The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 1136

"r'rrriTry rBrr fo III iliim TH i rn SUNDAY DD OCTOBER 271996 A S)c Herald In wake of riots healing begins in Petersburg TT souths 18 to 28 he said are going to have flash points like this Fischer Brown and other citv leaders' say St Petersburg has done well in race relations and its police department is open and welcomes community input But people in the not area say police are too heaw -handed too quick to pick on young blacks "We need to deal with reality and with perception that the public has and talk about Brown said is obvious that the perception about the police is not a good Among many blacks on the south side the words of Gaida Kambon resonate are tired of brutality We are tired of harassment are tired of being imprisoned in our own homes" In an etfort to further heal the area the Alliance will sponsor a rally By PHIL LONG Herald Staff Writer ST PETERSBURG Except for the new plywood where plate glass windows used to be it was almost business as usual Saturday at the Tran tiny market on St Petersburg's racially tense south side The store was damaged and looted Thursday night The disturbance was sparked by the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer during a traffic stop tired but we are said Thin Tran co-owner of the store As she spoke a steady stream of customers approached the checkout Some ordered helpings ol Tran's special potatoes and sausage bubbling and giving off a wonderful smell from an electric cooker next to the cash register Across the area Saturday there were signs of a return to peace Burned-out buildings were being taken down stores were reopening Authorities released more than 200 National Guard members and 200 state law enforcement and other officers who had been on standby at Tropicana Field in downtown St Petersburg On the streets Friday and Saturday police said things were quieter than normal thanks in part to quick response by community leaders cool heads and a massive display of police presence Although the community is on the mend there are two opportunities for mayhem in the near future cautioned Norman Brown co-chair of the Community Alliance a 28-year-old biracial committee On Thursday which is Halloween Brown noted the shooting victim TyRon Lewis 18 will be buried The next worrisome milestone Brown said will be the release of the state attorney's investigation into the shooting No one knows when that will be but everyone here is pushing for a hasty conclusion Police Officer James Knight 34 could be exonerated or charged with anything from a violation of police policy to commission of a felony way there is going to be community reaction that we will have to deal Brown said Knight is a with a spotless record He was the subject of tour complaints Police Chief Darrel Stephens said all later determined to be unfounded He has had several commendations The victim had a lengthv juvenile record according to the St Petersburg Times By age 16 his rap sheet included 1 3 burglaries four car thefts four drug crimes and two assaults the paper reported There was a police out tor him tor juvenile probation violation though officers apparently did not know thafwhen they tried to stop him for speeding After Lewis' shooting which happened when the car he was driving lurched toward Knight violence spread into a 30-square-block area Roving gangs manv ot them teens and younger "kids tossed rocks and bottles at police smashed windows of several businesses and overturned and burned a police car and a TV news truck When it was over 26 buildings had been toiched and more than a dozen others damaged slightlv There were no serious injuries and only a tew arrests problem is not just St Petersburg's it is Mavor David Fischer said Saturday Until the country can piovide education and jobs for Wild and wacky on Duval Street Key West revels in Fantasy Fest SHARING THE FUN: Having a hearty time at the La Te Da Tea Dance are from left Wayne Ice John Flaa and Jody Mason Photo by CHUCK FAOELY Herald Staff REVELRY: A float rolls down Duval Street during Key Fan tasy Fest parade Saturday night About 50000 people turned out By CONNIE PILOTO And NANCY KUNGENER Herald Staff Writers KEY WEST On this morning after Fantasy Fest the nation's southernmost city can be forgiven for its hangovers The sunburns however may take some explaining Despite moves to restrict the flesh at this Halloween carnival of the absurd and the absolute it slipped out all over the streets of Key West on Saturday in typical abandon Much of it real flesh some of it plastic flesh who could tell? And if they could the 50000 participants who jammed historic Duval Street for Saturday annual parade didn't seem to care Every year retirees Bill and Marsha Bruner pack the skimpiest clothing construct costumes and leave their quiet Zephyr-hills neighborhood for Key West This problem: What should Bill wear? had some of Hollywood body suits and figured he could wear Marsha Bruner said we needed something else Then my daughter and 1 found him some boobs at Fast Buck Bruner 51 was delighted with the outcome Who be? He modeled a black see-through jumpsuit dotted with round silver glitter drops plastic breasts and his lacy G-string bikini accented by a SI bill pinned to his waist breasts are a little said Bruner 51 Marsha wore a matching body suit Her daughter Debbie Bruner 27 cut out two holes around the top of her tight leopard-print dress to showcase her breasts Real ones for those keeping score For his first Fantasy Fest parade Steven McFec settled on street clothes Still he turned heads The 6-foot-6 bookstore manager from Jackson Mich came down Duval in a black miniskirt with a silver top fishnet stockings and six-inch heels "Tallest drag queen ever a passerby remarked Fantasy Fest started in 1979 Business owners were trying to drum up some action during the deadly slow period of the fall Initially a party the festival succeeded with a vengeance soon drawing tens of thousands to a weeklong fiesta that nearly doubles the population of about 30000 and culminates with the raucous flamboyant and creative parade Bad taste is