Local News | Photos

Rich Wise Rolls On After Tenspoke Indies

Posted Oct 14, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Oct 14, 2008 at 11:42 AM

Rich Wise wanted to be a rock star.

Even after wife Patricia, a teacher at Moon Lake Elementary School, gave birth to daughter Rebecca almost three years ago, the singer-guitarist’s dream endured – and for good reason.

Last year, his band Tenspoke Indies produced its first full-length CD, “Blinded By The Sound” after years of playing gigs around Tampa Bay and beyond.

Formerly known as Harrydash, the band, including bassist Steve Dube of Land O’ Lakes, guitarist and singer Josh Maloney of Oldsmar, and drummer Richie Reitter of Port Richey, also nearly won $100,000 in a national competition and had a video shown at an event that coincided with the Sundance Film Festival. But, as The Rolling Stones once sang, it’s all over now.

The band, named after a racing tire used on the Indianapolis Speedway, hasn’t performed since an Ybor City gig in March, said Wise, who had been the group’s de facto spokesman.

There’s no bad blood, he said, he’s just burned out.

And his family in Spring Hill isn’t getting any smaller. His second child is due in December.

“I definitely have more of a focus on my family now,” Wise said. “It was getting harder in my home life to continue what I was doing.”

In 2006, the group was among 10 bands from across the country that made the finals of the Zippo Hot Tour contest, for which about 1,000 bands registered. Besides $100,000 in prizes, the group would have gone on a 20-city tour with rock band Papa Roach.

The previous year, Harrydash had a video of its song, “Sugar High,” featured on a compilation DVD titled “Can’t Dance ‘05,” shown during the third annual Can’t Dance Music Video Festival, which is tied to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“We like to think we have the ability to go big,” Wise said at the time.

It was hard to argue.

The polished quartet seemed equally as comfortable churning out grinding rock ‘n’ roll as it did Top 40-style pop. They eventually signed a deal with Decadent Suite Records of Harrisburg, Pa., and embarked on extended tours around the Northeast when they weren’t marking their local musical territory.

Since March, Wise, a native of England, has busied himself teaching guitar lessons privately and at Music Matters in Trinity, as well as working part-time at Performance Audio, a Spring Hill company that does staging, lighting and sound work.

Besides that, he said, “I’m a bit of a stay-at-home dad.”

“I’m kind of trying to move on,” he said of his rock ‘n’ roll fantasies. “I still talk to the guys [from Tenspoke Indies]. We still get along and we’re still friends. I think they want to play a little more. I can see maybe doing a couple of shows just for fun.

“I don’t miss playing all the time right now, but I’m sure I will. With the guitar lessons and everything, I’m still around music. I’ve thought of someday opening up my own studio.”

If a desire to return to the stage proves too much to ignore, Wise probably won’t have a hard time finding a group to play with or an audience to perform to.

Rock ‘n’ roll, as Bob Seger once sang, never forgets.

---

Yuppie Mugged In Zephyrhills?

Posted Oct 8, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Oct 8, 2008 at 04:34 PM

Some cultural flashbacks, like the glimpse of a Farrah Fawcett poster from the ‘70s, are pleasant.

Others, like catching 10 seconds of “Old Yeller” while channel surfing, are sad.

Then there are images that make you look twice, then scratch your head after you’re sure you’ve seen what you’ve actually seen. That’s what happened to me while driving on Gall Boulevard this week. The skies were clear, the pavement dry and the traffic light. Those are the only reasons I took my eyes off the road to look twice at the square, bright-yellow sign hanging in the window of the minivan in the other lane: BABY ON BOARD!

I did a quick, internal Q&A.

Did Sammy Hagar just join Van Halen? No.

Am I fleeing fourth-period American literature in a stolen car? No.

Have I recently paid to watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”? No!

So, 1986 really did end 22 years ago? Yes.

I might have asked the mild-mannered-looking woman driving the minivan what yuppie she stole the sign from. After all, I’m paid to ask the tough questions.

But who needs to be Maced at Gall and Eiland Boulveard by a protective mother transporting a young Earthling in a baby seat?

Not me.

 

---

Silverhawk’s Gathering Promises Flutes, Fun

Posted Oct 8, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Oct 8, 2008 at 11:44 AM

Dock Green Silverhawk doesn’t have anything against powwows, he just wants you to know that his event isn’t one.

This weekend, Green (that’s him in the picture) hopes to pack the Withlacoochee River Park east of Dade City with 2,000 of his closest friends. Green and the throng converge annually at the 260-acre preserve for what has become known as the Silverhawk Native American Flute Gathering.

Although its theme is Native American, the event, which started five years ago as a backyard barbecue for flute players at Green’s Plant City home, is not a powwow. “We’ll have non-stop entertainment all weekend. I go to a lot of powwows and there’s dead spots where there’s nothing to do,” said Green, 66, who is part Creek, part Cherokee. “You won’t have that here. I’ll have storytellers, flutes, didgeridoo players ... ”

Didgeridoos?

Did he say didgeridoos?

“That’s an ancient African instrument,” he said.

Unfortunately for Dock and I, I know exactly what a didgeridoo is, and it ain’t African (see “Thanks, Ripsnorting. I Owe You” and “Didgeridoo Part II, Electric Boogaloo” below).

Anyway, there will be singers, dancers and drummers, as well as flute players form around the state. Vendors will sell all manner of Native American jewelry, instruments and clothing.

The festivities begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and end at 6 p.m. Sunday. There is no admission fee, but it costs about $15 to camp overnight.

Afterward, still at the river park, Silverhawk will lead a Native American church service, a highlight of which is the banging of a 40-inch drum called Sacred Thunder.

