It was a blast! The pirates came into Tampa and took over the city. They took the mayor hostage as they fired guns and canons at onlookers. The most unique sight I’ve ever experienced.
I just moved to Tampa a little over a year ago. Before that, I had been here, technically, only once in my life. I’m going to date myself here, but I was part of the relief efforts when Hugo ripped through Puerto Rico. I was in the Marine Corps at the time and we flew in and out of MacDill Air Force Base several times a day to help clean up Puerto Rico. Now, I live a mile from MacDill.
So, part of the Tampa experience is Gasparilla, a parade thrown every year in honor of a past pirate named Jose Gaspar, a Spanish pirate who is reported to have operated in Southwest, Florida. The parade has a huge history, but what it has become today has struck me as one of the most interesting celebrations in any city throughout America.
How many times does a mayor get taken hostage as the kickoff to a day long celebration?
How often do hundreds of ships convoy inland with a pirate ship as the center of attention?
I know there are some great events throughout the world. I’m just saying this is one of the most interesting. To give you an example, here is a list of annual city events across the nation:
New Year’s Eve, New York’s Times Square
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Mardi Gras
These are the types of city events so huge you can’t help but get involved. From anywhere in the city, you are a part of it because it’s so large you can’t get away.
That’s how I felt about Gasparilla. It was a crazy, day long celebration that took up all of Bayshore Boulevard and led right to the newly unveiled Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The city that I now call home has got some really great attractions. If you get a chance, check it out one year.
What happens to a person when they just have to have a Tickle Me Elmo so bad that they are willing to attack the person who has the last one? He suffered a concussion and a broken rib.
What happens to a group of people when they see the doors open to the store where they have been standing for hours that they have to trample over people to get inside? One man died. One lady lost her baby. And ten others were injured.
Why does a simple thing like Black Friday bring out the worst in so many of us?
Saving money. Being a hero for your children. Getting the things you want. Being the first to have them.
Throughout our lives, we encounter situations that test our humanity. Both individually and a community as a whole.
I hate when we fail. I really do. I think that we are all so much better than those snapshots taken of us at moments when we are at our worst. I love when we show how good we can actually be.
When there are natural disasters, volunteers come out of the woodwork.
When we have a need, there are those among us who rise to the challenge.
So, let’s remind ourselves that we are made of better stuff than the beasts in the wild who actually follow some major rules of nature. They never take more than they can use. They only fight when they feel threatened. And they would never trample a pregnant lady to get the last PS3:
Really! What would they do with it anyway?
Here are a few ideas that actually might help you this year:
If you have polished off your novel and are looking for a publisher, you know that you could be in for a ride. Even if you have the next best seller, get used to rejection letters. They kind of come with the territory.
But, you have a good novel and you want people to read it. Why don’t you take a look at what Amazon has to offer?
That’s right! You can get published at Amazon, the world’s leading book seller. Can you imagine what that can do for you and…your hobby, your career, your life’s passion…your wallet?
No set-up fees, membership fees or any startup costs at all! Simply upload your title and make sure you have a quality description. Have your cover art ready and you’re just about there.
It’s set up with a royalty system. When someone buys your book, you get the royalties that you set for yourself during the setup process. Might be a good idea to get some idea of what books of your genre are selling for these days.
Here’s the best part…You get an ISBN. You don’t pay for it. Amazon CreateSpace assigns your book an official ISBN that gets you listed on authority sites across the internet including, but not limited to, Bowker’s Books in Print. Everyone knows the only official published books are ones with an ISBN, and you don’t pay for it. Amazon assigns you one when you decide to publish your book with them.
Plus, I shouldn’t have to tell you how perfect it is that your book is being published and listed on Amazon…The World’s Leading Book Seller!!!
There are plenty of benefits and it’s as easy as 1-2-3…
I wanted to share a nice little Halloween story with you. My daughter plays a roll. I begged and begged. Finally she gave in to be the star of her own Halloween story.
I narrate. And let’s just say that it is a…uh…electrifying story! Bwah ha ha ha ha ha…Have a Happy Halloween!
