Be Best

          

Have I told you recently how lucky I am? Not only do I spend my winters right on the beach but I'm on the best beach in America. 

           Perhaps you read recently that Trip Advisor named St. Pete Beach the best beach in the country. Technically St. Pete Beach is six or seven miles south of me. When I open the gate of my condominium complex I step onto the pristine sand of Madeira Beach, which comes in number nine in Trip Advisor's list. That's right, two beaches within sight of each other (You can see a long way as the shore winds around) are in the top 10. And that's where I wake up every morning. 

         Now I know that any Top Ten list is very subjective. Next year neither St. Pete or Madeira may get a mention. But considering four of the beaches on this year's Top Ten  list are in Hawaii I consider the competition stiff indeed.

          In my years working for newspapers we were always wary of superlatives. How can you prove something is the first or the last or the best? In sports they solve the dilemma with a score. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the 2021 Superbowl Champions, but we stop short of saying they are the "best" football team. 

         When hyperbole hits home, however, it feels fantastic.