Around HereBy Leo CoughlinNobody asked me, but - . . . Ah, Valentine's Day just passed stirs the memories of youthful love and of a fellow who fell in love at first sight, married the girl, and loves her as much now as he did when he first saw her almost 54 years ago. . . . The baseball curtain raises this week as pitchers and catchers report to the various team sites in sunny Florida and Arizona and that takes away the sports doldrums. Only basketball's "March Madness" offers any other bright spot. . . . "Everybody should go to college" and "Everyone should have a home mortgage" are modern versions of "a chicken in every pot" promise. These are false - and dangerous - notions, as has been demonstrated. . . . How time flies department - Three years ago Largo was embroiled in the controversy over Steve Stanton, the city manager, planning to turn himself into a woman and wanting to remain in his job. . . . Boaters have to be happy with the new launching facility at the new causeway bridge. It is spacious and has plenty of parking with 24-hour access. For those not going on the water there is a fishing pier. All that's needed now is a sandwich and snack bar and a bait shop. . . . I miss Andy Rodgers and Chris and Joan DeMaio. . . . Our clever and humorous friend points out - "Things seem to be bad all around the world. I got so depressed thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc. that I called the Suicide Lifeline. I got a call center in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck." . . . Governments - at any and all levels - love to operate in secret. The founders knew this, that's why they created a free press. Nothing like those snoopy newspaper people to keep taxpayer paid officials on the up and up. One local hicockalorum hates to answer questions; likes it when there's no coverage at all. . . . On that note, one internationally known reporter said just the other day that "murder has been the leading cause of death among journalists around the world. People are literally killing the messenger." It's equally effective when the killing is done figuratively - luckily, it doesn't always work. . . . Karen Seel, chairperson of the County Commission, is busy rounding up a gaggle of officials to participate in the official dedication of the new causeway bridge. Much credit to Bill Young for getting much of the funding. Hey, those "earmarks" are not all bad. . . . Whatever became of Dave Coyner? . . . For the life of me I can't understand why car racing, notably NASCAR, is considered a sport, even though in the great long ago I was sympathetic to and helped Bill France publicize it. Car drivers are not athletes, notwithstanding the 95-year-old coming a-cropper around here recently. . . . The Largo City Commission has a new dynamic vitality with the presence of its newest member, Curtis Holmes. Rather than being a "team player" and one of the bobbleheads, Holmes has displayed "thinking outside the box," a quality he promised in his campaign. . . . The daily newspaper business is headed for the graveyard, but it is publications like the one you are now holding in your hand that will endure. And why? Because they fill a niche no other medium of communication - written, radio or TV - does. . . . How about Wayne Persang of Palm Harbor? He rolled a perfect bowling 300 and then, two days later, scored a hole in one. Many of us never attain either one. . . . Kudos to Largo Police Department's 52-member volunteer squad that saved the city something like more than $250,000 in 2009 with 12,823 hours of service.
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