When In Rome, Do As The Romans

In Friday's Hernando Today, Nia Diebel asks "Is there life in Spring Hill?"

Yes, Nia, there is life in Spring Hill!

Apparently you missed the fabulous Brooksville Raid last weekend.

Apparently you did not catch The Coasters or Rick Derringer at the Hernando Band shell last year.

The Pickled Parrot (we in the Inn Crowd still call it Bentley's) has great live music every Monday, Friday and Saturday - Supra Heat, The Zoots, Rhythm Express, Stan Princeton, Lenny & Tommy, just to name a few. Ask Dancing Mary! She's there every Friday and Saturday night.

Life is what you make it. I come from New York (how unusual, for a Spring Hill resident) where I am used to much larger dance clubs with crowds well over 2,000. I have been to Studio 54, Regines, Le Bar Bat, Trilogy, Cyberia, Channel 80 and The Garden City Hotel, just to name a few.

Although we don't get that kind of crowd here in the county, there are still many places where you can enjoy good music, dancing and camaraderie. The Hernando County Band shell offers free concerts the second Saturday of every month. Java Bean and Java Baby opened up recently, showcasing some of Hernando's finest guitarists - for free.

I am a member of the Spring Hill Acoustical Guitar Club, and we get together every other week to sing, play and jam. We have performed for the Spring Hill Garden Club, St. Joan of Arc Church, Glen Lakes, Wellington, Brooksville Health Center, Brookridge, Ohio and Pennsylvania clubs, and are booked for this year's Swamp Fest.

I have not missed a Swamp Fest, Hernando Beach Yacht Club Seafood Fest, Guavaween, Gasparilla or Illuminated Knights of St. Yago parade since I have been living down here (although the last three are actually in Tampa, they are still close enough for you to enjoy). Hernando Beach Club offers music and dinner to nonmembers every Friday.

There is a famous saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Just as you would not order French wine in Italy, nor order Pizza in France, there is no denying that Spring Hill has a certain amount of charm. This isn't New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles, but there are places in Hernando County where you can enjoy live music, great food and people, if you just look.

Mike Grab

Spring Hill