Twenty Questions
In which we interview some of the wide range of people who make the beachside the adored paradise it is. With twenty thought-provoking questions leavened with that inimitable “Resident” sense of humor, we talk to anyone who’s helped shape our communities -- from local musicians, community leaders and business owners, to 8-time World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater, an ebullient local centenarian, or a 9-year-old beachside ambassador to Australia. Whoever our subject, the uplifting portrait we paint always makes for good reading.

	Clammer Bill That anonymity has a face now in Clammer, who oddly enough, is a crabber by trade. Though originally from New Jersey, Clammer has been a local legend since time immemorial, and his intimate knowledge of the Indian River comes from seemingly having plied it since it first began to trickle. click here to read the interview
	Romeo Pomodoro Like Casanova before him, Beachside Resident love advice columnist Romeo Pomodoro can claim countless amorous conquests. And like that legendary lover of the 18th century, he is shrouded in a sexually-charged cloud of mystery. click here to read the interview
	CHIEF LIONEL A. COTE of the SATELLITE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT If you’re like me, you find driving through Satellite Beach to be a bit of a drag. And if you’re like me, that’s probably because you’re doing something wrong. click here to read the interview
	COL. STEVE W. KIRKPATRICK of the 920th RESCUE WING We met the Commander of the 920th, Colonel Steve W. “Wall Street” Kirkpatrick to tell us more about the Wing’s activities and the essential role it plays in Space Coast life. click here to read the interview
	Kyle Bahl Federally accredited security specialist Kyle W. Bahl spent over twenty years in the United States Navy and is a veteran of the Gulf War as well as other lesser known operations. click here to read the interview
	Paul Wren/Dr. Hayden Wolfwrenstein On October 25th through the 31st, the Henegar Center for the Arts in historic downtown Melbourne will be presenting a state-of-the-art haunted house experience conceived, designed and constructed by celebrated tattoo artist Paul Wren of TH-INKER Tattoos. click here to read the interview
	Jack Kirschenbaum Since its inception 15 years ago, the event has helped a variety of causes, with all of this September’s proceeds going to the Children’s Home Society, a local charity devoted to improving the lives of needy children through a variety of grassroots services. click here to read the interview
	Mike Nicholas Along with her sister vessel, M/V “Liberty Star,” “Freedom Star” sets out to sea 24 hours before each Shuttle launch. For about 4 hours prior to launch, Nicholas patrols the booster impact area, moving merchant marine traffic out of harm’s way. Once the Shuttle launches, he helps track both falling solid rocket boosters by radar, the better to close in on their location. After an assessment of floating flight hardware like the boosters’ parachutes, Nicholas and crew begin the long business of lifting the equipment on deck and towing the spent boosters back to Kennedy Space Center, an arduous and highly delicate operation which can take anywhere from 5 to 8 hours to complete. click here to read the interview
	Mark Baker In addition to being a formidable waterman, a talented musician, and a loving husband and father, beachside resident Mark Baker is the President of Mark Baker, LLC, the builder of Florida’s Showcase Green Envirohome (FSGE), a near-zero energy home in Indialantic.It’s being created out of the consumer-driven necessity to build a “green” or “ecologically friendly” home to be resistant to hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fire, mold, and termites. Which is great news, considering the 500% increase in insurance premiums in natural disaster zones, the dwindling flexibility and coverage of insurance policies, and rising oil prices.Recently, several major U.S. click here to read the interview
	Wyatt Werneth Well, he did it...as if there were ever any doubt. On May 29th, Wyatt Werneth paddled north on an 18-foot paddleboard from Miami Beach to Jacksonville Beach, covering the entire East Coast of Florida over the span of ten days. An avid waterman who is active in the Coast Guard Reserve, and also serves as Chief of Brevard County Ocean Rescue, Werneth covered the 300-mile-plus distance non-stop, all while battling exceptionally ruthless winds and heavy seas. click here to read the interview
