Mayor Rob Marlowe
It might be hard to imagine, especially after I posted on facebook that I was trying to compose my thoughts by listening to the 2 Cellos rendition of “Thunderstruck” on the phonograph, but it really is a quiet Sunday afternoon while I put my thoughts together and prepare myself for the coming week. For what its worth, the Celloverse album is almost finished and I’ll probably play their self-titled debut album when Celloverse is done.
Although I am by no means a biblical literalist, I do believe that there are some timeless truths to be found in the Bible. The very first of those can be found in the Genesis story where God rested on the seventh day. There is something to be said for following his example. I can go a couple of weeks non-stop, but then it is “crash and burn time”. I’m far better off if I avoid my “day job” as much as possible and schedule as much “down time” as I can on the weekend. I spend most Sunday mornings sitting behind the sound board or in the choir loft, with a break between services at the Bank & Main Cafe.
It is during my quiet times over the weekend that I can spend some time dreaming about what New Port Richey could be if we all work together to make it happen. Sunday afternoons are my favorite times for writing these articles to keep you up to date on what is going on in New Port Richey.
When we are rushing around, we get tied up in the trivia and details and lose track of the overall goal. We also make mistakes, like the Republican Party staffer that attacked Sen. Kaine last week for wearing a Blue Star pin…
Since I wear one of these lapel pins on my suit, I knew exactly what I was seeing when I first saw a picture of Sen. Kaine wearing one. It told me volumes about the man and his family. He wore the pin at last week’s Democratic Party convention and a staff member from North Carolina’s Republican Party started posting trash about it without realizing the significance of the pin. Open mouth, insert foot. Indeed. The head of the North Carolina Republican Party quickly issued an apology on behalf of his organization. I wouldn’t want to be the staff member in question.
For any of you who haven’t seen one of these pins, it and the Blue Star Banner of the same design designate that we have an immediate family member on active duty in the US military. Nat Kaine is an active duty Marine and my son is a Chief in the Navy. New Port Richey has a long tradition of starting each council meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a moment of silence in honor of our service men and women serving at home and abroad. You won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve continued that tradition. In my case, it is very personal.
My son is currently stationed in Japan. We got a Facetime call from him last Monday. He let us know that he and his wife are expecting. Carolyn and I immediately got new photos taken and sent in the paperwork to renew our passports. It would appear that we will be flying back to Tokyo sometime in the next twelve months.
This coming week will be a busy one. Monday night, we have a presentation regarding upgrades to the Rec. Center at 5pm, followed by a 7pm budget planning workshop. Tuesday night includes a lengthy agenda, followed by a CRA meeting to look at the proposed budget for the Community Redevelopment Agency. You can pickup copies of the agendas here.
Friday’s City Manager Report included a note advising us that a company wants to run power boat tours out of Sims Park. 
“Each tour will be for three hours starting at Sims Park and traveling out
to the mouth of the Gulf and then return. The guide boat will have a microphone and each boat will have a speaker so they can listen to the guide talk about points of
interest, history and wildlife as they travel the river. The passenger boats are also
equipped with a microphone in case they need to contact the guide boat.”
It is an interesting concept. If successful, I could see tours heading upstream from Sims Park as well, going up into the Grey Preserve. Then again, guided kayak and canoe tours out of the Grey Preserve might be a little more relaxing. For more information, you can visit the Crazy Cat website.
With the tropical storm season peaking over the next six weeks, please keep up to date on the weather. The National Hurricane Center is a great place to visit for the latest info. If a hurricane threatens our area, please take it seriously.
Pokemon Go is continuing to be a very popular pastime in New Port Richey. The Sno Shack has capitalized on the craze by keeping track of how many Pokemon Go team members come in for a treat. If you are a Pokemon player, you won’t want to miss the Pokemon 5k this Friday night.
On that note, I hope you have a great week!
Rob Marlowe, Mayor
Congratulations to your family as you welcome a new member. Best wishes to the about-to-be parents on this very special event in their life.
Thanks to your son and the family for their service to our country. I appreciate the sacrifices your son and his family are making in defense of our freedom.
As for the trash-posting staffer–which branch of the service was he in?
My best guess would be “none”.
We renewed our passports in 2004 when our son had his first overseas deployment. He went back overseas earlier this year, so it was time to renew them again. I don’t believe most civilian families can completely understand what it is like to get a phone call telling you that your son or daughter is in a hospital half way around the world. We’ve gotten that phone call in the past. Our first question of his CO was whether or not we needed to buy tickets to immediately fly out there. His CO let us know that everything was under control and his ship mates made sure that he was well cared for while he was in the hospital.
Our last trip to Japan for his wedding was a joyous occasion as will be our next trip to Japan to see our new grandchild.
Congratulations to you and your lovely wife on the approach of another grandchild! Thank you and your son for being a part of the tiny five per cent of Americans currently serving our country in the military. As we’ve seen and heard recently with the Khan family, it is a sacrifice for all who serve, and for some families it can be the ultimate sacrifice as well. My parents lost my younger brother Johnny after his tour in Vietnam in the same area I was in–Agent Orange took his life.
Japan is a beautiful country. I traveled from Yokuska to Tokyo and out to Hiroshima and met nothing but helpful friendly citizens.
Dan,
Every Blue Star family knows that it is possible that a Gold Star may be in their future. It is part of the deal when a family member joins the military. To mock a Gold Star family or compare the sacrifices you make as a businessman to the sacrifice of a Gold Star mother is completely beyond the pale.