Cool ... you know?

 Here I sit ... Sunday morning at home. The skies are dark and the rain comes in sheets pounding the roof and filling our swimming pool. Tropical storm Debby (named for my sweet wife) is "hanging out" in the gulf. The weather forecasters call Debby a storm that's all over the place and more dangerous than she looks.

That's my Debby(ie).

I love these days. I can stay in and write my novel (no excuses), put down a few thoughts in my blog and eat comfort food (which I do every day but today I can justify it ... well, try to justify it).

There's a great article in the Times today. Bob Trigeaux wrote about the Tampa Bay "coolness" factor. Are we? I don't know ... I'm probably too old to really judge but I do appreciate the fact that when I tell people that I live in St. Pete, I no longer have to hear: "... and you look so much younger than that." I was happy to see USF mentioned alot in the "coolness category" with CAMLS, Draper and SRI, the Bulls and the campus transformation itself. Just about a month ago, we were listed in The Washington Post as one of the top 5 coolest Universities in the country.    

I think St. Pete has its own coolness factor by the mere fact that it just kinda does its thing. There are many new "cool" restaurants sprouting up all around the downtown area, the Saturday market, music and food events in the park and lots of younger people investing in the area.  It doesn't have to have a label. It just is ... cool.

"Coolness" is the confidence that you don't have to be cool.

I love rainy days. I feel so much smarter and kinda ... cool, you know?