By Peter Roos
This column generally belongs to our senior writer, Steve Traiman, who asked for this month off to mourn the passing and celebrate the life of his better half, Bonnie. We have published travel stories by Steve about he and Bonnie, who in 62 years together traveled the world and even soared together in hot-air balloons. Bonnie was a dedicated worker who spent 25 hours per week at the St. Pete Beach Library almost until she passed. Her smiling face and helpful demeanor are already missed.
Steve had long been a member of the Men’s Club at the synagogue in South Pasadena, who had catered many of the events there, and they prepared a Sunday brunch that was delicious.
His and Bonnie’s grandkids were amazing in sayIng goodbye, each in their own special way. The attendees were a mix of people who knew her from the library, including ex-mayor of St. Pete Beach, Al Johnson, and neighbors from their long-time condo building at Three Palms Point.
While I am not nearly as experienced a condo dweller as Steve, Renee and I have spent the past two months on the eighth floor of an older downtown building. We have lived in single-family homes exclusively for our 50+ years together. It took a hurricane to get us to try living in a multi-family dwelling.
My initial observation, as a tenant at least, is that it is an easier way of life than maintaining your own property. In addition, there are recreational amenities that present an opportunity for social interaction with fellow residents that must be created outside of the home in a single-family home setting. I have heard from some condo dwellers that at some stage in their lives, the ability to be able to “lock up and leave without worrying about anything” was enough temptation to move to an upper floor with an elevator.
Renee is both a pet lover and a gardener. St. Pete is one of the most pet friendly places in the country, and in two months here, we have met many of the dogs in the building. Our garden drowned last fall along with our home and our cars, but we have begun to replace it, starting to grow herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme and mint on our balcony.
Renee was an acrobat and ballerina when we met. Injuries from then have resulted in arthritic joints the second of which, her right knee, was replaced this month. With ramps and an elevator, our condo has proven a great place to recover from surgery.
New condos and apartment homes are being built downtown and in South Central St. Pete at a frenetic pace.
Perhaps one will be your home for the future. Check it out, life above the first floor is better than we thought.
With luck, Steve will return with a new column for our June-July edition.