Every work day, Richard Blanco makes a 26-mile round trip commute between Westchase and Amaro's Paint & Body on W Columbus. But he spends only $4 a week on gas.
Blanco, 51, gets to work every day on a baby blue Vespa, the stylish Italian motor scooter which has become one of the nation's trendiest means of transportation.
"I used to have a lot of friends who would buy Vespas from the old Sears store," said Blanco, who grew up in Tampa. "I've always liked them, but when I got married and had kids . . . now it's time to enjoy life a little bit."
On weekends, he and his wife ride the countryside on a matching pair of Vespas. They've gone as far as Brooksville and Crystal River, and this weekend they're riding to Cedar Key.
Scooters are more than a solution to high gas prices. Last year, overall sales in the United States climbed to 69,000 from 12,000 five years earlier, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.
The Vespa is the Lexus of scooters, in terms of both quality and cool. They were first popularized in the 1953 film Roman Holiday, and again rose to fame in the 1964 Who-inspired Quadrophenia. Now a new generation has fallen for the Vespa, featured in the 'tween film The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
Bruce Albertson, co-owner of Vespa-Tampa on Spruce Street as well as stores in Winter Park and Orlando, said Vespas have attracted everyone from NBA players to *NSync members to actors Matthew Broderick and Robert DeNiro.
The advertising department "is having nightmares trying to come up with the target demographic," said Albertson. Customers range from age 15 to 80, he said.
"It's everyone from people with facial jewelry and green hair to people who remember Vespas from the late '50s and early '60s.
"I have to be able to talk Limp Bizkit and Glenn Miller all at the same time."
Is it just me, or is someone else out there tired of getting minuscule slices of pie at restaurants? Look, a slice is a slice and should at least cover a sizable portion of my palm.
If you're going to serve slivers and charge $5 to $6, just do me a favor and put "sliver" on the menu.
Kudos to Tampa's Zachary V. Bunkley, one of four people honored Thursday at the White House because of his commitment to community service.
Bunkley, an air traffic operations supervisor at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, donated free time during the past two years as an executive to help the United Way's Combined Federal Campaign.
The Tampa Bay Film Commission has been inundated with inquiries from people wanting to serve as cast or crew or provide vendor services for this summer's filming of The Punisher. Big surprise. So please, stop calling.
What you should do is periodically check the Tampa Bay Convention and Vistors Bureau Web site, www.VisitTampaBay.com for updates. As more information regarding the feature film becomes available from the production offices, the bureau will update the site.
Or you can just do like me and wait for the producers to discover you. I'm sure someone is going to walk up to me any day now and say, "You're a natural." After all, even though I was forced to wear a bag over my head every time I was on stage, I did get the lead role in the school play.