“It’s not a pagan thing,” Silverhawk said. “We worship Jesus in a traditional native American ceremony and we use the big drum. We also do a tobacco offering when we pray to the four directions.”

I asked Dock about the significance of tobacco in Native American culture.

“As Indian legend goes, there was a man who came to this country a long time ago. We feel it was Jesus the son of the creator. The Cherokees called him ‘Chee-saw.’ He’s also been known as ‘Son of Creator,’ ‘The Fair One,’ ‘The Pale One’ and ‘The Morning Star.’ The tobacco was given to us by Him, so the legend goes, to use in our worship and our prayers.”

For information, contact Green (813) 754-8990 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or visit http://www.silverhawkflutegathering.com.

 

---

No Frills, Just Good Food At La Pequena

Posted Oct 6, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Oct 6, 2008 at 04:45 PM

People who don’t live in Tommytown don’t usually go there.

It’s not the most glamorous-looking place and reports of gunshot victims lying in the streets outside Dade City occur at such a rate that outsiders who have heard about Tommytown don’t go there at night.

Among Pasco County’s most blighted areas, the area, long plagued by drug dealers and prostitutes, is home to migrant workers with annual household incomes of about $7,500.

There are decent parts of Tommytown, though, and they don’t all originate from the office of Margarita Romo, the outspoken, crusading executive director of Farmworkers Self Help, Inc. on Lock Street, aka Calle de Milagros. A Frisbee throw away from the Farmworkers building is the front door of La Pequena Mexican Restaurant. If you’re used to Mexican restaurants where you can see other diners dressed in post-yuppie fashion, hear mariachi music and view soccer games on one of several flat-screen TVs, La Pequena might not be the place for you. The décor isn’t festive, the space isn’t large, and the parking lot is accessed by dirt road.

However, the restaurant is clean and I have never had to wait for a table.

At various times I have ordered a wet burrito platter, taco platter and a nacho plate piled high with cheese, beef, beans, lettuce, tomato, etc. The food is always hot and fresh, and the prices are extraordinarily reasonable. The service is friendly, but not in-your-face.

And, I always leave feeling as full as the Taco Bell on U.S. 301 at lunch hour.

As Mexican restaurants go, I probably could ask for more.

At the moment, though, I can’t think of what it would be.

---

Kim Launches Cyber Business

Posted Oct 2, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Oct 7, 2008 at 05:45 PM

Kim Rowe sprang from his chair as if it had suddenly grown a spike.

There are hundreds of T-shirts stored at his business at Trilby Road and U.S. 98, and a large one had fallen onto a shelf designated for extra-large shirts.

With a wide grin, Rowe held up the shirt before putting it in the proper space.

“These seem to be of a better quality,” he said of the Gildan brand T-shirts, the only kind he will customize for local and Internet buyers. “I could still use Jerzees; they’re close [in quality], but some people are very picky about that.”

Rowe, 54, operates Kim’s Play-A-Round, home of an 18-hole putt-putt golf course. Over the past few years, though, the business has morphed.

Gone is a large tent under which people played laser tag adjacent to a paintball field that was regularly used at night. The make-believe battleground was covered by tires, barrels and large wooden spools – and often homemade fog.

Inside the building where he now designs T-shirts, cups and hats, was a game room and high-definition television.

There also used to be a “paintball pro shop,” where he sold and fixed all manner of paintball accessories, and several bicycles that people could rent and ride on the nearby Withlacoochee State Trail.

“Things change,” Rowe said this week. “I had to go with the flow to stay in business.”

Where people once played pool, air hockey and Foosball are machinery – including a vinyl cutter, silk-screen press and direct-to-garment printer – used for making T-shirts, baby clothing, banners, signs, coffee mugs, baseball caps and other items. Stacked near two computers and an embroidery machine was a T-shirt adorned by the image of legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, a white tie with a saxophone embroidered near the bottom and a baseball cap with an illustration of a dog above the bill. This business is known as http://www.print-it-on.com. Most customers are online, although a few local residents, businesses and organizations regularly call him.

Rowe also sells his own creations on eBay, including T-shirts with slogans such as: “Warning: Mouth Operates Faster Than Brain,” “Hard Work Never Killed Anyone, But Why Give It A Chance” and “I Started Out With Nothing And Have Most Of It Left.”

A Harrisburg, Pa., native, Rowe formerly worked in the microfilm industry. He bought the property where he now runs his businesses in 1991. Back then, it was a florist shop. Rowe was into gardening, so he took over the store.

He has lived on the property for years.

Richard Riley, a longtime member of the Greater Trilby Community Association, referred to entrepreneur as “one of our community’s success stories.”

“We’re very fortunate to have him as a member [of the Trilby association] and contributor because he does all our signs,” Riley said. “We repay him when we can, and that’s not often enough. He really does an awful lot for us – more than he should.

“Sometimes, he appears to be gruff, but he would give you the monogrammed shirt off his back to help you out or loan you five bucks, or a lawn mower. He’s just one of the major assets to the community.”

With country music playing on a radio, Rowe said his Internet orders usually come in in the morning, and he works on them throughout the day. He has basically taught himself how to do all of the work, from detailed embroidery on a baseball cap to making posters, signs and banners.

With the putt-putt course still attracting weekend customers, he said he typically works 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Sunday. He also has large inflatables that are often used for children’s birthday parties.

Twice divorced, he said he enjoys outdoor sports and bicycling.

In his spare time, Rowe, who doesn’t smoke or drink, works at a nearby convenience store on U.S. 98. He doesn’t have to work at the store, but does so, he said, “because I don’t have a life.”

Although he is interested in dating, he didn’t seem confident of finding a girlfriend any time soon.

“Women are into guys who smell like a burnt cigarette,” he said. “I’m single, though, I available.”

He paused and grinned.

“If you like old, fat men.”

