Keri Melshenker makes the TV news and it means very good things for our community

Did you see our own Keri Melshenker on TV the other day? The Skyway Marina District certainly is getting a lot of attention these days. We're glad to see it. Keri has worked hard on behalf of our community, encouraging the development of all kinds of business. The item at the moment attracting folks from the region to our neck of the woods is the new project going on 34th Street, a complex of residential, shopping, and dining opportunities. South St. Petersburg is on the move! Love it! Congratulations, Keri!

The drama of nature unfolds constantly at our beloved, and so wild, Fort De Soto Park

Sometimes there are some strange occurrences out at our beloved Fort De Soto Park. Did you see the recent TV report about the turtle-loving coyote who is apparently making midnight snacks out of the the eggs in protected nests? Uh-oh! Those endangered eggs are expected to hatch anytime now, and that'll mean gazillions of baby sea turtles will be headed across the beach sands and into the water to go live the life of a sea turtle, as they're meant to do. If the coyote or some other predator doesn't get to them first, that is. Check out the story. Oh, the ways of nature! It all plays out on the shores of our grand Fort De Soto Park.

Volunteer for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Your reward will more than match your gift

Jack Sheppard led the award-winning Sports Department of the Tampa Bay Times for 21 years and still found time to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Now that he has left the Times, Jack is advocating for the organization in a big way. He's the managing director of marketing and partnership development.  We couldn't help but notice the nice story in The Gabber about the volunteering opportunities with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program in our community. Jack is part of that story. The message in all this? Volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters Tampa Bay is a most productive way to spend the summer.

The American flag is more than a symbol, and we're glad to see it honored so well

It was a fine thing, indeed, to see the Gulfport community come together to honor our nation's flag on Flag Day recently. We quite enjoyed Debbie Wolfe's story about it in The Gabber. We like what Gulfport Councilman Michael Fridovich had to say about the whole affair, as quoted by Debbie Wolfe: “It’s a way to celebrate the flag but more importantly, it’s a way to celebrate what I consider to be the most important part of the flag, the first 10 amendments that go with it – the Bill of Rights. The flag is more of a symbol and sometimes we spend more time looking at the symbol and not the teeth of the situation.”

If adventure is afoot, you can bet Eckerd College is part of it: the latest example

If you're talking Eckerd College, there's always adventure afoot. Case in point, Marine Science Professor Gregg Brooks and Marine Research Assistant Rebekka Larson ’01 were among the scientific cohort that journeyed to Cuba on the Florida Institute of Oceanography’s research vessel R/V Weatherbird II May 8-25. Here's a time lapse video showing the activity of the group. It must be such fun to be part of Eckerd College.

Citizens in action: They saw a need and they saw a solution and they just fixed it.

Did  you see Debbie Wolfe's story in The Gabber about citizens taking action to make the community a better place to live? Kudos to Robynne Swanson and Shannon Hilton, two business owners in the community to decided to fix up the bench near their establishments. They repainted the bench and made it look terrific! And kudos to Debbie Wolfe for discovering the story and bringing it to everyone's attention. What a remarkable place we live.

It's nice to be noticed in out-of-town papers. It reminds us how truly fortunate we are.

Did you happen to see the nice write-up in the Palm Beach Post about what wonderful place St. Pete Beach (and especially Pass-a-Grille) is to visit? Probably not, unless you're a news junkie or you had a reason to be hanging out in Palm Beach on Friday. We're always happy when the out-of-town media discover parts of our local community, and the joys they hold. Serves to remind us just how truly fortunate we are. The article was by Jan Tuckwood, who is evidently spending the summer driving along the Gulf of Mexico visiting little towns and writing about them. (Great work if you can get it.) What's more, Ms. Tuckwood seems to be going in style in a 15-year-old yellow Benz roadster. Has as "road trip" written all over it. (Not literally.) The article mentions The Don, and TradeWinds (shown above), and the Postcard Inn and Guy Harvey's Outpost, which seemed to be the writer's favorite (worth the four-hour drive) restaurant. The article was short on details but that's okay. We live here. :-)

