Column

Politician served; service honored

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published January 21, 2008

The Columbia Restaurant rolled out the red carpet Sunday for presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, who was interviewed live by satellite by television personality George Stephanopoulos from the historic Ybor City eatery.

Although it's not usually open for breakfast, the restaurant fired up the kitchen to serve cafe con leche to their special guests as well as spectators who came down for the event. I would expect nothing less from Columbia president Richard Gonzmart, but if it had been up to me, I would have bought some Egg McMuffins from McDonald's. ...

Speaking of McDonald's, it honored Tampa's Berta Collins as its 2007 Tampa Bay Crew Person of the year at a Lightning game last week. Collins has worked at McDonald's since 1971. Yes, 36 years. Man, that's a lot of fries ...

The mention of Wal-Mart doesn't make my head explode like some folks, but "a supercenter on the western bank of the Anclote River" just sounds wrong. I'm asking again, why continue the protracted battle in Tarpon Springs when there has to be a more reasonable tract of land in the vicinity? I feel like conducting my own search. ...

Clearwater police charged seven teens with a gang-related robbery last week, but just keep telling yourself gangs are only in "big cities" ...

Seen on a bumper sticker: Some Days All I Want To Be Is A Missing Person.

After speaking at Dowdell Middle School on Friday, I was asked by eighth-graders Sagar Gumnani and Jonathan "Big J." Williams if I could put their names in the paper. Consider it done, and I'll do it again when they graduate from high school and head off to college. And again when they start their own businesses.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified January 21, 2008, 00:04:53]