104 year old business owner's legacy courses through Downtown Panama City
The man behind the counter is proof that time can sometimes stand still.
At 104 years old, John Natoli still comes to work every day, greeting customers, dusting off memories, and sharing his love for beautiful things in his store.
It's like his business, Collectibles Etc., is frozen in time. However, John has lived his life like a man in motion.
U.S. Postal Service unveils new delivery vehicles and upgraded facility
He started his journey working at a stockyard in Jersey City, then found his voice in media working for a radio program called 'The Answer Man.'
That led him to ABC Paramount's record company. He eventually made his way west, settling in Arizona until 1976, when life brought him to Panama City.
'Came to town looking for a location to do a flower shop. We found the building next door, opened it Bay Flowers Etc. And we were lucky as hell,' Natoli said.
The shop was extremely successful. However, 10 years of hard work took a toll on John and his partner Fred.
He said they were worn out and ready for a new adventure.
'At that point, we always had the business right next door, 318. And we always had this place for storage. So when we got rid of the flower shop, it rented out, you know, to somebody we opened this as collectibles,' Natoli said.
As successful as Bay Flowers was, John noticed the shop's gift section was also doing big business.
'If somebody wanted a birthday thing for their daughter. Well, why do just a thing of flowers? Why not incorporate a doll, so we got into that sort of thing. So I made use of the collectibles that way,' Natoli added.
After more than 10 years, Collectibles Etc has been a downtown Panama City staple.
The opera and theater lover said his only regret is the possibility he won't see the Martin Theater reopen.
Northwest Florida Airport celebrates 15 years of exceptional service and growth
'I strongly regret and hate the fact that the powers that be have not got the Martin Theater landmark back after eight long years, eight long years. I don't regret anything. I was an optimistic person, which is why I'm probably still around. But that is the only thing I'm sorry not to have,' Natoli said.
John's one piece of life advice?
'Don't get old. Do not get old. It ain't worth it,' Natoli said.
John said he has no plans to retire soon. In fact, he said he doesn't make many plans at all. As he sees it, he's not just preserving the past, he's proving that purpose doesn't retire.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why bitcoin could hit $300,000 next year
Crypto markets are lagging even as broader markets rally on trade optimism. Ava Labs president John Wu joins Market Domination host Josh Lipton to explain what investors should watch within the crypto space as uncertainty lingers. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. President Donald Trump announcing a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, which includes a 15% tariff on imported goods and while markets jumped on the trade optimism, crypto markets, they've stalled here. John Woo, Ava Labs President with me now, discusses, what's next for the industry. John, it's good to see you. So, uh, you know, trade deals, of course, front and center today. Markets, I got green everywhere here, John, but Bitcoin is actually not taken part in the party. It's actually edging lower here. I am curious though, John, to the you know, the extent that, looking ahead, we get more clarity, John, more certainty around trade and tariffs. How would you expect that to kind of ripple through and affect crypto in the months ahead? Absolutely. It's great to see you again, Josh. So, um, I'm actually out in the Hamptons and there's a company called the Tie, which is a great data platform company in in crypto. Think of them as Bloomberg for crypto. And they put together 300 executives and C suite people from crypto, as well as traditional finance banks, uh, payment companies, fintech companies. So, to answer your question, how do I feel about it, how do people here feel about it? Well, you know, obviously trade and tariffs is very important, but I think there's just a general enthusiasm and a positivity because the intersection between traditional enterprises and banks without a crypto in web3 is about to happen. That's what the conversation is about. It's far more about what how this technology can help those parts of traditional finance than about tariffs right now. I look at Bitcoin here, John, at 118. I've had some bulls come on the show recently, and I asked them for targets, for bogies. And and one well-known bull said, listen, he says 200,000 before year end. Does that make sense to you, John? Absolutely. I think by the end of next year, we'll have maybe even double close to 300,000. In fact, you know, it's very simple. The right now, it's about 10% of the AUM of gold. And if you look at the incremental demand versus incremental supply, supply is the uh the block being mined on the Bitcoin. And then you have the incremental demand, which is all these ETFs, these digital asset training companies, and the reserves being built on public companies, as well as nations, as well as states. There's a five to one imbalance of incremental demand versus supply. And then as a percentage of gold as a market cap, it's only 10%. I don't see why it can't be 30% because the incremental buyer is Gen Z and millennials, and they view this as the digital storage of a store of value as opposed to gold. So I can easily see much higher than 200,000 by the end of next year. So on that mark, let's say we let's say we put 300,000 on the board, John. What are some risks to that call? Yep, absolutely. As you know, Josh, it's a very volatile space. Um, you know, one of the things that has gotten everything going recently is the clarity from the US side. And that's helped not just Bitcoin, but it's also helped the alternative L1s, like, you know, Ethereum as well as Avalance, a lot of stable coins on on that. Now the risk would be a lot of this now, the clarity in the rules doesn't lead to immediate success and operational and market share for payments and other reasons to use stable coins or to continue using these currencies. That would be a risk, because to execute things, it always takes longer than the initial thought of just creating a rule. It's kind of like, the risk would be, it doesn't pan out as quickly as people would hope it can. John, great to see you. Great to have you on the show. Thank you for your time today. Thank you, Josh.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Coca-Cola CFO says the company will launch Trump-backed cane sugar soda: ‘He is a big supporter of the option'
