We are glad to be back in St.
Louis after an interesting year in Joplin. As I negotiate reestablishing my
career and connections in this town for the past couple of months via meetings
in coffee shops, social media, association events (American Marketing
Association, Advertising Club, Public Relations Society of America etc.) and
professional networking I see a window of opportunity to play golf and visit
with my daughter, brother and father, all of whom live in Tampa, Florida for
different reasons.
Lindsey has been in Tampa for
just three years as a youth group director at Temple Schaarai Zedek (I am so
proud of her. The world is a better place with her in it.) Greg has been living
in Tampa for more than 25 years and is an independent commercial real estate
broker. (He seamlessly juggles his career and his share of the responsibility
for mentoring his boys Wes, Mathew and his high schooler stepchildren Michael and
Lauren. Greg’s activities include being a community leader, preparing for
his term as incoming president of the American Red Cross chapter, organizer of
Real Estate Lives, Broker Poker and Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey fan.) Greg’s wife Ellen is human resources
professional and can be called out-of-town on short notice to support a long
list of dotted line superiors who run regional operations for a large insurance
company.) Dad relocated to Tampa after Mom died in May of last year. (At 93,
he’s still painting water colors. He is settled in at Horizon Bay independent
senior living facility. Greg makes sure his hearing aid is working. He misses
Mom. Family photos and a full gallery of watercolors in his apartment are reminders
of so many memories.)
This trip is a great mix of
quality time with family and my favorite hobbies: golf and art. Greg has the
fix in as a friend of the MacDill Air
Force base and gets us on the South Course. It is during a round of golf I
am able to spend time with Greg and with Lindsey’s boyfriend and roommate Chris
Dewey. Chris is an easy guy to be around. He’s smart, confident and relaxed
during the round. Greg and I both offered a low bar of excellence with regard
to the level of play, starting with mulligan do-overs on the first tee box.
Florida in February is always
ready for visitors. Tampa is no different, but the place has a community feel
and is gearing up for the Republican National Convention in August. It’s an
election year and no clear front-runner has been identified yet to challenge
Barack Obama in 2012. No doubt the Republicans will fill up the bars and
restaurants and create an economic stimulus for the Bay Area. Ybor City is a
great place to enjoy a cigar. The bay is lined by the country’s longest
continuous sidewalk which is perfect for joggers. The water offers a reflection
of the nearby downtown skyline. The trip was perfect. Between Lindsey and Greg
we managed to get to a nice sampling of eating and drinking places: The
Collonade (with Dad); Pinky’s (popular breakfast spot); Jimbo’s (BBQ); Mad Dogs
& Englishmen (a default favorite pub/tavern for Chris and Lindsey); Meze
(for vegan fare) and Woody’s (for dynamite tomato soup and greek salad). We
even managed to visit with Greg’s boy Wes at Batteries Plus where he has been a
employee for three years. Wes reminds me of my own son Ben (they are the same
age). He’s a real gentleman, tall, trim with wavy hair an easy smile – a fine
looking Morgan.
Lindsey got Friday cleared from
work for quality time with me. We made our way to the Salvador Dali museum via
a gallery exhibit of Chihuly glass sculpture (chandeliers, bowls, colorful
blown glass and installations). Greg caught up with us at the Dali museum and
remembers when the collection of the Mr. and Mrs. Morse, an industrialist and
his wife, was on display at the Cleveland plastic injection molding plant in
the early 1980s. Years later the museum is a civic jewel in the Tampa Bay area.
The Morses first discovered Dali the year they were married (1942) at the
Cleveland Museum of Art. They would have been contemporaries of my parents (who
were also married in Cleveland in 1942). A year later they bought a painting
after meeting with the artist at the St. Regis hotel in NYC. The surrealist
lived in the U.S. for most of the 1940s.
We have plenty of time to
visit John’s Pass near the water, stop in one or two of Lindsey’s favorite
shops, taste some fruity Florida wines - just enjoy the afternoon off before
meeting Chris for the evening. Lindsey managed to get us complimentary
admission to the Improv on this Friday night (where comedian Pete Correale is
the featured performer). It only took a text message to one of her former youth
groupers whose uncle is a part owner of the Improv. (Nice to be so connected.
Chris, Lindsey and I got great seats front and center on the balcony.)
Saturday morning allowed for
a little bit of tourism. In 1891, Henry B. Plant built a lavish 500 room luxury
resort hotel called the Tampa Bay Hotel on the west bank of the Hillsborough River across from downtown Tampa. The
eclectic Moorish Revival structure cost $3 million to build, a huge sum in
those days. We were able to roam about the building and understand the essence
of the time Mark Twain called the Gilded Age.
My Southwest Airline flight
is delayed just a half hour allowing for a little extra time with my sweet baby
doll Lindsey. Airports are always a little sad when it means separating. Life
goes on. At baggage claim in St. Louis I listen to a voice mail message from
Greg. “Hey Wes, Michael and I were talking about the famous joke and discussing
its meaning. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.” (I
will call him later to find out what he thinks it might mean. I have a feeling
it is something profoundly simple and yet simply profound.) It’s 19 degrees in
St. Louis. Why did the chicken cross the road? I’m not sure. Why do people go
to Florida in February? (Even Henry Plant knew the answer to that
question.)
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