Do you remember that one? Please, I ask that you take some time with me to ‘take a trip’. A trip back in time with me to those years when a student at H. B. Plant High School and residing in ‘South Tampa’. While doing so, let’s stay within those years we might all so dearly relish. Let’s use a window of three years; 1956, 1957 and let us close with perhaps the most remembered year of all, may it be 1958.

One’s memory is often jogged a bit by the mere mention of a name from the past. More often than not, a well described moment; place or event serves as ones vehicle of recall. I’ll try to apply all of those ‘tools’ as we move forward. Ready? Good, let’s begin:

Wanna take names? Let’s start with Jack Marley; AKA to some as "Ol’ blue eyes". Ladies, was he considered sexy or not? How about Bill Luka; our ‘Band Master’ of the ‘Band of the Hour’. One good man was he. There was Mr. Cortese; Wood shop instructor. (We sometimes locked him in the storage room or the wood shop. In retrospect, that was not a good thing to do to any man.) Mr. Tropp, what a great teacher….now, he cared. Laz Lewis and Gerald ‘Shorty’ (We did not call him by that moniker) Wilson. "Coach" Crosier, "Coach" Frank Lorenzo, (want to say the words "Football Coach Extraordinaire"?)

Off the subject for a moment, but close to sports; remember ‘Gator Ball’? You didn’t play ‘Soccer’; you played ‘Gator Ball’. Back to the subject at hand: And then, there was Mr. Robinson, Biology; man what a ‘character’ I remember him to have been. Yes, Mrs. Haynes too; a very ‘dramatic’ woman indeed. There are many, many others, far too many to make mention in this space. There are some very special teachers and some not so special at all. Regardless, I appreciate what they do. Please, feel free to add a few of your own. I certainly did so.

The ROTC; now those people knew how to dress! My wife, Sue Oliphant Fuettere (HBP Class of 1961) served as an ‘ROTC Sponsor’, (for exactly what purpose, I still do not yet know.) Many of those in the program went on to serve in our countries military. For that level of dedication at such a tender, young age, we should all be proud. And I’m sure our Alma Marta no longer supports a ROTC firing range on its grounds.

The Colonnade: yep, it’s still there to this very day. Quite a few changes though, more frequented by the ‘Grownups’ than the ‘High-schooler’ of yesteryear. The large Oak tree still holds it ground. Under that particular tree rested some of the most coveted of parking spaces.

You’d often find a red 1957 Chevrolet, Impala convertible well ensconced and standing in review for all who choose to "Cruise tha Nade". I had a blue 1949 Ford, two-door, ‘Nosed & Decked’ with lowering blocks at the rear, Moon Caps, Bubble rear wheel-well skirts, Glaspaks and white pin stripping as a finishing touch. The truth is: I always pulled the choke out until the motor turned with a "chachunka, chunka" sound. I couldn’t afford an overhead ‘Cam’, you see.

2.

The tall ever-waving Bamboo stalks with their low, ‘blowing in the wind’ groan are easily remembered too. As are the black and white waitress outfits. Aluminum trays that hung on the partially up-turned window, the aroma of hamburgers and french-fries still sets my heart a pounding….but now for entirely different reasons.

A shake, a malt, cherry cokes, chocolate cokes, lots of ketchup, wax paper wrappings, drinks in the lap, lights ‘on’ for service….flashing on and off if you really wanted to get the waitress’s attention. (They did not appreciate that, I’m sure.) Did we ever ‘Tip’ those ladies? ‘Mabel’ was the one woman in charge. You did not cross that woman!

The grounds were well-lighted and used a whole lot of white wood lattice work deco surrounding a large menu or two. The prices were right too! But then gas was what…….18 -.25 cents a gallon? Everyone who wanted to ‘ride’ any particular night contributed to the cause. They ‘pitched-in’ maybe fifty cents each. And would get a car load through the entire evening and back home again.

