“1914  saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrillo Princip. It also saw the first airline to provide scheduled regular commercial passenger services with heavier-than-air aircraft, with the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line.”

As Wikipedia went on to point out: “The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line (SPT Airboat Line) was the first scheduled airline using a fixed wing aircraft. The airline provided service between St. Petersburg, Florida and neighboring Tampa across Tampa Bay a distance of about 23 miles. It was in service from January to May 1914.”

The route that this flight covered is now drivable over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the modern link between Tampa and St. Petersburg. We drove it last weekend to get to Comic Com. It goes right past Tropicana Field  where the Tampa Bay Rays beat the White Sox last season. “On May 9, 1980, Harbor Pilot John Lerro was guiding the ship MV Summit Venture under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge when storm winds pushed the vessel into the southern span. A chunk of the span came down. Vehicles fell into the water- a truck, five cars and a Greyhound bus. Thirty-five people died,“ once again according to Wikipedia. I can’t help think about it every time I cross.

As the war raged on in 1915, “the second year of the First World War, included the first German Zeppelin raid on England, the Gallipoli Campaign and the Battle of Loos. The first German Zeppelin raid on the east coast of England; Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn are both bombed.”

Speaking of a different kind of war, I watched the Paramount Plus adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, reminiscent of our current battle with Covid. King happens to live in this part of Florida, at least part of the time and is just as vulnerable as the rest of us. Fortunately, Coronavirus isn’t as deadly as Captain Trips, the fictional illness that he created. 

We had lunch at Brown’s Food Factory, another mobile restaurant that visits our resort community on occasion. Today, it was a spicy breaded tenderloin that pleasantly didn’t include a long wait in line. We’re still looking for something to match the Indiana tenderloins that we enjoyed at places like the State Fair, Murphy’s Steakhouse, and The Mug & Bun.  The closest we’ve found so far is nearby Darrell’s Restaurant.

Georgia is the new NCAA National Champion in football, a status that had eluded them since 1960, sixty-two-years ago. They gained revenge over an Alabama team that had beaten them for the SEC crown a month or so ago. Maybe 2022 will also be the year of the White Sox, as we once again cross the Skyline Bridge to watch them play?