We love a parade -- especially when it's on the water, at night, and has colorful lights

We're entering the magical season now, and part of the excitement is the amazing collection of lighted boat parades you can enjoy at this time of the year. If you have a boat, and lights, and the inclination to do so, you can even participate. The Gabber published a very useful schedule of all the boat parades that are planned up and down the coast, and now we have it taped to the refrigerator (well, not really. It's had to tape a computer to your refrigerator). Actually, you could do that if you go get a copy of the printed version of The Gabber. In any case, you really ought to take note of the schedule and plan to go see one (or more) of these colorful, and thoroughly enjoyable events. Or not. If you want to risk being called The Humbug Emperor. Scrooge. Up to you. ;-)

If you love reading, you're going to want to bid on these literary-themed gift baskets

The thing of it is that you've only got until Thursday to get your bid in, so you'd better take action. The man in the picture is Ron Walters, who created the dozen baskets as a fund raiser for the Circle of Friends of the St. Pete Beach Library. The baskets have themes, including World War II, Florida authors, cats, and dogs. You can get more details in the article in The Gabber, and you really should read it. But if you're are reader or you've got a reader on your Christmas list, you'd be smart to hotfoot it over to the St. Pete Beach Library and take a look at them. Each basket has several books and other nifty things, and, of course, would make great gifts. You snooze, you lose. Go now.

You know all those great stories you love to tell the family? Now it's time to write 'em!

So, you've lived awhile and you've seen a thing or two (and you're not Farmers Insurance -- bum ba dum bum bum bum bum). Who's going to remember your stories after you're gone. Sure, the kids might but they'll probably get most of the details wrong. And, then, who's going to tell the stories after they're gone. There's only one solution. (Well, there are actually several but we're on a roll here talking about this one so stay with us, okay?) The solution is: write your memories. Your memoirs. Get the stories down on paper. Now. You probably won't use an old L.C. Smith & Brothers No. 2 like the one in the picture and you probably don't have a desk like that (maybe you do). In any case, you can tell your stories. Even if it's on a notepad. Or your iPad.  Here's help on where to start. At Eckerd College's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Pat Brown is offering a class called Introduction to Memoirs in three sessions on Tuesdays. 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. November 29, December 6 and December 13, in the CEC Heron Room.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tuskeegee Airmen, African Americans in World War II featured at history museum

There's an exhibit you ought to see on just now at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, where they have that airplane hanging from the ceiling to mark the beginning of commercial aviation history in our city. But the exhibit we're talking about isn't about aviation. It's about the struggle of African Americans (way before the civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s) to do their bit and fight in World War II. The exhibit is on loan from the National WWII Museum but it's only there until the beginning of March. So don't delay. It's titled Fighting for the Right to Fight, and it includes a short documentary video about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Read the following article carefully now so you won't get taken to the cleaners later

So, this urgent warning pops up on your computer screen and it's warning you that your computer is infected! You've got to act right now! What do you do? Well, first you don't panic. Second you don't give anybody your personal financial information. It's a scam! Another way it works is that you get a call on your phone. The caller is warning you that your computer is infected. Right away they're trying to get your personal information.

The Pinellas Sheriff's Department was warning seniors about the sorts of scams they can fall victim to, and offering help. It was part of an effort to mark international fraud awareness week recently, which is all well and good but we suggest being alert for fraud all the time. There's really quite a lot of information about fraud on the Internet. You should check it out. Start with the story in The Gabber this week to get an overview. Here's a link to the Pinellas County Consumer Protection page. And finally, there's a video we came across that we just had to include. It's from the Federal Trade Commission's Tech Support Scams page and it gives you some insight into the scam crisis we were talking about at the beginning. Click the little box in the lower right corner of the video to  make it bigger and easier to watch, Be safe out there. 

Bravo to Jim Oliver, who just keeps on helping children! It's what he does!

 It's quite remarkable when you think about it. Jim Oliver was recently honored for his 33 years of outstanding service as an educator in Pinellas County schools. There's a big write-up about it in The Weekly Challenger. You really should read it. Jim Oliver spent his career developing programs designed to reach youngsters where they are in life and in their particular situations. Examples: programs to help teach middle school kids how to refuse drugs, programs to help them avoid domestic violence, programs to teach them golf and tennis (individual sports that call for individual efforts), programs introducing students to fine arts and classical music.

They're more, of course, but you get the idea. Three decades in Pinellas schools, making things better. What's he doing now? Mentoring kids at Melrose Elementary and, get this, developing a Community Mentoring Program. The man just continues, doesn't he? Bravo, Jim Oliver.