	Carol Bennison This May, I'll not only celebrate the loving institution of motherhood, but also that tradition's finest exponent: my own mother, Carol Bennison. She was born on the 5th, which is, coincidentally, Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the day when she donned a sombrero, a six shooter and two bristling bandoliers strapped across a tasteful lavender cocktail dress to rally the Mexican forces against the snooty, mustachioed French invaders back in 1862. click here to read the interview
	Dick Catri As far as surfing goes, Dick Catri has seen it all. The 68 year old New Jersey-born Catri, considered by many to be the "Godfather" of East Coast surfing, has made road trips with Murph the Surf in the 1950s, hung out with the Duke in the '60s, mediated the surfers vs. fishermen wars at the Inlet in the '70s, coached Kelly Slater in the '80s, was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame in the '90s, and continues to organize the annual Easter Surf Festival to this day .click here to read the interview
	Donald "Donal" Mullins As this issue is vaguely centered around this month’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities, we set out to interview a beachside representative of the Emerald Isle in an effort to understand the inner workings of her most popular export: her people. But what was conceived as a routine chat with the boisterous, pint-swilling, green-clovered soul all Americans envision turned out to be far more enlightening and inspiring than we ever imagined. click here to read the interview
	Geneva Yeager Beachside resident Ms. Geneva Yeager turned 100 years young on January 10th, 2007. She was born and raised in Portsmouth, OH, and is the last surviving member of a family that included four older siblings. Her father passed away when she was just three months old and it remains her biggest regret in life not to have known him. At the age of 17 she married her husband of 73 years in Portsmouth and in 1937 moved with him to the Satellite Beach home in which she still resides with her only son. click here to read the interview
	Greg Gordon Before settling comfortably in Cocoa Beach, local legend Greg Gordon, the son of a Navy veteran, spent his youth in Jacksonville, Guantanamo Bay, and Virginia Beach. His father tossed him into the pool at the tender age of 2, and it wasn’t long before he was riding skim boards and surfing with unquenchable verve. click here to read the interview
	Mrs. Claus Behind every great man is an even greater woman pulling the strings. This is true of many historical figures ranging from Napoleon Bonaparte to...well...Guy Ritchie. But one man stands out as wholly undeserving of his fame and reputation: Santa Claus. click here to read the interview
	Drew Filliben A little over a year ago, after having read an article about a local melanoma victim, Drew Filliben began to wonder if any nationwide skin cancer support networks existed. To his amazement, he uncovered only a few branches dedicated to this particular strain of the disease, and one of the main organizations, though important, emphasizes behind-the-scenes research and funding issues. There was no foundation which focused on community outreach and education about skin cancer and sun safety. Filliben decided to do something about it. click here to read the interview
	Interview with a Werewolf A few nights ago while sitting in my favorite tavern and scribbling away at a devilishly difficult cryptoquip, a rowdy gang of drunken youths burst in through the door, smashing everything in their path. They spilled their drinks and scattered their cigar ashes willy-nilly. The lights were too low, the music too soft, and the beer too warm. Nothing could calm the scallawags. But after some masterful diplomacy from a heavily-bearded customer at the far end of the bar, they were pursuaded to continue their revels at the strip club down the road. click here to read the interview
	Rich Salick Following Rich's second kidney transplant in 1986, he and Phil organized the first PRO-AM surfing festival to raise money for the National Kidney Foundation, which is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well-being of affected individuals and families, and increasing the availability of needed organs for transplantation. Today, 21 years later, the NKF thrives with Rich at the helm, and it remains the largest event of its kind in the world to benefit charity, having generated over $4 million for the organization to date. click here to read the interview
	Tony Hernandez In between obsessive viewings of “Perry Mason,” Tony’s mother stressed the importance of education. He excelled in his studies and has been practicing law privately in Brevard County for over 10 years. Extensive experience in both prosecuting and defending clients helped nurture that early goal of honest and fair evaluation. “Even at that young age I was appalled that these acts could be committed in the modern world,” he remembers, “but I knew I didn’t want to be the typical conservative, anti-Castro Cuban American. I knew there was more to it than passionate reaction, and I wanted to find out about every aspect of what happened to my uncle.” click here to read the interview
