Ear to Tampa Bay
Kristen Shepherd, executive director of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, and
Todd Berman were married on the front steps of St. Pete’s City Hall in a ceremony officiated by
St. Petersburg’s Mayor Rick Kriseman and topped off with rose petals, when social distancing
made it impossible for the couple to proceed with their New York City wedding plans.
SELF-HELP
FOR STRESS
By Deborah Karlan, L.M.T.
My massage clinic, Wellness
from Within, officially closed
on March 24th because of the
COVID-19 virus. Social distancing is
the new reality, and it is impossible
to do massage without contact. I now
know what retirement feels like –
more time with less interaction and
less structure to my days. My life was
structured around my clinic days and
day-off activities. I had clinic four days
per week, two tai chi classes a week
and Monday night ukulele jams. I am
struggling with the social distancing. I
don’t have the usual ways of relieving
stress now that there’s no working, no
hugging, no touching and no gathering
to socialize or comfort each other.
Is there anything to be done to
relieve stress? With no tai chi classes,
I have resorted to tai chi videos and
YouTube. I soak in my hot tub daily
and do stretching and self-massage. I
also have a back relaxer that allows me
to experience reverse gravity to stretch
out my spine.
I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o c o n t i n u e
activities that feel important, and I
am continuing my massage and
anatomy studies. I have wanted to
grow food, but lacked the time. I now
have much more time in my garden
and more time for creative cooking. My
garden is expanding, and I am enjoying
my time at home. I do look forward to
reopening the clinic and continuing
to give excellent massage therapy for
many more years. Stay safe, well and
stress-free. See you soon.
88 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2020
ALLISON LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY
announced that despite the cancellation
of “Just My Style,” the group’s 49th
annual Daisy Grants luncheon and
fashion show chaired by Martha Hickey
of Tarpon Springs, donors and those with
reservations were sent program booklets,
while the monetary Daisy Grants were
mailed to this year’s selected charities ––
The College Fund of Pinellas County Inc.;
Eckerd Youth Alternatives Inc., doing
business as Eckerd Connects; Starting
Right Now; and Voices of Hope for
Aphasia. 9
Patrick Wilson,
actor son of Mary K
and John Wilson of
St. Petersburg, was
at the Pentagon
in Washington,
D.C. to be the first
civilian recipient
of the Edwin
Layton Award for
Naval Intelligence,
which was
presented by Adm.
Matthew J. Kohler,
director of naval
intelligence, in
recognition of
Patrick’s part in
the World War II
movie Midway,
where he portrayed
Layton, the naval
intelligence officer
and rear admiral.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Deborah Karlan, L.M.T.
has been a licensed therapist in Florida since
1982. Her Wellness From Within office is at
2158 Drew St. in Clearwater. Her information
website is wellnessfromwithin.yolasite.com.
For questions and appointments and to find
harmony and balance with massage, please
call (727) 641-8979. FL
License MA4487, Est. MM27138
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