2013 Scholarship Breakfast

This is the day the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key awaits every year, when the selectees for our Scholarship Program come in to receive their awards.

I took a bunch of pictures, of some of the students, some of the parents, and of course at least one with me along with the club President and the Scholarship Chairman.

We had 25 awardees, fifteen of which were to begin or continue Associate or Bachelor's degrees from Florida schools.  All came from our two counties, Sarasota and Manatee.  There were also ten students who attend Manatee Technical Institute, where they were learning life skills and trades - of these students, only six were there (the others were at work).  Our college bound students were headed off to move into dorms or apartments, a few couldn't even stay till the traditional group picture was taken.

This is the group to the left, and the program leaders are pictured right below.  Weldon Frost chaired the committee and emceed the breakfast, after President Richard Crawford opened our meeting with a song, a pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence from those present to reflect on the promise of those youth we recognized this day.  

I've posted many more pictures on my Facebook page.  Most of the readers of my blog are FB friends, so please go there.  Ultimately, the students ranged from the traditional to those re-entering the workforce with dependents to care for.  We had two single fathers (both tech school and both unable to attend), three or four moms with children of their own.  Ultimately, Kiwanis is about the kids and our motto is "serving the children of the world, one child and one community at a time.  We work hard at projects to earn those dollars we invest in our young people, and on days like today, we see the fruits of our labor in the grateful smiles of awardees.

  

Stays in Vegas

 Obviously, I had a good time in Lost Wages, Nevada, where I had gone to participate in a Retiree Reunion, held during the annual meeting of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

NASFAA is made up of all sorts of educational professionals, mostly college financial aid officials. but also those who supported the financing of students - which would be guys like me.

I was the chartering CEO of a student  loan secondary market, which purchased student loans from lenders, and subsequently collected from the borrowers after they graduated and started repayment.  I was there from 1982 to 2003, before retirement.  At the time, we were a secondary market.  We'd buy loans, with borrowed funds from selling bonds on Wall Street, and then pay off the bondholders with the money we recovered from the students.  We were not taxed, so we had less expensive sources of funds, and our investors also paid no taxes on our bonds.

Ten years later, the world of student lending is much different, without banks.

The federal Treasury Department makes loans now and the organization I created has evolved to servicing Direct Loans, and the margins are tight.  The "legacy portfolio" of loans purchased during my tenure are said to have helped the organization have the wherewithal to survive some lean years as the current administration and the Congress changed the rules of the game.

Fortunately, the management team I left behind has persevered and now is the fifth largest holder of loans in the country.  They invited me to attend with their staff, and I had a chance to see a lot of old friends while also seeing some sights, including Hoover Dam along with other retirees.  All in all, I had a good time and the days went quickly by.  The Fremont Street Experience was my last night in Las Vegas, with a buddy from Florida who came into town for another meeting.  There is this huge mall along the street where it all started, and it has a sort of "JumboTron" where images are displayed several times an hour for about ten minutes.  It was really cool, almost better than "the Strip" where the convention hotel was found, and I spent most of my time.   Thanks for my friend Will for suggesting I attend and to Ray, who graciously picked up some major costs.  My buddy Rick proved to be a good photograhper with my iPhone too.

What happens in Vegas.....

Boy, that tower is a real eye full.

My hotel, Aria is only four years old, get lost there daily!

 OK - here I am in Vegas, by myself, and coming up on 24 hours in town.  I stayed in last night, after arriving around 1900 hours - my body thought it was 2200, so grabbed three slices of pizza and two diet cokes, took it to the room, and crashed. My friends got in after me, and stayed out in Vegas, and had some real stories to tell about the night time here.  Looking at the trash on the pavement at 0600 today when I went out foraging for food, I believe it.

This is a town where short skirts seem to be the uniform of the day, as well as the night.  Lots of homeless vets (or alleged vets) on the walkways above the streets.  You'd take your life in your hands by waling at street level to cross the main drag (main drag also has it's own meaning here).  I noticed what  I thought were playing cards left on the sidewalks, but on closer inspection there were not any Jacks, but a whole lot of topless Jills on the cards, advertising various nightlife locations.  Clearly these were handed to men, by other men, then snatched up by wives and immediately thrown down to form a carpet of licentious litter.

