Local News

-- As Joel pointed out recently, a beloved Tampa landmark has closed its doors. Alas, The Masquerade is no more.

Masquerade and I go way back. My friends and I were regulars at a time before streetlights and chain nightclubs made Ybor City a yuppie hotspot. In the late 1980s, we wandered the streets unsupervised, smoking clove cigarettes and feeling misunderstood. There were no hip, urban-style clubs or police officers patrolling 7th Avenue. We only had El Goya, The Cuban Club's basement, and Masquerade. And that was enough for us.

El Goya - the only club in Tampa with a gay theme and patrons who danced to Erasure and Depeche Mode without embarrassment. We were ahead of our time. Cuban Club was the perfect basement venue to slam dance in Doc Martens while Suicidal Tendencies played on stage. And Masquerade was the place to try out fake IDs and dance all night long to Sisters of Mercy while avoiding horny boys in Misfits t-shirts.

My IDs never worked and I always got thrown out. Back then, I didn’t see the upside of looking young for my age. I’d pout outside with bouncers who were more amused than angry. I can still smell the dry ice and stale smoke – familiar and happy memories.

Since then, Ybor City has been dying a slow death. Masquerade’s passing confirms it. Either too safe or too dangerous to encourage rebellious expression – Ybor City has sent its rejects to The Burg. End of an era indeed.

-- A beloved teacher passed away recently. Ted Adams taught Marine Biology at my alma mater, Chamberlain High School, for twenty-one years. He fought a courageous battle against melanoma and died last Thursday at age sixty.

I never had Mr. Adams, but Becky did. Through her, I learned about his ideas regarding conservation and preserving our environment long before Earth Day 1990 brought such ideas to everyone’s attention.

I hope to influence students the way Mr. Adams did – those who were or were not in his classroom will remember him always.

-- A reaction to my op-ed piece in The Tampa Tribune.