Good morning! Don't go outside. Outside thinks it's still August for some reason.
FRIDAY, OCT. 6:
A 19-year-old was arrested in Lakeland after he allegedly went into a Family Dollar store and pointed a gun first at a customer and then at a cashier, then just sort of gave up halfway through both attempted robberies, putting the gun away and leaving. PSA: It's still a crime even if you're just practicing.
The Tampa Bay Lightning opened their season with a 5-3 home win against the Panthers. Slidey flatball is back in full effect, y'all.
SATURDAY, OCT. 7:
One night after his team's season-opening win, the Lightning's J.T. Brown raised a fist during the national anthem in silent solidarity with other athletes protesting the treatment of black males at the hands of police, so the Christian God — who is, obviously, American by choice if not by birth — punished him by making his team lose to the Panthers. There are people in this country who believe that's true. But I'm weird because I talk to a picture of a dog who died a couple of years ago.
St. Pete's Great Explorations Children's Museum unveiled a new climbing and learning feature, Longo's Cove, paid for by a donation from the Rays' Evan Longoria and his family. People who tried it out said it's really exciting at first, but just sort of peters out toward the end. Like a season of Rays baseball, get it? No, sorry, that was a pretty mean thing to say about an awesome gesture on the part of a guy who has unarguably given back to the area in a multitude of ways. Thanks, Longorias!
SUNDAY, OCT. 8:
And finally, thousands of Hillsborough County residents waited all weekend in miles-long car lines, many of them running out of gas or dealing with overheating vehicles, as they tried to reach a post-Irma disaster relief center set up at Plant City Stadium. But seriously, tell us again how that pile of tree limbs in front of your house is seriously screwing with your quality of life.
