The Way I See ItBy cj pollickUpcoming City Events - Clearwater will celebrate Clearwater Neighborhood Day on Saturday, April 17th. Neighborhoods interested in joining the special occasion can obtain more information from the City of Clearwater by calling (727) 562-4554 for party kits and more information. This is a Clearwater Parks & Recreation program. If you are a Clearwater Neighborhood interested in having a "Neighborhood Day," then call the City of Clearwater for assistance. Largo will host the Relay for Life Largo from April 16th at 6:00 pm until noon on the 17th at Largo Central Park. Walkers will go "around the clock" in raising money help to show their support in helping to fight cancer. The event is in support of the American Cancer Society. If you're interested in being a part of this most worthy event, call Largo City Hall for more information. In a couple of weeks Clearwater will host the annual Fun n' Sun Festival. Look for more news regarding this popular Clearwater event within the next couple of weeks. Easter Weekend - Warm weather, clear skies and fair winds from last Friday to Monday welcomed thousands of people visiting Clearwater Beach. For the merchants and hotel owners on Clearwater Beach the good weather was heaven sent, "We are enjoying this influx of people visiting the beach...and wish it could last longer!" stated one restaurant owner on south Clearwater Beach on Saturday. One beach merchant replied, "God knows how we needed this good weather for the holiday weekend. It helps, but we could have used more good weather." Weekend traffic reminded some of us "beach people" of the old days when traffic jams were quite common on Clearwater Beach. However, the addition of new beach parking at the Beach Hyatt did help alleviate visitor-parking problems along mid-Clearwater Beach. Leave It To The Women In Maine - A dozen women in Portland, Maine walked topless in support of women going topless in public. Ironically, there is no law in Maine about wearing a top in public for men or women. Nevertheless, and perhaps due to the warm weather in Maine last week, this topless group of protesting women paraded in downtown Portland. Topless in Maine? Probably not from October to April. (No tan lines in Maine during those months.) Churches Feel The Pain - MSN Money recently reported on the financial status of several large churches in America. The problem? Bankruptcy protection. According to MSN Money, over 100 Churches in America filed for bankruptcy last year. The Churches borrowed money to build new larger buildings when the banks were lending and with the economic downturn now can't repay the bank loan(s.) Thus, bankruptcy is the only remedy. Some of the Churches involved have large memberships (over a thousand members) while others were smaller Churches that financially overextended their bank borrowing. Most Churches across America have felt the financial sting of the nation's recession. Annual budget reviews and expenditure cuts have become an important part of modern day Church financial and business planning. Some banks have even "recommended" borrowing Churches to retain professional financial planners to help develop financial budgets that could meet lender repayment requirements. Thus, the nation's recession is being felt by homeowners, businesses and now Churches. West Virginia Coal Mine Explosion - Let me first state that my grandfather and uncles were coal miners in Pittsburgh and West Virginia coal mines during the 1920's-1980's. My grandfather worked in the coal mines from age 16 until he retired at age 68 (long past age 65 due to union abuse of miner pension funds, but that is another story.) He was injured in one mine accident and, of course, died of black-lung (due to breathing black coal dust over years of working.) As a young person it became evident that coal miners needed some state agency regulating coal mine operations to protect, what is often referred to as, one of the most dangerous jobs for workers. Yes, the job paid more than other jobs in the area, but imagine the risk of going deep under ground while working with coal mining equipment (forgetting the old days of pick and shovel.) Unions? They were just as bad as the owners of the mines. In West Virginia the small coal mine operation where over 25 men died reflects the sorry state of affairs for many smaller mine owners. Some coalmines are most conscious of safety issues, however, those mines are not the majority of mine operations. The recent explosion in the West Virginia mine shows how coal operators are willing to pay fines and other penalties while avoiding spending company money to implement greater safety features for underground mine workers. It is a sad state of affairs with lax state oversight of coalmine safety. If there were more modern safety features in the coal mine, then perhaps this coal mine accident (where over 25 men were killed) might have been avoided. Of course, mine owners would dispute such statements. Here is the worst part of this event: Residents of this small mine town will continue to support the coal mine owners. The coal mine is the town and many of the residents rely on the coal mine cash flow. This reminds some older folks of the old song sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "I Owe My Soul To The Company Store." (The coal mine country store kept credits and debits for coal miners who bought their food and clothes from the company store.) Greeks had a word for these coal miners, "doulos," slaves or servants. Mine safety in America? Coal mine safety was weak under previous US Presidents and it is likely to remain weak. The coal mine will re-open in West Virginia, the Governor will appear on national television offering condolences, the town will welcome coal mine owners, additional young men will take jobs in the coal mine, a plaque will be placed at the coal mine with names of the dead, the small country village in West Virginia will be forgotten in a few months and over 25 families will reflect on their personal losses until death. Obama Declares He Is A Black American - Even though Barack Obama's mother is a White American, while his father was from Africa (and left his mother to move back to Africa without his son), President Obama declared in a recent census form that he considers himself a Black American. Of course, President Obama can refer to himself as a Black American but it does not change his true ethnicity; Barack Obama is of his father's and mother's ethnic backgrounds. The mere act of checking a census box and implying that you are not accepting one-half of your ethnic mix can't change one's ancestry. However, the recent message from the President is clear, he does not wish to be considered a person of mixed ancestry; he is avoiding his mother's ancestry. Interestingly enough, it was his father that left the young Barack to be raised by his mother (and her family.) Big deal that Barack Obama declared himself a Black American on the census form? Not really, but it does send a message about how he wants to be recognized by the public. Time For Tiger To Move On - Tuesday at 2 pm, Tiger Woods held a media session where he responded to all questions from sports reporters. There were no "off limit" questions. Bottom line? Tiger responded to the questions in a straightforward manner stating that he accepted full responsibility for his actions and was ready to begin playing golf on the PGA Tour. Generally speaking, much of the information was old news that had played itself out weeks ago. Thursday begins the Masters at Augusta, Georgia. There is not a better golf tournament for Tiger Woods to re-start his golfing career. It should be an interesting weekend of golf news. Butler And Duke - Even though there were many basketball fans that felt Butler was at least a ten-point underdog to the Duke Blue Devils, Butler players felt they could play with any college team and certainly were not intimidated by Duke's reputation. That fact was evident on Tuesday evening at the finals of the NCAA basketball tournament. Butler showed everyone on national television that they came to play tough basketball...and that they believed they could win the game. For those who observed the game, imagine if the last shot had gone in the hoop? A Cinderella team winning by a Cinderella last second shot! Both Butler and Duke players played one heck of a game and could walk away proud of the effort. Duke won, but Butler earned respect for years to come. Kudos to the players, coaches and fans of both schools-it was a memorable event played in the backyard of the Hoosiers. "Superiority - Among the blind the one-eyed man is king." -Proverb |