Nobody asked me, but –
. . . An indication of what the Largo election was all about and what key social agenda is afoot, was outlined in a letter to the editor in the Big Paper March 19. Largo folks can prepare themselves for some shocks.
. . . Hail to the Gators! Hail to Billy Donovan. The state has its first NCAA basketball chamption. It was great to wind up March Madness and for a change not have names like North Carolina and Duke around.
. . . UCLA, which fell to Gators in the final, ticked a memory – it was a trip to UCLA in 1957 by the football team under Coach Bob Woodruff that launched Florida into big time football. It was a struggle, but the Gators now rank among the greats in both football and basketball.
. . . If you think we do not live in sick and demented times, consider this – there is a program now at the Largo Public Library wherein children read to dogs. Apparently, there is no end to the foolishness.
. . . The word is that Largo’s new mayor doesn’t seem to know some of the essentials of the job. For example, the mayor, Pat Gerard, didn’t bother to show up March 31 at an employees quarterly recognition event – something Bob Jackson and his predecessor, Tom Feaster, never missed. Also, she never showed up for the retirement luncheon of a longtime department head. Folks are wondering.
. . . My clever friend observes – “Barry Bonds (SF Giants) withdrew from the World Baseball Classic next month saying he is doing what is best for himself and his family. Translation: ‘I am not giving a urine sample one minute before I have to.’”
. . . City Manager Steve Stanton made a point of a routine fire department emergency call in one of his weekly reports. The emergency was at Pinch-a-Penny, Fred Thomas’s enterprise. Of course, Stanton does not favor Thomas’s expansion plans and it was Thomas who strongly backed Bob Jackson as mayor – Stanton’s candidate, of course, was Pat Gerard. And SS makes no secret of his allegiances. That lily was gilded by Commissioner Gigi Arntzen who wants “more information” on the incident; in other words, let’s keep this political football rolling. Clearly a set up.
. . . Belleair Beach officialdom fell prey to a “sky is falling argument” in deleting from a videotaped account of a meeting totally innocuous material. The idea of vetting and redacting the tape came from a nonsensical harangue full of visions of liability and other such bushwah. Of course, improper language and outrageous behavior might be within the limits of allowance for editing, but not – for crying out loud – applause.
. . . Big question on the Largo City Commission now is “how you gonna keep down in little ole Largo once they’ve seen the bright lights of Washington, D.C.? (Even if it costs more than two grand.)” Talk about yokels – whew!
. . . It is amusing to hear how so many members of the U.S. Senate frequently brag on how long they have been there – which goes to show that some states have some folks voting who are dimwits.
. . . Bettors on the morning line are predicting a “gay pride” parade for Largo within a year or two.
. . . One hand washes the other dep’t. – Support for Largo Mayor Pat Gerard’s suppressing a citizen attempting to address the City Commission came in a letter to the editor of the Big Paper from a resident who was appointed by aforesaid mayor to the city’s Finance Advisory Board. Voila!
. . . Her middle initial doesn’t really stand for the nickname Largo Mayor Pat Gerard has earned – “Shaky.” That friendly cognomen comes from Gerard’s demeanor – a quavering voice, being mixed up on the order of things, all at sea on proper dates, etc. That kind of stuff.
. . . Worth thinking about – “It is human nature to grumble at having to get up early in the morning -- until one morning when you can't get up.”