Kim’s Various Web Sites

Information about Kim Rowe’s businesses can be found at the following Web sites: http://www.weprintiton.com; http://www.print-it-on.com; http://www.pascoinflatables.com and http://www.kimsplay-a-round.com. His eBay store is called “we print it on.”

 

---

No End In Sight For Jo’s Book Shack

Posted Sep 26, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Sep 26, 2008 at 05:05 PM

Some business owners have customers.

Jo Kassabaum has friends who happen to spend money at her store, The Book Shack.

On a steamy weekday morning, Shirley Carson came in through the store’s back entrance, a bag full of books in her hand.

“We moved here in 1979, and I haven’t left her alone since,” Carson said. “I’ve cried on her shoulder, and she’s cried on mine.”

Through the years, the friends said they have shared their families’ joyful news and bonded during difficult times.

A Wisconsin native, Kassabaum has operated the downtown Dade City institution for 29 years. Before that, she was a stay-at-home mom and sometimes worked part-time at businesses owned by her husband, Tom.

“My sister-in-law had a book store in Waukesha, Wis. We were talking one evening, and she said she had some extra books,” Kassabaum said. “She said, ‘If you have a place to open a store, I’ll send them to you if you pay the shipping.’

“She sent me 9,000 books. She hadn’t discovered sidewalk sales yet.”

Since then, The Book Shack’s inventory has multiplied more than 10 times.

The merchandise is a mix of literary genres and titles—from “Passage of Natchez,” a western by Cameron Judd, to “Shrink Your Female Fat Zones” by Denise Austin to “I Never Played the Game” by Howard Cossell.

The store also features works by local authors such as William Dennis, Mark “Tiger” Edmonds, R.W. Lowrie, Caroline D. Marlette and Carol Overstreet.

In Kassabaum, Edmonds, a recently retired English professor from Saint Leo University, finds an almost “Rainman”-like ability to recall what her regular customers have read.

“You can bring a stack of books to the counter, and she’ll go through them, one by one,” he said. “She’ll say, ‘You’ve already read this one … and this one.’ She’ll also tell you if there’s one that you won’t like.”

The store also has paintings by Joe Geiger and other local artists, along with various postings that tell you about the store’s character. On one bookshelf, there’s a “B.C.” comic in which a character says, “Life is a seventy-five cent paperback.” A nearby poster says: “Solve mysteries – Read.”

When Kassabuam opened in 1979, she said romance novels were her most popular titles because the majority of her customers were women.

“As others found me, it changed,” she said. “Right now, mysteries are the biggest sellers. Even the romance writers have gone to writing suspense. But then, westerns are always popular and science fiction.

“The horror genre has become less popular because there aren’t as many writers. There’s Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and maybe three or four others who are prolific, but the rest have kind of faded away.”

Kassabaum’s own favorite authors include Madeleine Brent (a pseudonym for British author Peter O’Donnell), mystery novelist Harlan Coben, Lee Child, a writer of thrillers, and David Baldacci, the best-selling American writer.

Her 1,000-square-foot location at 14407 Seventh St. is about seven blocks north of the Seventh Street shop she ran for about 20 years.

On a recent weekday, she grabbed a calculator from near the cash register to figure out how long she and Tom have been married.

“Forty-seven years,” she said, finally.

The couple raised three sons: Tim, who died in April 2007; Rob and Mike. The also have four grandchildren.

Standing at the register, she said she isn’t likely ever to retire.

She loves the store and the customers she knows as friends.

Through the years, she said she has learned that people, like books, cannot be judged by outward appearances.

“Some little old ladies will come in looking for true crime,” she said. “And, some men are looking for something more romantic.”

THE BOOK SHACK

The store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. For information, call (352) 567-5001.

---

“Roughhouse” Ralph Talks Rasslin’

Posted Sep 18, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Dec 31, 2008 at 02:00 PM

“Roughouse” Ralph Mosca wants to talk about ACW Underground, the wrestling organization he is forming next month.

He plans to use talent from the defunct American Combat Wrestling outfit, which he closed about a year ago, so he could promote shows for Florida Championship Wrestling, a developmental territory for Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment.

I’d rather ask about the gray hair in Mosca’s goatee.

“It’s just light-blond,” says the semi-former pro wrestler, 37, who claims to be making a comeback next month at ACW Underground’s inaugural promotion in Port Richey.

I’d point out the gray hair atop his head as proof, but he has either shaven it all off or the follicles have fallen out. Regardless, the countenance beneath Mosca’s shiny dome seems happy.

But then, “Roughhouse” Ralph is usually smiling.

Even if you blew your nose on his shirt and wrote “KICK ME” in red lipstick on the back of his bald head, Mosca would still beam at you. Maybe all those trash cans upside the head have left a permanent grin.

Or, maybe his demeanor is simply as friendly as his gut is soft.

“Hey,” he says. “I’m on a diet.”

That much, I could tell. Months ago, Mosca weighed about 285, and was shaped like Fred Flintstone. Now, he’s down to about 240, and looks more like Kojak, only there’s a Parliament Light between his teeth instead of a lollipop.

Sitting at a table at Bourbon Street, home of the Florida Championship Wrestling shows, Mosca exhaled smoke and said he wants to get down to 225.

I don’t see it happening.

“I thought we were gonna talk about wrestling,” he said.

Fine.

Comeback Planned

On Oct. 11, at the Jewish Community Center on Scenic Drive in Port Richey, Mosca, a six-time ACW singles champion and two-time tag-team titlist (once with the late Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow), says he will grace the squared circle in a “four-way elimination, no-rules, no-disqualification, street-fight match.”

Whatever that is.

He said he was inspired to revive the ACW under a new banner when other former ACW wrestlers such as Sideshow, Joshua Masters, Eddie Taurus, David Mercury, Nick Fame, The Power Co. Twins and Shan Hill expressed an interest in doing local shows.

