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Getting Your Phil
JANUARY 2022
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immediately begin thinking of ways to be subversively apolitical. (Not that I would do that here. I mean that would be ... deceptive.) Here are some other curated tidbits of information about yours truly: • I’ve looked into the face of death and laughed. It was a Woody Allen-sounding laugh. But I think the important thing here is the laughter. • I have the appetites of Henry VIII but lack his infrastructure. • I owe my salty, makes-a-sailorlook-like-a-choirboy vocabulary to the late great comedian Richard Pryor, and his streetwise philosopher character Mudbone. • Not raised with organized religion (thank God), I thought the title character of the long-running Broadway hit Jesus Christ Superstar was “the King of the Juice.” • And finally: I’m old enough to know better. But young enough to try it one more time. Get your stream on In these days of streaming content, one not only has to find something to watch, but also how to watch it. It’s the modern version of channel surfing, except instead of a hundred or so channels with nothing on, now there are countless
Politically incorrect In writing this column, I have to abide by certain rules. For example: Don’t be overtly political. But as a contrarian, I hear that and
Casa Smeralda When she and her husband first came to Siesta Key in 1989 from Switzerland, the couple discovered the sleepy beach hamlet while visiting their son, a tennis player and student who was attending the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton. The couple were enchanted by Siesta Key and
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By Phil Colpas
Welcome to the ‘gig economy’ he powers that be are calling our current state of affairs a “gig economy,” which means many people now work several parttime jobs with no benefits rather than a single full-time job with ever-decreasing benefits. The choice of the term “gig economy” is amusing to me as a musician. If my band books a show or performance, for example, it is referred to as “a gig.” Now, a lot more people are getting paid like musicians. At any rate, in this so-called gig economy, I must wear many hats. In no particular order, I am: a freelance content creator in the healthcare IT space; a reporter and columnist for this newspaper; and a musician (guitar instructor, bandleader, singer/songwriter). And thanks to my endless predilection for self-delusion, I still entertain rock and roll fantasies.
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streams of content. Good luck finding something worthwhile. To that end, I recently discovered, located and watched the 2019 PBS Ken Burns documentary, “Country Music” -all eight parts (yes, eight, and each is close to two hours long). So, while the 2019 doc is quite lengthy, it’s so well paced and packed with music and entertaining anecdotes that it doesn’t drag. And it is chock full of interesting information. For instance: Hank Williams, the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” himself, learned from an African-American bluesman named Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, while Jimmie Rodgers, known as “the Father of Country Music,” had bluesmen mentors of his own. Employing the KISS philosophy (“Keep It Simple Stupid”), bluegrass performers were fond of saying, “Keep it close to the ground boys!” And as a reminder to never forget where you came from: “Don’t get above your raisin’,” which is also a tune by Ricky Scaggs. And finally, before enjoying his long successful career, Willie Nelson had money trouble. He said, “I pawned my guitar so many times, the pawnbroker played it better than I did!”
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decided to make it their home. After searching for a local business that they could buy and operate, the couple purchased the Tropical Breeze Motel. After a complete renovation, they expanded the facility and sold the motel in 2000. In the following years, they owned and
operated several more small, local businesses. In 2007, Leuenberger opened Casa Smeralda on St. Armand’s Circle. As the owner of a successful business with a loyal following, Leunberger is optimistic about the future. Despite the challenges that
Siesta Key and the world faced, Casa Smeralda had a successful past two years. “Being here on Siesta Key has been better for my business and for my life,” Leunberger said. “As a designer, I find inspiration on our beautiful beaches and by living and working here in our Village.
“I am also committed to offering our customers at Casa Smeralda quality, sustainability and provenance. I find that Siesta Key has the same Mediterranean feel as the emerald green coast of Sardinia, the inspiration for our name.”