Tall, fully matured Australian pines served to complete the picture. They too had their own particular sound; a ‘breezy’ whistle that blended well with the surroundings and the bamboo. There’s not many of those are still with us, as the ‘Freeze’ of circa 1963 (?) finished their Tampa tenure.

We could ‘dine-in’ at the ‘Nade’ too. Black and white, checkered tiled floor, upholstered booths and a jukebox made it a most comfortable home away from home. There are so very many memories that come to me as I mentally go down my own ‘Top 40’ list of ‘Rock N’ Roll’, Love songs, slow-dancin’ numbers (then, belly-rubbing music) and the like. As much as I might like to list every one of them, I’ll now leave that to you, my dear reader.

‘Going steady’ was the norm; as was the wearing of a class ring, either on the finger (with plenty of tape) or on a chain around the neck, maybe a bracelet at the wrist would send the desired signal of; "I’m not (currently) available."

The aroma of Old Spice, Canoe, and Intimate filled the night air. And there was Here’s My Heart (Avon calling!) and other colognes and perfumes that also flooded the olfactory nerves. (Today, I occasionally wear Old Spice, ‘cause Sue still loves it.) A hot, humid summer’s night only served to enhance what ones chemistry did for each and any of the aforementioned fragrances.

A hot, humid summer’s night also served to enhance a quite different ‘fragrance’, it was that of our very own Tampa Bay. Our still-lovely Bayshore Boulevard and the areas abutting or close to same would literally wreak of a sulfur-like stench reminiscent of ….well, you know what. It still visits us every now and again.

There were other ‘night spots’ too; Ray Walker’s Chicken ‘N Chips, the Chicken ‘N a Basket, the A & W Root Beer Stand, and Zichek’s too, but ‘those’ guys from MacDill AFB were always there…..we didn’t always appreciate that condition. The only one still standing is, of course….the ‘Nade’. The Chicken N’ Chips building still stands, but as another business venture, advertising or something. It’s painted an awful scheme of brown and blue.

3.

The Chicken ‘N a Basket Restaurant is also long gone. I believe there are a Synagogue and condos in its place. The A&W Root Beer property now houses a bank. Zichek’s is now a string of storefronts. The Lama’s Club is now a filling station. (There are no longer any ‘Service’ stations of which I am aware.)

Ayer’s Diner was moved to two different addresses before it folded as a totally different restaurant. (Now standing in ruin and located at Cypress & N. Himes Ave.) A portion of its old address is now occupied by another bank.

The Tropic’s Steak House was replaced by Malio’s and they too are closing soon to make way for yet another office building. But, Jimbo’s BBQ still holds forth on West Kennedy Blvd and is just as good as ever. (Still has the ‘Pickle Tub’ too.)

The ‘HOJO’ or Howard Johnson’s (their coffee was twenty-five cents a cup) has been replaced with another filling station, although the motel portion is still active, but under a different owner and name.

Jimmy Strickland’s Old Meeting House with its ‘Home Made Ice Cream’ has closed. Howard Avenue, South of Kennedy is now known as the ‘SOHO District’. 300 thousand and upward condos are now available for the taking.

For all you Real Estate aficionados; NOK and SOG no longer apply as the fine city of Port Tampa now attracts the well-heeled and living ‘North of Kennedy’ has become quite the thing with condos right next to car wash facilities and warehousing. What ‘egos’ will buy has never, ever surprised me.

There were always the art of finding a place to ‘Park’. (This is where we get to the hungin’ and kissin’ part.) ‘Group parking’ was also the norm. Windows opened or closed, no one would dare ‘bother’ you before, during or after your own private moment of bliss. Not so today, my friend.

The approaches to Gandy Bridge, under a plethora of Australian Pines kept you well hid and well in the dark. That slender piece jutting from the most South portion of the Peter O’Knight Airport (yes, there’s a bit of a nasty moniker for the name too) on Davis Islands was possibly the most popular spot to be alone. ‘Watching the Submarine Races" did serve its intended purpose.