Although he promotes weekly FCW shows at Bourbon Street, Mosca, a full-time salesman for Fastenal, a construction and industrial supplies company, said he had too much time on his hands.

Besides, he had done plenty of shows at the Jewish Community Center before and officials there were eager to do more.

Plus, Mosca had an itch to get back in the ring.

Who wouldn’t?

For little pay, he has suffered seven concussions, a torn rotator cuff, a dislocated knee, a cracked sternum and bruised tailbone since embarking on a part-time wrestling career in the early 1990s. The most he ever received for wrestling at a single event was $2,500, but he said the purses are usually a fraction of that.

His forehead is covered with scar tissue, a tell-tale sign of razor-induced bloodletting.

“I don’t remember him ever having stitches,” said his wife, Nicole. “He had those staples in his head, though. That was years ago – from a metal chair.”

The couple has been married nine years and together 18. They have three children, Anthony, 14, Alex, 9, and Vanessa, 5. Nicole and the kids don’t attend many matches.

Besides promoting and wrestling, Mosca also has established http://www.floridawrestlingtalk.com, where “there is no censorship and your opinions and comments are not modified.”

He started the site after being banned from another wrestling forum.

“I speak my mind,” he said.

ACW More ‘Extreme’

Of the promotions, Mosca said ACW Underground will be more “extreme” than the family friendly FCW shows, which he has promoted for about a year.

He leapt at the FCW opportunity as if he were springing off the top rope, and for good reason. The Tampa Bay area is the WWE’s only “developmental territory,” and the FCW wrestlers are under contract with McMahon’s organization.

While Mosca isn’t getting rich promoting the FCW, it keeps him involved in wrestling with the industry’s juggernaut.

Since the FCW started doing shows at Bourbon Street, several of its wrestlers, such as Nattie Neidhart, daughter of former wrestler Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, and Afa Anoai Jr., member of a famous Samoan wrestling family, have been promoted to televised spots on WWE’s “Raw,” “SmackDown” and “ECW” programs.

The organization trains wrestlers at a facility on Dale Mabry Highway, where former wrestler Tom Pritchard is head coach. The Bourbon Street shows allow wrestlers under contract with WWE to hone their skills before a live audience.

Pritchard praised Mosca’s promotional skills.

“We just need to keep our crowds consistent,” he said. “During the summer, we had great turnouts with the kids out of school.”

Long before the opening bell on a recent Tuesday, a stream of male and female wrestlers walked into Bourbon Street, all of them stopping to greet Mosca.

To each, I was introduced as his parole officer.

Not all of the wrestlers laughed, but Mosca did. Every time.

Greeting Mosca, wrestler Michael Jarvi, who looks big enough to stop a charging rhinoceros, playfully grabbed his scarred, bald head between his heavily tattooed forearms and gave it a squeeze.

“Look at that smile,” Jarvi said, looking down at the giddy promoter. “It makes me happy.”

---

Heilman’s Christian Site Gains National Attention

Posted Sep 15, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Dec 31, 2008 at 02:02 PM

Jay Heilman sat in front of the computer in his small, comfortable living room, preparing for an interview.

Since launching http://www.christianmusicreview.org on Sept. 25, 2004, Heilman has gone from simply typing his own critiques onto the Web site to interviewing top Christian entertainers.

“I have to write out a script, otherwise I get lost,” a smiling Heilman, 27, said of his interviewing technique.

A 1999 Pasco High School graduate, Heilman of Dade City is a self-taught Webmaster and writer who devotes his free time to the non-profit site. He works full-time for a local rental company.

  On a recent weekday, Heilman was writing out questions for Alex Kendrick, writer and director of “Fireproof,” an upcoming movie starring Kirk Cameron, a devout Christian and former star of the television series “Growing Pains.” A few months ago, Heilman interviewed Cameron, who produces and hosts “The Way of the Master,” a TV show where Cameron and another host teach Christians “how to share their faith effectively and inoffensively,” according to the program’s Web site.

Last year, Heilman interviewed Brian Welch, who gained fame as guitarist with metal band Korn but now makes Christian music. “I like the hard stuff,” Heilman said of his musical taste. “But, I never thought of Christian music that way. I didn’t know the music could be as hard as anything you hear in mainstream [music], but it can be. Sometimes, it’s harder.” Heilman got to know representatives from several music labels while working at Zephyrhills radio station 96.7, The Switch. The music reps now provide CDs for Heilman and his staff of three unpaid writers to review. He takes the work seriously. “The difference between our reviews and other reviews is we focus on the message of the music, not just the music,” Heilman said. “The music should be about Christ. I don’t believe it should be labeled ‘Christian music’ if it isn’t, and there’s a lot of that out there.” Ben Collins of Bushnell has been writing for Heilman since January. “For me, it’s just an opportunity to do something to reach out to others,” said Collins, whose brother, Barry, is one of Heilman’s other writers. “It’s something fun to do. We don’t cover every [new release]; we’re not a big, huge site that has all the talent and resources that others have. We just do what we can and do our part.” Salvation Although Heilman said he has prayed since he was a child, he didn’t consider himself a Christian until 2003, after meeting his wife, Shannon. At the time, he was managing a video store in Dade City. She came in looking for horror movies. They developed a friendship and started dating. “She talked to me about my salvation,” he said. “I didn’t understand the concept.” Heilman started attending services with Shannon at Croom-A-Coochee Baptist near Bushnell.

