Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Ronald Teunis wrote in to ask a tampan about a blast from the recent past:

There was once in Tampa a group or organization that provided numerous classes in many areas. They had a small handout that listed many of them and who to contact to enroll. One was focused on learning how to use county records in Hillsborough County, another for Pinellas. Others dealt with matters like beading, dating and other interests.

Does anyone remember this group, individual or organization, of the various classes that were once offered?

Ah, Yes. I think you are talking about The Baywinds Adult Learning Center.   They offered “classes” such as “How to Flirt,” “Mountain Climbing 101,” “You Can Do Voiceovers,” “How to be a Private Eye.” “Releasing the Inner YOU,” “You can do ANYTHING,” and how can we forget the “Scavenger Hunt in a Limo” class. Doing a quick google search, I also found:

• Bill Billingsley of Bill’s Pen Shop is a professional calligrapher and taught such classes at Baywinds.
• Shirley M. Williams served as a seminar leader for Baywinds on “Conquering Your Fears - Unlocking Your Greatest Potential”.
• Zoshua Zintel, or just Zoshua, taught Hermetic Kabbalah, Tarot & Astrology at Baywinds.
• RhondaK taught you “100 Ways to be Happy & Single in Tampa Bay.”
• Michelle Passoff: “LIGHTEN UP! Free Yourself From Clutter“
• John Nagy: “Coaching for Success“

Alas, Baywinds is no more. The adult learning center closed in 2004.

Did you take any of these classes?

New people move into Tampa Bay all the time.  When gasparilla season rolls around, many people go down to the parade route, guessing everything will work out just fine.  And it does, for the most part.

However, the big Gasparilla parade and Invasion is this Saturday.  There will be upwards of half a million people down there, and lots of places from which to observe the spectacle.  Which leads to those people in year two to ask a tampan:

I did Gasparilla last year, but I’ve got a bunch of friends coming down this year, what’s the best way to do it? Aside from renting a boat and stocking it with Bucs cheerleaders… Last year we had tickets and sat on the bleachers. Should we just follow that plan, or is there a better way? 

Dave

PS:  what are the rules about drinking in public for Gasparilla?

Ah… the age old question.  First, we’ll answer the public drinking issue. 

It is illegal to carry an open container with even a drop of alcohol in public.  It is also against the law for women to pull up their shirts in public. But the cops probably aren’t gonna bust many folks for either of those. (however, if they do, you can’t sue me - if you are concerned, just don’t do, k?) 

Having said that, make sure you have NO GLASS BOTTLES.  Oh, and you certainly don’t want to taunt or AGGRAVATE THE POLICE.  In fact, don’t even bother them at all.  They have a tough time dealing with half a million people, many of them drunk.  Their first concern is getting the parade to pass through their station with no one getting hurt.  The last thing they need is another drunk asking them if they were on that episode of COPS.

As for the best location to watch with your friends, it depends on what you want… If you want to party party party, then get to the corner where bayshore & platt meet. Many use that area as a “home base” and stroll up & down the parade route (you’ll want a cooler with wheels, or a lil red wagon to tote your beverage of choice). Of course, this option provides the best opportunities to people-watch, and mingle, and perhaps not a great opportunity to watch the actual parade.

I have found that the downtown spots have many more children, and it’s not easy to move around (even walking) - many of the streets are blocked.

If you just want to chill and stay out of the fracas, then the bleacher seats are the way to go. You & your guests will still get plenty of beads, and you will actually be able to see the parade, and there will be less opportunities for your beverage to be knocked outta your hands.

Either way, there are a couple of “musts.”

• #1. Mentally prepare yourself for a long day. the earlier you get there, the better seating/parking situation, but the longer the day.  If you wait until the last minute to show up, you’ll curse the driving, parking, and walking.  Leaving the scene is a very, very long affair as well.
• #2.  BRING SUNSCREEN (see #1 above)
• #3.  If you are gonna drink, get a very patient designated driver.

Ok…  That’s all I can think of at this time.  Where do you go for the parade?  Are there any other rules?  Will you please help Dave with anything I am forgetting?

Pulled from the Ask-A-Tampan mailbag:

How difficult is it to purchase tickets from a scalper at Legends Field for Spring Training Yankee games, specifically on a Sunday? Any advice on the best way to accomplish this? Thanks.

Chris

Hey Chris - thanks for reading!

Your best bet is to order them online right now. Visit the Legends Field website, or the New York Yankees website, and pay for ‘em online! Of course, Florida recently repealed a law that disallowed scalping tickets. So it’s likely that those scalpers grabbed up all the tickets, and you can’t get any, huh? I guess you wouldn’t be asking if that was possible for you.

So to get an answer for your question, I talked to Bill Erikson. Now, he has nothing to do with the Yankees or Legends Field, but he knows the biz pretty good. Bill has been in the Tampa Bay area since 1976, and works the ticket office at Clearwater’s BrightHouse Field, Spring Training home for the Philadelphia Phillies (good tickets still available!). Bill’s first thought is about the way Spring Training has become just as nutty as the rest of professional sports:

Spring Training used to be something that teams considered an expense. The entire ordeal was pretty laid back. Now you have cities bidding against each other, brand new parks with JumboTrons and big merchandise shops, sold-out games and, of course, ticket scalpers making a fortune. It used to be fans were just as relaxed and just out there for a fun afternoon. Now ticket holders come into the stadium (yeah, STADIUM) and yell at us if Jeter isn’t in the lineup because they paid big money to see the Yankees.

