Nephew of the Week: Jeremy Fetters
We have had the pleasure of knowing Jeremy since the Suncoast Resort days. Back then he would sneak into the resort often in the trunks of cars! LOL.
It is very hard to get a photo of Jeremy by himself because everybody so loves him and wants to party with him. Today you will find him at George’s Alibi bartending with our first Nephew of the week, Keith, on a bar stool across from him.
You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up!
One very busy fall Sunday afternoon, I was on the balcony, and in walked a group of 10 people all dressed in fantastic Goth attire. It turned out that they were the big group that had performed the night before at The Castle. As things started to quiet down, I was talking with the group. One lady told me that her great-grandfather was killed in Ybor City by two lesbian prostitutes. One of them put her spiked high heel in his head. “OMG,” I replied! I had heard about the working girls and their ghosts are still here.
I point to the balcony across the street and then I told them this story. The gangster Charlie Wall had owned the building. There was a speakeasy on the first floor and working girls upstairs. The legend is that when Charlie Wall was forced to close, the two lesbian lovers and call girls committed suicide in the bath tub on the second floor.
Today everybody that has ever lived in this apartment says that at night they hear two pairs of high heels walking down the hall, then thumps on the carpet, followed by a click in the bathroom. Then they hear water drops. The Goth group was very impressed by the story. Shortly afterwards, they left. They all went to the balcony across the street. The one lady came back and thanked me.
Tampa Ranks #10 on the List of Most Beautiful Cities in America
In a recent Huffington Post article, they give credit for Tampa’s most beautiful people in part to Hamburger Mary’s GaYBOR! Below is an excerpt:
“[Like] their fellow foxes in Miami, Tampa locals enjoy a good platform for their looks at the high-ranking nightclubs. But the party scene definitely runs along a wide spectrum here: you can choose from the chic rooftop EDGE at The Epicurean Hotel or the more raucous, swimsuits-and-volleyball Hogan’s Beach, owned by Hulk Hogan himself. Tampa also scored well for its burgers: you can see the local drag queen beauties at kitschy favorite Hamburger Mary’s in the historic Ybor City neighborhood.
Tampa’s AIDS Memorial Park: Will It Open Again?
We remembered friends that had passed from AIDS on World AIDS Day. One of the sacred places that holds great community memories is the small but visible AIDS Memorial Park on Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard. We had thought that it would be re-opened by now! When will it open?
It is still in a ‘temporarily closed’ state for final construction staging and parking for the new condominium complex being built on the corner of Platt Street and Bayshore Boulevard.
The Tampa AIDS Memorial Park opened in 2005. The new construction three years ago had us alarmed. We didn’t know if the park was going to be demolished or relocated from the South Tampa Bayshore location. We were told back at that time that it would be a temporary parking and staging area for the construction parking going on. To many it was like a dagger going into our bodies.
We were told by city officials back in 2011 that after the construction of the Bayshore Condos, that the AIDS Memorial Park would be redesigned, landscaped and re-opened. Well, we all are hoping to see the newly designed park come back soon! Your thoughts?