And be safe…Don’t let Danger strike! He lurks everywhere…
If you want to read some of it before you check it out, here it is:
It had started out as a beautiful day. Gene and his four year old daughter had walked the beach earlier that day in the cool breeze of the morning sun. Then, they enjoyed breakfast at the Capeview Café before going shopping for her Halloween outfit and candy to hand out to all the kids who would be trick or treating to their house in only a few short days.
It was sad that Gene had lost his wife a few years earlier and was raising his daughter by himself. But, he managed to do a great job. They woke up most mornings and made themselves pancakes. She would stir the batter and he would do the flipping. He homeschooled her since he made his living making furniture and chose to work his own hours while she was fast asleep, so he was all she knew.
He had plans of letting her get to know some other kids in a few years, but for now he was content with keeping her all to himself. After they returned home from their Halloween shopping, she went to her room to play with her new Halloween costume and he went into the kitchen to make lunch for the both of them. She came down the steps with her costume on when it was time to eat lunch and Gene caught a glimpse of how much his daughter had turned out to look just like her late mother. What an angel she made. It was as if her mother was still alive…
Children coming into this world today are being raised with a great bit of technology surrounding them all the time. It’s strange to me that just a few short years ago, we did not have these things. I do not consider myself old at all and I did not have these things when I was young.
I learned typing on a typewriter. Are there any that still exist?
We walked around listening to radios through our headphones until the tape player came out?
We had to buy an artist’s entire album.
I played Space Invaders and Donkey Kong on my Atari 2600. It came with Pong and Asteroids. I don’t think any other games existed at the time.
I wrote letters and called people on the phone. I got tangled up in the phone chord every once in awhile. The first phone I ever made a phone call on had a rotary dial that took two minutes to dial a number. click click click click click
We had to wait for a movie to come out in the video store and we had to sit through commercials on the television. That was the bathroom break. I’m not saying video stores and commercials don’t exist today. I’m just saying that’s what we had to do. There are other options available now.
We had to look things up in encyclopedias and dictionaries. Or read a book.
I have mixed emotions about it. I mean, I would rather sit in front of the computer and type in a search that comes up with a million and one sites that I can begin exploring and finding my answer. I love being able to correct my work before I print it. I love being able to put together a CD with only the music I enjoy. It does seem as if we live in a world that in many ways, has a lot less waste.
But, I think children of today are missing a rich education because they are handed the easy way and they never learn the foundation from which teachers can build. When a teenager is on the internet instant messaging her friends and using abbreviations like omg and lmao, she then starts writing like that in other areas of her life. She writes her term papers with abbreviations and misspellings like “u” and “b.”
“Win u get 2 b da prez, dats win u own da world.”
OMG!!!
So, in many ways it’s a far better world. I just don’t want anyone to lose sight of where we came and how far we’ve come. Our history is an important part of our future.
I came across this funny book the other day and am dying to share it with the world. When Justin found himself living with his father, he decided that a worthy thing to do with his time would be to document his father's musings. It's a true story. Take a look at some of the things his father has to say:
A Danger to Society
How one simple man with the unfortunate case of mistaken identity shook an entire town...and the Good Ol' Boy network waging war against him!
It's a laugh riot as Michael Allen explores the notions of power, privilege and intoxication. After a brush with the law, Dawg's life takes a sudden turn as he becomes a hostage of the "system."
Fighting against the madness every step of the way, Dawg's behind the scenes discoveries are hilarious, sobering and often shocking exposures of a transparent Gaggle blatantly making their own rules and disregarding them themselves.
They soon find Dawg isn't who they thought he was and all their tactics, normally quite effective are actually what help him find his way out of their clutches so that he could live to fight another day.
It was a blast! The pirates came into Tampa and took over the city. They took the mayor hostage as they fired guns and canons at onlookers. The most unique sight I’ve ever experienced.
If you have polished off your novel and are looking for a publisher, you know that you could be in for a ride. Even if you have the next best seller, get used to rejection letters. They kind of come with the territory.
