Tom Germond is executive editor of Tampa Bay Newspapers. Email him at tgermond@TBNweekly.com.
I hope this column finds you high and dry.
Here are some random ramblings about goings-on in the area.
Naming rights
The city of Largo is asking the community to submit names for its newest owl at the McGough Nature Park. The great horned owl is nearly blind. The park also is home to Matilda, a barred owl; and Franklin, also a great horned owl.
For readers, especially those who live outside Largo who have not been to the park, it’s located at 11901 146th St., which is just northeast of the Indian Rocks Bridge off Walsingham Road. It’s a great nature park that is enjoyed by people of all ages and also has a boardwalk overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.
I have a suggested name for the owl, but since we journalists are taught to refrain from directly participating in news events, I won’t submit it to the city. However, if you like my suggestion, feel free to enter it.
Why not name the owl “Barb,” as a tribute to the Clearwater Audubon Society’s Barbara Walker, who rescued the owl and has done so much for the park and preservation of wildlife in the area?
It’s kind of hard to find the words to capture the love and support shown Aug. 10 for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Sitton, who was killed in Afghanistan Aug. 2.
Many Largo and other area residents waited for an hour or longer for the funeral procession to make its way down Ulmerton Road that day. Hundreds of residents, carrying American flags of all sizes, lined the highway, especially in front of the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, unfazed by the stifling heat, to express their support for Sitton and his family.
By all accounts, Sitton was a hell of a fine solider, and I hope the community continues to honor him at future events as we remember the sacrifices our troops have made for us.
Kind of hard to keep a dry eye that day, as several friends of Sitton and his family shared stories about him. If there were any discussion about whether America should be sending its troops to Afghanistan, I didn’t hear it – and I’m glad I didn’t, pro or con.
The gathering that day was an event I will never forget.
That’s a promise.
Ready for some football?
I’ve always enjoyed watching high school football practice because of the passion shown by the players and coaches for the game, even though they practice in the extreme heat.
Recently, I shot photos of the Largo High School Packers run some drills.
Caught up with defensive coach Jeremy Frioud, wearing his tattered straw hat and dispensing advice to players, with vigor.
His quote says it all.
“I love these kids and I love the game and I will do it until I die,” Frioud said. “If I won the Powerball yesterday, I’d still be here. Just in better clothes.”
Tom Germond is executive editor of Tampa Bay Newspapers. Email him at tgermond@TBNweekly.com.
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