Rebuild

BRADENTON BEACH, Florida – Well, it appears that we won’t be getting a free mattress. Michigan’s own Gardner White Furniture can rest easy now because, as our Jazzercise friend’s husband, Roger, posted on the newly unchecked Book of Face: “So much for the free furniture.” Back in mid-July, the local retailer ran a promotion tied to the Detroit Lions winning (yes, winning, not just playing) the 2025 Super Bowl. Everyone in Michigan would get a rebate for their entire furniture and mattress purchase bought during a set period last July.

Our enthusiastic salesman told us about it when we bought the thing and that the family-owned, 112-year-old company had taken out a multi-million-dollar insurance policy. I really thought they were going to have to pay up. We laughed every time we saw one of their TV ads. And Rebecca had already done the math for me.

Silly us to think we were going to score a Sealy Posturepedic freebie. But it was not to be. First, the Lions needed to score more points. A lot more.

For those of you who have zero interest in American football (Martha Millah, this means you), our Detroit Lions lost 45-31 to the Washington Commanders in Saturday’s NFC Division Championship game.

The Lions. The NFC’s No. 1 seed after an outstanding 15-2 season with a first-round playoff bye. Against the lowest-seeded team remaining in the playoffs. At home in front of some of the loudest sports fans in the universe.

So now the winners of this Sunday’s Conference Championship games – Washington vs. the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills vs. the Kansas City Chiefs – will play in Super Bowl LIX on February 9 in New Orleans.

Whatever. Still, they were not the “same old Lions.” They’ll be back.

After so many years of disappointing (OK, even disastrous) seasons, the Lions let a fairy tale dream slip away in 2025. Too many injuries to the defense, too many turnovers and too deep a hole to dig out of.

You can see by this blog post’s dateline that we’re already in “Snowbird mode” here on the gulf coast of the Sunshine State, or as we like to call it, the land of hurricanes, “no-see-ums” and bad drivers.

We arrived Saturday afternoon, just in time to unpack the car, crack open two Schofferhofer Hefeweizen grapefruit beers and watch the Lions get their clocks cleaned by a very good team led by a rookie quarterback who couldn’t stop smiling.

I am not smiling today, and not just because it’s January 20, and the arctic blast that affected today’s political circus in our nation’s capital (even workers had trouble raising flags to full staff because of frozen cords!), has traveled southward. It was chilly (for here) in the 50s, but that’s January in southwest Florida. When it gets cold up north, it gets colder here, too.

Perhaps some poetic justice on both fronts.

OK, I’ll stop. I’m not complaining.

But honestly, “I wish all of this sand was snow” was said by nobody, ever.

Yesterday, we drove around Anna Maria Island, which was hit by Hurricane Milton back in October as it made landfall near Siesta Key with 120 mph winds. Several Florida gulf coast cities suffered devastating damage, particularly in Bradenton Beach where we’re staying, from a massive storm surge and widespread flooding.

The photos above don’t do it justice, but here they are, clockwise from top left: Rod & Reel Pier, AMI City Pier history and what’s left of it, the fallen yellow house, the minty- colored Imperial House complex and the gray house, all on Gulf Drive. And a message to anyone who doubts this island will be rebuilt.

It’s hard to look at the destruction on the island we love so much – and reminds us why we don’t own anything down here. But some of our dear friends do, so it feels more personal.

in the photos below are some of our favorite places, clockwise from top left: Bridge Street, Island Time, Ginny & Jane E’s Cafe on the north end and our favorite store, Beach Blossom Studio on Pine Avenue.

There’s a lot to rebuild on this island. The locals are up for the challenge.

They remain “AMI Strong.”

Sort of like the Lions but on artificial turf instead of all that sand.

PS Remember: Don’t obey in advance.

(YouTube: Today is also MLK Day. This was one of Stevie Wonder’s most direct activist songs in response to the U.S. House of Representatives’ refusal to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a federal holiday in 1979. The spirit of “Happy Birthday” was undeniable, and it played a small role in King’s birthday finally being federally recognized in late 1983. Wonder was even seated in the Senate gallery with Coretta Scott King to celebrate. From the 1980 “Hotter Than July” album, listen to this joyous song. It might just warm you up!)