When we decided to move out of the ONE, we were hit with a barrage of questions. The hardest to answer were the permutations of the “why do you want to leave here” question. As with any soul-searching question, the answers were never easy. Life isn’t always as prosaic as we would like, and it was just the right time to move on.

This decision would have been a lot easier if we lived anywhere but in the Old Northeast. As anyone who is reading the Journal knows, the ONE is about as close to perfection as you can get in a neighborhood.… Read More

On New Year’s Day, St. Petersburg celebrated the centennial of the World’s First Airline. Now there is a second centennial to celebrate, the 100th anniversary of Major League Baseball. Major League Spring Training began in St. Pete on February 27, 1914 with the St. Louis Browns (now the Orioles). While the Browns were here only a year, St. Petersburg was host to eight other Major League teams over the next one hundred years. Among these teams was the New York Yankees who held spring training in St. Pete for 30 years beginning in 1925 and ending in 1961, with a few gaps in between.… Read More

The world is your canvas and you are the artist ready to paint the way. With every action, a brush glides paint on a canvas in effort to develop your masterpiece. This metaphor is often used and there is something that can be learned when looking at life through the eye of an artist.

Artist Jenny Bleackley knows that life and painting isn’t as simple or as easy as a glide of the paintbrush. A masterpiece takes time, commitment, passion, patience and continual development. As an artist develops his or her craft, they begin to notice how they look at life differently than most.… Read More

A can of soup. A can of soup? A can of soup! Wooden boxes painted to look like cardboard boxes containing Heinz ketchup. Wooden boxes!

Is this a hoax? This can’t be art, can it? Is Andy Warhol an artist like Salvador Dali, or is he just some media personality who was famous for fifteen minutes or so? Or is he, as the curator of the Warhol exhibit suggests, the person who may have had more of an influence on modern culture and art than any other artist, including Dali. And while we’re at it, what is the relationship, if any, between Dali and Warhol?… Read More

Sitting on the corner of  5th Street and 1st Avenue South, lays a forgotten triangular sliver of land called Liberty Bell Park. Nowadays, motorists and pedestrians pass by with barely a glance of this shambles of a place that offers little to make the casual passerby to want to enter anyway. The neglected sidewalks are crumbling and the landscape is strewn with litter, leaves, broken branches, and little evidence of any rake, broom, or parks department interest. Over the years, the few existing benches have been vandalized, and sit as unusable broken skeletons of their former selves.  To add more insult to this lost space, there is an incongruous and faded No Trespassing sign stuck in what looks like a public space warning people to ignore any interest in entering.… Read More

Did you have a happy holiday?

Are you tired of hearing that? Admit it, did you put your Grinch face on this season? Are you just holly-jollied out, and weary of cheers and jubilant expressions that match the vivid glittered napkin that hugs your bubbly? Wouldn’t you much rather cozy up to a hot buttered rum and read that new book you’ve been trying to start? I bet the cat would love it if you would sit still long enough for him to nest upon. I myself am tired of events and cheer in general. It’s not that I’m an unhappy person, don’t misunderstand me.… Read More

The Melting Pot. That’s one of the things we as a nation are proud of… a fascinating tapestry of ethnicities, nationalities, and cultures. As the saying goes, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” St. Petersburg is a microcosm of the country, boasting residents from around the world. According to the United States Census Bureau, 19.2% of Florida’s population was born in another country – compared to 12.8% nationally. 27% speak another language besides English – in contrast to 20.3% across the nation. Our new neighbors are eager to learn about their new home, contribute to the healthy growth of this city, and establish solid roots.… Read More

The Ronald McDonald house is often described as a home away from home. Houses all over the world provide a ‘home’ with a warm meal and a place to sleep for families whose child is receiving critical medical care at a nearby hospital. St. Petersburg is home to three Ronald McDonald houses for children receiving care at All Children’s Hospital. Over 44,000 families have been helped at these RMH houses. Annually 2,000 families step through one of the three doors. This organization has been in the St. Petersburg area for over 33 years; however, there is something unique about the Central Ronald McDonald House.… Read More

Although I don’t watch or listen to the news, bits of information about what is going on in our country and around the globe still manage to enter my world. And, it doesn’t sound good. Based on what filters through, it sounds like there is a lot of polarity and either/or power struggles going on. I’m saddened by this because – and some may call me ignorant or “Pollyanna-ish” – I choose to live in a world of possibility. It may take a little more upfront time, and maybe more upfront effort, but I bet, if we all took that extra time to be creative and listen with our open hearts, really good healthy solutions would surface and we would be ready, willing and able to take advantage of them for the betterment of all.… Read More

What is essential for life is not what is seen, but what is felt. It’s the feeling of companionship, of community, and love. It’s the comfort that makes you feel at home, which in return, creates a passion that pushes your desire to be involved with your surroundings. You invest yourself into where you live because, when you love your home, a piece of you is sewn into the community. More and more people are discovering our hidden gem and falling in love. Can it be the preserved parks, up-and-coming downtown, or the beaches? It can’t be just that. There is something St.… Read More