 Going stir-crazy because I can’t seem to master “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on my little keyboard despite it being oh so easy.
You see, I only play the right hand. The notes. No chords. Good grief, it took me years to get this far. I found a website that has the keynotes for hundreds of songs. Some of my favorites: “Ode to Joy,” “The Doxology,” “O Holy Night,” and “White Christmas.”  Here’s a topic out of nowhere: Recycling.
I recycle. Can’t remember a time when I didn’t. I’m not dedicated like some people. I don’t tear off labels or wash soup cans before they’re dropped into the recycling bin. Recycling was once a big deal around these parts. And a money-maker for nonprofit groups.  No pictures today of washed-out streets.
No videos of vehicles sinking in the muck. No images of the brown sauce that passes for streets at Inverness Villages 4.  There I was in an otherwise routine government meeting when I heard a county commissioner say something that really caught my attention.
So much so that I reviewed the video to make sure I had heard it correctly. Then I viewed it again. Yup, I had it right:  When I really want to do a good job on something, I sometimes have trouble getting out of the gate.
And I really want to do right by Andrea McCray and the Friends of Crystal Memorial Gardens. Historic cemetery. Black heritage in Citrus County. Two topics of significant interest.  Of my many newsroom experiences, among the worst is the knowledge late in the day that the story I’ve promised the editor since 9 a.m. just isn’t going to make it.
No matter how well something comes together there comes a moment in the late afternoon when it’s fish-or-cut bait time. Especially if new information comes about or some stuff just doesn’t add up. That realization is followed by a long walk of shame to the editor’s office where the news is usually met with words I cannot repeat in a family blog.  Happy Wednesday! Everyone OK?
Dispatches from Tuesday’s County Commission meeting, fueled by 10 hours of Skittles: — Never seen this before: The first two rows of seats reserved for all the people officially involved in the Pine Ridge Golf Course land-use case.  You may be surprised to learn this, but not every County Commission meeting is a political barnbuster.
Most are more business than politics. There’s a rhythm to government, and it usually flows rather smoothly. Then we have Tuesday’s board meeting where politics will rule the day.  Here’s a question for your Monday:
Is it fair to distrust developers simply because they’re developers? Someone promises to spend millions of dollars preparing property to build houses, apartments, and restaurants, and somehow we think he’s trying to pull one over on us.  Darrick Buettner’s mom isn’t going to like this news.
The Chronicle has decided it can survive without my words gracing its Sunday Commentary section. Editor Jim Gouvellis notified me this week in an email that he was “pausing” the column. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 37 years. 
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