MC’s Guide to Make It Merry in December!

This week’s Sense and the City column (out in print tomorrow in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune; and in TICKET boxes free on Friday) lists just a few of my picks for alternative ideas for merry-making before year-end.

You can read it online here: MC’s Guide to Making it Merry in December.

Holiday Etiquette 101 — RSVP ASAP

If you’re planning a party for the holiday — or if you’ve received invites to mistletoe merriment, you may want to read my annual rant about the fact that people just don’t RSVP anymore!

In the TICKET — found in news boxes throughout the city today for free or online at:

MC’s annual rant about people who don’t RSVP!

Homes … and Toys … for the Holidays

My Sense and the City column this week is about the children in our community who don’t have homes — and a lucky 27 who finally do.

It’s also about what you can do to help children without “forever families” this holiday season.

If you’re interested, you can click on the link below to read online … or check it out in tomorrow’s TICKET in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Homes … and Toys … just in time for the holidays!

Sarasota Audience Gives Blues Fest its Soul

My Sense and the City column in today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune looks at last weekend’s Blues Fest. My take? It’s the audience that makes this concert rock.

You can read it in today’s TICKET section or click below to read it online.

Sarasota Audience Gives Blues Fest its Soul

MC Reality & Ticket Readers … Annual All Faiths Food Drive!

My Sense and the City column in today’s TICKET section of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune kicks off my annual November fundraising drive to help feed the hungry in our community through the All Faiths Food Bank. You can read the column online by clicking on this text: The Tradition of Giving Thanks By Giving to Others

Once again, I’m donating my entire earnings during November from my freelance newspaper gig — which this year will be more than prior years I’m happy to say!

If you’d like to join in with MC’s drive for All Faiths Food Bank, there are two easy ways to do so:

Online: Visit www.allfaithsfoodbank.org (just write “MC’s TICKET column drive” in the special instructions box).

Mail: Send a check, with the same notation — MC’s TICKET column drive”, to All Faiths Food Bank, 8171 Blaikie Court, Sarasota, Florida 34240-8321.

I’ll be reporting results in an upcoming TICKET column and on this blog as well.

If you’re able to participate and donate money — that’s wonderful, but, as I point out in my column, there are lots of ways to “give thanks” without specifically giving cash … one of the best ways is just by being kinder. The next time someone pulls a bone-headed move in traffic, the next time you’re waiting in a long line, the next time the older person in front of you is moving slower than a tortoise, the next time some kid is screaming his head off … just take a deep breath and be patient! If you’re in a car, waiting in line to buy something, in a hurry to get somewhere and able to hear … hey, you’ve got a lot to be thankful for!

Breaking the silence on domestic violence … thanks to readers

Thanks — merci mille fois – grazie – danke, to every one who posted such supportive comments and shared their own stories in response to my recent op/ed piece in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune (to read it online just click here). I’ve heard from so many women — and several men, too — either on this blog, in direct emails, phone calls, comments in person, and in letters written to the editor of the newspaper. Thank you all for taking the time to contact me.

To read some of the comments readers have shared, click on this link here .

Le Barge and le bark in the park

This week’s Sense and the City column is about my weekend spent celebrating Mummy’s birthday … you can read it in tomorrow’s TICKET or just click here! Le Barge and Bark in the Park.

Lessons Learned from Ashton & Demi (or as I like to call them — Ashemi)

My Sense and the City column in today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune TICKET section asks the question: What did Demi Moore see in Ashton Kutcher, anyway? You can read it by clicking here:

http://www.ticketsarasota.com/2011-10-20/section/nightlife/sense-and-the-city-lessons-learned-from-ashton-demi/

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune ran an opinion piece I wrote in today’s op/ed section. If you want to read it online, click here: Break the Cycle of Domestic Violence

Equality Florida Gala Raises LGBT Visibility

Hope you’ll get a chance to read today’s Sense and the City column in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. In it, former Sarasota Vice-Mayor Ken Shelin talks candidly and there are several good photos from last week’s Equality Florida gala in Sarasota.

Click here to read the story. Or check it out in today’s TICKET.