I should have seen the foreshadowing when Mickey, our troublesome cat, started drinking the funky water from the base of the Christmas tree stand.

We love Sarasota a lot more than we love politicians. The three will be known as the trio who forever screwed up the Lido Beach Pavilion. They will be the three who devalued the gorgeous strand of calm beach and handed it off on the cheap. The only good that we will be able to salvage from the mess is after the very next election we will be able to call the trio “former” Commissioners.

We are right now the land of two divine spectacles: The Town Commission election and the approval of the St. Regis Hotel and Residences. This past week was especially exciting since at long last a new vision was approved to replace the morbid and moribund Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

We never seem to replace the little Commission nametags in Town Hall — we just store them in a closet, dust them off and bring them out every couple years.

Why should residents today want to approve a Charter change that effectively votes the voter out of future decisions, especially when those decisions will lead to indebtedness?

The Town Commission has failed to create a zoning and redevelopment process to shape the future redevelopment of the Colony and other parcels in need of redevelopment.

There is often something daunting about holidays which is conveyed in the fearful rhetoric we employ — “Did you get through the holidays?” “Did you pull off Thanksgiving?”

I hate the way the dynamics of television urge us to become self-righteous and take sides.

I saw my face reflected in the mirror that looms in the foyer by the kitchen. I was tired, unshaven and looked like a derelict George Clooney in the final scenes of The Perfect Storm before the boat goes under.

eBay for me is a miracle of the modern marketplace. Take the frenetic otherworldly energy of the Medina in Fez Morocco and combine it with the ability to switch between worlds like Steve Jobs wanted us all to do and even the Dalai Lama risks an addiction to hunting and buying