Regarding "A Man Of Action" (front page, Dec. 23): Michelle Bearden's story on the Rev. Abe Brown and his statewide, multi-prison outreach conveys that he is one of Florida's greatest treasures. His determination to continue on follows the same designs of the late Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa in carrying on God's mission for them. In the early 1990s, the Rev. Brown convinced me to ride up on one of his "vintage" buses to the Ocala Correctional Institution on Christmas Eve. Seeing the joy on the inmate's faces was unbelievable! Together we were singing, sharing, hugging, gift giving and smiling in that stark jail cafeteria. It made for one Christmas that I'll never forget. ...more

December 27, 2007

Professional organizer and author Donna Smallin is a neatnik; her husband of 18 months is more like the rest of us. Peaceful cohabitation is a matter of negotiating boundaries and agreeing on "clear-free zones," Smallin says. ...more

December 27, 2007

Tampa Poet Laureate James Tokley chooses his words carefully and this is how he describes the Rev. Abe Brown: "the coach of men, of the community and of the hopeless." ...more

December 23, 2007

Educator. Coach. Pastor. Father and grandfather. Prison evangelist. Community servant. The Rev. Abe Brown is one of Tampa's last surviving icons from the days before people of color had rights. ...more

December 23, 2007

If you're never quite sure if the ads for popular beauty products can be believed or not, relax. ...more

December 15, 2007

If you're never quite sure if the ads for popular beauty products can be believed or not, relax. ...more

December 14, 2007

If you're never quite sure if the ads for popular beauty products can be believed or not, relax. ...more

December 7, 2007

Three generations of a Tampa family gathered Tuesday to light the first candle of Hanukkah as the eight-day Jewish holiday began at sundown. ...more

December 5, 2007

When I was growing up, the pastor of my church never drove anything fancier than a Chevy, and he and his wife shopped where the rest of the congregation purchased their goods. ...more

November 18, 2007

If you've wandered the drugstore aisles for hours in search of the perfect beauty products, relax. Kick up your feet. All you need is 4you. ...more

November 16, 2007