The old Air Terminal Building is long gone as are the hangers of the time. There’s now a Yacht Club (the Davis Islands Yacht Club. Sail Boats only), now occupying the end-most portion of the area and boats in the lagoon. It’s far too crowded for anyone’s ‘Parking Pleasure’ for sure.

On the way to that particular hot spot, one was presented with the opportunity of crossing ‘Thrill Hill’. You’d think by now the city would have leveled it out a bit, but it still exists there on West Davis Boulevard. With just the right speed, not too much, mind you less you ‘bottom-out’, would afford one the ever so momentary feeling of weightlessness. While not quite like or even close to today’s accepted ‘Space-age’ norm, weightlessness none the less.

4.

You know, some ‘boys’ with a far too boring life used to setup ‘roadblocks’ with all sorts of debris; rocks, logs, what have you, just to upset those leaving the area, after an amorous evening of ‘No tongues’. (Yea, right!) Anyway, they’d have to get out of their car (or in some cases, their parents car) to move all that stuff in order to get back home in time for that ‘goodnight kiss’.

On another subject, but right there near that same area was a waterfront dock used for the loading of fertilizer onto ships then headed for foreign parts of our world, would send a cloud of a fine-powdered residue forth that would settle on cars, your home’s interior through open windows, onto clothes ‘hanging-out to dry’, you name it, it got ‘dusted’. That stuff would pit the paint finish on any car on which it was allowed to remain for longer than a few days. Admit it, if that same thing were to happen today, you couldn’t begin to count the number of lawsuits that would then fill the air.

Now back to the main subject at hand: What is now Kennedy Blvd. (Grand Central Ave.) dead-ended into what is now the main Tampa-to-St. Pete approach to the Howard Franklin Bridge. (Does that name sound familiar to you?) Areas such as that and where the community of Culbreath Isles now exists also lent themselves to our desire to be alone with the girl or boy of our choice.

Drive-in Theaters presented another opportunity to ‘park with a reason’. "I wanna see two heads above that seat!" Remember that guy? With the Dale Mabry Drive-in, (it’s gone; now apartments) the Twentieth Century Drive-in, (it’s gone, now business and residential area and Strip Clubs. (Tampa is now renowned world-wide for its Strip Clubs.)

The Hillsborough Drive-in (it’s gone too, school, business offices and defunct movie theater on the site.) Their speakers were in the ground. And the Fun Land (it’s still with us; Flea market on weekdays.) It seems the Dale Mabry was the most preferred of the lot. If you were lucky, you could (with only your parking lights on and with careful application of your emergency break) could back all the way up the Exit road, and seek-out the closest parking spot. (That is if you were extremely lucky.)

With a ‘car load’ allowed in for fifty cents, maybe a whole dollar, exactly why did we bother with such things? A Nash ‘Rambler’ proved ideal for a trunk load of your friends to gain free access. The back seat went down. (At the time, the girls did not bother to release that particular piece of information to Mom or Dad.)

‘Mosquito Coils’ while lit and sitting on the dashboard always left a film on the windshield. Note to inventor: They did NOT work as advertised! "The speakers would NOT work as a rear-seat car speaker!" Or so you were constantly advised by the operator/owner. Yes they did! Geez, didn’t those guys know anything?

"Let’s go to the refreshment stand….let’s go to the refreshment stand….." Remember the dancing food? "Hot Popcorn, hot dogs the way you like ’em…." Popcorn was a nickel or dime, Hot dogs…I don’t know how much they charged, we brought our own.

5.

While at the Drive-in, did your dog ever pass gas in the car? Just thought I’d ask. Lawn chairs used if you ‘backed’ into the spot. ‘Station Wagons’ with the back opened so you could lie down inside and look out. Laid-out on the hood and leaning against the front window with a blanket under you. Foggy windows, (See ‘Heads’ statement.) In some way we always tried blocking the overhead light so that it doesn’t light-up the interior when opening the door.

