Welcome to Thinking Out Loud, a blog that contains postings from The Tampa Tribune’s Editorial Board and from various Tribune Community Columnists. Unlike the unsigned editorials that represent the newspaper’s institutional voice, the blog postings offer personal perspectives on the issues, personalities and events of Tampa Bay.
We invite you to participate by posting your comments. We’ll do our best to respond.
Contributors:
Joe Guidry
Joe Guidry is the deputy editorial page editor of The Tampa Tribune. He is a Tampa native and a graduate of the University of South Florida. He is married and has an adult son.
Jeff Stidham
Jeff Stidham grew up and lives in Bartow. He has been with the Tribune for nearly 22 years, the last 10 on the editorial board.
William Yelverton
William Yelverton is a Tribune editorial writer who has worked for the paper nearly 22 years. He lives in the Dade City area.
Jim Beamguard
Jim Beamguard is a Tribune editorial writer. He is a native of North Carolina and a graduate of Davidson College. He and his family live in Brandon.
Jackie Papandrew:
Jackie Papandrew is a freelance writer and editor. Her syndicated humor column appears in publications in the United States, Canada and India. She lives in Largo with her husband and children. Visit her website at www.jackiepapandrew.com.
Camille Beredjick
Camille Beredjick is a senior at Chamberlain High School, an avid musician and a scribbler with a quirky sense of humor. In the fall, she will be attending Northwestern University to study journalism, political science and music, and she plans to pursue a career in journalism.
Jim Harnish
Jim Harnish is in his 17th year as Senior Pastor at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa. He and his wife, Marsha, have two daughters and two grandchildren. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary and received the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Bethune-Cookman University. He is the author of six books and numerous articles and studies. He enjoys playing with his grandchildren and cheering for the Florida Gators.
Angela Hunt
Angela Hunt is a novelist living in Pinellas County with her husband and two 220-pound mastiffs.
Sheryl Young
Sheryl Young was a Tampa Tribune Community Columnist in 2005-2006. A freelance writer since 1997, including the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa Style Magazines, St. Pete Times and nationally in Better Nutrition, Today’s Christian Woman and more. She’s received a First Place Amy Foundation national "Roaring Lambs" Writing Award, and has lived in Tampa Bay with her family for over 20 years.
Christie Gold
Christie Gold teaches English and journalism at Freedom High School in Tampa where she advises Revolution, the school newspaper. She has been both the Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year and Florida Journalism Teacher of the Year. She lives on a small farm in Wesley Chapel where she trains as a competitive equestrian.
Natalie D. Preston
Natalie D. Preston is a karaoke singing, only-child pouting, Seminole Tomahawk waving, newlywed bride blushing, 50-state traveling, girlie girl who loves to shop, read, run and jump up and down on her soapbox.
Fernando Figueroa
Fernando Figueroa is a researcher, educator and lives in Riverview.
Gary Beemer
Interests include humor, politics, economics, community and world affairs, finance, people, religion, music, sports, current events, the arts and education.
Nicole Yunger Halpern
Nicole Yunger Halpern is an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, where she studies everything she can get her nerdy little hands on. Desired major: life. No, not necessarily biology. Life.
Kris DiGiovanni
Kris DiGiovanni is a Tribune Community Columnist, Huffington Post contributor, Daily Kos diarist, and teacher, who recently moved from NW Hillsborough to another planet - a small beach community in Pinellas County. She also blogs at www.sandscript.wordpress.com
H. David Braswell Jr.
H. David Braswell Jr. is an Information Systems Professional. He is a native New Yorker and a lifelong NY Giants fan. He attended college in California (Cal State Northridge) and moved to Tampa in 1998.
Sean Marcus
Sean Marcus teaches creative writing, journalism and reading at Chamberlain High School. He has one son and is
expecting a daughter in early March. He can be reached at wuizabug@gmail.com
Elizabeth Warren, distinguished Harvard professor and TARP overseer, says the middle class is disappearing. I disagree. Over the past year, I’ve found that I and many other Americans are joining the middle class in large numbers.
Having played by the rules and been financially conservative, but now unemployed, I’m right in the middle. I’m exactly half-way between being qualified to re-finance my mortgage and reduce my payment by $1000/month (not enough income) and being able to have my mortgage reduced under the president’s plan to stave off foreclosure (too many assets).
As a baby boomer, I’m also in the middle. Right between being employable (too old) and eligible for Social Security (too young). Employers look at me and think I’ll be retiring soon and am not worth training. I look at my retirement account and know that I will have to work at least another 15 years.
Politically, I’m most definitely in the middle. I want major health-insurance reform, but I don’t want it to add a huge burden to the deficit. I want immigration reform, but I don’t want people to be able to scam the system. I want financial industry reform, but I don’t want the banks’ costs passed on to consumers.
Spiritually, I’m also in the middle. I don’t believe in a God that watches college football games or commands us to kill gay people (Leviticus 18:22), but also I don’t believe the universe created itself. I don’t think God talks directly to people (even presidents), but I got the message he sent this morning via a sunbeam highlighting the fragile translucency of a rose petal.
Intellectually, I’ve managed to reach the middle at last. I’m not nearly as ignorant as I once was, but not even close to being as enlightened as I should be to be. I’ve learned enough “life lessons” to be cynical, but seen enough “miracles” to remain hopeful. I recognize BS when I hear it, but still fall for Hallmark Card commercials.
Physically, I’ve definitely swung to the middle. Too chubby to wear a two-piece to the beach, but not heavy enough to shop the “plus-size” section. I’m disgusted enough to change my eating habits, but not enough to give up chocolate.
Lastly, as a Tampa Bay area resident, I’m really in the middle. I want it to warm up already! – but I don’t want it to get hot.
The middle. It can be a good place, an uncomfortable place, an anger-making place, or a blah place. Right now, for what it’s worth, it’s my place.
The author can be reached at KrisDiGiovanni at gmail dot com or on FaceBook