de rigeur in 1993 the in the theme attracted a in the parade like the one in which JFK was assassinated The parade in 1994 came while the Simpson case was foremost in the consciousness A white Bronco led the parade Loyal festgoers are often folks with a secret wish to wear outrageous costumes or outrageously little in public This is their chance and they miss it Economically speaking a little wickedness can be very good for business People poking around the island for accommodations on Saturday could still find an occasional room far from the action priced at $200 a night Nice rooms went for $300 two- or three-night stay required At Sloppy Duval signature tavern bar that sometimes passes for clothing debating and defending Fantasy Fest is a favorite local sport during long hot Key West summers In 1992 after one impromptu float featured simulated sex acts while rolling down Duval Street the festival organizers agreed to tone it down The next year 1993 found Duval Street lined with barricades to keep the crowds on the sidewalk and a helicopter with a searchlight thumping overhead The parade moved at a record pace without the usual crowds in the streets to slow it down Festivalgoers hated it and threatened not to come back The next year Kcv barricades were gone The crowds were back Herald itaff wmer Mark Washburn contubuted lo this repot tenders expect to serve about 10 800 cans of beer and sell about $9000 worth of liquor this weekend People just go to the big parade they live it Dancing in the streets is permitted if not encouraged Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans tor Carnival in Rio dc Janeiro you just watch You play Or roll your eyes and ponder what madness it is Fantasy Fest always has its detractors from the evangelists who march each year with heavy wooden crosses to locals oilended by the public nudity and drinking that inevitably accompanies the parade Whether the topic is the theme in the offended some ministers in 1992 or the ubiquitous body painting A golden glove on field in delivery room The World Series ignites memories for noted physician After leaving the diamond in 1932 Howard Groskloss never again saw a major-league baseball game in person days Groskloss mostly wears golf gloves and gardening gloves But this is World Series week the one time of year when he yearns for the feel of leather and horschidc a time of pleasant memories for the Amherst College superstar both on the athletic field and in the classroom Much of that history is spelled out in tattered yellowing newspaper clippings many 65 and 70 years old While his fellow boys of summer were swilling suds after a big-league game Groskloss was in the hotel lobby cracking the chemistry books and wrestling with anatomy texts At least once while the more prodigious Pirates were taking early batting practice Groskloss was still in the lab wielding a scalpel remember one Saturday I really had to work on this cadaver because it was a very important part of our studies at that particular Groskloss said remember working on the cadaver the morning then leaving to go play an afternoon game Those days I spent every morning at medical school and every afternoon playing At Amherst College Groskloss lettered in five sports set yet-to-be equaled records and was a Phi Beta Kappa He turned his back on a Rhodes Scholarship because it would have delayed the start of medical school He was honored by then-President Calvin Coolidge who PHIL LONG Herald Staff IN ON THE ACTION: Howard Groskloss a retired teaching gynecologist and former Pittsburgh Pirate enjoys a favorite pastime By Phil Long INDIAN RIVER SHORES Throughout most of his 90 years whenever Howard Groskloss put on a glove it was a sure sign that action was not far away Whether he was fielding quirky grounders as second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1930-32 or handling squirmy slippery babies during five decades as a teaching gynecologist Groskloss turned golden glove performances A man of determination he played professional ball while attending Yale medical school He decided at age 8 to be a doctor while he watched his father die of pneumonia The treatment then: Bundle the patient in blankets and open all the windows to let in the frigid winter air Throughout his career he was on the cutting edge of health Now as a retiree he lives with his wife Mary north of Vcro Beach These presented him with the Howard Hill Moseman award for his athletic and academic prowess at Amherst Groskloss was the first college student to get a major league signing bonus $10000 for inking a contract with the Pirates He spent $3500 of it paying of his widowed home mortgage His regular salary as a ball player was $7000 to $9000 But three years into his professional baseball career his medical training was getting difficult and an old college football knee injury was flaring up He attend spring training and was later assigned to a farm team to beef up the infield That halted his rise to baseball stardom After a World War II career that saw him become one of the youngest flight surgeons ever assigned to a carrier Groskloss was on the teaching staff at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic He had also held posts in Pennsylvania and California win ran Minion ii timMCKBAHHwaBaai He was recently named emeritus assistant associate professor of medi- cine After leaving the baseball diamond in- 1 932 Groskloss never again saw a major league baseball game in person busy with he said He still watches an occasional game on TV And still a pretty good critic of shortstops and second basemen As lor a favorite in this World Senes' 60-40 for the Groskloss said In 1949 when the University of Miami Medical School was staffing its new obstetrics department Groskloss was invited down He practiced and taught obstetrics and gynecology for 31 years He was an expert on gynecological cancer and one of the first to use implanted radium to treat it He also was among the first to use ultrasonic measurement to examine fetuses Ultrasound has revolutionized ability to detect problems with the unborn WEWBWOXEi -V -v -a -i-T-aza jia A a aa.