Vamos USA!

Like all "real" sports fans here in America, I'm captivated by the World Cup. And for the first time in three World Cups, I'm rooting for Sam's Army right here in my home turf.

There's something to be said about being surrounded by like-minded fans who share your same nationalistic pride. Something that I'll never take for granted.

Last World Cup, I was traveling in Quebec, surrounded by French Canadiens and other nationalities. Three World Cups ago, I was traveling in Brazil – Rio de Janeiro specifically. Lucky for me, Brazil won the World Cup that took place in South Korea/Japan, becoming five-time champions. A byproduct of that victory? I discovered what the verb "party" really meant (not even attending a state school could prepare me for the type of festivities I saw down there).

But now, I can't say I'd rather be anywhere except the good ol' U.S. of A. to enjoy a little futbol with those in red, white and blue. Try being the only Americans in a bar in Montreal when all others are cheering for the Azzurri or with those who have shifted to become bandwagon Brazilian fans. Awkward, yes. While at the bar, we didn't want to look like we had "quintessential obnoxious Americans" etched on our foreheads, so we were careful in containing our cheers and jeers. Even worse, we were traveling during the unpopular Bush years when American popularity waned as much as our soccer hopes did that year. Then, we quickly reminded ourselves Canada's first and only World Cup qualification was in 1986 and its best chance of qualifying escaped when Steve Nash decided to play basketball instead of soccer. So then we cheered to our hearts' content.

On Friday I watched the USA's match against Slovenia on my home turf. More specifically, I watched the 10 a.m. game sitting right at my office desk in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Connected to the Internet, and thankful our workplace is a "soccer-friendly office" (as deemed by our COO), I cursed at the first Slovenian goal. And, I nearly smashed my office phone with my right fist at their second goal. But when Landon Donovan scored one of the best goals in the tournament to cut the Slovenia lead in half, I let out a yelp that only an American soccer fan can appreciate. Funny thing is, I could hear about half the office floor cheering almost simultaneously with me. And, when Michael Bradley scored the equalizer, I couldn't be happier to cheer amongst my pro-American mates. Yes, the obnoxious American was here, right where she belonged.

However our American boys do this year, however they finish, it's overwhelmingly refreshing to cheer amongst peers and to be embraced by those who love Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, Altidore, Edu, Bocanegra, Bradley and the other troops in Sam's Army as much as I do.

My Sherpa

Saying goodbye is always a difficult thing to do, but lucky for us and our publishing company, we have the chance to say good luck to one of the best employees whose name has graced our masthead. On Friday, Gold Coast magazine will bid adieu to Jennifer Math, our associate editor, my right-hand woman, my sidekick, my sherpa, my cohort, my friend.

Jennifer has been with us for nearly 2.5 years, and it can't be mentioned enough how her impact and talents will be missed. She's revolutionized our front-of-the-book sections and brought in amazing copy editing skills that will undoubtedly be unsurpassed.

But there's a lot of tasks Jennifer performs for our magazine that you might be unaware of. Keeping in line with our Gold Coast editorial department, Hearsay, I present:

6 Things You Didn't Know About Jennifer Math:

1. She's the only magazine member who can wear a child-sized glove.

If you're looking for a good laugh or two, ask Jen to palm a basketball. Or even a tennis ball.

2. She's been called a "workout workhorse."

For one assignment, Jen tested a Metabolic Assessment Profile Test at a local gym. There, the professional trainer asked her to run an ungodly amount of time on a treadmill while wearing an unattractive mask that measured the volume of oxygen her body absorbed. After about a gazillion minutes of running and showing no signs of fatigue (as verified by this oxygen machine), the trainer exclaims, "Man, you're a workout workhorse! Triathletes don't even have the endurance you do!"

3. She's our resident taste tester.

If there's a South Florida key lime pie or mojito of note, Jen's conquered them all. Her expert palate and taste buds have been utilized in every taste test we've done these past 2.5 years.

