Of Anniversaries and Absurdities - My friends over at the Old Weekly are at it again, this time to once again attach the "defensive" label to yours truly. If you haven't read the column I'm referring to, you'll have to find it for yourself. If you have, here's the backstory:

At a recent city department head meeting Human Resources Director Kurt Hoverter presented me with a 5-Year pin, commemorating the passing of that milestone in my tenure with the city. Never one to pass up an easy joke, particularly one at my expense, I told staff that "anyone who had less than five years in the pool is out!" And that anyone who claimed to have longer than 5 years was obviously lying, so "the pool" was officially defunct.

While I admit City Manager humor may be a little gallowsy at times, that's at least a TINY bit funny- isn't it? But wait - maybe I can turn this "defensive" tag to my advantage.... let's see, Ronald Reagan was the "Great Communicator", maybe I can be the "Great Defender"! But I suppose Bill Russell already locked that one up.... Darn.

SHAMELESS PLUG! One weekend remains for the third annual Sarasota Actors' Workshop production of one-act plays, this year titled "Pushing the Envelope." An evening of ten one-act plays featuring 31 local actors, including one who's a city bureaucrat during the day, "Pushing the Envelope" is up at the Backlot Theater in North Sarasota. For information on "SAW III" and a host of other local theater endeavors go to SRQTheater.com. Support Live Theater!