If you love Florida history, you really ought to meet author/instructor Cathy Salustri

Did you see the write-up about Cathy Salustri in The Gabber? If you're at all curious about Florida history you'd do well to get to know Cathy. She teaches some of the history sessions in the Eckerd College Osher Lifelong Institute. She's also the author of Backroads of Paradise, a fascinating volume in which she takes a modern-day tour of some of the places detailed in The WPA Guide to Florida. Scholars of the state's history know that the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers Project kept writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Stetson Kennedy, and Carita Doggett Corse employed during the Depression. Cathy is the arts and entertainment editor at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. She used to write for The Gabber and once worked at the Florida Studies program at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Cathy is working on a new book about small towns in Florida. She lives in Gulfport, one of the small towns she's likely to write about.

Apartment, shopping, and restaurant project coming for 34th Street near SPC Allstate

South St. Petersburg is on the move. Phillips Development & Realty is filing site plans today for a mixed-use project on 34th Street just north of the Ceridian complex and the St. Petersburg College Allstate Center. It is to include one- and two-bedroom apartments, shops, and restaurants. The people at Phillips have been working with Keri Melshenker, executive director of the Skyway Marina District. This is just one part of work the city has been doing to ramp up business development in our community. To Phillips, we say welcome. To Keri Melshenker and the Skyway Marina District, we say bravo! Here's a story in the Tampa Bay Business Journal with all the details.

Florida's railroad tycoons, the two Henrys, are featured in a program at Eckerd's OLLI

Just so you know, the picture above really has very little to do with this item, directly at least. The reason we're including it is because the beer label has portraits of the subjects at hand -- railroad tycoons Henry Flagler and Henry Plant.

Henry Flagler built a railroad system back in the Gilded Age all the way down the east coast of Florida. He built a series of hotels, too, so the people riding on his trains would have place to stay when they came to Florida. One of the hotels he built was called the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine. It's now the home of Flagler College. Another hotel he built was the Royal Poinciana Hotel on the shores of Lake Worth in South Florida. It was torn down during the Depression. Another was The Breakers in Palm Beach. It's still there and you can stay for $649 a night.

Henry Plant built a railroad system from Savannah across Georgia and down into Florida to Tampa, where you could get passage aboard his steamship line to Havana. Not to be outdone by his competitor, Plant built a posh hotel on the banks of the Hillsborough River called the Tampa Bay Hotel. It's now part of the University of Tampa.

All of which brings us to this: You can find out a lot more about the two Henrys in a program offered by the Eckerd College Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. It's called Frenemies: Henry Plant and Henry Flagler and it's offered 1:30 to 3 p.m. Friday, December 2 in the CEC Spoonbill Room. Cost is $10 for members and $25 for non-members.

 Now, you can try out some of the Two Henrys brews either before or after attending the OLLI program (or not at all), that's up to you. Two Henrys can be found  at many local bars and restaurants, and in grocery stores. The brewery itself is located in Plant City, which (of course) was named for Henry Plant.  If you visit, hoist one for the two Henrys, Florida's railroad pioneers.

It's your civic duty! Besides, if you don't go vote, you're not allowed to complain ... ;-)

Learning of mermaids, underwater shows, and so much more about old Florida days

Back in 1947 by the side of the road near Ocala, a former stunt swimmer set up an underwater show featuring live mermaids and it grew and grew and became the famous Weeki Wachee Springs tourist attraction, one of the best known and most popular attractions in Florida. It's still open and operated now by the State of Florida. If you haven't been, you should go sometime.

But in the meantime, you should get to know more about Florida's history and culture by attending Cathy Salustri's session called U.S. 19: Mermaids, Manatees, and Watermelon Queens, a virtual journey down U.S. 19, which was, back in the day, the main route people took when they came down to Florida's west coast. Cathy, who is the Art & Entertaiment editor for Creative Loafing, knows where of she speaks. She not only holds a master's degree in Florida Studies from the University of South Florida but she has personally explored the length and breadth of the state in search of the quirkiest places. This session promises plenty of insights into the quirkiest state.

U.S. 19: Mermaids, Manatees, and Watermelon Queens will be presented from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, November 10 in the CEC Flamingo Room at Eckerd College as part of the Eckerd Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Fee is $10 for members and $25 for non-members.

Ribs, laughter, fun -- and oh, the costumes!

Did you see Allen Buchanan's feature in The Weekly Challenger about all the community spirit at Mt, Zion Missionary Baptist Church's annual OktoberFest celebration? It was a night that communities are all about – fun and games, a wide range of clever costumes, and hot dogs, hamburgers, and ribs on the grill. If you didn't get there, take a look at the pictures. What fun!