TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tools Are Lost, But Common Ground And Camaraderie Found

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEVE OTTO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 12, 2008

This happened about 10 minutes ago and I'm still wondering if that is the nature of things or maybe just bad luck.

The dishwasher was on the fritz, so we called the Sears repair people because it's still under warranty. For our convenience they said they could come by between 1 and 5 p.m. It made me wonder what they would consider inconvenient.

But he did make it to the house with 15 minutes to spare, made the repairs and headed off.

About 20 minutes later he called, wondering whether he had left his tools at our house. We looked around and there were no tools. We did find a kneeling pad out in the street and he said that was his and that it was with the tools that he now thought he might have left on his truck's running board.

I looked up and down the street for what he said was a missing drill and tool box, but there was nothing. It's not a big deal, unless you are the repairman, but the tools are largely specific to his appliance job. He also said some of the tools were his father's.

You might think somebody would put them on the side of the road, but maybe not. I saw him about an hour later talking to neighbors.

So if by some long-shot chance you found some tools in a yellow box out on the road, give me a call at (813) 731-8142 and I'll pick them up at some parking lot or whatever. It would mean a lot to this guy.

Wheels Rolling Again

It was just another assignment when I went down to the old Trailer Park gym on Rome Avenue to do a story on the Florida Wheels.

This was back in the dark ages of the '70s and, even being a sportswriter, I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for a story on wheelchair basketball.

Chuck Porter, a member of the team, dragged me out and after a few minutes of play, he lent me his chair to experience some of the fun. It took about two minutes of pushing up and down the court to realize this was a different sport requiring skills I lacked.

It was about 20 minutes later, my hands turning raw and my knees and arms hurting from getting rammed by the other players, that I began to appreciate what was going on out there.

I was also hooked and found myself going back to their practices and trying to keep up with these guys who not only played the game at a high level but also used it as a way of demonstrating to themselves that they could compete and work as a team no matter the disability.

The Wheels, who at one time played a national schedule, disbanded a few years ago.

Porter called me up to say they will be getting together at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Embassy Suites on Fowler Avenue by the University of South Florida campus.

If you ever played, were a referee or just a fan, you can call Porter at (813) 886-4163.

Canoe Stirs Up Angst

The most interesting letter this past week came in response to a column on the discovery of an ancient canoe in the muck off Weedon Island in St. Petersburg. I had a little fun with the story and most of the letters were favorable. There was even one from Crackerjack Jock Jack Harris of WFLA, 970 AM, who said he thought it was pretty funny. Of course, this is the middle of beer season for Harris.

But there was this one from Stan Hall of Tampa, edited here for length.

"Upon reading the Otto column today I was deeply saddened. For lack of more suitable fare, he devoted his entire column to making fun of the Native American canoe. Not content with merely failing to recognize the significance of the discovery, he spins a tasteless diatribe about a people who occupied the area and fashioned the ancient craft from saplings. Speaking of saplings, Mr. Otto has no appreciation for the difficult lives these early Americans must have led. I would love to see how Mr. Otto would have thrived in that same environment. As an aging WASP Republican destined for my own green bench, I must side with the tree huggers on this. Mr. Otto, you are a bigot."

The truth is, people like me get lots of mail like that and there are usually valid points made.

Mr. Hall must have thought about his letter all night and the next morning sent out another one, this time apologizing for some of the things he said and adding that his concern was more for the lack of respect and values he sees in our society. I agree with him completely, and we've exchanged a couple more letters.

I mean, we're not exactly sitting by the campfire singing "Kumbaya," but he demonstrated that there are people who listen and think about things and sometimes even have the courage to change their minds. Stan Hall is one of those.

Keyword: Ottographs,

to read and comment on

Steve Otto's blog.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT