Punta Gorda

Yesterday I took a day off from letting Nana (who you have probably figured out by now is Beth's mother) beat me in scrabble, checkers and/or rummy to visit some old friends in Punta Gorda.


Punta Gorda is about a two hour drive from Anna Maria Island and it's a place that will always be special for me for a couple of reasons.  Ben and Sarah were both born during the seven years that we lived there and it's where I started what turned into a 30+  year career with Adventist Health System.  Although we lived across the Peace River in Port Charlotte the hospital and many of my memories were of Punta Gorda.


Punta Gorda is located at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor.  It has always been quite scenic because of the harbor although the town itself was kind of old and tired looking when we lived there.  Ironically one of the most devastating things to ever hit that area (Hurricane Charlie) was something that changed the direction of the city for the better.


 

  It has become a very interesting and vibrant small community that has been recognized numerous times as one of the best small cities in America.  If you're ever in the area check it out, it now has a great waterfront area with parks, restaurants, shops and water related activities.

http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/punta-gorda.html

Many of these memories were of times spent as a member of the Punta Gorda Kiwanis Club.  The club still meets every Thursday at noon so I had the opportunity to attend yesterdays meeting and catch up with some old friends who still live there and remain active members.




At the time I lived there and was a member there were about 100 of us, mostly men but women were also becoming members and we were certainly better for having them.  Probably about half of the group were retired and the other half was mainly made up of young bucks and buckettes (remember it was a long time ago) like myself.  The retirees in the club came from very diverse backgrounds, most of whom had been leaders in their respective professions and all of whom were committed to making Punta Gorda a great community and having fun while doing it.  The work and support we provided the community was awesome and the meetings were so funny because they were so politically incorrect that you just didn't want to miss one because there was no telling what might happen.  Unfortunately we live in a different world of having to be so politically correct today, well except for Donald who has the magical ability to take it to a whole new level of incorrectness on a daily basis but that's really more of a topic for the political bloggers. 

So many of these individuals who served as mentors and friends to us have passed away now but they left behind a tremendous legacy in the community and with many of us.  I am eternally grateful to them and hope that in some small way I have followed their lead and paid it forward. 




All in a Day's Work -Part 1

All in a Days Work- Part 2