the Guys of King Corona, Ybor City
This entry was posted on 2/25/2007 1:10 PM and is filed under Support.
11/14/06
Ali called and asked me to meet him at King Corona. King Corona manages to combine the best aspects of a cigar retail shop, a coffee house, and a café into a near perfect package. It is in a hundred year old building on 7th Ave., the main drag in Ybor City. Ybor is the historic, Italian/Cuban cigar district and perhaps the place with the most character in all of Florida.
The characters at King Corona seem to come right out of central casting and, it turns out, are no strangers to cancer.
Don, the owner, is a thoughtful, bright and well read guy who seems to have a real knack for being able to relate to all kinds of people. Don and his wife Brenda have dealt with the tragic lose of their son and Don’s prostate cancer in the past year. Don is the face and perhaps the soul of King Corona.
Joe has his own seat in the front corner. You will find him there each day at 10a.m. Joe grew up in Ybor and still does work in local education. At 73 he is more handsome and charming than most men half his age. Sitting there with his daily cigar and café con leche, telling local tales of gangland killings, he is classic Ybor. Joe’s prostate surgery was over a year ago.
John, an inspiration to all of us, gets up every day and works despite being a year into bone cancer. John is the go to guy if you want to know how something works. John is a Viet Nam vet and an Agent Orange victim. Whether it is oil rigs in the Middle East or night clubs in Ybor, John has done it all. He is waiting for, hoping for, a bone marrow donor.
There is Frankie, the postman. Frankie can be counted on for bringing in the latest jokes along with the mail. He also brings in his experience with prostate cancer. His advice to me was that if I had to find a surgeon who would be digging around inside of me, find one who has small hands.
There are others who come in and out. There is Michael, the photographer who lives above the store. He does the kind of photography that other men dream they could get away with. There is Dan, the always friendly and impassioned Ybor entrepreneur who owns the bed and breakfast around the corner.
I mustn’t leave out Fred and Ali. My long time personal friends and both professors at the University of Tampa, they introduced me to King Corona. Fred, jokingly called the Pope of Ybor City, has his corner where he reads his New York Times and defends the ideals of the far left. Ali is, well, Ali. He knows everyone and everyone knows him. Fred you sit with if you want a quiet discussion with little or no interruption. Ali you join if you want to talk to everyone who comes through the door. Ali, more than anyone, made the critical contacts that helped my find the path that I needed to take. Fred has been my quiet support, calling regularly to check in and let me know he is there for me.
Prior to my arrival on that November Tuesday, Ali had told Don and Joe of my recent diagnosis. They hardly knew me, but knew I was friends with Ali and Fred. When I entered that day I knew almost immediately that I had found a home away from home. I had found, or Ali had found for me, a group of guys who understood what I would be going through and were more than willing to help.
These guys, the guys of King Corona, have given me a place where I could go to share feelings and learn from their first hand experiences. They have helped me to find a place for humor in all of this.
You can read the statistics. Each man knows before they go for their treatment that there may be issues beyond just the threat of the cancer. For many, there will be varying degrees of problems with impotence and incontinence. The medical community is there to help with the physical side of these issues but not everyone has a way to deal with the psychological side. For me, the guys of King Corona have played that role and they have played it well. To them I extend a warm and heartfelt, thank you.
