A friend pointed out to me once that these blog entries are kind of like photo essays and I guess that is the best way of putting it.  I write a bit, there are pictures.  Everyone is happy, I hope.

So now St. Petersburg, Florida is getting its own photo essay.  Like I mentioned in a previous entry we have a little tradition in my family that we go to Florida after Christmas.  Its a peculiar kind of tradition, but a good one too.  I always say — it isn’t the holidays until we go to Florida.

We always go to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and we attend a great event in St. Petersburg called First Night.  I’m not one who makes any sort of a big deal about New Years.  The year structure to me is a tenuous construct at best.  So the year changes.  Am I supposed to change?  Do I change?  I mean I get one year older.  OK.  But some people think its a big deal.  Honestly I never understood why.

But then we started going to St. Petersburg for the First Night celebration and I understood why.  The celebration is purposely low key, not like the crazy ball drop in New York, which I’ve never even attended, despite spending my entire life in that area.  They have little performances with classical music.  I remember in years past a guy just joyously playing piano and saying “I could do this all night.  I like it and it isn’t difficult for me at all.”  There’s singing, music but gentle and low key.  Oh and did I mention that unlike New York it is about 75 degrees outside?  Yeah, there’s that.

Well Florida, yet again you have done the impossible.  You have won me over with your pleasant First Night celebration.  Let’s celebrate with some photos: