Reflecting on a relentless year in Tampa Bay
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Tropicana Field, pictured in October after Hurricane Milton ripped off its roof. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Ah, the end of the year. A time for reflection.
Why it matters: Boy, do we have a lot to reflect on.
Flashback: Spring, so quaint. Taylor Swift dropped her gothy ode to the Sunshine State. Transplants who may or may not have contributed to Tampa becoming one of the rudest cities in the country learned that living here isn't all dolphins and sunsets.
- Finally, the respect we deserve here in the free state of Florida (although queer people, homeless people, petition signers and porn enthusiasts may disagree with that characterization).
Reality check: Come hurricane season, even the toughest Floridians were humbled.
By the numbers: Eighteen named storms, 11 hurricanes, and two cyclones in two weeks that delivered the worst impacts Tampa Bay has seen in a century.
- Our community lost lives, homes, businesses, favorite trees, family photos, Tropicana Field as we knew it, uncomplicated beach days and our sense of security born from the luck or the science or the Native American shell mounds — whatever was protecting us for so long from this awful, sobering reality.
- One of the storms was called Milton, for gosh sakes, and the "Paradise Lost" jokes hit with all the tragedy of a punchline that's just too real.
Then, two weeks later, another storm of sorts: an election packed with high-stakes issues like abortion and, according to a not-negligible number of Americans, the fate of democracy itself.
- How the results felt depends on who you are, but can we get a bipartisan "hell yeah!" that general elections are exhausting?
Yes, but: Wait, there's more. Baseball was "here to stay," then it wasn't, then it… was? Maybe St. Pete Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Chris Steinocher was onto something when he gave this assessment of the situation at a recent county commission meeting:
- "We've all been through trauma, and we're not thinking correctly."
Of course we're not! Look at the year we had! And even as we try to look forward, the giant, hulking, roof-less Trop appears on the horizon, a living embodiment of all we've lost, and suddenly we're crying in the car on the way to Publix.
Okay, okay. Deep breaths. Let's practice some gratitude, shall we?
- We still came together after the hurricanes to help each other.
- We still have this glorious winter weather.
- We still have Cuban sandwiches and murals and a new women's soccer team and another Trader Joe's and the pier and the riverwalk and golf course-free state parks and sunsets over the Gulf, even if they do hit a little different.
- Maybe take a dip, have a float, feel weightless for a little while. The water is (probably) fine.