Publisher’s Message

Time Flies Whether You’re Having Fun or Not…

We have gotten more comments about May’s publisher’s message, after I started getting mushy over our upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. People asked to know more about us. OK. When I was young, I was always ahead of my age group. My mother talked my way into kindergarten at age 4 and I graduated high school in Ottawa before my 17th birthday after taking 9th and 10th grades together in an experimental accelerated program. I remember being told on numerous occasions “don’t be in a hurry to grow up, time goes faster the older you get.”

I had a hard time understanding that concept then, but looking back I have to agree. It used to seem like birthdays and holidays were a long way off, now it is amazing how soon they are back. The other saying “time flies when you are having fun” is also true. Twenty-seven years of publishing and 50 years of married life seems to have passed in virtually no time.

Sometimes I think I live a charmed life. I met my 22-year-old soulmate at the tender age of 19 and had the wisdom to know she was the one for me, and to lie about my age. We celebrated my 24th birthday together 4 months before I told her I was really 19. In the ensuing 50 years I have outgrown lying about my age.

When people ask us, what is the secret of having 50 or more happy years together, I tell them whenever we disagree about something we say, “You’re probably right.” Few things are worth fighting about anyway. Most people forget why they fought. Life is short. Life isn’t fair. Life is what you make it.

You live in Paradise. Learn to enjoy it. This issue, we feature 1,001 events, galleries, museums, restaurants, shops, fitness and recreation ideas and vacay suggestions. Our columnists advise on health, wellness, home improvement, what’s in your stars and more.

It is truly a pleasure for us to publish Paradise NEWS, the 27-year-young news magazine for the residents of and visitors to TripAdvisor’s #1 Beach Destination, and home of the world-famous St. Petersburg Pier, now in its third generation.

We learned long ago that if you enjoy your work, there is much less stress, it almost feels like play. Here are a couple others who accomplished great things because they loved their work. Kudos to Peter Clark of Tampa Baywatch for his great non-profit, working to save Tampa Bay and educate the youth through their terrific Discovery Center at the Pier. Kudos to John Collins, retiring founder of the St. Pete Arts Alliance who changed the city forever, in spite of everything.

Sustainability in the face of global warming and sea level rise is a topic we will hear about again. We are proud to present as our feature story this month, St. Pete Beach’s plan for an integrated flood prevention program. Hurricane season is here. We have often written extensively about preparedness for storms. This year we chose to provide the information online. It is a good reason to check out www.paradisenewsfl.com. While you are there, you can subscribe for free to our Thursday email newsletter, with our top suggestions for things each weekend. You can also subscribe to a print edition which gets to everyone in the mail around the 15th by design.

PHOTO BY JANET NUMMI Thank you for reading and responding to what you see in the Paradise NEWS. We are truly grateful. Have an awesome Father’s Day and a great 4th of July. Remember “Time flies whether you are having fun or not.”

Peter & Renee Roos

Volume 27 Number 6 • June-July 2021 PUBLISHERS Peter Roos | Marketing & Sales sales@paradisenewsfl.com Renee Roos | Creative Director info@paradisenewsfl.com

EDITORIAL Nanette Wiser - Executive Editor wiser86@gmail.com Steve Traiman - Feature Editor traimancreativecopy@gmail.com

ART & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Janet Nummi

ADVERTISING REPS Gigi Grimshaw Linda Motzenbecker

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS Arts & Leisure & Events - Buddy Baker Art News - Caron Schwartz

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones | Sarah Lyons Michael Moses Jr. Ryan Baker, MD | Dr. Scot Trefz, DVM Tom Broderson, ESQ

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Janet Nummi | @AMGvisual Visit St. Pete-Clearwater | Visit Florida

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