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Aspiring author and musician Michael Patrick Welch returns to Ybor City tonight after leaving three years ago on a journey of self-discovery.
"After I left there, I needed to be serious," Welch said this week. "When you're going to do something as unsure or as uncertain as trying to be a writer or a musician, you really have to be overly committed, neurotically committed."
Welch, a former Times staffer and friend, chose New Orleans to pursue his dreams of having a book being published. His latest effort, The Donkey Show, brings his ongoing performance/book tour to the Orpheum (1902 Republica de Cuba Ave.) at 9 p.m.
The book is a fictional account loosely based on Welch's experiences working as a teacher and busboy in New Orleans. It examines both race and social relations through the main character's interactions with an array of characters, and it does so with blunt candor and frank language. There's little you would call politically correct in Welch's writing, but that lends a sense of honesty to the accounts.
The performance by him and his friends tonight will be a variety show featuring singing, skits and readings from the book. If it sounds eclectic, I'm certain it is.
Welch always has marched to the beat of a different drummer, but it's his unconventional views that can help earn him an audience of folks who appreciate the off-beat.
Through community service programs, WTMP-AM 1150 has identified a number of concerns among listeners, so it's giving folks a chance to come and potentially become a catalyst for change.
The station is sponsoring a town hall meeting at Middleton High (4801 N 22nd St.) at 6:30 tonight with the idea of formulating a ratings system for elected and appointed officials who represent the community.
"Everyone is always looking for that one black leader to fall out of the sky, but we have plenty of leaders," WTMP operations manager Louis Muhammad said. "We just want to come up with a fair assessment of the job they're doing."
The "report card" would rate officials in a number of categories, from major initiatives to how well they deal with potholes.
Most important, ground rules will be set so the discussion doesn't turn into five hours of venting.
Sounds like a plan to me.
Here's a heads up to Chicago Cubs fans: Skipper's Smokehouse is the Tampa location to participate in today's annual salute to Harry Caray. Ever since the legendary announcer died in 1998, fans have gathered in bars around the nation to salute Caray.
This year's event will have added meaning because operators of Harry Caray's restaurant in Chicago will destroy the infamous foul ball deflected by a fan during the Cubs' 2003 playoff loss to the Florida Marlins. The management group paid $113,824 for the ball. The destruction will be carried live at 8:30 p.m. on MSNBC.
I've started letting my sons watch the morning news because at ages 11 and 10, I think it's time they get in tune with the real world.
The results of this decision have been interesting. There was the time I had to explain why the police officer was arrested and accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl. My response was to the point: "If you have sex with a 16-year-old, you'll go to jail, too."
Naturally, explaining why Michael Jackson looks so strange was even more difficult. But there have been positive moments.
Last week, Ethan said he wouldn't vote for President Bush because he lied about weapons of mass destruction. Matthew countered by saying he thought it was okay to make sure there were no weapons. A debate broke out and I was beaming with pride.
Far less inspiring was Matthew's opposition to same sex marriages. When I asked why he was against it, he simply said, "It's just so gay."
We're still debating that point, but I'll say this: His juvenile argument is as bad as any adult one I've heard. I don't know how we, as a society, could endorse an amendment that would discriminate.
That's all I'm saying.
- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com