	The Hot Dog Man He’s known as “the Hot Dog Man,” but his proper name is Bruce Black, and happily, he’s a mixture of the two of them: a popular street-corner entrepreneur and an ordinary, kind-hearted man. There used to be lots of his sort around, back when things were invariably better and life was simpler. He was just one of the many everyday people who made your life richer, like the postman, your diner waitress, or perhaps the beat cop of the Mayberry we always wished into existence. click here to read the interview
	Mike Rogers Life-long skateboarder Mike Rogers, founder of the Grind For Life organization, is a busy man. He’s just returned from Orange, CA’s ProTec Pool Party (where he finished 19th out of 24), recently taped a spot for Fuel TV’s “Daily Habit,” awarded a kid from the Make-A-Wish foundation with some much-needed help, and generally had a great time, spreading the word about his organization while skating with the likes of Steve Caballero, Shaun White, Lester Kasai, and Tony Magnuson click here to read the interview
	Josie Koeppel This summer, 5th grader Josie Koeppel will be going on a 14-day journey down under through the "People to People" International Exchange Program. Founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, the organization fosters communication and exchange through many international programs like Sister Cities, Project HOPE, and Pen Pals. Josie, a student at Capeview Elementary, was chosen from a host of eligible participants to represent her school and her hometown of Cocoa Beach for the June journey to Australia. In addition to learning about what school is like their for other children her age and learning about the differences and similarities between our two cultures, Josie hopes to learn more about Australia's unique native animals. We sat down with her for a few moments to learn more about her hopes and interests. click here to read the interview
	Tom Clancy Despite a colorful history awash with legendary statesmen, rebels, artists, musicians, and writers, in the final reckoning, Ireland’s true heroes may well be the characters she’s produced. They’re nameless, for the most part, taken for granted as the unofficial ambassadors of the isle. They’re gregarious and friendly by nature, and unsung geniuses by art. The Irish character - quick with withering wit and self-effacing humor, silver-tongued singer and poet, scintillating conversationalist with an encyclopedic brain, and formidable imbiber - is an endagered species, and the cultivation of his art is fast disappearing. You’ll meet pale imitations in every pub - weekend pretenders who can spin tasty enough yarns for hungry Yanks. It’s rare you’ll find a true Irish character in the grand old tradition - and even rarer to find one on these shores. click here to read the interview
	Eddie Deleuil Everyone knows Heidi's Jazz Club, the local cultural landmark and nexus of the Central Florida jazz scene. Admired patrons of the arts and champions of jazz music, the club's owners, Heidi and Eddie Deleuil, are even more well-known. As originators of the Cocoa Beach Jazz Festival, the couple are mother hens to local and distant musicians, and their recently expanded club in downtown Cocoa Beach has been packing them in. click here to read the interview
	Edward Espe Edward Espe Brown has been practicing Zen since 1965 and has been head resident teacher at each of the San Francisco Zen Centers: Tassajara, Green Gulch, and City Center. He has led meditation retreats and cooking classes throughout the United States, as well as Austria, Germany, Spain, and England. He is the author of several cookbooks including the famous "Tassajara Bread Book" and "Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings," and is the editor of "Not Always So," a newly published book of lectures by Shunryu Suzuki. Mr. Brown (Ed) was kind enough to sit down with us to answer our "not so important questions" and offer us some insight into a Zen priest and of course, ourselves..click here to read the interview
	Kelly Slater click here to read the interview
	Chris Birch Chris Birch has been a faithful beachside resident from age 10, when his family moved to Satellite Beach in 1968 when his father took a job at Boeing in the Cape, and he has no plans to live anywhere else. Now residing in Indialantic, Chris Birch has grown up on these beaches and watched the eventual changes, not only in exterior landscape and sandbars, but in the surf culture which is so prominent along the Brevard shores. In 1978 when Chris began working for Natural Art, then located in Merritt Island, little did he know he that would begin what has become a very successful career in the art of surfboard building. .click here to read the interview