New York, New York has a roller coaster too

First cousin to one-armed bandit

Now, the casinos are full of gambling machines, but the only machine that has a guaranteed
payout, and it is
shown here.  I suspect the letters stand for Absolute Tourist Madness.

 Maybe I'll venture out tonight, so stay tuned to this blog locations for the dirt. Damn, I'd hate to be a street cleaner in this city.

Taken early morning before the sun went absolutely crazy......but it was a dry heat.

A Longboat Fourth

On Longboat Key, the Fourth of July is celebrated by the "world's shortest parade" followed by what amounts to an "old fashioned social" at Bicentennial Park.  The parade this year featured one station wagon (with tailgate open and patriotic music blaring from loudspeakers), three convertibles, a fire truck, an ambulance, a police car and then perhaps 150 individuals walking, on bicycles, skateboards, and various other wheeled conveyances.  The parade starts at Sun Trust, goes perhaps 100 yards to the Post Office turn, and then reverses course as it proceeds westward along this divided parkway, ending at the Town Hall entrance. Like I said, the world's shortest Fourth of July parade, darn tootin'.

 Now, after the parade, in which I was convertible number three, all participants and spectators proceed to the nearby park, where they have face painting for the children (yes, we actually do have a few), a hula hoop contest, water squirt guns, and various other games.

There were also waffles topped by strawberries and whipped cream, and the main event, the traditional butterfly release.   This was my first time to witness this up close, as individually wrapped (in paper triangles) butterflies were passed out to children and parents to all release on cue.  Of course, this being sponsored by the Longboat Observer, the Chamber of Commerce, and several smaller donors (including Kiwanis' $100 donation), we also featured the singing of the Star Spangled Banner (ballpark edition) and the Pledge of Allegiance.

We have seven elected politicians, nine appointed Planning Board members (often referred to as the Farm Team to the Town Council).  Convertible number one, driven by past President of Kiwanis Bob Gault and his wife, carried Mayor Jim Brown (and Shannon Gault's dog).  This may have been a tacit endorsement of dogs on the beach, eh Mayor?  Convertible number two was Commissioner Zunz, driven by her son.  Commissioner Gans chose to walk, being a man of the people.   So, three of seven showed up, and for P&Z there were two, one being myself.  My Corvette was number three, with the Chairperson and the Secretary of the Planning Board as featured political aspirants.  Aspirants hell, we're both ex Mayors, but we got elected by the people, not the other six Commissioners.

Oh, here's the funny part - Kurt Schultheis of The Observer did a great job of making up magnetic signs that read "B.J. Webb, Chairperson P&Z" and my name, as "Secretary P&Z".  Nice try Kurt, but magnets don't stick to fiberglass doors on Corvettes........never have, never will.  Happy Fourth of July, anyway.

The 5 Euro Painting........such a deal.

So, I'm walking through the town of Florence, Italy, which is where we were spending day four, and town three of the infamous 10 destinations in 12 days "Speed Tour of the Mediterranean".   And it's beautiful, and fortunately Simon & Ann, our English friends are with us as unofficial tour guides.  Ann and I are walking along, and this guy comes up to us trying to sell me this painting.  Well, actually it is a poster... but it has texture, sort of like an oil painting.

The view is of the river Arno, and the town of Florence with all it's signature sights and/or sites.  The Ponte Vecchio bridge is perhaps the most significant, seen in the upper left of the poster/painting.  This bridge was not destroyed as the German's retreated in August or 1944.  Hitler instead ordered buildings on both shores demolished to deny the approaches (since rebuilt).  The bridge itself dates to Roman times, first mentioned in a document circa 996.  Stone piers anchored a wooden deck.  A flood in 1117 swept away the wooden superstructure, but it was then reconstructed all in stone.  In 1333, it was again swept away by a flood, which left only two central piers of this closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge.  Twelve years later (1345) it was rebuilt as you would see it today, with the center span being 98 feet, the two side spans at 88 feet, making it a total of 274 feet across the Arno.  Shops continue to do business on the bridge, but the butcher shops (once common) have been replaced by jewelers, art dealers, and souvenir merchants.

Which brings me back to my story - this souvenir merchant, one of the many who were legion on the ground, sees me and Ann walking and says "buy this lovely painting, only 25 Euro".  I never even hear him, however Ann relates to me later that this was the initial "ask".   As his persistence increases exponentially, he gains my attention and says "sir, for you, only 20 Euro".  Now, that's roughly $26 dollars U.S. currency (a buck thirty buys one Euro).  I walk on...........

