical Society as well as being an ex-officio member of the Greater North Miami, Greater North Miami Beach, Hallandale Beach and Aventura—Sunny Isles Beach Chambers of Commerce, along with being an Honorary member of the Northeast Miami-Dade Kiwanis Club and an Honorary Life Member of the Miami Springs Historical Society. In addition to that, as Adjunct Professor of History and Historian in Residence at Barry University (where I have taught in some capacity or another—graduate, undergraduate and Adult and Continuing Ed–since 1992) where I teach three classes each Fall term and two each Spring term plus HIS 315: The History of Florida during Summer I) and Adjunct Professor of History at the Nova Southeastern University Lifelong Learning Institute (where I have been teaching for now at least fifteen years), where I teach frequent although irregularly scheduled non-credit classes for adults interested in South Florida local and Florida transportation history both on and at the NSU East Campus as well as at numerous adult living facilities and other venues in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties including Posnack JCC in Sunrise where I will be presenting “L’Chaim! The History of the Jewish Community of Greater Miami” on Wednesday the 22nd.

However, as the great sound byte (originally from the “Popeil’s Pocket Fisherman” commercial of many years ago) goes, “but wait! There’s more!”

Unlike Miami’s walking fountain of MISinformation, who wants to be paid to go to the terlet, I give thirteen different talks on South Florida local and Florida transportation history to service clubs, fraternal organizations, veteran’s organizations, churches and temples at no cost to those entities other than parking charges (if any) and whatever the meal being served at the event is. In fact, on Wednesday, May 29th I will present “Florida and the Three Henrys,” the one hour talk on and about the three greatest names in the history of Florida (all of whom were Henry’s!) to the Florida Department of Transportation, District Four, in Fort Lauderdale.

On that note, though, I must state clearly that few things “frost my fanny” more than the unfortunately far too often examples of back-stabbing by fellow Beach High graduates and while there are several glaring instances will mention only one: I am the only person who gives Beach High reunion classes historic tours of Miami Beach, those, like my talks mentioned above, at no cost or charge to the class, yet Nancy Nathan, of the class of ’64, being influenced by a back-stabbing classmate of mine (“no names, please, we’re British”) WASTED $750.00 of that class’s treasury to have the aforementioned Miami’s walking fountain of MISinformation, who knows less about Miami Beach than any of the other faux historians that we are burdened with in this town, give that class it’s tour and that was SHAMEFUL.

We should be thinking of ourselves, as Beach High classmates and fellow Beach High grads, very much like a Chamber of Commerce and look to give leads and/or business to our fellow grads not somebody who went to school in Miami and spouts off utter nonsense regarding Miami Beach history. But feces occurs, and, believe me, that whole sordid episode was one vile example of the actions of certain vicious, hateful people who, other than the above, because she contracted with him, will not be named, as they will not—because I wouldn’t dignify those sub-human backstabbers by doing so–in my upcoming “Beach is Dynamite! The History of Miami Beach High School and the Miami Beach Schools.”

In addition, though, there is the “little matter” of articles and books, not the least important being Mr. Berkwitt’s (and by extension, as our readers, your) wonderful column and website and I don’t for a moment want you or Brad to think that my writing this column is any less important than all else that I do. It is at least equally important and it ranks right at the top in terms of personal importance to me.

However, I also have a few other obligations, such as the teaching and mentoring at Barry as well as the writing of regular articles for “The Speedway,” which is the quarterly publication of the Florida East Coast Railway Society (FECRS), of which I was a founder many years ago, and the “Quarterly News Letter” (QNL) of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society (R & L H S) which is the oldest railroad history organization in the country, founded in 1921. (No, not by me!!) The FECRS articles deal with (as you might have guessed) the incredible history of America’s most exciting railroad (OK, be a wise guy and ask me which one that is!) while the QNL articles deal with railroadiana of all sorts and types. Further, I often assist Florida International University (both Bennett and I were named Torch Club honorees several years ago, that status being an induction into F I U’s Hall of Fame) history department students with their PhD thesis research if it deals with US or Florida transportation as well as Florida history in general. Then of course there are “the books.”

The writing of books on and about South Florida local and Florida transportation history is, as some of you know, a passion of mine, equaled in depth only by my love for my bride and my brother, my two grandsons and my incredible niece, Bennett’s daughter. Coming out at the end of this month or sometime in early June will be “Florida Railroads” in Arcadia’s Postcard History Series and I currently am working on five more simultaneously, so hope and trust that the explanation(s) above will “give me a pass” for my absence from this column and I can assure you all that I will try to make it up to you in the coming and near future.

Now, what about the title of this submission, not having been discussed up till this point? Suffice to say that neither of those entities have any public credibility—none at all—and I will address that situation and how and why, like the decline of the Miami Herald from Time Magazines “Ten Best American Newspapers” to a statement by that great magazine that “we have never seen an American newspaper decline so quickly and so badly in the history of our yearly designation issue,” both MetroFAIL and TriFAIL started in a mediocre fashion and then did nothing to make themselves vital transportation entities in Miami—Dade County and in South Florida, In both cases, more is the pity, and “more” will be discussed next issue.

In the meantime, be—and stay—well and I will be back with you well more frequently shortly.

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