MC Coolidge » Columns

I ♥ Hart’s Landing

MC — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:07:38 +0000

Honesty and integrity are the only things we leave behind when we die. Work on it today.”

I’d like to have met the man who thought like that. But Hart seems to have left one more thing behind: A much-needed legacy of a simpler time – and a place where the heart of Sarasota lives on.

That’s an excerpt from this week’s Sense and the City column in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Hope you’ll take a moment to read it in its entirety either in the paper (Feb. 3 TICKET section) or online by clicking here: I ♥ Hart’s Landing

UFood Grill– Food U Might Like

MC — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:51:35 +0000

I’m not a big stock market person, but over the past several months I’ve been buying some stock — not a ton, but just enough to make life interesting — in a penny stock called UFood.

UFood Grill (www.ufoodgrill.com) is a burgeoning restaurant chain based in Boston. This new restaurant brand was founded by the same guy, CEO George Naddaff who helped ignite the Boston Market franchise.

It’s a healthy fast-food choice — burgers, fries, sirloin, wraps, paninis. But everything’s baked, steamed or grilled — no frying! You can watch a video about the company and its food approach — just click here: I’m a UFood Fan!

Anyway, I’m having fun seeing what happens with the company. I don’t often have hunches about stocks, but have had two hunches in the past. One was just before Krispy Kreme went public and one was back in the earlier days of Chipotle — when the stock was still in the low 50s and affordable and long before it split and made a lot of people a lot of money.

Only wish I’d been one of them. Those were two times I didn’t follow my hunches and so now I have this third hunch and hey, we’ll see what happens.

If you’re interested in the stock, or just want to tell me how wrong I am — watch the video and/or leave me a comment. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the day there’s a UFood Grill near me!

New Year, new me, new you … same old (wonderful) Siesta Key Beach

MC — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:23:44 +0000

Image courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

I love me some Siesta Key sand … read my homage to the #1 beach in the country in tomorrow’s Sense and the City column in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Siesta Key, Florida beach rules!

Stop the Payola to Lure and Keep Businesses in Sarasota

MC — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:08:13 +0000

“No one likes them. Every one hates them. Yet states and municipalities continue to offer monetary incentives to seduce companies to choose their communities over others. And, of course, we, the taxpayers, pick up the tab.” — That’s an excerpt from a great article in today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune BIZ Weekly section by Jerry Chautin, a volunteer business counselor with Manasota SCORE. Click here to read the full story.

I AM … Who You Are

MC — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:46:51 +0000

Click on the image to go to the I AM website.

John Donne wrote, “every man is a piece of the continent”; Thoreau asked, “What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” Gandhi said, “Live simply so that others may simply live.” Tom Shadyac, in his new film, I AM, gives us reason to hope that people are still asking relevant questions, and working to find real answers. You’ve GOT to see this film! Read my Sense and the City about the new documentary, “I AM,” in today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune (way in the back of TICKET), or online by clicking right here: I AM … Who You Are!

And then, I really would be interested in hearing what you think … if you have time, come back here and post a comment or drop me a note on FB.

To boldly go … to the Longboat Key Education Center!

MC — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:53:07 +0000

Yesterday, I had an absolute BLAST at the Longboat Key Education Center. I was there to give a talk and had a wonderful time speaking to and talking with the audience.

The Center’s director Susan Goldfarb was super charming and the audience asked such great questions and added many great comments during the 30-minute Q&A session.

I was supposed to be there to inspire them to be bold in the new year … but they inspired me!

Thanks to all who came!

Nourish Your Noggin in Sarasota

MC — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:12:28 +0000

Is it possible to nourish your noggin in Sarasota without breaking the bank? The answer is yes. And this week’s Sense and the City column tells you how!

Click here to read my column online — or check it out in today’s Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Connecting Selby Scholars and Sarasota Movers and Shakers

MC — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:24:03 +0000

Selby Scholars Victoria Leonard, University of South Florida and Elaine Moore, Sarah Lawrence College; with Community Partner Darlene Wedler-Johnson, Provost, State College of Florida-Venice.

Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation’s 11th annual Selby Scholar Symposium, which pairs mentors from the community with scholars who are currently attending college in Florida and beyond. To read the rest of this Sense and the City column in today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune, click here: Connecting Selby Scholars and the Sarasota Movers and Shakers.

Former Selby Scholar now Project Manager Jodi Crabtree with Tandem Construction President Peter Hayes.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do?

MC — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:30:31 +0000

Tell me, after you read The Summer Day, what you plan to do with your one, wild, precious life, on this winter January day?

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

from New and Selected Poems, 1992
Beacon Press, Boston, MA

Top Ten Things to Do in 2012

MC — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:19:48 +0000

Tsadok Porter, flanked by supporting cast members of “Love Sung in the Key of Aretha.”

I’ve got my opinion on what everybody should be doing in 2012 — and it runs the gamut from seeing great Sarasota theatre to getting a massage to registering to vote. Read it online here: MC’s Sense and the City column.