“I sat in the pews for three months,” he said. “I thought the pastor was talking to me, personally. I asked Shannon if she had talked to him about me, if the messages were directed at me, and she said no. “At that point, I was happy. I was 22 and wanted to get married and have a family. That’s the only thing I thought I was lacking, but I was lacking the ultimate gift: salvation. “Me being completed is having Christ in my life.” The couple has a 2-year-old daughter, Hannah, and another child due in March. Heilman has a 9-year-old daughter, Mariah, from a previous relationship.

While Heilman’s personal and spiritual life is thriving, his Web site has drawn attention, too. He said he gets about 8,000 hits a month from around the country. In fact, one of his writers, Liz Zelinski, lives in New Jersey.

The site also has attracted Kevin McNeese, a Web designer who operates http://www.newreleasetuesday.com, a stylish and respected Christian music site based in Boise, Idaho.

McNeese’s site features music and book reviews, Christian music news, interviews and articles, as well as videos, blogs and podcasts.

“I’ve been watching his site for a while,” McNeese said of Heilman. “His reviews are thorough, and I wanted to share it with our readers. I’ve had it bookmarked for probably about a year.

“He stays on top of reviews and all the latest releases coming out. He doesn’t let a lot of time pass. He now has reviews up there for stuff that has come out in the last two weeks. They consistently post content, and you don’t see that a lot out there.”

Chuck Norris Fan

In addition to Jesus, Heilman is inspired by a devout Christian actor he has not yet interviewed.

“I’ve always been a Chuck Norris fan,” he said. “The first movie I remember was ‘Firewalker.’ My mom taped it off cable when I was 9 or 10.”

Beside his computer sits a glossy notebook with a picture of a bare-chested Norris, muscles rippling, an intimidating glare on his face. Inside the notebook is a saying from http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com: “Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.”

It might seem odd that a God-fearing man such as Heilman would be into movies where the heroes prevail in bar fights while pursuing gold; but Norris is known almost as much for his religious conviction as his fitness-equipment infomercials and his ability to pretend to crack people’s skulls.

“When I found out Chuck Norris was a Christian, that just made everything so much better,” he said.

The way Heilman’s site has grown, landing an interview with the “Walker, Texas Ranger” star might not be unthinkable.

The site has grown to 1,000 pages of content.

“I would love to do this full-time, but making money was never the goal,” Heilman said. “If the Lord ever brings me the opportunity, though, I’d love to do that.”

Christian Music Review

If you would like to donate to Heilman’s site or learn other information, visit http://www.christianmusicreview.org, or e-mail him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

 

---

Life Is Sweet

Posted Sep 9, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Dec 31, 2008 at 02:07 PM

Alwyn Purkis reads Playboy in front of his wife and kids.

At 94, the retired beekeeper does as he pleases. Always has.

If Alwyn does things a little differently than most, it’s worked for him and the family business, Pasco Honey, which he started in the 1950s. >
While economic and environmental challenges have forced beekeepers around the country out of business, Pasco Honey still manages a bustling drive-through-style business.

If they need help, customers blow their horns.

“All the people from up north, when they go home they want to take their orange blossom honey to their neighbors or relations,” said Alwyn’s wife of 40 years, Guadalupe, 75, a native of Belize.

“The health nuts go for the palmetto,” Alwyn said. “It’s good for the prostate.”

The honey industry itself hasn’t been so healthy as of late.

The sluggish economic times have been hard on beekeepers, and bugs from overseas are depleting bee populations in some areas, said Laurence Cutts, president of the Florida State Beekeepers Association.

“The price of honey is lower than the cost of production, so beekeepers are going out of business,” Cutts said. “Then, there’s the varroa mite. That’s a pest that came out of Asia, and it’s extremely deadly to European honey bees, which is what we have here.”

The Purkises say they battled a “black bug,” which Cutts said could be the varroa mite, roughly the size of a small flea, or the small-hive beetle, about the size of a lady bug.

One catastrophic problem the Purkises haven’t reported is the mysterious colony collapse disorder that has done in other beekeepers.

“The bees just disappear,” Cutts said. “They leave the hive and don’t come back. They haven’t been able to find any smoking gun or bullet that’s causing it. It’s a new problem that has also caused a recent decline” in the bee population.

If the family business is as durable as its patriarch, Alwyn’s son, Barry, who now runs the business, will be a busy man.

Although he suffered a couple of strokes in 2004, Alwyn doesn’t look as though he’s ever lost a hair, and his offbeat, deadpan sense of humor is as keen as ever.

Next month, nieces and nephews from Purkis’ native Canada—as well as children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren—are expected at the Purkises’ property off Trilby Road for a birthday party.

He is as much an optimist as he is a fan of Hugh Hefner’s publication.

To hear Alwyn tell it, bee stings are as beneficial as their nectar and help explain his longevity.

As the rest of the family sees it, though, Guadalupe has been as helpful to Alwyn as the bees.

---

Forgot To Mention ...

Posted Sep 3, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Sep 3, 2008 at 02:07 PM

Welcome to the debut appearance of what is likely to be a recurring Everyday People feature. As in everyday conversations, I often forget to mention things in this blog, which isn’t even updated every day.

Here are a few things I’ve failed to mention recently. (Since importing a picture onto this thing is more confusing than “Memento,” I’m not even going to try bullets.)

Greg Clifton, classic rock/Christian musician and customer service wizard at the Sounds Great CD store in Zephyrhills performs “your favorites from the ‘50s to present day” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Friday at Java Delights on Gall Boulevard.

Actually, this isn’t something I forgot to mention. Greg just didn’t tell me.

Or, maybe I simply forgot to ask: “So, Greg, do you play at Java Delights every Friday?”

Armed with this information, which I recently found on the counter at Sounds Great, I asked how long he’s been playing at the coffee spot.

“Oh, two years now, I think,” he said.

By all accounts (not just Greg’s) he’s more than capable with a guitar, so check him out. There’s no cover charge.