Mohair seats that made you itch. (After a trip to the beach, they were murder on your thighs.) There were dancing car spotlights on the screen playing ‘Tag’. The playground (you never ‘played’ there then, but you used too, didn’t you?) Maybe you were fond of leaving the movie a little early so you could go ‘park’ before you took her home. Yes, my man you did that too, don’t deny it! It seemed it took the Drive-in to get things kinda ‘warmed-up’.

Let’s go back to places and things; the Gasparilla Parade; only the ‘Pirates’ were sometimes drunk….not the people lining the parade route. You could park your car overnight along the route, sleep in it overnight too, not any more, people! The ‘Pirate Ship’ passed through a then wide-open Platt Street Bridge with all guns blazing away right there in the very center of the span. Wonderfully loud repercussions were had by all. The sighting of a photographer hanging by a rope to catch a shot of that same moment also appeared in the newspaper. (There were two at the time; The Tampa Tribune and the Tampa Daily Times) The docking of that vessel at the University of Tampa / Plant Park completed their run and then it was on to the parade.

Then, there was the Florida State Fair positioned on North Boulevard. To your left (from the South-most entry), a ‘Science Show’ cooking popcorn in a sealed metal box? What….are they nuts?

Upon entry and to your right, there were Cigar rollers and a ‘Chain-Link’ fence-making machine. The Circus ‘Barkers’ continuing attempts to entice you "come inside to ‘see tha show….you won’t believe your eyes…." is sorely missed today. As is the Bearded Lady, the Wild Man of Borneo, et al. (Were there not ‘Wild’ men from other places?) I always felt the ‘Harlem in Havana’ show was tops in that day.

Dirt track racing and the old Army tank parked at the rear behind the fence. The smell, the aroma, the sights, the sounds; they’re still available at the ‘new and improved’ Florida State Fair Grounds just North of our city. Only difference is: no ‘Barkers can even try to touch you. They can still try and rip you off, but they can not touch you while attempting to do so!

The SuperTest Amusement park at Columbus Drive and North Dale Mabry is now a Dodge dealership.

The Tampa Yacht Club has undergone a total remake and so has ‘Palma Ceia’; the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club. I remember when it was just a single-standing building with no air conditioning. ‘Blue hair’ is no longer evident.

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Oh yes…."Goooooo Paaaantherssssss…..beeeeeat Hillssssboroughhhhh". Talk to me baby! It’s Thanksgiving Day and it’s Phillips Field and the ‘Turkey Day’ Football game is about to begin! Corsages for the ladies in your school colors were a had to have. It’s Plant (The Mighty Golden Panthers) verses Hillsborough ("Bulldogs?" Geez it still doesn’t have it). Two long-time rivals in a pitched battle of sweat and brawn, both out to take the day. If my memory serves me (and sometimes it does seem to serve no purpose at all), upon kickoff, one of the boys in our backfield caught the ball, he and another Back-fielder did a ‘Double-run-around’ hand off (and in reverse to boot) we almost made it to the end zone.

That was a big play for us, however, the rest of the day went down hill for our team. The score in 1958 was: Plant 0, Hillsborough 19. Okay, it was a ‘football game’….so why were the Cheerleaders crying? (Our band was better than their band. Na, na, na!)

That wasn’t the only reason we went to Phillips Field, there were Stock Car Races held almost every weekend too. You came home covered with little bits of rubber, dirt and grime. What fun was had by all!

Let’s go for some more ‘fits of memory’. There was the Old Fort Restaurant with its neon cannon firing away. Then, there was the Verner’s Ginger ale ‘Elves’ popping up at the little holes in the sign. And the one lane wood bridge going over to Seddon Island (now Harbour Island), the neon Bulldozer sign on Adamo Drive (Now Channelside Drive), The Banana Boat Docks, the new and used car lots on North Florida Ave. (Still there.)

The Goody-Goody Restaurant, (yes, it’s still up and running, with the ‘Special Sauce’ and all. Same metal chairs too!) The YMCA downtown (the boys had to swim naked!) Frisch’s ‘Big Boy Burger’ and their ‘Brawny Lad’ right there on Dale Mabry Hwy and across from our High School.

Don’t leave the school grounds to eat at Burger King either, how about Tampa’s first McDonalds on Dale Mabry, the people who played the piano in the ‘tower’ at Henderson and Dale Mabry, Christmas Card Lane on Bayshore Blvd., the big lighted Christmas Tree near same, the really old and simple hand-tossed ball games at the Ballast Point Pier Pavilion, climbing the Banyan Tree near there, The Jai Ali Fronton, (it’s gone now; a Home Depot and a Sam’s Club in its place), the bowling alley is still there though with the same name and all.

The water tower was painted with red and white squares. This was for the airplane pilots use as a landmark of sorts. I crawled up there more than once (Duh!) just to paint my name. I did it too, with FUETTERE, hand-painted in large black letters. No one ever called the house and no one ‘reported’ me either. Just how many ‘Fuettere’s’ were in that town right about then? Well….that is, up till now.

Del Webb’s ‘Webb’s City’, is gone with his dancing chicken. The St. Pete Times owns the naming rights to our ‘Ice Palace’; it’s now The St. Pete Forum’! Hello?

8.

Football games at our ‘Home Stadium’ were great. The ‘Visitors’ would get to sit in the un-covered stands on the East side while we ‘Panthers’ sat under the well-covered stands to the West. It’s still that way and just as it should be too. Gotta keep those Jefferson High School people at the level to which they have become accustomed. Those Friday night games are a thing of the past now. How about a ‘Thursday’ night game? People just can’t seem to handle things all that well and like they used to. Anger now takes the place of enthusiasm.

How about we get a very dead Tarpon and hoist it up our flagpole and padlock it there? Someone did just that. How about some Limburger Cheese on a second floor Classroom radiator? I know who planted the cheese, the Tarpon….you tell me about it.

I once put laundry soap in the fountain where Kennedy Boulevard and Grand Central Avenue now intersect. Soap suds were everywhere, sidewalk, street! That stunt made the newspaper, picture and all. Maybe you did the same?

How about all the insects and such that were so dutifully pinned to the inside of a glassed-in show case down near the Biology area? Then, there were all the trophies won by those who had gone before us, some as many as fifty years or so prior to our arrival. How very, very long ago that seemed then. Fifty years…. "They’re really old now", we’d then say. Does it still seem that way my friend? Time flies fast and it sometimes it seems to come back right in your face. This might well be one of those ‘sometimes’.

More than well-starched crinolines adorned the cheerleader and the Prom-goers. Dances were held on the center patio (just South and centered between the east and west of the school complex) or in the gym. See-thru blouses were ‘in’ at one time. (They now are once again)The slip and bra were made ever so slightly visible. Just enough to raise the pulse rate of the viewing male. (Testosterone was not yet invented.)

The words; "’Neath the palms of Palma Ceia…." Took on a more day-to-day meaning when, after the assigned Lunch Period, most of the student body took a well-earned (and that’s questionable) time-out as they sat with and met friends while sprawled over the front lawn and beneath the many ‘Palm Trees’ that sprinkled the area. It seemed that most of the ‘trees’ were, in some way, ‘marked’ for the use of certain groups. While awaiting under one tree, one could expect a few of his or her select group to show-up and visit a spell.

The strong, pungent aroma of Night Blooming Jasmine sometimes filled the summer’s night air. About the only ‘Rock ‘N Roll radio station could be dialed-up only at night. The station was located somewhere in Alabama or thereabouts.

