Sep 21, 2007

Playing in the dirt pays offBy Paul SwiderSPTimes.com

St. Petersburg – Learning history for some people is like eating vegetables: something good for you that you’d rather not do. For Brian Evensen, it’s dessert and he’s finally getting to enjoy some sweet success.

“I’ve waited 40 years for this time,” said Evensen, who this summer opened Lost in Time, a gift shop/museum at the Pier. “It’s been a passion.”

For several years Evensen had a home-based business in fossils and artifacts, but not since he moved downtown has he been getting the traffic and sales he needs to pursue his life-long pursuit of ancient Florida. He’s hoping the added attention can further his research so he can bring greater understanding to more people.

For Evensen, 57, the rocks and stones sing a beautiful yet mournful song. The amateur paleontologist who grew up sifting Weedon Island’s sands is as rough-hewn as the arrowheads he collects, but like them and the stories they tell, he has an edge.

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