Mark “Tiger” Edmonds, who recently disabused himself of a four-decade career in higher education, also recently tied the knot with Juanita the Tall Girl.

They’ve lived together five years and known each other for 25.

“Nothing is different,” he said, “other than her last name and my insurance company.”

How many times now has Edmonds been married?

“You mean technically and legally?” he asked.

Well, yeah.

“This is my third,” he said. “Juanita’s third, as well.”

They were hitched Aug. 8 at St. Pete Beach.

Since I last wrote about “Tiger,” the author, biker and caustic social commentator has also launched a Web site (http://www.drmarktigeredmonds.com), despite his complete and undying disdain for all things technological.

“I went and hired a professional,” he said of the Web designer. “This kid’s got face jewelry and tattoos.”

I asked him if I should put his e-mail address at the bottom of this.

“Hell, no,” he said. “I hate people.”

Ironhead saved, or tried to save, a dying vulture the other day. It apparently had been struck by a vehicle near The Monkeys’ elementary school.

She saw the thing struggling as she walked the little primates to school and it was still there later.

“I was going to get a box and take it somewhere but I couldn’t find anywhere close by,” she said. “I tried to approach it and it hopped away.”

Convinced that it was trying to get to water, she persuaded one of the school’s coaches to help her “herd it through a gate so it could get to the pond.”

She claims to have saved a turtle the day before, but I forget the details.

What kind of person tries to help a vulture that didn’t have brains enough to fly away from its roadway breakfast in time to avoid catastrophic injury?

The only kind that would mate with an empty head like me.

---

Finally Caught a Rays’ Game

Posted Sep 2, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Sep 2, 2008 at 03:49 PM

It took less than 45 minutes to get to Tropicana Field from Meadow Pointe to watch the Rays run roughshod over the hapless Orioles on Sunday.

Thing 1 claimed two free tickets by reading 24 hours over the summer in a Rays-related reading program. The boy, 9, a fourth-grader, read “Annie Oakley: Young Markswoman,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Charlotte’s Web,” and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” one of the “Chronicles of Narnia” tomes, among others.

Although I was popping DayQuil like Tic Tacs, getting to the stadium was less than confusing and parking was only $10. Finding our upper-deck seats was made fool-proof by friendly stadium staff who smiled as they pointed us in the right direction. The seats, high above home plate, offered a perfect view of the field.

The preceding week, “Two Rocks,” one of the boy’s myriad monikers, had talked excitedly about what he might eat at the Trop.

By the time Rays first baseman Carlos Pena beat Orioles lefty Brian Burres to the bag for a first-inning single, “Two Rocks” had eaten his first foot-long hot dog (plain), three-quarters of a bag of peanuts (shelled) and guzzled down a (small) Sierra Mist that could have filled the bladder of an adult Sasquatch.

When Rocco Baldelli cracked a two-run double down the third-base line, the boy belched with satisfaction. While I appreciated the baritone quality, I also was appropriately dismayed by his lack of etiquette. Happily, the beer-drinking woman beside him thought it was cute. He later devoured an entire cloud of cotton candy (blue).

Earlier in the week, I saw a television interview with Rays’ hurler Scott Kazmir, who said it would be nice to see a few more fans in the stands. After all, the team has clinched its first winning season in its young history and is in first place in September, ahead of longtime division stalwarts Boston and New York.

While the fans seated around us were spirited – one woman repeatedly clanged cow bells, former Ray Aubrey Huff was booed and the hometown team turned textbook double plays amid a celebratory chorus – I could see Kazmir’s point.

I lived near Atlanta in 1991, when the long-struggling Braves improbably won the division and pennant before faltering in a wildly entertaining World Series against the Twins. Back then, Braves fever gripped the entire metro Atlanta area.

At the bank, tellers and customers talked about their favorite players.

People painted “Go Braves”-type messages on their car windows.

Joggers tomahawk-chopped greetings to massing motorists who giddily returned the gesture.

I’m not seeing the same level of excitement in Pasco in 2008.

People don’t talk about the Rays at my office.

I don’t see Rays’ bumper stickers.

I haven’t overheard Rays conversations at the Publix at Bruce B. Downs and State Road 56, the Sounds Great CD store in Zephyrhills or the La Pechanga Mexican restaurant in Tommytown.

Maybe the Rays eventually will catch on like the Buccaneers have.

And maybe baseball simply isn’t as popular as it used to be. After all, Thing 1 and his brother, Thing 2, both prefer soccer.

I tell you what, though. I was born in Cleveland and grew up when Cleveland teams were so bad I rooted for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Yankees and Boston Celtics.

Having a winner less than an hour away would have been utopian.

The boy, at least, is getting into the Rays. He hung a pennant in his room and got Thing 2 a Rays’ cap.

And I’m sure he’ll be back to the Trop.

He’s never seen a foot-long hot dog anywhere else.

---

I Want To Believe

Posted Aug 28, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Aug 28, 2008 at 02:57 PM

I admit it. I want Bigfoot to be real, even if he’s found loping through a conservation area in Meadow Pointe.

When I saw the wire story some weeks ago about a possible deceased Bigfoot from north Georgia being kept in a freezer, I wanted the photographs to show something that looked like a big, dead animal with a sloped forehead, hair thicker than Geraldo Rivera’s moustache and shoulders as wide as these United States.

What I saw, of course, looked like an empty gorilla suit on ice with some guts thrown on top, which is, of course, what it was.

Sigh.

I so want the allegedly smelly creatures to exist that I even spent a night looking for one – or more – in the Green Swamp in Polk County a couple of years ago. In Florida, of course, the bastions of cryptozoology – the study of mythic creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster – are called skunk apes or swamp apes – apparently, the more politically correct term.