If you or someone you know is preparing for law school, then watch this video now

If You or somebody you know is probably going to want to know about this. Right here in our community is one of the great law schools in the country. Annually it produces some of the brightest young additions to the law profession. This video was just published and is intended to help prospective students prepare for success in the classroom. In it, Nina Hayden, professor of practice, and Louis Virelli, professor of law, talk to an online audience of prospective students and answer their questions. It is a constant source of pride in our community that such a fine institution is in our midst.

Here's an amazing video that will help you to understand our Gulfport a little better

No matter where you live, you ought to get a sense of place when you settle in. We've always believed that one ought to know what has gone before in the place one lives. So we were thrilled the other day  when we came across this wonderful video about the history of one of our favorite parts of our community, Gulfport. We've included items before about the history museum in Pass-a-Grille and how it plays a role in helping newcomers to understand their new home. This video plays a role, too. Watch it. Enjoy it. Share it with your friends.

Far out, man! Woodstock in Gulfport. Groovy!

We see in The Patch that in about a month tickets for GeckoFest are going on sale, and this looks like it's going to be a blast, man! A groovy time will, no doubt, be had by all. The 1960s and Woodstock Era are coming back to Gulfport. (Some say the vibe never left but that's another story.) In any case, you can bet it's going to be a good time. Make sure you get your tickets. Peace. Out.

Be careful out there on the water and make sure you can call for help if it is needed

Boating Safety Week is over but the need for being careful on the water continues. If there is a time that an abundance of caution is called for,  it may be summertime (though around here it seems like folks are out on the water year round anyway.) There was a nice write-up in The Gabber that mentioned Boating Safety Week, but more importantly, discussed the amazing work the Eckerd College Search and Rescue team does, such as responding to distress calls way out in the gulf. So, read the article and get the contact information for EC-SAR before you go out to sea.

It's travel season! Are you going to those far away places with strange sounding names?

We know that a lot of our friends plan adventurous getaways during this time of the year, and we always look forward to them because we know that when they return they'll do so with wonderful tales of their journeys. We also know fortunate individuals who never leave the comfort of their homes and still go on mind-expanding voyages. That's because they're readers, and when they get a hold of an intriguing tome they're likely to immerse themselves in it only to come out at the end with fascinating details to share.

So when the video above came to our attention the other day, we had to share it. Yes, it's sort of an ad about a sale but it's really much more than that. Mike Slicker owns Lighthouse Books, ABAA, on First Avenue N, and he has been in the book business here in St. Petersburg for 40 years. That's an accomplishment in itself but Mike is also one of the founders of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, and shared some video from the book fair with you back in April.

Anyway, to celebrate his four decades in books, Mike is having a sale on different kinds of book in his store each month. For June, as you'll see in the video, it's travel books -- and related history books about various countries (because when you travel you really want to know something about the country you're going to visit, right?) If you're a reader (and you must be because you've stayed with us so far),  then you owe it to yourself to visit Mike's store, especially now, when some travel books are half off.

All this talk of travel brought to mind a song that has been around a long, long time, and undoubtedly you've heard it before. Frank Sinatra recorded it, and so did Perry Como, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Ray Conniff, Glenn Miller, Dinah Shore, Kate Smith, Lawrence Welk (heck, maybe it would be easier to list singers who didn't record it.) Even Willie Nelson and Sam Cooke recorded it! (Separately, not as a duet.)

One of our favorite recordings was by one of our favorite singers, an English lady who entertained the troops during World War II, doing performances in Egypt, Burma, and India. So popular she was that she earned the appellation "the Forces Sweetheart" and so well thought of in the UK that she is known as Dame Vera Lynn. She celebrated her 100 birthday in March.

Are you going on a trip this summer? If so, tell us about it.