4. She pronounces "drawer" the good ol' fashion New York way: "drahw-yer."

For the most part, Jen has no trace of her native geographic background in her speech. Except when pronouncing this fun lil' word. Sometimes I'd purposely trick her in saying the word (like, "Where did you put that file, Jen?" "Oh, it's in my drahw-yer.").

5. Jen claims to have a "good" side.

Well, to the rest of us, every side of Jen is her good side, but when taking pictures, please note Jen prefers to be on your left side.

6. She can do a mean Cupid Shuffle.

For last year's annual Florida Magazine Association conference in Orlando, Jen single-handedly showed us why our editorial staff won three fancy-smancy Charlie Awards -- it was because of her post-award ceremony Cupid Shuffle at the Universal CityWalk. Down, down, do your dance, do your dance, Jen.

Saving Our Libraries

With a controlled, even voice, Jim Findlay announced to 18 Broward Public Library Foundation board members that upon his upcoming retirement, the county will not seek a replacement for his vacant curator spot at Bienes Museum of the Modern Book, the museum located on the sixth floor of the Main Library. As I heard Mr. Findlay breath each word with a hint of marked sadness at last week's board meeting, I couldn't help but think, wow, this is the personification of a double-whammy: Cutting back a museum's staff and, just as bad, cutting back on a library's staff.

During the short life span of this blog, I've tried keeping topics lighthearted and trivial. For me, that type of narrative comes easiest. But this time, sorry Charlie, I've got to speak about something that hits close to home.

The way I see it, not only has the county decided to cut funding toward arts and culture, with targets set at the Bienes Museum at the Main Library, it's made our public library system innately inferior to its potential, poorly servicing our citizens. Blame it on economic woes, budget cuts, whatever, but the fundamental right to read and learn is taking a multi-year back seat with little end in sight.

During the past three years, our public library system has cut its staff by one-third (324 jobs lost) and chopped nearly a quarter of its funding. The irony? Circulation and workload has increased by 11 percent. Thankfully, books are still arriving, but the good folks who check them in are far and few in between.

My neighborhood library, Imperial Point, has inconvenient service hours. Closed on Fridays, not open after work hours some days, unlocking its doors too late on other days. I can't blame them -- they can't afford to stay open during "normal" hours. Instead, they compromise with abbreviated times and services. And it's not just the Imperial Point branch or any other branch in Broward; it's sadly a commonality all over the nation. Last year all city libraries in Seattle were forced to shut down for an entire week due to budget cuts.

Call me crazy, but as an editor, journalist and writer, I've got this weird attachment to books and libraries. I grew up around books, and I was practically raised in a library (though my parents will never fess up to it). After school, my brothers and I would go to the library to read, study, research and entertain ourselves. My parents couldn't afford a baby sitter; instead, the library became our surrogate nanny. By the time I was 10, I think I read every single book in the children's section (thank you, Ann M. Martin, for The Baby-Sitters Club series). I say with confidence the impact the library had on me is directly correlated with my current choice of profession. And, I'd like to think there's millions of other folks that libraries have directly impacted, too.

On June 22, county commissioners will hold a Budget Workshop, discussing the budgets for a variety of civic services, including the public libraries. Let's hope for the sake of ourselves and our libraries, no shortcomings are finalized.

Gold Coast's hot fashion issue

My publisher's tossed this idea out a few times during editorial meetings. Actually, he suggests it at any moment he can – regardless of time, audience, location or scenario. He thinks our magazine should do a fashion shoot here in Fort Lauderdale. Of what, you ask? Of fashions Fort Lauderdalelites wore during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It'll be a major page turner, he thinks.

I consider myself a pretty creative person, but I'm clueless how I can make ruffled, ankle-length skirts, corsets and bonnet hats hip and cool again. Call me crazy, but I'm thinking the only folks who might pick up this issue are from a small community in Lancaster, Pa.