Cultural Creatives in Tampa, Florida

04/05/06 16:05

While visiting some friends in Tampa, Florida last week, I kept an eye out for evidence of Cultural Creativity. "Artistic" creativity was abound in the small art galleries, but evidence of the Cultural Creative lifestyle was difficult to spot.

At the beach, I enjoyed a bottle of mango spritzer I purchased at a local convenience store selling mostly fresh vegetables. I found myself spinning around like a dog trying to find a comfortble position to park herself. I sorely missed the public recycling receptacles next door to every garbage can -- as I can expect in Minneapolis. My hand hesitated to let it drop in.

Natural beach settings were not as popular as the recreational ones. I'd say that the day's population on Egmont Island, a shelling beach, snorkeling site and location of war ruins was about 1/8 that of the others where retirees, vacationers, honeymooners and locals laid out to bronze themselves in the noontime sun.
The Clearwater area where I lodged and spent most of my time is very much a retirement community. New housing developments are plentiful all over, however, and many of those include track, cookie-cutter-type designs. That's not to say that these homes do not contain Cultural Creatives. In fact, Nelson, one of my two delightful hosts lives in such a retirement community, and I found many aspects of his lifestyle familiar: an interest in the Science of the Mind and expressions of spritituality, his desire to see women empowered, great taste in restaurants, and an open mind.

Lenore, my other host, a singer and storyteller by trade, shared her apartment with my brother and me.
Nelson and Lenore were kindred spirits on this adventure.

Makes me wonder where other Cultural Creatives in Tampa might be hiding...