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Ruth Ancil, 84, Clearwater, died September 2, 2008. She was a member of VFW Post 10093 Auxiliary, Safety Harbor; past president (several terms) MOCA Cooties Auxiliary and Ladies Auxiliary American Legion Post 238, Safety Harbor. She is survived by a daughter Karen (William) Shreve, Homosassa; a sister, Lois Waterman, Homosassa; two nieces, Sue Waterman, Homosassa, and Kay Romska, Michigan; and, two nephews, David Waterman, Michigan, and Brad Waterman, Mississippi.

Janice Crane, 84, Oldsmar, died September 4, 2008 in Safety Harbor of congestive heart failure. She was born August 17, 1924 in the United Kingdom and was in England and Scotland during World War II before emigrating to the U.S. Sober for 48 years, she was a well-known advocate of AA and sponsor of more than 40 members. She is survived by her husband, Robert Crane; two sons, Bruce Lomath and James Lomath; and a daughter, Allison Hanson.

Charles Russell Green Jr., 88, Safety Harbor, died September 5, 2008 at home with family by his side. Born July 30, 1920 in Decatur, AL, he spent his career in industrial sales at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force in Casablanca during World War II. A devoted family man, sports enthusiast, and gardener, he was preceded in death by his wife of 43 years, Therese Murray Green. Survivors include two daughters, Elizabeth Green, Montclair, NJ, and Jennifer Green, Safety Harbor; a son Charles R. Green III and daughter-in-law Laura Green, Safety Harbor; two granddaughters, Mary Mitchell and Kaitlin Green; and, several nieces and nephews.

Gerald C. Middaugh, 75, Safety Harbor, died September 9, 2008 at home. He was preceded in death by his parents, Emily Middaugh Piffath and Lloyd Middaugh, and by his sister, Barbara Grindle. He was a graduate of Trenton High School, Lincoln Technical School, Philadelphia, PA, and Spring Garden Institute, Philadelphia, PA. He was retired from Congoleum Corp. Industries, Trenton, NJ and also served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Oriskany during the Korean War. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie Middaugh, Safety Harbor; sisters Terri Kennedy and Alice Speck, both of Arizona; brothers William Matuza, NV, Bob Piffath, Washington; daughter and son-in-law Jennifer and Thomas Gibson of Cumming, GA; son and daughter-in-law Robert Lee & Pamela Middaugh of Beverly, NJ; grandchildren Brendan Gibson, University of Georgia, Ashley Gibson, Cumming, GA, Ariel and Miranda Nelson, both of Beverly, NJ, Tristan Allen Middaugh, CA, and several nieces and nephews.

Cecile M. Purser, 80, Safety Harbor, died September 10, 2008. She is survived by her loving family.

Audrey Vivian Isaac, 47, Safety Harbor, died September 11, 2008 at Mease Countryside Hospital. She is survived by a daughter, Torsha Hatton (Brad); her mother, Freddie Mae Owens; six sisters; four brothers; three grandchildren; and other loving relatives.

Helen M. Coyne, 91, Safety Harbor, died September 16, 2008. She was a native New Yorker, born December 10, 1916 in Brooklyn, and lived in New York and New Jersey before retiring to Florida in 1984 after a 30 year career in accounting with Allstate Insurance Company. Burial is with her family members in Westchester County New York.

Mick Lamberson, 69, Safety Harbor, died September 16, 2008 at home after a battle with cancer. He served as mayor of Fox River Grove, IL in 1979 and was involved with youth baseball. He was active in the railroad industry in Jacksonville Beach. He leaves behind his loving wife Ann; son Scott; daughters, Ann Pinner (Bill) and Jennifer Ironside (Pete); three stepchildren, Pamela Young (Eddie), Valerie Langston (Bruce) and Keith Besley (Julie); mother Betty; sister Sandy; brother Rick (Linda); 12 grandchildren; one great-grand-daughter; and former wife Jane Pence-Lamberson.

Thomas C. Hevalow, 83, Safety Harbor, died September 16, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; sister, Marilea Gurner; stepchildren, Cindy, Cathy and Joe; niece, Kathy; and, nephew, Kevin.

Gloria A. Crowell, 85, Safety Harbor, died September 20, 2008. She is survived by a daughter, Joyce Sinda, Safety Harbor; three grandchildren; and, three great-grandchildren.

Edwin M. Sallas, 70, Safety Harbor, died September 22, 2008 at Mease Countryside Hospital. He was born in Dothan, AL and moved to Safety Harbor from Marina Del Rey, CA in 1995. He was an electrical engineer and retired from IBM Corp. after 30 years of service. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Joy; three daughters, Lisa Anderson, Zimmerman, MN, Michelle Sallas, Parker, CO, Amy Sallas, Clearwater; his mother, Doris Sallas; a sister, Mary Sallas; a brother, Julian Sallas; and six grandchildren, Adrienne, Alex, Caitlin, Sara, Jake and Matthew.