The expedition was led by Scott Marlowe of the Pangea Institute, which you can learn about at http://www.pangeainstitute.us or http://www.pangeainstitute.us. Scott says he had his own encounter with a swamp ape more than 30 years ago east of Orlando. He has spent much of his life looking for more, sometimes, he says, with success.

I asked Scott what repercussions the recent hoax might have on the public’s perception of the limited field of Bigfoot study.

“This type of thing always leaves a bad taste in the public’s mouth, because they want to believe, by and large,” he said. “People want instant gratification, [but] things don’t appear on cue. In terms of genuine research [the hoax] does nothing because the scientists doing the work know better.”

While the latest exposed hoax was disappointing, my interest in Bigfoot was reignited.

I looked on the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization Web site – http://www.bfro.net – to once again peruse its data base of alleged Bigfoot sightings by region. The site lists three alleged sightings in Pasco County, the most recent of which was about two miles from Pine View Middle School in Land O’ Lakes.

The 2006 sighting was made by motorists on Parkway Boulevard, near Ehren Cutoff, where the landscape is dotted with small lakes and lots of trees.

You can read the report here: http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=15361.

Anyway, I tried e-mailing the BFRO researcher who investigated the claim but haven’t heard back. In the report, the investigator said she spoke with other people in the area who had similar sightings.

If you, or anyone you know, think you have seen a swamp ape, skunk ape or Bigfoot in Pasco County, please e-mail me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

At the same address, feel free to send me your thoughts on Bigfoot. Do you think the big guy’s out there somewhere? Do you think everyone who has claimed to have seen one is on LSD, simply mistaken or lacking common sense? Do you think a body ever will be found?

And, finally, if you were armed and saw what you thought was a Bigfoot in the woods, would you shoot it?

In the small but remarkably combative community of people who discuss such matters, debates on whether or not to shoot a Bigfoot rage endlessly. To read such discussions, check out http://www.cryptozoology.com, and read some of the forums—if only for the entertainment value.

---

Meet “Banjo Lulu”

Posted Aug 21, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Dec 31, 2008 at 02:15 PM

Lori Pegram had just fed her horse, Honey, and kicked off a pair of boots when the doorbell rang.

It was Jay Smith, right on time for his 7 p.m. banjo lesson. Finding a seat and putting his banjo in his lap, the South Tampa resident exhaled with a grin.

“Ready to try a tune?” Pegram asked.

“I think so,” said Smith, a Lubbock, Texas, native with the accent to prove it.

Surrounding him in Pegram’s unofficial home studio was an upright bass, fiddle and hammered dulcimer.

The instruments belong to Pegram and her husband, Randy. Otherwise known as Banjo Lulu and the Moose, the bluegrass-playing couple has performed at local venues, restaurants and festivals for years, sometimes as Blews Creek.

In moments, Smith was picking and Pegram was grinning.
He plucked the notes of “Boil Them Cabbage Down,” a traditional folk song, as she accompanied him on acoustic guitar.

She had told Smith they didn’t have to go through the whole thing, but something happened as the song progressed: The kind of thing that musicians intrinsically understand and non-musicians struggle to explain.

They didn’t say a word, but as they played, she began to hum. Then she sang softly. His fingers, at first seemingly hesitant on the fret board, relaxed and the notes flowed smoothly. They reached a more intricate segment and Smith’s mouth opened slightly, partly, it seemed, out of concentration, and partly, it seemed, out of wonder and pride.

He was getting it.

His head nodded slightly with the rhythm.

If Pegram sensed her student’s soaring confidence, she didn’t necessarily show it.

She smiles all the time.

‘She Overcomes’

Her lips even form a cheerful expression as her eyebrows show concern, like when she tells you that Randy Pegram, her longtime companion, musical partner and husband of two years, is recovering from an apparently successful bout against cancer that left him weak and at least temporarily unable to sing.

A civil engineer and bassist who once toured with the bluegrass band Sweetwater, Randy Pegram was diagnosed in March. As he struggled violently through treatments, the couple’s beloved horse, Frosty, died in the backyard.

“Talk about a bad month,” she said.

  I first wrote about Lori five years ago, when she was still Lori Mulford. It was an assumedly straight-forward profile about someone new to the area trying to reignite a banjo-teaching career that was sparked not long after she picked up the instrument at age 18. She cracked “Deliverance” jokes and spoke proudly of her native Scotch Plain, N.J. Not until the interview was practically over did she reveal what I never would have known. Lori was a high school senior when she was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, which has impaired her hearing enough that she usually wears a hearing aid. The disease, which also causes vertigo and nausea, is incurable. Stress and intense weather trigger her symptoms. While life has been good to the Pegrams since the story ran – they got married and she secured a full-time job as a sign-language interpreter for a deaf student at Caminiti Exceptional Center in Tampa – it also has delivered multiple wallops. A few years ago, she, too, was diagnosed with cancer, but eventually beat it. “She overcomes,” said neighbor and friend Mary Benson, who became my all-time favorite Tribune reader after answering a published plea for information about Lori last month. Benson has known the Pegrams practically since they moved down the street from her several years ago. That wasn’t surprising. “She’s very talkative and bubbly,” Benson said of Lori. “They have a lot of things going on in their lives. They’re busy going places all the time.” Despite Randy’s recent health scare, Benson said her friend still managed to smile. “They got over it together,” she said. “Some people don’t make it together.”

Keep On Smiling

Inside the Pegrams’ comfortable home, a mandolin hangs on a wall across from a piano.

In a corner is a stringed instrument called a bouzouki.

Besides a minor flub on the last note of “Boil Them Cabbage Down,” Smith, 31, had gotten through the song better than expected.

