MLK Day: Myriad activities around our community to mark this very special day

There was a lot of community activity for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, and the Weekly Challenger and The Gabber called appropriate attention to it. We're so proud of everybody in our community who gets out and makes a difference. The Weekly Challenger, had stories about all the various MLK Day volunteer events .  And here's a story in The Gabber about the people who came out to Tomlinson Lake Park Complex to lend a hand. Lots of pictures, too.

But there was more, much more, to the MLK Day activities in the community, and here are links to the 31st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards Breakfast, the MLK Essay Contest, the MLK Candlelight Vigil, the Family Fun Festival (pictured above), and, of course, the MLK Day Parade (pictured below).What a tribute to a man who gave so much to the world.

How the Little Free Pantry project came about and helps people in the community

When you learn about something like this happening in your community it makes you just want to hug everybody involved, right?  Lynn Taylor had this story in The Gabber about how the Little Free Pantries in Gulfport came about. It's a heartwarming little story about a young pregnant woman in need and two nice ladies with a history of helping people who were moved by her story and, in the process, created a project that helps the community. You should read it.

A nice write-up in Quebec English weekly newspaper presents our area in a good light

Our Canadian friends are paying attention. Did you see the nice write-up in The Suburban, Quebec's largest English weekly newspaper? Writer Mike Cohen has lots of positive things to say about our whole area, all the way up the Clearwater. He absolutely gushed about the Salvador Dali Museum, loved the Great Explorations Children's Museum, and Sunken Gardens. He apparently got out to our beloved Fort De Soto Park and Egmont Key, and mentioned Topwater Kayak Outpost. He stayed at the Beach House Suites (pictured above) and dined at the fabulous Maritana Grille at the Don CeSar. He described Pass-a-Grille as "a quaint, laid back beach town where you can park your car and walk to the beach, boutiques, ice cream shop, outdoor art market, restaurants, tennis courts and fishing piers." All true. It's among the reasons we love living here.

The wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

For three decades, Americans have officially celebrated the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Baptist minister who led the Civil Rights Movement and won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is remembered for his nonviolent civil disobedience to protest racial discrimination and for his opposition to the Vietnam War. He is also known for his skills as one of our country's great orators. Below is a collection of some of his best loved quotations, as assembled by Inc. Magazine last year on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. You can read the complete list here.

1. "Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." 
2. "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." 
3. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." 
4. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." 
5. "Only in the darkness can you see the stars."
6. "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." 
7. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that." 
   
8. "Let no man pull you so low as to hate him." 
   
9. "That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing."
10. "There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right."

MLK Dream Big Parade will feature the famous, fabulous FAMU marching band

Did you see the Tampa Bay Times story the other day about the famous, fabulous FAMU marching band making a appearance at the MLK Dream Big Parade on Monday? First time in St. Petersburg in 10 years. It's an interview with the band's new director, Shelby Chipman, and it's worth your time to read it. The big parade is shaping up to be quite an event. The Tuskegee University Marching Crimson Piper Band, a talented outfit in its own right, will be in the parade, too. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston will be grand marshal. In the same story, you can get all the details about the parade and the free Family Fun Festival that follows in the Tropicana Field parking lot. A free block party follows at the Deuces on 22 Street S at Ninth Avenue.

Edible Schoolyard Garden Program made possible by those Gulfport Gecko partiers

Here's another positive community project that caught our eye recently in The Gabber and underscores the uplifting nature of our community and the people who live in it. We're pleased to see the Gulfport Merchants Association presenting grants to local efforts from the proceeds of its Gecko events. In this case, its an edible garden created by the staff and children at Creative Play Preschool in Gulfport. That's Kya McMahon, owner of Creative Play School, in the picture, with the garden, which will be known as the GMA Edible Schoolyard Program. Congratulations to all involved.

