By BILL MAXWELL , St. Petersburg Times

Every few days or so, someone asks me something like, "How does it feel being retired?" Or, "What are you doing in retirement?" Or, "Is retirement all you thought it would be?"

I always bristle before giving either my standard "busier than ever" quip or delivering my "retired, hell!" lecture.

After word got out recently that the Salvador Dali Museum was asking the Pinellas County Tourist Development Council for $5 million to help complete construction of its new home in downtown St. Petersburg, the TDC postponed making a decision.

Americans are attending college in record numbers. According to a Pew Research Center study, 11.3 million Americans ages 18 to 24 attended college in 2008, continuing an upward trend that began 30 years ago.

We hear a lot about the miseries of homelessness, but we seldom hear about homeless individuals who dig themselves out of their abject conditions to become successful. One such person is Lalita Booth , a 28-year-old single mom from Sanford, Fla.
Last week, she loaded her belongings into a truck and drove to Boston.

I live in a lovely Florida neighborhood on the south side of St. Petersburg. Homeless people from the Salvation Army facility on Fourth Street S have disrupted life for my neighbors and me.
And we are angry.

When I moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1994, downtown was on virtual life support. The place was dreary, especially at night.