is launching a cane sugar version of its flagship soda in the U.S., with CFO John Murphy confirming to Fortune that President Trump has endorsed the initiative that has been in development for 12-18 months. The move comes as the beverage giant works to address recent sales challenges in America, including lingering effects from a viral misinformation campaign and affordability pressures on lower-income consumers. Coca-Cola is moving forward with plans to launch a cane sugar version of its flagship soda in the U.S. market, with chief financial officer John Murphy confirming that President Donald Trump has endorsed the initiative following his recent social media claims. In an interview with Fortune, Murphy said the cane sugar variant 'has been in our pipeline for some time' and typically requires 12-18 months from development to launch. 'He is a big supporter of the option,' Murphy said of Trump. 'He has heard about it and is a big fan of the option. It's certainly been well reported.' Pressed for specifics on whether the cane sugar Coke will channel the 'Mexican Coke' model—popular in the U.S. for its glass bottles and distinctive taste—Murphy said: 'I think for commercial reasons, I'm going to wait until the U.S. team is ready to divulge all the details, so more to come on that in a couple weeks.' Murphy emphasized that expanding product options reflects broader market demand: 'Here in the U.S. there is just so much demand for variants and new options on both existing and the new. This [Coke made with cane sugar] is an option for the Coke portfolio and one we're excited about.' Fake viral TikTok video hit Coke sales The announcement comes as Coca-Cola navigates a challenging market environment. Coke reported second quarter results for 2025 on Tuesday, showing modest revenue growth driven by pricing and mix, significantly higher operating income and margins, and strong brand engagement despite a small global volume decline. Murphy attributed recent softness in U.S. and Latin America sales to two primary factors: lingering effects from a viral misinformation campaign and pressure on lower-income consumers. A false TikTok video that circulated in February claimed the company was collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security on deportations of Hispanics from the U.S. to Mexico. 'It was clearly false, but it went viral and for a period of six weeks or so, it had a significant short-term impact on the business in Texas, California, and in Mexico,' Murphy explained. The company has been recovering from that incident, but Murphy noted that affordability remains a challenge for lower-income consumers. 'While the U.S. consumer has been reported overall as resilient, there is a segment of the population, the lower income segment, that is under pressure given the cumulative impact of price increases on their household basket over the last two to three years,' he said. Coke pushing into AI The company is also accelerating its use of artificial intelligence across operations. 'AI is here, we see it positively impacting our end-to-end business,' Murphy said, noting applications in supply chain, innovation, marketing and finance. 'We're in the early stages of AI being part and parcel of how companies will operate to raise the overall performance bar.' The secret to working for 37 years at Coca-Cola Murphy, who is approaching his 37th anniversary with Coca-Cola next week, credited his longevity to two principles established by former longtime Chairman and CEO Robert Woodruff. Quoting Woodruff's philosophy, he said: 'One, which is very relevant to today's work, is that the world belongs to the discontented. So I think staying curious and, to some degree, unhappy with wherever you are is a great motivator to do more. 'And the second, which is maybe my favourite quote of his; there's no limit to what a person can do if they don't mind who gets the credit. I think it's a wonderful piece of advice for anybody, whether it's year one or year 37, to take on board, and if you live your life against those two quotes, I think you can survive just about anywhere.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
NextEra Energy Tops Profit Estimates as AI Data Center Demand Booms, Though Revenue Misses
Booming demand for electricity to power artificial intelligence data centers helped NextEra Energy (NEE) post a better-than-expected profit, though its revenue was short of forecasts. The alternative energy provider reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.05 for the second quarter, above the consensus of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. However, revenue came in at $6.7 billion, below the $7.27 billion analysts were looking for. Shares fell about 4% in recent trading. With Wednesday's losses, they've added roughly 4% since the start of the year. Revenue from the NextEnergy Resources unit jumped 16.4% year-over-year to $1.91 billion. The company said it added 3.2 gigawatts to its backlog for new renewable energy and storage origination, and it now has about 6 GW of projects in its backlog for use by technology and data center customers. It added that with its current operating portfolio and the buildout of its backlog, the division will have more than 10.5 GW for U.S. tech and data center users. Revenue at Florida Power and Light, the company's regulated utility and the largest U.S. electric utility, was up 7.3% to $4.71 billion. CEO John Ketchum said the company is 'well positioned to continue delivering for our customers and shareholders and will be disappointed if we are not able to deliver financial results at or near the top of our adjusted earnings per share expectations ranges in each year through 2027.' NextEra reiterated its adjusted EPS forecasts for fiscal 2025, 2026, and 2027. Read the original article on Investopedia Sign in to access your portfolio