Here in Boca Grande, we are experiencing what we refer to as the calm before the Christmas and New Year’s “storm.” Historically, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is a bustling time for the island.

The Inn is at full capacity, island shops are filled with great merchandise, restaurants are rocking, the bike path is filled with young athletic types, and everyone has some extended family members or friends visiting from out of town.  

All in all, it’s a great time of the year! But until it arrives, enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the island, shop and dine locally and get plenty of rest, you’re gonna need it!

The girls at Hudson’s Grocery said that an anonymous donor came into the store and contributed $500 to their Relay for Life team, as well as $500 to the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida.

Thank you, anonymous donor, for keeping the Christmas spirit alive!

They raised more than $1,000 for their Relay team at the Wheeler Road barbecue held recently.

To the Editor:
Attention all visiting boaters and yachtsmen intent on anchoring in Boca Grande Bayou, in proximity of the Pink Elephant Restaurant. Be advised of the existing attitude of the Gasparilla Inn management,
who said that visiting boaters and yachtsmen, are not welcome, and that boats anchored in the location will be charged with trespass and the owners arrested.

By Claiborne Young -

Almost everywhere I go, one question keeps popping up time after time; some variation of, “Claiborne, where are all these Florida anchorage regulations coming from?” Well, I am going to attempt to answer that question within this article/editorial, AND why I think most of these proposed prohibitions are unnecessary and probably harmful.

So, with that out of the way, here goes. First, let’s dispose of two less than savory reasons why Floridian anchorage regulations have made an appearance, stretching all the way back to the early 1990s.

To the Editor:
We are pleased to report the arrival of Master Maximillian Moore, recently emigrated from his native country of Transylvania, the little isolated nation in the center of Europe. He has left the service of the king and came here seeking a career in circus show business (having read that the Ringling Center in nearby Sarasota is famous for this entertainment business).
He has settled in the Banyan Street home of the Moore family, trying to adjust to life with P.T. Barnum, a cat twice his size. He is, after all, only 14 pounds.
Mas, as he is popularly known, is the offspring of Mssr. German Miniature Pinzer and Lady Dora Malta, a Maltese from that isle.
He came about after a romantic night in the garden of the court of the king after an all-night party.
Pinzer and Lady Dora were united in an authentic Orthodox canine ceremony, attended by the entire court of the king of Transylvania.
Maximillian has yet to find employment in the Big Top, or even in the sideshow venues, but he is gamely going from pillar to post, usually dropping a yellow tear.
C’est la vie.
In reality, Max has just come from the Suncoast   Humane Society after being neutered.
The shelter is desperately in need of help.
On a recent day, 42 dogs and cats were surrendered. This being Christmas time, remember those at the shelter with a tax-deductible donation.

William & Jane Moore
Boca Grande
     

Mainlanders vs Islanders
Each year the members of Coral Creek Club square off as Mainlanders and Islanders to battle it out on the golf course. The prize – the Boca Grande Bridge, at least in spirit! The seventh annual friendly competition was just as fun as exciting as previous years.