	Roberto Barrial In many ways, Roberto Barrial is the face of Cocoa Beach. He's not a surfer, an aeronautics engineer, or a local politician, but as owner of Roberto's Little Havana, he's influenced every one of us. Since 1979, Roberto's has provided the best Cuban food around and has served as the nexus for daily life in the City, bringing citizens together for delicious meals and great conversation. Whether you go in for a breakfast, a quick lunch, or a leisurely dinner, you'll always run into someone you know there. It's no wonder Commissioner Tony Sasso chose the place for his monthly breakfast meetings - Roberto's is as essential to Cocoa Beach as her library or her City Hall. click here to read the interview
	Lou Andrus From the back deck of Lou’s Blues in Indialantic, the view is spectacular, but the action takes place onstage inside, every night of the week. On the site of the old Dragon Lady, the bar hosts great live music and draws crowds from all over Brevard and beyond for tunes, good food, and cold brew. Thanks to the owner, Louis Andrus, local musicians and fans have a place they can call home. Originally from Detroit, the affable Andrus, who also owns Dos Amigos just down the road, is a dedicated Blues lover and a pillar of the community. Lous’ Blues hosts many benefits, most recently the annual Steve Miller blues bash, and coming this Sunday, September 4th, a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Run to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We sat down with Louis for a spell and asked him twenty big ones click here to read the interview
	A Ninja You’re probably thinking, “A Ninja? Yeah right.” But behold gentle reader, for the Ninja is not entirely extinct. The Ninja life is alive and well and it’s probable you know a Ninja but just don’t know it. That’s because they’re Ninjas. click here to read the interview
	Melissa Witek She smells nice. Her complexion is flawless. Her hair is silky smooth, and she didn’t burp once during our interview. Plus, she knows who Ned Nederlander is. Her name is Melissa Witek - Miss Florida, to you - and she can often be seen imbibing the atmosphere and lattes of local cafe Juice N’ Java, pondering, perhaps, her future foray into the world of sports journalism. This past Sunday, we found the avid Resident reader and Cocoa Beach native signing autographs at Ron Jon Surf Shop, and decided to throw twenty unforgiving questions at her. In the process, we also found her to be genuine, self-effacing, and oh so lovely. Here’s “20” from a “10”. click here to read the interview
	Jeff Thomas At local ice cream parlor All Scream, everything is homemade - including the staff. Jeff and Helen Thomas, the friendly owners of the brightly decorated ‘ 60s surf -inspired shop, are giving Ben and the other guy a run for their money with their delicious cakes, shakes, cups, and cones. Next time you feel like buying a pint of your favorite flavor, skip the convenient store or supermarket, and head to All Scream - it’s well worth the trip. Inside, among the hula-skirted tables, gleaming surfboards and brightly-colored island decor, you’ll find the walls lined with art and photos, a plasma TV screen showing surf videos, and Jeff and Helen smiling behind tubs of mouth-watering ice cream. Helen, originally from Cheshire, England and Merritt Island native and 15-year veteran board-shaper... click here to read the interview
	Mark Grabowski If you drive a VW, you probably know Mark Grabowski; if you don’t know him, you should. Grabowski runs Mark’s VW Werkshop (12 Francis Street) in Cocoa Beach, and works expertly on all manner of Volkswagens. He’s lived in Cocoa Beach for the last 40 years, surfing, windsurfing and playing drums in his latest band, The Aquanuts, playing an array of groove-driven surf music in and around town. I caught Mark between oil changes and engine re-building to get to the serious issues... click here to read the interview
	Josh Miller An apter title for this article might be “Pulling Josh Miller’s Teeth,” so torturous was the task of getting answers out of him. At one particularly silent point, we considered filling the space with my sister’s Frito casserole recipe (absolutely delicious, by the by). But such is the nature of the man; as he told us: “I play music. I don’t talk much.” With his rotating cast of bandmembers, called collectively the Dead Presidents, Josh plays bona fide blues throughout the Cocoa Beach area each weekend. We cornered the enigma one night in his local to find out what makes him tick. Open up Mr. Miller, this won’t hurt a bit. click here to read the interview