  He said the progress he has made since becoming Pegram’s student in March makes it worth the rush-hour drive to Quail Hollow, north of State Road 54 and just west of Interstate 75. Besides, he is a traveling research-and-development chef for Carrabba’s Italian Grill and she was willing to accommodate his schedule. “I’ve come a long way” since March, Smith said. “This is my third instructor and she’s by far my favorite – very hands-on and shows you everything visually and plays it for you. She goes step-by-step, writes it out and sings it every which way. “I just want to be able to play comfortably and with other people in a group setting. That’s what is unique about her. In bluegrass, the [musicians] kind of switch around playing the lead. No other instructors have showed me what I’m supposed to be doing while the others are playing.” He described his instructor as kind, patient and passionate. A banjo in her lap, she said the instrument is easy to learn. “This is all it is,” she said, the fingers on her right hand dancing effortlessly across the strings. Of course, the best figure skaters make their grueling sport look easy; tennis great Roger Federer never seems to sweat; and channeling explosive emotion seems as natural to Robert DeNiro as taking a deep breath. She plucked “Greensleeves,” a decidedly non-traditional banjo tune. Afterward, she said she and Randy were soon going to Sarasota for their anniversary. He was feeling better and there was a bluegrass event in the area that they might attend. She strummed the strings again and smiled. That wasn’t surprising. She smiles all the time.

 

---

Ironhead Corrects The Chinese

Posted Aug 20, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Aug 20, 2008 at 02:30 PM

Americans clapped and cheered as the United States swimmer splashed toward the edge of the pool, ahead of the pack.

Michael Phelps had eclipsed Mark Spitz’ Olympic swimming records and the U.S. earned another gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Ironhead yawned.

No, she doesn’t hate America.

But, she is dissatisfied (surprise) by televised coverage of the games.

Since the Olympics began, I have been unable to answer her questions.

“Where’s the fencing? Where’s the archery? Where’s the discus?”

She doesn’t like swimming.

“Back and forth they go,” she says. “It’s dull to me and they show a lot of it.”

Although she detests boxing, she is dismayed that more judo hasn’t been covered.

And that’s not all.

“There’s scant coverage of equestrian events,” she said. “And field, meaning javelin, shot put and high jump. Track, they show a lot of – the running. But not the field part.

“They don’t show any Greco-Roman wrestling on there, either.”

She’d watch that?

“Only in principle,” Iron said. “I wouldn’t necessarily watch it because I like the sport, but it would be different than swimming, diving, running and volleyball. And, handball

“The other thing that they don’t show is rhythmic gymnastics.”

How is that a sport?

“How is diving a sport, if you want to get technical about it?” she said. “The point isn’t what is and isn’t a sport, the point is if they included it in the Olympics, then I want balanced coverage. The Olympics is four hours every night, plus the occasional daytime coverage.

“They can slip five minutes of something in every now and then rather every single dive of every athlete.

“This year, it is different, because I can watch it online, but when am I gonna do that?”

It all goes back to the swimming.

Not only does she not like the sport, she has found fault with the name of the Chinese venue.

“It’s not even a ‘Water Cube,’ “ she has said—repeatedly. “Technically, it’s a rectangular prism.”

So there.

---

“Little Rhodey” Says Bye-Bye

Posted Aug 15, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Aug 15, 2008 at 02:35 PM

We were almost like siblings.

We could argue without saying a word.

We also got the same jokes.

But while I like loud music with aggressive lyrics and grinding guitar, she likes (sigh) Madonna.

I worked over the cubicle wall from Julia Ferrante for about five years.

A Rhode Island native, she earned her moniker two years ago when a former employee known as Food Lion uncovered the smallest state’s official nickname: “Little Rhodey.”

She smiled at the tag.

Then, she was often smiling – even if she was perusing a county commission agenda that would have other reporters slamming their pens in disgust. How she produced lucid, well-crafted stories from boundless piles of governmental garbage I’ll never know; I’d sooner slit my throat with a broken bottle than even try. 

If a co-worker was ever down, of course, Julia offered help – or at least an ear.

When comrades were happy, she shared their enthusiasm.

Sometimes, like the rest of us, she fielded angry calls from the public. Unlike some of us, she answered them professionally.

She hosted colorful Halloween parties, coordinated office celebrations and always had interesting nuggets of information to share. 

Today is Julia’s last day at the Tribune. She’s leaving to work in public relations for a respected college in Amish country. I would go just as crazy living in such a rural setting as I would trying to connect the dots in a blitz of bureaucratic bunk, but I’m sure Julia will be fine.

I doubt she’s ever met anyone who wasn’t a potential friend.

Before he got too popular, back when he penned songs with worthwhile words and rhythm that could accelerate your heart rate, Billy Joel wrote “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,” featuring the following line:

“Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes

“I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again”

This isn’t goodbye forever to my buddy.

But it’s clearly the end of a fun-loving era in the daily lives of her co-workers and local friends.

Like Billy Joel said, people are constantly coming in and out of our lives.

Sometimes, parting is the best for all concerned.

Sometimes, you don’t give it a second thought.

Often, it’s bittersweet, and that’s about where I am now.

Julia has an exciting opportunity in a more stable industry closer to home.

And I’m left to argue aloud with others.

---

 

TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online    ©2010 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us

TBO.com:Feedback | Advertise With Us | Email Alerts | SMS/Text Alerts | Make Us Your Home Page | Member Center | Contact Us | Site Map | Media General Operations Credit Terms and Conditions
WFLA: See news developing? Email or call our Tipline at 1-800-348-WFLA | 8 on Your Side | 8's Army | Links We Mentioned | EEO Public Filings | Children's Programming | FCC Form 388
The Tampa Tribune: Subscribe | Place an Ad | Electronic Edition | Photo Reprints | Public Research | Archive | Corrections

IYP and SEO vendors: SEO by eLocalListing | Advertiser profiles