Greater Ft Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau

Monday, January 05, 2009

Jan 5: A Sunny Optimism

In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of doorways and gates. He has two faces, one looking backward, the other forward. And he’s the reason our first month is called January. Though I confess I’m more than normally reflective by nature, this time of year really gets my pensive juices flowing. It’s a period when I can’t help thinking a lot about where I’ve been and where I’m going. Or at least trying to go. But oddly enough, considering some of the recent headlines, I find myself optimistic as my own face looks forward into 2009. Despite all the challenges ahead, for me personally and for our nation and for our world as a whole, I believe this can be a good year.

Of course, that’s easy for me to say. I’m sitting in 75 degree sunshine in a place where it’s perpetually summer. I just finished a brief morning visit to the ocean, which glistened out to the horizon today in a rich blue-green. January, South Florida style. This is not a bad way to start the new year.

There’s no question that lots of sunlight tends to lift my mood and that this is one big reason I so much enjoy living in Fort Lauderdale. I believe this is a learned thing, actually, partly the result of all the sunny metaphors that I’ve picked up over my lifetime. In my head, light tends to be associated with happiness. You know, “the skies may look dark to you now, but they’ll get brighter.” That kind of stuff. I also believe we can teach ourselves to see beyond these mental associations so that rain and snow and clouds don’t depress us. Nonetheless, Florida sunshine makes my life easier and I’m grateful for that. I recognize that this, in turn, may make it easier for me to adopt an optimistic attitude about our immediate future. Not that I can see ahead better than anyone else, obviously. It’s only that my prognosis may not be so clouded by, well, clouds. That’s why I wanted to share it with you now, as this year finally begins to roll into a higher gear. All I know is, we have a bold new president taking office soon and fresh ideas are being introduced every day now and I sense some growing general attitude of openness and innovation around our nation. And yes, optimism. I really believe that. Maybe it’s not quite as obvious from where you’re sitting at the moment. But here, illuminated by South Florida sun, forward is looking a whole lot better to me than back.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Dec 31: Happy, Happy

First of all, Happy New Year to all of you. Second of all, Happier New Year to those of you lucky enough to be in South Florida just now. It should be a joyful celebration indeed. Much of the rest of our nation is enduring pretty crummy outdoor conditions during the holidays. But to my taste, anyway, the weather around here really can’t get any better than this. I’m looking out my office window at cool blue skies dabbed with benign clouds, my window is open to the 80 degree breezes and I’m not aware of any humidity at all. I keep hearing, though, about bitter cold in New York, unseasonable piles of snow in Seattle and plain crazy weather in Chicago, among other inclement spots.

My mom in Chicago, for instance, has been telling me about five inches of snow one day, freezing rain the next day, then about hard rains that melt the snow and cause serious flooding. Sheesh. I almost feel guilty about luxuriating in these balmy tropical surroundings as the New Year dawns. Almost.

But guilt helps no one, of course, so I’ll do my best to press on despite Fort Lauderdale’s gorgeous climate. On New Year’s Eve, it’s a party for me. I’ll be heading to a celebration in a private home that should be loaded with a nice group of interesting, attractive folks. Another tough break, I know. The following few days should involve some fancy dinners and maybe a movie or two. I’m also thinking about going to the Hollywood Beach Balloon Festival, where several hot air balloons will float above the Hollywood beach each day from Friday through Sunday. Admission is free. You can find out details at www.hollywoodbeachballoonfest.com. Whatever I do, I know I’ll wind up outside as much as possible. Honestly, it takes some discipline to make myself sit indoors to write on days like these. Then I remember that I could still be living in Vermont or Michigan or somewhere and I breathe in the fresh Florida air coming through my window. And I think, hey, I’ve got no reason to complain.

Dec 30: Marley and Me and Me

No, Owen Wilson doesn’t look anything like John Grogan. Or sound anything like him. Or really behave like him either, based on what I know of John. But somehow the actor caught part of the personality of a colleague I spent time around many years ago. Of course I’m referring to the new flick, Marley & Me, which was based on John’s best-seller. I liked it, though I sat in the theater this weekend watching the film from an unusual perspective. I had worked with John Grogan in the Sun-Sentinel newsroom during a large chunk of his Marley period. We’re Facebook friends today. So that makes him grist for my blog – sorry John, but I know you’ll understand. Just as I know you’ll forgive me for telling folks that Owen Wilson and you have about as much in common physically as Tom Cruise and you. The real writer is a red-haired Irish Catholic who had a full red beard when he worked at the newspaper and spoke without Wilson’s Texas twang.

Yet as I watched more and more of the film, I found myself recognizing some of John. That was the odd thing. Though not close newsroom pals, we were friendly colleagues who spoke around the water cooler and at parties and sometimes at Happy Hours. Both Michiganders who’d attended smaller colleges in that state, we soon discovered some common ground. I genuinely liked him and I think he liked me. To my mind, John was a good reporter who also was a good guy. That’s the part the movie seemed to get right.

Newsroom scenes – hmmm, not so much. No one who ever worked at the Sun-Sentinel would recognize much of the atmosphere or conversation at the onscreen newspaper. Doubling his pay? Taking a paid month off? Uh, I can’t recall any editor ever saying something like that. To anybody. Believe me, word would have gotten around if it had happened. But the film does show the beauty of South Florida. The beaches, the sunshine, the outdoor restaurants and all those gorgeous bodies. Marley & Me definitely got that right. So right, actually, that this website even has a special promotion for a “Marley & Me doggy vacay,” something you can learn about on the www.sunny.org home page. The movie really shows why the Fort Lauderdale area is such a popular spot to live and visit. That was refreshing to see on film. And it’s great to enjoy such a hit by a nice colleague I happen to know a bit. Hey, I even commented on a recent Facebook photo of John with Jennifer Aniston’s arms draped around him. Good for you, buddy. Enjoy it. I still may not understand why anyone would want to leave South Florida for Pennsylvania. But having Jennifer Aniston in a movie about your life, well, that part I can understand.