Stressing the real struggles of residents

Column

For me, it was just another column Wednesday. In fact, I thought I had thrown in some good lines on a new survey that claimed the citizens of Tampa Bay were the most stressed-out people in the country.

Most of these surveys have little or no credibility, and I thought this one — which added up a bunch of statistics on everything from divorce rates to how long it takes to get to work — was just ripe for the picking.

Some of you liked it, but a few of you said I had missed something — that there were plenty of people around here not only buried in stress, but genuinely hurting. Here's part of a longer letter from "Michael" that is similar in tone to others:

"Mr. Otto: I think you dismiss the stress of living in this community too lightly. Nibbling Cuban toast and coffee, watching some baseball and downing margaritas will not cure the inherent anxiety of living in this community.

"Many of us work hard, pay our bills, live as responsibly as we can, but are barely holding on financially and emotionally. I am one of the lucky ones. I purchased my home with my aging parents who put two-thirds down on it.

"I used to have two jobs [I am a licensed practical nurse] to support me, but the second job evaporated several years ago. Health care positions are not as plentiful as people think…I am tight enough financially that I won't be doing a vacation this year. I drive as little as possible to be sure I have enough gas to get to work and to the store. I can't afford to go out to a dinner or a movie or even the causeway to see the water.

"My father has passed on. I live with my disabled sister and mother. My 83-year-old mother still works 32 hours a week. My disabled sister has a service dog that detects seizures, but she is 6 years old and has health issues.

"I know that Tampa has a lot to offer, but many of us can't access it. I think the anxiety for many people in Hillsborough County is palpable."

Quite a few of you wrote in about where you were on the day of the Sunshine Skyway disaster after my Jan. 18 column suggested some bad decisions were made the morning the cargo freighter Summit Venture slammed into the bridge. At least two of you took me to task for putting some of the blame on the late harbor pilot, John Lerro, who was cleared of all charges.

Ted Mercer wrote that "many factors were out of his control" and he went on to list a number of them, including "shipboard radar had failed," and "outbound tanker 'Pure Oil' was approaching and he could not locate her and was afraid of leaving the shipping lane because of a potential collision."

"I must remind you that Capt. Lerro was cleared of all charges and became a respected instructor at Maritime College in New York."

Anita Knight of St. Petersburg wrote in to say, "I too remember that day. My cousin was crossing the bridge just before it happened. Thank God he made it, but he's now gone to Heaven. A few years after it happened, I was driving home from work and saw a bumper sticker that read… 'Tampa Bay, where the ship hit the span.' "