Cigarettes; if you smoked them were relegated to "Behind the Gym". There you might find some of our more ‘hard-core’ classmates mixed-in with some not so hard-core. You had to be on the steps while smoking. Hey, ‘cigs’ were only about twenty-five cents a pack. But then again….some could not afford such a supposed luxury.

9.

Leather-jacketed ‘Bikers’ (pre the ‘Fonz’) were evident, their motorcycles too. Harley Davidson’s, the solid hub, big-wheeled and very powerful ‘Mustangs’, The old full-metal body Cushman and the much fancier ‘stick shift’ Cushman ‘Eagle’ and the green-colored Allstate ‘Scooters’ (a close facsimile of which is now back and becoming somewhat popular.)

Long hair was combed into a ‘DA’ with (too much?) ‘Butch Wax’ being used to hold it all in place. ‘Perms’ and all-night hair-rollers were also in great demand. White ‘Buck’ loafers with white socks (you had to powder them down…no, not the socks!) and rolled-up-cuffs ever-so-special JC Penny, ‘Formost Jeans’ for the lesser crowd, with ‘Levis’ for the more well-to-do bunch. Thin White Buck belts, a crisp white dress shirt (sleeves rolled-up, of course) all tucked-in, and you were ready for some ‘action’. (Pale pink dress shirts were kinda cute too!)

Want to go to the movies? How about these; the Strand Theater, the Tampa Theater, the Hyde Park Theater, the Palma Ceia Theater, (now being converted into offices.) And how about those 3-D movies at the Grand Theater. A bus trip ‘downtown’ was a nickel or dime. No ‘AC’, windows wide open, fumes that made you feel a bit ill.

The ‘Million Dollar Pier’, TV Channel 32 with Captain Mac and ‘Crusader Rabbit’. They came on the air at about 6 PM and went off at about 9 or 10 PM. Dragnet was a biggie. (A hammer and anvil with sweaty arm and hand.)

There were, just as now, Police Officers. One in particular, (on a motorcycle) was always right there at Julia and South MacDill Ave. I remember his name to this day…. known by me as" Officer McFarland". I, to this very day attribute my own fine driving record to his overseeing my ‘on-the-road-escapades’ and thereby ticketing me for each and every transgression. It seemed that he was everywhere I was at the very same time. For that, I am grateful to this day. (I believe his son now serves our city as a respected officer of the law.)

Speaking of cars, (and I was someplace in here.) Drag-Racing at a ‘Strip’ out in Oldsmar was a great getaway on Sundays. Drag-racing on our city streets was not a way to ‘get away’. That, I can now vouch for as true, thanks to the aforementioned Officer.

The Armory on Howard Avenue hosted Elvis Presley in 1956 and my wife has his autograph from, that very appearance. (He kissed her on the cheek.) Wrestling matches featuring such greats as; Sam Steamboat, Hiro Matsuda, Don Curtis, Lou Theze, Whitey Whittler, Smasher Sloan, the Great Malinko, Eddie Graham, Bob Orton, Wahoo McDaniel, Hay Stack Calhoun, and others, I’m sure. By the way, Harry Smith still has his gym off Henderson Avenue. The skating rink on Davis Islands (All Skate!. Couples Only!, Spotlight Dance! Free Skate, Ladies Choice!) Just don’t skate in the middle unless you’re real good at it. To this day, Organ (geez!) music has never sounded so good!

Lang’s Ice-cream on Howard Ave. (now a Mexican ‘Fast-Food’ establishment) was always good on a warm summer’s night.

10.

The University of South Florida was once a dirt road. Lake Carol and Lake Helen were great ‘swimming holes’. Lithia Springs was virtually an unknown and in a very isolated location. Brandon had two, maybe three bars and a cemetery and it was considered to be ‘out in the country’.

Tall Australian Pines lined so much of Davis Boulevard that you sometimes had to turn on your car lights to safely see the road ahead. At night, that strip of area was darker than dark. Other roadways had points of interest too; Dale Mabry Highway stopped just North of Hillsborough Ave. Memorial Drive was a two-lane ‘highway’ (and I say that loosely) lined with Oak Trees and small Granite monuments adorned with small Bronze plaques with the names of those who perished in previous World Wars. Question; "where are those now resting?"

Back to Plant Park for a minute; there was once a fully-grown alligator living in a fenced-in pond with a small plank ‘bridge’ crossing over same. A Black bear was also caged nearby. (The alligator was later ‘put-down’ ‘cause he happened to find a small child in the pool with him.) Well….it was bound to happen sooner or later!

A ‘Sand Artist’ used to build a dyed-sand- sculpture below the seawall near the Platt Street Bridge. (There was a sand bar there at the time.) He did so to earn tips from the passerby. For many years, there was a man living on a boat anchored between Bayshore Blvd. and Davis Islands.

Maas Brothers was located downtown as were JC Penny, Walgreen’s, Kress, Woolworth’s, and others. Banking was done well before three o’clock PM and on weekdays only. Peninsular Bank stood at Neptune and Dale Mabry as does Publix Market, which is now housed in their new digs. The Post Office on Church has now moved slightly north of that address.

Let’s talk fat! Krispy Creme Donuts was (and still is) open all night, but the donuts were only about fifty cents a dozen. Now they’re about fifty cents a piece. I’ll bet you they’re a lot smaller in size too! The Holsum Bakery is gone. Hot, buttered bread was always available when you took their Christmas Tour of the facilities. The ‘other’ bakery just off South Willow Avenue has also closed.

Jesuit was located in a green stucco building in downtown Tampa. The Academy of the Holy names sat in the middle of an orange grove. Whaley’s Market has moved a bit to the North. Burt’s Hardware no longer exists. And Eckerd Drugs has been bought out by CVS. No affront, please, but Fonte’s Cleaners seems now to be a mere shadow of its former self. Davis Islands Pool was at one time ‘the place to be’. Cannonball! It’s still there as is the Marjorie Park Marina. Which they are finally up-grading!

We had no professional ball teams. Some will say we still don’t. Gandy Bridge was one bridge with two lanes, East & West. Courtney Campbell Causeway was lined with palm trees that took many a life. Bayshore was lined with Royal Palms that went away due to disease.

11.

By the way, something new: Flat tops are back! Well, something old, something….. Whatever! Question; do people still have ‘Hay rides’?

Dawson’s Fish Camp is gone, Imperial Yacht Basin is going away, the boating facilities off Kennedy and Mariner has been long gone. Therefore, public access to the bay has diminished a great deal. It seems everybody wants to live on the water. That is, until the Hurricane Season is upon us. Can you say "Flood Zone" and high insurance rates at the same time?

The Indian Rocks Bridge is much taller now and you’d be hard-pressed to find your ‘own beach’. All the Australian Pines are gone from the beaches, and oyster shell road beds seem long gone too, as are some of the city’s red brick streets. (The city was giving them away [the bricks, not the streets) to other municipalities until someone asked "Why?")

Mosquito spray trucks never come around anymore but misquotes still do. Dairy Queen now sells more than ice cream and ‘Blizzards’. You hardly ever get a cherry in your Coke, the ‘Bay’ no longer stinks as much as before, the Fuller Brush man is surely no longer with us. The 12 Noon ‘air-raid alert’ siren’s wailing from atop the water tower has long been silenced.

The ‘paper man’ no longer stops-by to collect his bill, the newspaper sends you a bill instead, TV is in color, Rock N’ Roll is here to stay, FM Radio is also here to stay. FM radio station WWBA long ago ceased broadcasting from the Bayshore Royal Hotel. It too has changed into multi-thousand dollar condos.

