There was nothing contrived
There was nothing contrived about the passion Carl brought to his columns. He’s a Florida boy, born and raised, an outdoorsman and avid fisherman. He loves the state’s natural beauty, its land, its waters. He loves its wildlife, even the scarier critters (he is inexplicably fond of snakes). He takes threats to the ecosystem personally; he genuinely loathes those who would harm it.
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But it’s not just passion that made his columns so consistently good: He’s also a superb writer, a first-rate craftsman with a comic novelist’s eye for the absurd. His raucous only-in-Florida novels and delightful young-adult-fiction books are always instant bestsellers. He’s a literary superstar with a multitude of rabid fans. He doesn’t need a day job. He could have quit newspapering decades ago, given up the relentless pressure of column deadlines for the more-sedate pace of the novelist. A lot of people, given the opportunity, would have done exactly that.
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/2021-mountain-west-championship-game-live-stream-free-31221-162348394/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/pac12-tournament-championship-free-live-stream-31321-162348374/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/big-12-tournament-final-free-live-stream-31321-162348369/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/oklahoma-state-vs-texas-live-stream-free-31321-162348366/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/texas-vs-oklahoma-state-free-live-stream-31321-162348361/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/big-east-tournament-championship-free-live-stream-31321-162348353/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/big-east-tournament-final-free-live-stream-31321-162348348/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/georgetown-vs-creighton-live-stream-free-31321-162348345/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/creighton-vs-georgetown-free-live-stream-31321-162348343/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/memphis-vs-houston-live-stream-free-31321-162348338/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/houston-vs-memphis-free-live-stream-31321-162348335/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/utah-state-vs-san-diego-state-live-stream-free-31321-162348329/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/san-diego-state-vs-utah-state-free-live-stream-31321-162348319/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/georgia-tech-vs-florida-state-live-stream-free-31321-162348317/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/florida-state-vs-georgia-tech-free-live-stream-31321-162348314/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/oregon-state-vs-colorado-live-stream-free-31321-162348311/
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https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/ohio-vs-buffalo-live-stream-free-31321-162348302/
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/north-texas-vs-western-kentucky-free-live-stream-31321-162348298/
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https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/pac12-tournament-championship-free-live-stream-31321-162348374/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/big-12-tournament-final-free-live-stream-31321-162348369/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/oklahoma-state-vs-texas-live-stream-free-31321-162348366/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/texas-vs-oklahoma-state-free-live-stream-31321-162348361/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/big-east-tournament-championship-free-live-stream-31321-162348353/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/big-east-tournament-final-free-live-stream-31321-162348348/
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https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/creighton-vs-georgetown-free-live-stream-31321-162348343/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/memphis-vs-houston-live-stream-free-31321-162348338/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/houston-vs-memphis-free-live-stream-31321-162348335/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/utah-state-vs-san-diego-state-live-stream-free-31321-162348329/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/san-diego-state-vs-utah-state-free-live-stream-31321-162348319/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/georgia-tech-vs-florida-state-live-stream-free-31321-162348317/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/florida-state-vs-georgia-tech-free-live-stream-31321-162348314/
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https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/north-texas-vs-western-kentucky-free-live-stream-31321-162348298/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/abilene-christian-vs-nicholls-live-stream-free-31321-162348295/
https://247sports.com/college/utah/board/102583/contents/new-mexico-state-vs-grand-canyon-free-live-stream-31321-162348291/
But Carl kept writing columns, week after week, year after year, skewering, as only he could, the corruption and craziness of the state and — especially in the last four years — the nation. Many commentators took aim at the same targets; none hit them more often, or more effectively, than Carl.
And now he’s retiring from column-writing. We will miss his voice. Although I suspect — I hope — that he’ll still weigh in from time to time in the Miami Herald. I figure he’ll need an outlet. It’s not in his nature to stop being pissed off.
But for now, on behalf of his readers, I say to my good friend Carl: Thank you — for caring, for fighting, for all those wonderful words. May your semi-retirement be at least semi-relaxing; may the bonefish always be biting. And may you, some day, master the C-sharp-minor chord.
https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/big-east-tournament-final-free-live-stream-31321-162348348/
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