Michael Joseph 'Morty' Morton, 25, died September 23, 2008 in Gainesville, FL after a courageous four-year battle with Crohn's disease. Born March 18, 1983 in Covington, KY, he grew up in Safety Harbor and was a graduate of Countryside High School and a baccalaureate graduate of the University of Florida in Aerospace Engineering. He was a current graduate student at UF studying Aerospace Engineering and was active in UF's MAV lab. He will be best remembered by his many friends for his wit and ability to find humor in any situation. He is survived by his parents, Patrice Morton of Safety Harbor and Joseph Morton of New Port Richey; his sister, Nicole Morton, Silver Spring, MD; and, his grandfather, Richard Salvi, Safety Harbor.

Nobel V. Burney, Safety Harbor, died September 24, 2008. He was born in St. Petersburg, but was a lifelong resident of Safety Harbor. He graduated in 1961 from Pinellas High School, Clearwater, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science from Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach. He served in the U.S. Air Force and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain. He was construction manager for Burney Brothers Construction. He was a member of Countryside Christian Center, Clearwater. Survivors include his wife Marilyn Nadene; daughter Novelle; son Jimmie; brothers, Harry and Tyrone Burney; sisters, Annie Miller, Gloria Norfleet, Lillie Salph, Merriam Burney, Nita Burney, Denise Campbell; and two grandchildren.

Mary Ann Shaw, 72, Safety Harbor, died September 24, 2008. Originally from Terre Haute, IN, she was a retired nurse who worked for Florida Blood Services. She is survived by her husband, Jack; daughter, Cindy; sons, Rick and Rob; and, five grandchildren.

Thelma Colen, 79, Safety Harbor, died September 25, 2008. She was born February 6, 1929 in Huntington Station, NY, and moved here in 1989. She was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, Harold. She is survived by her children, Bob (Jil), Mickey (Darlene) and Ken (Lisa); grandchildren Justin, Jonathan, Marlee, Natalie, Tara, Mack and Mitchell; and sisters Claire and Laura.

Billy Dean "Billy Bob" Strouse, 86, Safety Harbor, formerly of St. Petersburg, died September 26, 2008. He was born November 11, 1921. He was preceded in death by his brother, Robert Strouse. He is survived by a daughter, April Lee Strouse of Hahira, GA; a son, Richard Dean Strouse of Seaford, VA; a sister, Elaine Leesch of Manteca, CA; five grandchildren; and, eight great-grandchildren.

Donald R. McBrayer, 48, Safety Harbor, died October 1, 2008. He is survived by his son Dylan of Clearwater; three children in West Virginia; his mother; two brothers; a sister; and other loving family.

by Michael Rogan

Special to Tropical Breeze

So we are nearing another presidential election as we experience economic uncertainty and continued frustration with stock market performance. This year both presidential parties promise to have the solution to all that ails us, as usual. One has offered up a veteran Washington insider teamed up with a relatively politically unknown running mate while the other party has selected a relatively politically unknown candidate teamed up with a veteran Washington insider as a running mate. While this will truly be an election of firsts, without sounding politically biased, I can't help but think the eventual result will be continued political status quo, regardless of who we elect.

Every four years, clients and friends ask me the same questions about which candidate will be better for investors. They are usually sure that one candidate will be better than the other for the stock market, while if the other is elected it will mean certain economic disaster. So, in order to give you some guidance, I thought I'd share with you what research shows about which party is better than the other for investors and the market.

In short -- it doesn't matter. Diehard Republicans are always sure their party has the best economic ideas while Democrats tend to feel their party is the most economically fair. It often gets reported that the stock market has actually performed better under a Democratic president. Chronologically, that's true, sort of.

Those studies usually measure market performance from the year of inauguration to the end of the term. That seems to be the only reasonable way to track the performance unless you consider 1) the President doesn't create the legislation, the Congress does; 2) while the President proposes a budget, his proposals don't get put to a vote until well into his first year; 3) even if the President's proposals are largely adopted by Congress, it takes six to nine months for any significant changes in taxation or economic policy to cycle through our enormous economy in a measurable way.

It never gets reported this way but the most important thing to remember is that our nation's economy, and ultimately the performance of the stock market, are determined by the actions of all of us, the 300 million Americans who decide each day what goods and services we'd like to purchase. Our economy is greatly influenced by the 140 million of us who get up each day and go to work, performing whatever tasks we perform to earn our pay. And increasingly, our economy is shaped by the actions of billions of people who live in other countries, producing and consuming our goods and services.

So while it may be in vogue to prognosticate on the economy and market based on the presidential election, it is no more meaningful an indicator than which team wins the Super Bowl or what your horoscope says. And, perhaps more importantly, trying to predict short term stock market performance is not important in any way to accumulating long term wealth. Indeed, it could be argued that predicting short term stock market performance is likely to be detrimental to your long term wealth building.

If you are not yet retired, you should be continuing to invest pursuant to your long term financial plan regardless of who's president. If you're retired, your investments should be appropriately allocated to predictably allow you to meet your income needs as defined by your long term financial plan. In neither case should a presidential election change your plan. Now if you don't have a long term plan for building and maintaining wealth, perhaps that's why you're trying to forecast the impact of the election in the first place.

Michael Rogan is president of Rogan & Associates Financial Planners, a locally-owned financial planning brokerage firm based in Safety Harbor. He brings nearly two decades of financial expertise to the local airwaves on the radio show, Financial Planning for Life, heard at 11 a.m. weekdays on AM 1250 WHNZ. For more information, call 727-712-3400 or visit www.RoganFinancial.com.

by D. Cashon Klein

Moving day was a nightmare. The night before I lie huddled in a fetal position in a half-packed living room. Empty boxes circled me like wagons on a prairie as I whimpered on the floor. I don't do moving very well.

Anyway, the morning after my fetal position move, I was unpacking boxes in the carport of my current home. I would pull something out of a box, wander through the house, set the thing down in one room, pick it up, wander into another room, set it down, pick it up, and bring it back out to the carport. Some time after the third or fourth box I heard a little voice yell from the house next to mine. "NEXT NEIGHBOR! NEXT NEIGHBOR!" I turned to see a little blonde sprite rushing toward me. Her hair was in a tangle. Her pink outfit betrayed signs of a hard day's play, as did her little hands and feet, which were dirtier than I expected from Florida sand.

It always amazes me when I see people down here in bare feet. To me, walking barefoot in Florida is an Xtreme sport, not unlike jumping off buildings strapped to a hang glider. I played in my bare feet in Ohio when I was a kid, but the grass was soft and thick. The only hazards were bees and "stickers," a prickly, starfish shaped weed that was pretty easy to see, and thus, avoid.

The terrain in this part of the world is hazardous. There are millions of sand spurs that hide like sharp little land mines in the "grass" and sand. There are mounds and mounds of ants. Some bite, and others shoot liquid fire into all exposed parts of your body. There are baby lizards that have not yet learned how to avoid giant beings tromping through their world. There are snakes. I stare at my well-shod feet when I walk to avoid all of these things. I have run into trees.

Yet, here before me was this happy, barefooted, fairy of a child dashing back and forth through God-knows-what, firing a hundred questions at me. "Next neighbor, do you live here? Why are you here? Do you work? Do you know my pop-pop? My pop-pop lives there (pointing). What are you doing? Why are you putting that box there? What's in the box? Do you like flowers?"

Her energy was astounding. She crouched and pointed at a slug. "Eeeyooo! Next neighbor! Look at that! What's that?" I told her THAT was a slug. She wanted to know what a slug was. I told her a slug was a homeless snail. She wanted to know where he left his home. I told her that perhaps he was moving to a new home. The slug was in a little puddle of water at the edge of the carport. She turned and dashed next door, only to return moments later with a jar. She picked up the slug, sniffed it, and dropped it into the jar.

"The slug will die in there." I told her. "He'll get thirsty and dry up." I explained that the slug would be happier in the shade. The idea that slugs know happiness is a philosophical argument really, and I wasn't sure my new neighbor was up for that particular discussion. Do 4-year-olds ponder such things? She walked next door and dumped the slug into what I assumed was pop-pop's garden. I was SURE he would be pleased about that. "Don't tell your pop-pop that you found a new home for Mr. Slug, OK?" She asked me why. I pretended not to hear her.

The days went by. I managed to settle in without being Baker-Acted into a facility. I learned that the little sprite's name was Savanna, and that she lived with her mom and big brother at "pop-pop's" house. Pop-pop is her grandfather, a man with an impressive green thumb. Every day when I get home from work she yells "HI next neighbor!" She asks me how my day was at work, and if I was tired. She asks me this because my usual answer to her is that I'm tired.

One afternoon she helped me water the plants. I had things in the house I needed to do, and a phone call to make, so I told her I had to go inside. "I could help you next neighbor," she said. I told her I really needed to do things by myself. Ignoring this, she said she'd be right back to help me, and she ran home. I ducked into the house. As I was talking on the phone I could hear her as she went to every window and door yelling "Next neighbor! Next neighbor!"

I was hiding from a little girl. I am not proud of this. There I was, whispering into the phone, ducking below the windowsills.

A few days later I was outside when Savanna said "Hi next neighbor! Are you tired?" She was with her pop-pop. "Savanna, he said, you can call her Debbie. That's her name." As I listened to him correct her, I had a thought. "That's all right Mike. I like it when she calls me next neighbor."

It occurred to me that I had been someone's next neighbor for a very long time. It seemed a fitting name, coined by a very astute and tenacious garden sprite.

Debbie Cashon Klein is a Safety Harbor resident.