A Memorial for Dave

I was lucky enough to become good friends with Michelle after wrapping up A Story For Jake. So when the county finally decided to put Dave's name on the fallen soldier's memorial I asked if I could cover it. It meant a lot to me to be able to witness how touched Michelle was by it all. And Jake, will someday understand what his father sacrificed to make this world a better place, and hopefully then he can come to this memorial and thank him.



Hillsborough County Commissioners presented Dave Taylor's family with a plaque honoring him during a bitter sweet Fallen Soldier dedication ceremony. Afterwards, wife Michelle Thresher Taylor and son Jake Taylor, 20 mos., spent a moment alone with the memorial marker where "Army Major David G. Taylor" was etched in stone, becoming the 30th soldier with Hillsborough County ties to be permanently remembered at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square in Tampa. "Especially with Dave being buried up in North Carolina, it's so nice to have a physical place to go, and feel closer to him," said his wife Michelle.

I'll Fly Away

It's been a while... Too long... I can't explain where I've been. Part dream, part nightmare. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Glad to finally be waking up. Eyes open now. Laying in the park, watching the sky move way too fast... Wishing it would slow down. Wishing life would slow down. Wishing I would slow down.

Saw a feather in the clouds. Beautiful wisps of white on a perfect Florida blue. Later the rain moved in... Forcing me inside... My house and my head. It was too cramped in there. Too cluttered. Too everything. I needed out.

Walked outside... stood in my yard... head tilted back in an effort to pour the contents out and start anew. Arms open wide, accepting and needy. The sky hugged back. Looked down and saw my feather. It must have fallen when the sky reached down to pick me up.

Happy Birthday Lowry Park Zoo

This was too cute to pass up, because I'm a sucker for adorable kids. The kids at the Zoo School came out and sang Happy Birthday to Zoo to mark the 20th anniversary of the Lowry Park Zoo reopening its doors as an independent, nonprofit organization. Squeals of silly school girl delight come from Ariel Spoor, 6, right, as she shows off her giraffe mask for friend and classmate Arion Marcotte, 5.

Keep in Flight

John H. White says "Keep in flight." I'm just trying to spread my wings.

The Braille Olymics

This was a pretty cool thing to witness...

Twenty blind and visually impaired students from Hillsborough, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties will meet in the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge to test their Braille skills. The challenge, sponsored by Braille Institute of America, Inc., serves to encourage blind children of all ages to fine-tune their Braille skills. This is part of a national academic competition for blind students in the United States. Participants will compete in 5 categories requiring them to transcribe, type, and read Braille. Students’ Braille skills are evaluated in several areas – reading comprehension, Braille spelling, tactile chart and graph reading, proofreading, and Braille speed and accuracy.



Michael Long, 14, of Wesley Chapel listens to an audio recording before transcribing it in the Braille Speed and Accuracy competition, which is part of the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge at Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind. "I don't think I did real well," said The Thomas E. Weightman eighth grader, who mainly uses his laptop now. "Now if it was a keyboard typing competition I would have had a chance."



Matthew Dowell, 14, of Apopka goes over his work in the Proofreading competition during one of five tests in the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge.



A lot of the parents used the Braille machines to type notes to their children while they were competing in the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge. Eric Miller of Lithia gives his son Jon, 8, a kiss on the cheek after typing out how much he loved him and how proud he was that he's learned braille, as well as wishing him good luck today.