New Bedford Day, How Do I Love Thee? [PHIL-OSOPHY]

If Elizabeth Barret Browning had visited New Bedford Day, her immortal poem would passionately describe the many reasons to join us in 2019 for the annual New Bedford Day celebration in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Some locals have to travel to New Bedford Day in sunny and warm Ft. Myers just to visit their neighbors from down the street whom they never see up here.

It's kind of like a high school reunion. You'll see friends you never thought would be there. Anywhere from 700 to a thousand folks from the SouthCoast, sipping on their drinks and sharing a lot of laughter and merriment.

Retired City of New Bedford teachers in their shorts, police officers, city workers, firemen, Fairhaven Jesus (maybe Joe Jesus, too), business owners, and old politicians still working the crowd.

While there, some take in a Red Sox game at Jet Blue Stadium or just take in the Spring Break sights on some of the finest beaches in the world.

The location is the world-famous family attraction The Shell Museum and Nature Park, which has one of the nation's largest gift shops, Christmas shops, plus four free museums—including their $6 million museum of natural history featuring preserved animals of the world!

Your friends and relations back home will hear the live broadcast on WBSM with Phil and Celeste Paleologos, and party host and former Mayor Brian Lawler. And as an added feature this year, you'll be on the WBSM Youtube channel, so SouthCoasters can see your sunburned nose.

How do I love thee, New Bedford Day? Let me count the ways!

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.