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Visions become reality

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By STEVE OTTO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2009

It's one thing to have a dream - It's one thing to have a dream - a vision. It's something else again to bring that vision to life.

At two events last week, two men who did exactly that were honored for their perseverance and those other qualities that go into building dreams.

One was the man whose name graces the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Friday night, the Exchange Club of Tampa presented Moffitt its annual James "Jimbo" Kynes Award for contributions to the community.

Moffitt was state House speaker in 1978 when he began formulating his vision for a facility that would focus on Florida's high rates of cancer.

You would think the medical community would have embraced the project from the beginning, but it did not. It took Moffitt's political skills and a gutsy determination to work through the machinations that got the idea off the ground.

The cancer center, on the University of South Florida's Tampa campus, probably has been the most successful project in this community that I can recall. Since it opened in 1986, it has treated more than 233,000 people, becoming nationally and internationally recognized for the quality and expertise of its work.

Today, Floridians don't have to go elsewhere if they are dealing with cancer and want the very best treatment available.

Tommy Touchton

Also last week, the Hillsborough County Commission voted unanimously to put Tommy Touchton's name on the new Tampa Bay History Center.

You have to be careful about putting people's names on things, especially if they are still doing things, but it was Touchton's 20-year campaign that brought this thing together.

I don't know if his motivation was just to find a place for his world-class collection of maps or his love of the incredible history of the Tampa Bay region. But it was clearly his perseverance - and not just a little of his money - that ultimately got the center open this year.

If you haven't been, go. They just opened their first traveling exhibit on the Florida cowboy. You can even sit outside in the Columbia's museum restaurant and have a Cuban and a glass of sangria.

Balloon Boy

Lots of mail this week, ranging from Afghanistan to Tim Tebow. The one story we can't shake is that of Balloon Boy and how the media covered it.

Ted Grable of Bloomingdale writes, "I know a lot of people who watched the Balloon Boy news story who never questioned the validity of the story - most likely because it was all over cable news LIVE.

"It is a really sad commentary on how trivial our news media has become that the majority of news outlets made this their centerpiece story. As the story unfolded, the media went from reporting a dramatic rescue to revealing a hoax without missing a beat. None of the stories focused on why the media was so easily duped.

"One of the critical questions that the media did not bother to ask at the time: Was the balloon even capable of carrying a 40 to 50 pound payload? You'd think that with all of the 'experts' down in cableland, at least one geek-in-residence would have asked these questions."

Keyword: Otto Graphs, for more of Steve Otto's musings.

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