Joe on the Go: Time, wings, candidates and "The Columnist"

Once upon a time, back in the mid-2000s, I wrote a series of "Joe on the Go" columns for The Sanford Herald in the Orlando area where my journalism career began.

In addition to my reporter’s duties covering “hard news,” the column allowed me to have some fun writing about experiences that included flying in a stunt plane at an air show, going 100 miles per hour in a racing boat and competing in a sailboat regatta. The column was also a good vehicle for covering events that had already been previewed by myself or another writer. 

Flash forward to April 2013 and a busy start to the week that included a visit to the Sarasota Film Festival and one of the after-parties, the CONA-sponsored Sarasota City Commission candidate forum and catching the Florida Studio Theatre production of The Columnist.

As I made my way around town Monday and Tuesday, it dawned on me that this might be a good time to bring back Joe on the Go. So here we go …

Time Stands Still?

Monday afternoon I attended the April 8 SFF screening of Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, a documentary film exploring the concept of time and time’s existence. Having previewed the film for This Week in Sarasota, I expected a slow-paced, intellectually challenging, philosophical, trippy film that relied on imagery as much as dialogue and linear narrative.I enjoy art that requires effort on behalf of the viewer, listener or reader, but that opinion was not shared by all who endured The End of Time. The gentlemen sitting next to me on either side spent much of their time fidgeting and yawning, giving the impression that they did not consider this cinematic experiment to be time well spent---a viewpoint also expressed by a few others while exiting the theater after the film concluded.

In visits to a particle smasher in Switzerland, a lava-encrusted portion of Hawaii where only one resident remains, the urban ruins of Detroit and a family funeral procession in India---interspersed with many non-verbal images of nature and urban life along the way---the film forces the viewer to explore their own thoughts on time.

My takeaway from the film was that time is a human concept on which we rely to create order out of chaos and constant change.

While we humans live our lives in timeframes built upon minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades and lifetimes, the Earth and the universe surrounding it operate on geological time, where change occurs at a glacial pace over millions and billions of years and our human measurements of time hardly matter.

Toward the end of the movie, the director interviews his mother on Mother’s Day. When asked about her feelings on time, Mrs. Mettler stated her non-scientific view that time is what we make of it, and the purpose of life is to do the most we can with however much time we are given. That sounded about right to me.

The Great Chicken Wing After-partyStill pondering the concept of time, I made a quick trip home to let Mellie Dog out before she and I headed back downtown so I could attend The Great Chicken Wing Hunt after-party taking place at Clásico Café.

While Mellie waited in the car, I headed into Clásico to meet director Matt Reynolds, taste the free wings dubbed as “the best in the world” by Matt and his moving-making friends, sample the Tito’s Handmade Vodka (sponsors of the party) and get some photographs for TWIS.

Having come from the initial Sarasota screening of his documentary film, Matt and his wife Lucie made the rounds, chatting with folks who had just seen his film and discussing the merits of the wings being sampled by those on hand.While waiting to meet Matt (after interviewing him by phone the previous week), I eagerly anticipated the arrival of a wing-bearing waiter who would provide a free sample of fried wings tossed in a prize-winning sauce imported from New York for the occasion.

The wait was worth it, as the wings truly were among the best I’ve ever tasted, offering a perfect blend of sweet and spicy flavors, enhanced by what might have been a hint of cilantro. Considered “medium” in terms of spiciness, the wings were hot but not too hot, with a pleasant spicy aftertaste that lingered long after the wings were gone.

The experience was enhanced by a strong and tasty Tito’s Vodka and cranberry juice, provided by Tito’s Florida Marketing Manager Grant Portier, a former Sigma Pi fraternity brother of Matt from their days at Cornell. When Matt had a free minute, I asked for his thoughts on the film fest and his visit to Sarasota.

“We had a great response at the 1:15 screening. Everybody was really enthusiastic about the film,” he said. “I was wondering how it would play here because it’s a different kind of crowd than we’re used to, but they got the humor and they dug it,” he said.

After explaining that he has an aunt and uncle who live on Longboat Key, Matt said of Sarasota, “It’s lovely. We love going out fishing with my uncle, seeing dolphins and manatees. It’s really a nice place.” Outside of Clásico, I encountered 65-year-old Sarasota resident Pamela Rosenbaum, who had just eaten chicken wings for the first time in her life.

“I had to give it try,” she said. “I loved them and I loved the movie.” Pamela was accompanied by her gluten-free, Chicago-based daughter Jennifer Price, who did not sample the wings but enjoyed the film, saying, “I thought it was one the most engaging movies I’ve seen in a long time.”

CONA and the Candidates 

Before settling in to watch Monday night’s Michigan-Louisville men’s basketball championship, there was one more trio to make: the Sarasota City Commission candidate forum sponsored by CONA (the Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations).

Between 35 and 40 people gathered inside the Sarasota Garden Club for the last significant forum to take place prior to the May 14 run-off election that will determine which two candidates obtain or retain a city commission seat.Moderated by no-nonsense CONA representative Kafi Benz, candidates Suzanne Atwell, Susan Chapman and Richard Dorfman answered a series of sharp questions---some directed to all three candidates and others directed specifically to one candidate.

Some Dorfman supporters I talked to felt the forum, the moderator and some of the questions were at times anti-Dorfman in their nature. I’m not a fan of the big money and development interests behind Dorfman’s campaign, but I was impressed with his answers and his ability to maintain his composure in a somewhat hostile environment, maintaining his positions of creating a more vibrant downtown and relying on the private sector to bring more jobs and opportunity to Sarasota. Some in attendance felt Dorfman dug an even deeper hole for himself when responding to a question from audience member Gretchen Serrie pertaining to remarks Dorfman made on Phil Grande’s "Phil’s Gang" radio show, where he expressed his view that city policy is too often influenced by the “white-haired” senior citizen demographic.

Dorfman’s radio comment was insensitive, but I thought he also made a valid point about our elected leaders needing to take into consideration the interests and desires of Sarasota’s younger citizens too.

Mayor Atwell maintained her centrist position, making valid points most of time, but stumbling a time or two as well.

Chapman conducted herself with steady poise, maintaining her pro-neighborhood position while stating that she is not opposed to downtown development (as long as it’s done according to existing zoning regulations) and expressing her opinion that she can work as a “team player” despite ruffling some feathers in the past as a member of the Police Advisory Panel and the city Planning Board.

Most who attended the forum were already-decided super-voters (those who vote in every election), campaign supporters and members of the media. I don’t think the discussion will have much impact on those who already know how they are going to vote, but it might be of interest to city residents still undecided as to how they will cast their two allotted votes.

WSRQ Talk Radio's Susan Nilon recorded the 75-minute forum and posted it unedited at the WSRQ website. I also recorded the forum and intend to play an hour-long version on my Wednesday, May 1 "Local Matters" radio show that will air on WSLR 96.5 FM from 9 to 10 a.m.

Give the forum a listen if you want to learn more about the candidates and enjoy a little local political theater.

FST nails “The Columnist”

At the encouragement of our friend William “Dr. Nik” Pearson, my wife and I attended the Tuesday, April 9 Florida Studio Theatre production of The Columnist­---a powerful drama about the life and times of famed Washington, D.C. political columnist Joe Alsop.

The play recaps Joe’s professional and personal interactions with his more open-minded brother and writing partner Stewart Alsop, his wife Susan, his stepdaughter Abigail, his up-and-coming journalistic rival David Halberstam and his Russian lover Andrei.

Having sat through many mostly-enjoyable but song-laden musicals over the years as a community reporter, talk show host and neophyte theater critic, it’s always refreshing to watch hard-hitting, profanity-laden, contemporary drama performed by skilled dramatic actors and actresses.

Jeffrey Plunkett and Robert Gomes were outstanding as the Alsop brothers, depicting a shift in in political philosophies and feelings toward the Vietnam War on Stewart’s behalf, while brother Joe maintained his staunch support of the war, even when public opinion turned against it. The rest of the cast was equally adept in meeting the challenges of this compelling American story.

The final scene of Act One, depicting reactions to the assassination of Alsop’s friend and confidant, President John F. Kennedy, brought tears to the eyes of many in the audience, myself included.

Written by David Auburn, The Columnist examines the privileges and perils that can both benefit and befall a journalist who becomes too cozy with those he covers. Such friendships can provide insight and information not readily available to other reporters, yet are obtained at the risk of influencing the positions and reportage of the journalist himself---in Alsop’s case, eventually tossing him and his column to the sidelines of irrelevance during the the post-Kennedy years that led to his retirement in 1974.

The Columnist ends its successful run on Sunday, April 14. Seats are scarce, but give the FST box office a call at (941) 366-9000 or visit the FST website if you hope to catch this time-worthy production before the final page is turned.