Around HereBy Leo CoughlinNobody asked me, but - . . . The word is getting around - lots of folks in Belleair Bluffs are having second thoughts about having voted for Joe Barkley, a new member of the City Commission. "At minimum," one observer said, "he acts very inappropriately." Another opined, "Barkley needs a review course in civics, if he ever had one. He doesn't seem to know how government works." . . . We get letters - "Largo, under the regime of Mac Craig is wacky," one Largonian pens. "Help me understand this. . .Mac punishes Donna Givens because she did what the City Clerk told her to do and that's a duty she performs numerous times daily, without seeing the person sign the document, but the clerk gets nothing more than a chat with her superior for her misfeasance." What stings is that this communication, commenting on the recent Jackson affair, comes from a city employee. Ouch! . . . Casual observation - Seeing Bob Jackson, former Largo mayor, huddled in the inclement weather watching Largo High School's football team, and racking one's brain trying to recall Mayor Pat Gerard at any Packers gridiron game ever, rain or shine. . . . Among the folks I miss seeing - Mike and Sandy Kelly, enjoying life in Belleair Beach. . . . Norv Turner, coach of the NFL San Diego Chargers, is a double for Steve Stanton - that is, before Stanton turned himself into a woman. . . . One former member of the Largo City Commission is under the impression that the present commission supplies leadership. Apparently the person is operating under some kind of Pollyanna anesthesia. . . . Interesting to see Bill Jonson willing to throw his chapeau into the political ring again. He was always a valued member of the Clearwater City Commission (now Council). By the way, Bill likes his name pronounced with a long "O"; that is, almost like "Jonesson," rather than the short "O" - Johnson. . . . Hey, Tom DeLay was great on that dancing program on TV, whatever its name. I never watch it, but saw news clips. Tom looked pretty sporty. . . . Clearwater loses another top cop and good guy as Dewey Williams, assistant chief, joins Chief Sid Klein on the retirement list. Clearwater will go far in a tough job in filling the shoes of these men. . . . Who does Serena Williams think she is, John McEnroe? On which, our witty friends observes - More than 70,000 people protested in Washington because they think healthcare might be shoved down their throats; also known as the "Serena Williams option." . . . Whatever became of skywriting? . . . "I can feel your pain," voiced from Largo commission member Rodney Woods has been one of those things learned from experience that a politician should never say. And, as one observer points out, Largo folks are really paying no more in taxes this year than last for the most part, and adds, "Part of Rodney's income comes from the twenty thousand or so compensation he gets from the city of Largo - i.e., taxpayers are contributing to the lessening of his pain, and - without that city money he probably would be in severe pain." . . . Lane Kiffin, the jerk who coaches Tennessee, was going to sing "Rocky Top" (the Volunteers theme song) after Florida was defeated. Never heard a coach talk like that and ole Lane won't be around long. His daddy, Monte, is a fine fellow of good sense. . . . It never ceases to amaze me in these cop programs where the suspect talks freely to the arresting (and charging) officer. Hint - an arrestee cannot help him/herself this way. If one is arrested, one says only one thing - "I want a lawyer." . . . And keep this in mind - it is not unlawful for a police officer to lie to you when you are being questioned. . . . Those lizards you see around here are not geckos, but anoles (thanks, Boo). . . . Marin Alsop conducted Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in superb fashion the other night without a score. Amazing! . . . Our observant friend points out - "Joe Jackson has pocketed $500,000 cashing in on interviews about his son Michael's death. I could be wrong, but if I was Tito or Janet I would sleep with both eyes open." Amen. Michael's body was not even cool before Daddy Joe was talking - on TV loudly - about his latest business deal derived from his son's work. . . . Why is there all this talk about what happens five billion years from now - the oceans all dry up, the sun burns the earth to a crisp, etc., and so forth and so on, ad nauseam. Who cares? The story of any individual human being, anywhere, anytime - oblivion, life, oblivion. . . . The military family appreciation day at Largo's Central Park a couple of Saturdays ago was designed to focus on vets and families not politicking. But violating that rubric was Rodney Woods and pals handing out campaign junk and drawing unfriendly looks from the people. The guy, ineffective for three years on the City Commission, just doesn't get it.
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