Young, Impressive People

 My friend Carole the banker have a long and happy history of friendly cocktail hours -- dating back to when I first met her as a banker for SunTrust in 1988. Carole is unfailingly happy and upbeat, and we share tales of life and a little about finance.

I've followed her as a client to Bank of Boston, for its short tenure in the 305 (not the right culture mix) and then to Gibraltar, and now to Iberia, which bought Gibraltar. I've referred Carole several "private banking clients," and as a result we usually get her employer to pay for our happy hours.

Carole has a niece, Colleen, who's as close as a daughter. Colleen went to J School at Florida, and interned for the NY Times, and then got her first job at the St. Pete Times. Her hometown Herald lured her back a few years ago, and she has done wonderfully. Alas, Tampa poached her again, offering a LOT more money than the snootier Herald would match, and so Colleen is off to "The Poor Man's Miami," as a famous SI article once labeled Tampa.

And Carole has been wanting me to meet Colleen for years, and last night it came to pass. We gathered at the bar at Captain's Tavern, and had several adult drinks and delightful conversation.

Even though Colleen reports on Education, like every other reporter lately, her beat has been the Surfside collapse , and she shared tales with us that would have curled my hair if it was long enough to still curl. But, as I had read, the upside is that our mayor, Daniella Cava, is LEGIT. Colleen says she has acquitted herself wonderfully, and knows what she doesn't know. Also, there is, for the first time since 2016, true bipartisan cooperation -- liberal Debbie Schultz and conservative Marco Rubio working together to help the victims' families.

Spending an evening with the young, ace reporter brought back to me how wonderful it is to hang with younger folks. The world is their oyster. They're on the make. Discussions aren't about doctors, and chronic health conditions, and which urologist or hormone replacement doc is the best.

As we shared stories, Colleen remarked that I was a journalist, too. I had a sense of sharing a tale with a beginning, middle, and end. I got the concept of the lead. Why didn't I write more, and maybe for profit. Easy answer: I'm too damned lazy! She laughed and got it.

So we three made our final toast: to meet again. It'll either be when Colleen returns home, or, if by some chance I make it to the Tampa area, at Bern's Steakhouse. I admitted that as a Miami guy, I tend to think the 305 has the best of everything in the state -- but Bern's is an exception. They truly are the best steakhouse.

Our waitress came back, and summoning my best Sinatra, said "Ketel martini -- the glass doesn't get empty." We all laughed -- Colleen has an old soul.

Politically, she likes Bernie. I scoffed -- an embarrassment to my people. We agreed to disagree. And then I threw her aunt under the bus, as I know Carole is a Republican. Colleen couldn't believe she voted for Bovo, a Trump-lite, over Cava. Carole looked down. It was that kind of evening.

So - here's to a continuation of the cessation of the plague, and more time with the young ones. They bring so much more life to things.