He now says "I make a deal, 15 Euro"  I politely tell him "grazie, no".  He mutters something in Italian, probably along the lines of "mister, you're killing me here", so I reach into my pocket to show him I don't even have ten Euro, but I do produce a five Euro piece of bluish gray paper showing a Roman aqueduct on one side, some columns (probably ionic, perhaps doric, certainly not corinthian) on the reverse.  It's my BAFO, my best and final offer.  "Sir, the poster is lovely, but all I have is this - do you want it?   Quickly he snatches it as I firmly grab hold of the painting, and the deal is done.

So, I feel pretty good about it - got this nifty souvenir for only five Euros, which look to me like oversized Monopoly money.  As we walk on, I note others of his trade are selling the same poster, but starting at 20 Euros - the word is out, these cruise ship passengers won't pay retail.

So, for six dollars and fifty cents American, I bring home the poster, which my wife takes to Hobby Lobby and has framed..........for $184.25 (frame, glass, spacers, labor and tax).  I suspect that poster merchant followed me home from Italy, and got a job at Hobby Lobby to wreak his revenge.  But it is what it is, and as a memory of Tuscany and Florence, well worth it.

The town of Quarto D'Altino, near Venice

Local Elementary School

War Dead Monument

the town Plaza, facing St. Michael's church.

The last day in Venice was spent not in Venice, but chilling out at the small town of Quarto D'Altino, which was within walking distance of our Crown Plaza hotel.  The hotel, next to the train tracks into Venice, was perhaps half a mile into town,  so we walked there, and enjoyed lunch near the school. After lunch, window shopped.  Like many other places, between one P.M. and four-thirty P.M. (1300-1430 hrs), businesses shut down, with the exception of some eating places.  Later that evening, I went out and brought back a  pizza and a 1.5 liter Coke, spending all of ten Euros.  Lunch was 15.5 Euros.  The train into Venice would have cost more, without eating, and frankly we were beat after all those 10 places in 12 days where we saw enough ruins to last a lifetime.  That of course, doesn't count the ruins left of my checkbook.  Ratings:  Best big city: Barcelona.  Best place whole trip: Mykonos, Greece.  Worst: Rome, where crowds were horrible, following two hour bus trip from port.

Take aways:  Venice was lovely, as was Barcelona.   Tuscany, where we tasted wine in a 900 year old castle, was a place I'd return.  Had fun with our friends Ann and Simon, and Simon and I toured Toulon, France where the French Fleet is based and we visited the Naval Museum.  The Corinth Canal was spectacular, and I am glad I passed up Athens to journey, by boat, between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea through that impressive (finished in the 1800's) cut that must have towered 150 feet.

The museums, palaces, Vatican, etc. were impressive, but next time more time shall be leisure, less time paying to ride buses and listen to tour guides accents.   Best comment from Simon about a tour guide was priceless......"she moved faster than a rat up a drainpipe".  You gotta love the English!

Corvettes on the Circle

The magic moment - 1st in class award

My 2010 at the beach Corvette won 1st place in class, at the recent

Corvettes on the Circle, Saturday, May 5, 2013

It was the first win for this car.  I had seen my prior 2011 win in an Illinois car show, where it captured the Chief's Choice - an obscenely tall trophy with a cop pointing a gun on it.  That was my immediate past Corvette, a 2011 Cyber Gray Coupe.

We had traded that car for this one year earlier model convertible, as I clearly missed having a rag top.  My history of Corvettes runs from a 2001 convertible, to a 2004 Lemans Blue coupe, to a 2008 Metallic Silver coupe, to the aforementioned 2011 Cyber Gray coupe, and now this car.  This was my fourth year participating in this event, where in addition to a "goodie bag" the registration fee includes a nice sports shirt with logo.  It was a long day, starting with our 20 club members lining up downtown and driving in convoy to the St Armands Key at 7:30 AM, and ending mid afternoon at 3:30 PM...but it was worth it.  Elizabeth tells me I must keep this car for at least two more years, so I should enjoy this trophy while I can.  This sixth generation Corvette (C-6) is likely to not be replaced with a yet to be released for sale seventh generation Stingray.  Who cares, I'm finally back to having a convertible, and it's RED.