Our locally-owned Funeral Homes are all now Corporate-owned, their names might be somewhat the same, but the feeling sure isn’t. Sumner’s Market no longer exists, neither does Margaret Ann Food Stores, the Ice House is gone from Bay-to-Bay Blvd., and so is the saw mill/wood-working shop.

There’s two bridges getting you to and from Davis Islands and three Gandy Bridges; one each, East & West and one just to walk on. Mirabella’s Seafood Market at the Platt Street Bridge has disappeared.

Trains seldom pass through the area. Steam Locomotives are such a thing of the past and so is the art of placing pennies on the train track only to be flattened by that same passing ‘freight’ train.

The city dumps that once graced the areas at El Prado and the rail road track and the one on South Dale Mabry at the overpass no longer exist and neither does the overpass. The Jim Walters Building just moved on. All retail shops and restaurants now.

The golf-driving range that sat just south of the then overpass now holds a Target Department Store. Way off this subject: ‘Smoked Mullet’ (remember they wanted to call it ‘Lisa’?) Come on man! It’s a MULLET! (No, not the hair cut.)

Ybor City is having its problems as it has now sold its soul as a ‘night spot’ and it is not working thus far. The Gasparilla Night Parade has turned a bit ugly. The ‘Guavaween’ parade seems to be getting sicker by the year.

12.

Well, if you wanted the very best, you went to ‘Touch & Shirley ‘Touchton’s Mullet Inn’, and it has been replaced by a soon-to-be-built public thoroughfare. Cuban sandwiches are (of course) still abound and so are Devil Crab rolls, but I swear, neither seems as delicious as before. Maybe I expect far too much or just maybe my taste buds are now shot.

You can’t get onto MacDill AFB for a visit if your life depended on it. Yes, they have now re-instituted the Air Show and the Navy’s Blue Angel’s ‘do their thing’ and they do it as well as ever. The VFW Lodge on South Dale Mabry with its $1.00 Fish Fry is now a funeral home. Eat more seafood!

The VFW Lodge off Westshore Blvd., set well-back on the water, and just North of Port Tampa is now a residential area. The very large, glowing red neon sign at the Port Tampa Docks is now only a memory. (What message did it display: ‘Port Tampa Terminal’?)

Bananas are now shipped to a port in Manatee County while the docks are now set aside for repairing ships. Jefferson High School is now on ‘our side of town’, cars are lower to the ground without the use of lowering blocks, and Dale Mabry Highway is still a North/South two-lane thoroughfare each way. Help!

We now have a Cruise Port just off the old Adamo Drive area. Ships, big ones, come and go and so do the tourists. They don’t seem to spend their money here because they just aren’t here all that long. It’s mighty convenient for us though!

The ‘Plant High Water Tower’ is now painted green, our old Gym has been torn down and replaced by a much newer model, and Britton Plaza (the very first shopping center in the state) although changed somewhat as far as tenants go, has now really come back to life. And yes, people still have serious car wrecks on Bayshore Boulevard. Same exact spots too. When will we learn?

More than a few of our fellow classmates have remained nearby and some have excelled in their chosen field: Doctors, Surgeons, Attorneys, Salesmen, Nurses, Airline Pilots, CPA’s, Artists, the Armed Forces, Dentists, Clergy, Postmen, Police Officers, Business owners, Retailers, Real Estate Agents, Entertainers, Musicians, Raconteurs, entrepreneurs, TV Personalities, Teachers, and some no-accounts, bums, and felons too, I’m sure.

Some most regretfully are no longer with us and that makes me a bit sad at times. It also serves me as a very strong reminder that I too, remain a candidate to follow that same path. That thought alone also serves as a reminder to change what I can about me for the best and learn to live gracefully with what I cannot or will not change.

It’s all of this, and all of that, because I’m much older, and so are you my fellow classmate. Now, I’ll ask you once again…."What kinda ‘Plant’ are you?" Do you remember that one?

Copy right, Lanny Fuettere, 2004