What a sorry state of affairs, really. Can you imagine back in the day, when kids could just run up to the Babe, right after Ruth hit the longest recorded home run in history at Plant Field in Tampa? Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Click the “more” button for the entire Q&A with spring ticket sales expert Bill:

(more…)

Someone Asked Pud about Tampa:

My buddy and I are going to Tampa, Florida. What are some of the best nightlife spots to visit?

Thanks, Paul / 23 years old / Huntsville, Alabama

And how did Pud respond?

Paul,

People from Tampa are called “Tampans.”

Say that out loud.

Pud

How original.

A guy that goes by the name of ”Pud” is making fun of the word “Tampan.”

We know that Paul should have asked you instead of some Pud.  Where would you send a 23 year old guy from Huntsville, Alabama?

We have a feature here called Ask a Tampan wherein you - the reader - ask one of us (usually Tommy) - a Tampan - a question. We’ve been known to answer them from time to time.

I’d like to turn the tables a bit, only I’m having trouble coming up with a title for this likely one-time event.

For the last two years I’ve been a New Tampan. Though I’ve made efforts to love my neighborhood, it’s hard to look past the lack of neighborliness and Bruce B. Downs, the four-lane, eternally congested elephant in the room that is New Tampa.

Fortunately thanks in large part to the generosity of my in-laws, the wife and I will soon be moving away from South Wesley Chapel. We’ll be living in Temple Terrace, which makes my wife and I…

What does that make us? Contrary to any conclusions you may now be making, it does not make us eighty. Actually I’ll be the fourth person from my 1998 high school graduating class of 40 people to have moved to this “city for living” in the last year. There goes the neighborhood.

But back to the task at hand - the first installment of Ask a Temple Terrace Resident: what are you? There’s got to be a way to make that title a little less awkward.

Temple Terracite isn’t terribly flattering. Temple Terracist is far worse. We could play on initials and call you Teeters.

Either way I’ll soon be one of you, so I’d like an answer soon. If any non-T.T. residents have any suggestions, please comment. But be nice - after all, Tampan isn’t exactly flattering either.

The group choosing the site for the 2008 Republican National Convention will be in town on Sunday. As is expected, they will get a tour of some of the best parts of Tampa Bay, and a spit-polished version of the average places, while the less impressive areas will remain hidden. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul Dellegatto and Steve Jerve are co-leading the task force on ensuring good weather for those three days. Here are a few highlights from the itinerary:

• Check into the Marriott Waterside hotel
• Dinner at a private home on Harbour Island
• Breakfast at the University Club
• Tampa Theatre
• Driving tour through downtown, including the Channelside entertainment complex, stopping at the Florida Aquarium and American Victory ship
• Lunch at the St. Pete Times Forum (main convention site) and a tour of the Tampa Convention Center
• Dinner at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City
• Cruise on the Yacht StarShip
• Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa
• Tropicana Field
• Tour of Renaissance Vinoy and Golf Club

If that was all you saw of Tampa Bay, you might think this place was O.K., wouldn’t you? And I suppose for a week-long convention, it’s fine to just hit the highlights. But what if someone was thinking about moving here? What if they wanted to know the REAL Tampa Bay?

That’s not a hypothetical question, doncha know. Let’s check the Ask-A-Tampan inbox. Here’s one from reader FDA:

What would you say to a newcomer?

My wife and I are contemplating a move to the Tampa region and were impressed with your vibrant and insightful blog. We are weighing the pros and cons of leaving the Midwest for a new opportunity in Tampa. We are empty-nesters, in our mid-50s, very active in the arts and culture, music, dining, etc.

What would you and your readers want a potential newcomer to know about the region - both good and bad? What would a person wish he/she knew about Tampa region before moving there? The “would-a, could-a, should-a” disclosures that the Chamber of Commerce and your Realtor won’t tell.

There you go, guys. What is the good and bad about living here?  What would you have liked to know before you made the move?

Local Blogger Asks A Tampan:

Heya,

Gary and I were wondering if you could do a post (since you are the most popular blog), and ask if anyone knows good places on different nights to go see some power pop/punk bands play live. Good acts, decent locales, that kinda thing.

Addison

So, c’mon, punkers, where do you go on Mondays or Wednesdays?

The Little Fish is getting’ busy in the ‘burg.

Earthlink’s Earthling blog took a poll to find his readers favorite “Ask A _______” site.  Along with Ask A Japanese person, Ask Leo, Ask Dave Taylor, and Ask Laptop Freak, was our very own Ask A Tampan.  Ask Laptop Freak got the most votes.  We placed last in the poll.

Last month we said Tampa is strip joints & strip malls.  Last week the Best Bucs Blog says that Tampa is strip clubs and strip malls.  Yesteday, Aimee Lee says it’s just mile after mile of strip shopping malls.  She must have missed the clubs.

Have a question about Tampa?  Ask it. 

On June 28, Jacque did:

My question is…. How many murders has Tampa had this year, 2006. I have searched for 2 days and can’t find anything. I live in Memphis,TN.

Unfortunately, we have had 89 murders to date here. We are considering a move to a less violent city, Tampa area and Orlando area are our top 2 choices so I thought I would do some research. Thanks.

Hey Jacque! I called up the police in both Tampa and Orlando. We also gave a shout to our good friends at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office. According to each of them, as of June 30, 2006, there have been 17 homicides within Tampa city limits, and 16 within unincorporated Hillsborough County. These numbers don’t include Temple Terrace or Plant City.

There have been 30 homicides within Orlando city limits.

Good luck if you’re staying up there.