You Just Can Not Make This Up
The $10,000 Bet
There was this trucker named Richard, who would stay at the SunCoast Resort. Richard would sleep in his truck and party in his hotel room. He would always flash big money and spend it too. When he got cocktailed he would start to sing the theme song from “All in the Family” then would shout, “How do you like me now mother f*@kers!”
One Friday night he asked me to go out on the town to party with him. I jokingly said, “You don’t have enough money to take me out!” He said, ” I’ll bring $10,000 and bet you can’t spend it all!” The next day to my surprise up pulled a super stretch limo in front of MC FILM with Richard, David (SunCoast bartender) & a friend. They had already dressed him up very wild. Our 1st stop was Walmart when he went inside and came out with security guards and $10,000 cash! OMG… In the limo we were off to Georgie’s Alibi. Inside it was packed on a Saturday afternoon. I told him to buy the house a round and give me the chips. Then he bought a second round. We told him to tip the bartender $200 and he did. We scoped up the huge pile of chips and gave them all to Keith ( our nephew, KC) and laughed ENJOY!!!
Over to Grand Central Station where we started a shots party. It was a fun wild time with owners, Jim & Kris. Across the street is a favorite stop for me the VFW. All the regulars were there drinking beer and shooting pool. I told him to buy every beer in the cooler. Then have the bartenders open them all and put them on the bar top. Free beer for the many Veterans!!!
We were getting hungry and early evening so we headed over to the Texas Cattlemen’s for dinner. I think one of Tampa Bays Best Steak Houses! I asked Richard if he was running out of money yet? He laughed and said I hadn’t put a dent into it. I started to laugh and said, “Fine then lets buy every table a bottle of wine!” Suddenly the whole restaurant became a wild party! After dinner it was off to the Backroom Bar on the Madeira Beach. We were not there 20 minutes when suddenly Richard fell in love!!! We were all replaced. LOL LOL LOL The next day I asked Richard how we did on the money. He laughed and said we were the cheap part of the day. His date was way more expensive LOL LOL
GaYBOR Member of the Week
Ybor City Wine Bar
Lady Jayme Kosar
In Centro Ybor there is a newly opened unique Fine Wine and Craft Beer Bar on the first floor on 7th Ave. The recently opened adult beverage pub has a great selection of 1000’s of wines and beer for all connoisseurs. New super decorated boutique Ybor City Wine Bar owner, Jayme Kosar welcomed all guests through the doors after her opening Dec. 22nd. Choices of inside or outside decored tables or sitting at the bar with shelved superb fine wines as ambiance. The instilling bottles and labels are itself a new Ybor art stop!
Mark & Carrie’s Nephew/Niece of the Week
Janna Brackin
Janna is one of the funniest people we have meet in a very long time. And a bit crazy!!! She always has a fun story. She was working at Hamburger Mary’s when two ladies said to her. “Do you mind if we ask you a personal question?” Then her friend said, “That’s stupid!!! She works at Hamburger Mary’s and probably gets asked personal questions all the time.” Janna said “Yes, that’s OK I am used to being asked if I am a real girl. The answer is yes!”
Then the girls laughed and said, “That’s not the question! We wanted to ask… where do you buy sex toys at in Ybor?” LOL LOL LOL
GaYBOR Member of the Week
Ybor City Wine Bar
Lady Jayme Kosar
In Centro Ybor there is a newly opened unique Fine Wine and Craft Beer Bar on the first floor on 7th Ave. The recently opened adult beverage pub has a great selection of 1000’s of wines and beer for all connoisseurs. New super decorated boutique Ybor City Wine Bar owner, Jayme Kosarwelcomed all guests through the doors after her opening Dec. 22nd. Choices of inside or outside decored tables or sit at the bar with shelved superb fine wines as ambiance. The instilling bottles and labels are itself a new Ybor art stop!
Metro Wellness and Community Centers
Metro “Moves” on Plans to Create LGBT Welcome Center
For Immediate Release:
(St. Petersburg, FL) December 31, 2012 – As the community is ringing in the New Year, Metro Wellness and Community Centers, an organization of Metropolitan Charities 501(c)3, today announced some exciting plans for 2013. The organization, which will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year, is partnering with the Grand Central District Association (GCDA) of St. Petersburg to open a mixed-use space next to its current Metro Thrift & Gift retail center located at 2235 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg.
The space is currently a vacant lot, but not for long. Part of this exciting venture will be to move a historic bungalow-style house currently located just a block away at 2335 Central Avenue. Through a donation by GSC of St. Pete, LLC, the house was granted to Metro . “By moving the house, not only are we able to build on our partnership within the Grand Central District and the local community, but we’re able to save this beautiful historic bungalow which exemplifies so much of this district and neighboring Historic Kenwood,” says Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro Wellness & Community Centers.
“It’s always exciting when something we’ve been talking about for several years in the community comes to fruition,” said Brian Longstreth, Broker of Your Neighborhood Realty (YNR) and a Board Member of the GCDA. “Everything seemed to fall into place. A historic home about to be torn down, the desire for Grand Central to have a 1st floor office on Central Avenue, the need for a LGBT welcome center in the area. The fact that it all happens in a saved 1920’s bungalow makes it even more special, and it only happened with the cooperation of many partners.” Longstreth, along with his brother Jim, an agent at YNR have helped facilitate this project with Metro and the GCDA.
This idea has been in the back of Langlois’ mind for years as well. Langlois who helped start Metropolitan Charities 20 years ago has always seen the need for a bigger presence on Central Avenue and the importance of a vibrant welcoming space for LGBT visitors to the Tampa Bay area as the community here continues to grow. “We are so excited to partner with our friends in the Grand Central District to make this happen,” said Langlois. “The space will serve as a welcoming hub for visitors and residents alike – providing resources for the LGBT and allied communities and expand on our mission to enhance the quality of life for those in our area.”
Metro hopes to have the house moved and in place by mid to late February, with plans to open the Welcome Center in the Grand Central District to the public as early as March. The building will serve as a visitor’s welcome center, community resource center and will provide office space for the Grand Central District as well as additional programming and event space. “There’s so much potential in this gorgeous bungalow,” says Langlois. “I can’t wait to see it grow into the vibrancy that already exists along Central Avenue.”
The Welcome Center will be one of only two in the state that focuses on LGBT visitors, offering a one-stop-shop to learn about LGBT and allied businesses, accommodations, where to shop, where to dine and more. In 2010, an LGBT Visitors Center opened in Miami Beach. Much like this South Florida location, which was sponsored by MetLife – Metro’s Welcome Center in the Grand Central District will also have sponsorship and naming opportunities available for rooms along with the house itself
Metro Wellness and Community Centers currently has offices and LGBT Community Centers in St. Petersburg (3251 3rd Avenue North), Ybor City and New Port Richey in addition to its Thrift & Gift retail location on Central Avenue, which supports those living with HIV/AIDS in the area and the many programs and services the organization offers. The organization has been providing premier HIV services, social networking and other health and wellness programs for years to the four county area of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando. With active community center locations throughout the Tampa Bay area, the organization fosters diversity within the community as a whole, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or economic status.
For more information contact Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro Wellness & Community Centers at 727-321-3854.
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Media Contact:
Chris Rudisill
Director of LGBT Community Center Services
Phone: 727-321-3854 ext. 238
Email:
www.MetroTampaBay.org
