He lives and breathes Coconut Grove

Whenever I mention the BIC or the BID here, I get all kinds of comments -- mostly about David Collins, the head of the BIC/BID. Most comments are good, a few are not.

Whether you like the new BID or not, you have to admit that Dave worked hard for the BID and he has always worked hard for the benefit of the Grove. Someone said it best in a comment in one of the other posts: "David Collins lives and breathes Coconut Grove and the BIC."

You can find Dave in his office, or around the Grove, early in the morning and late at night. Whenever I show up, he always has a smile on his face and welcomes me with open arms.

Although I have lived in and around the Grove for most of my life, I never paid much attention to what went on politically or behind the scenes. When I first started the Grapevine, I met Dave for the first time inside his own house. It was at the Gifford Lane Art Stroll and he was ladling out his famous cucumber punch. I asked him his name for a photo I took, shown here, with my friend Victor (for this post), and he told me and spelled it for me. I think when he said the name, I realized he was the Village Council guy.

Many others would have said, "I'm Dave Collins for God's sake! I run the BIC, I am on the Village Council, you don't know who I am?" But he humbly spelled his name as he handed out the cucumber punch. That told me a lot about him.

Many times, most times, in fact, when the Village Council has been going back and forth on an issue, Dave waits until the end of the argument, and in that quiet way he has, he says one thing and calms the situation down.

I don't need to be kissing up to Dave, and you all know I haven't on many issues like the black Info Booths, which I still hate. But you'll have to agree, he does live and breathe Coconut Grove and he is always available for anyone who wants to stop in and talk with him.

He personally invited me to the BID launch party the other night, he didn't need to do that, I am not a merchant or landlord, in fact, I could have gone and ripped the whole thing apart the next day here in the Grapevine, but he was kind enough to include me anyway. So that's why I am writing this great story on him. No, just joking, I am writing it because it was a long time coming.