For a lot of people Helen Walsh's age, a mall is someplace to walk laps. At Gulf View Square, Walsh isn't walking the mall, she's working it. Walsh, 70, has operated Tee Shirt Magic, at the southern end of the Port Richey-area mall, since May. ...more

December 5, 2009

Gratitude will be the theme of Keillor's pre-Thanksgiving one-man show at the Straz Center on Tuesday night. ...more

November 23, 2009

What do you get an 84-year-old lady for her birthday? That's what Carol Brown was thinking a few weeks ago. Her mother, June Pearce, was turning 84. The idea of buying and giving more stuff just didn't appeal to Brown. ...more

March 7, 2009

Just the other day my mother was robbed in a grocery store parking lot. ...more

December 24, 2008

W.C. Fields once warned never to work with animals or small children. That's sound advice perhaps if you're trying to revive Vaudeville, but in education, kids and critters make for a fun and informative time, as was seen last week at Seven Springs Elementary School, as students welcomed a pair of guest speakers whose visual aids were of the living, breathing variety. ...more

December 6, 2008

The man who never cared for the sound of being alone had little to worry about Friday night, drawing a crowd of 13,604 to the St. Pete Times Forum. ...more

October 25, 2008

We writers live "surrounded by a cloud of witnesses." When I was 10 years old my family moved from the city to a tiny country town where the school was overcrowded, so all fifth graders - me included - attended an old-fashioned, one-room school. The teacher, Rhea O'Grady, had taught eight grades in that room for 40-some years. She was 74 and shorter than some of her students, but she ruled the classroom like a drill sergeant. The first day I eagerly slid into a seat in the second row just left of the middle. Mrs. O'Grady peered at me over her wire-rimmed glasses and jerked her head toward the other side of the room. My fellow students giggled and whispered as I sheepishly crossed the aisle. Apparently, I was the only one who didn't know that in "Old Lady O'Grady's" class, boys sat on the left, girls on the right. When it was time for recess, Mrs. O'Grady followed us outside with a huge canvas bag which she turned upside down. Out poured baseballs, softballs, and several bats. ...more

June 28, 2008

Every year, Pyro, my canary, re-invents himself. Except for the timing, he is a lot like those of us who make dramatic New Year's resolutions. "I will lose 20 pounds." "I will be kind to everyone." "I will learn salsa dancing." But Pyro actually goes through with his transformation. ...more

December 17, 2007

About six months ago, I was having lunch with a political consultant and we were having a smart-alecky conversation about the presidential race. All of sudden, my friend interrupted the flow of gossip and said: "You know, there's really only one great man running for president this year, and that's McCain." ...more

November 15, 2007