#MLKDay of service observances include parade and a showing of Hidden Figures

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service observance has turned into a major event across the country, and our community is now exception. There are plenty of local manifestations, including the MLK Day parade on Monday, and the revitalized children's reading room at the James B. Sanderlin Center Library, which will be created through the volunteer efforts of the Suncoast Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. One particularly interesting item that drew our attention in The Weekly Challenger was the St. Petersburg Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority that is having a screening of the new movie Hidden Figures on Friday (tomorrow) at 6:30 p.m. at the Cobb Luxury 10 Theatre at Tyrone Square Mall. The movie tells the true story of three black women who helped NASA calculate early space missions in the 1960s, beginning with John Glenn's orbit of the earth. In the picture, that's Anita Lewis, co-chair of the event for Delta Sigma Theta. #MLKDay

What an amazing place we live with an awesome beach like Fort De Soto nearby

Unless you spend inordinate amounts of time out deep in the Gulf of Mexico swimming around with the critters out there, it's unlikely you're going to consider a scene like this one as an ordinary one. We're guessing most of us don't get to experience octopi in the wild, unless we're a Tarpon Springs sponge diver. If you missed this story on TV, we just wanted to share it with you because it points up what an awesome place we live. When it warms up a bit, we'd encourage you to take some time to get outside, as our friends at Eckerd College like to say. Well, Think Outside is what they actually say but the idea is the same – even the implied part of thinking outside the box, which is exactly what we all ought to do when we consider the natural wonders our area has to offer.

Gulfport artist works to repaint a mural he created 20 years ago at the Peninsula Inn

It gladdens the heart to see stories like the one by Lynn Taylor in The Gabber recently about Gulfport artist Keith Stillwagon's project to restore  mural he painted more than two decades ago on the wall at The Historic Peninsula Inn. Back in the 1990s, the then-owner of the establishment wanted to create an art center there and invited local artists to participate. It became quite the thing to do in Gulfport, and musicians came and played and turned it into a happening. You can read all about it in the article. Some 20 years later, Veronica Champion, the current owner of the hotel, has invited Stillwell back to repaint his now-faded work. The subject: the natural beauty of our region and reminders of elegant creatures that once inhabited these shores.

Are you going to let this year slip away? Or are you going to take action now to learn?

Okay, so we're already six days into the new year and what have most of us done to assure that this year is one of the best ever, especially when it comes to learning new things? Well, maybe some of us have done quite a lot. Then again, maybe some of us have let amazing opportunities like the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute pass us by.

 It's not really necessary to let that happen, you know. Membership in OLLI runs from January 1 to December 31 but we're just getting started on the year so not much has happened yet. There are lots of classes and events ahead. If you register as an OLLI member, you get a plethora of benefits, including (but not limited to) substantial savings on class registrations, exclusive participation in some groups, five-dollar meals at the school dining hall, substantial savings on opera and theater tickets, and more. 

But don't let us influence you. Convince yourself. Check the website at eckerd.edu/olli or call (727) 864-7600. It's the smart thing to do and you'll be glad you did. You could make your 2017 the best year ever for your lifelong learning.

Thank you TBT columnist Ernest Hooper for mentioning some of our favorite things

It gave us great delight that Tampa Bay Times columnist Ernest Hooper made several mentions about our community in his 2016 edition of "You haven't lived in Tampa Bay until ... " feature. Most prominent, with a picture and all, was the recently reopened Goody Goody old-time hamburger place Tampa's Hyde Park. And, to be sure, the secret sauce is worth the trip. But eventually Mr. Hooper got down to some of our favorites. "You haven't lived in Tampa Bay until you've fished from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Pier." Or "you haven't lived in Tampa Bay until you've imbibed on a Famous Margarita from the VIP Lounge on Treasure Island. Or, and this may be our favorite,  "you haven't lived in Tampa Bay until you've searched for life's true meaning while walking the sandy beaches of Pass-a-Grille." Good choices, Ernest Hooper. That's all we're saying.

Souled Out gala and fundraiser was sold out

We noted with interest and delight the article in The Weekly Challenger about the Souled Out -- Motown at Isla event held recently at Isla del Sol Yacht and Country Club. It was the Spirit of Tampa Bay Community Choir gala and fundraiser for Melrose Elementary. According to the report, the event was, indeed, sold out, and money was raised to help finance incentives and uniforms for Melrose students. Glad to see it.