Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
The Sunshine State is a different kind of place
As a regular visitor and six- year resident of Florida, I’m interested in what makes the Sunshine State so engaging.
Before we even hear where some oddity or weird activity occurred, sometimes we know beyond a doubt, it must have happened in Florida.
I wrote for several newspapers, surrounded by orange groves and cattle ranches, in the Heartland. I lived in Bartow and Sebring.
Almost immediately, I learned of patience and the joy of slowing down. It can take three minutes longer in the South for a customer to pull out change for a drink, and after paying, then decide to also buy a lottery ticket and quart of milk. Everyone just waits.
And I don’t usually care that the top speed of many drivers is sometimes slower than a gopher tortoise.
Let’s just say it, pausing and waiting is not a terrible thing.
Yes, you must go north to go south in Florida, with so many seasonal visitors from Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina. When asked where they are from, most will name some place up north, although they live year round in Florida.
Snowbirds are a good thing unless you want to go somewhere during “the season.” My father lives in Naples and refuses to take a left turn when the snowbirds are in town.
Many co- workers complained that since most seniors don’t work, and many have been retired for decades, they should shop and dine out during the week and save the weekends for those who do work.
Seniors, and senior discounts, are everywhere. With my salt and pepper hair, I’ve been getting the senior discount since I was in my 40s.
Should I be offended? No, this is not a bad thing. I originally argued, but now I just take the money and run.
Like some Southerners, one newspaper man I worked with is “regionally aware.” When in front of a large group, he often says things like, “We don’t care how you used to do it up North” and “Most Floridians didn’t know Damn Yankee was two words until they turned 14.” His audience always smiles and chuckles.
Southern food is wonderful. Grits are a breakfast staple, as are sausage biscuits. You’ll see jet black, slow- cooking barbecue smokers puffing away along two lane roads.
Cuban sandwiches are spectacular. A Sebring restaurant even served a Philly steak Cuban, but the owner refused to put ketchup on it for me, and instead made me do it myself ( he was right).
If you pay more than $ 1.50 for a handmade taco at a roadside bodega selling everything from boots to calling cards, it likely won’t be very good. Don’t forget to point at what you want.
Just watch the hands of somebody picking oranges moving at the speed of sound, or dozens of people stooping for hours picking strawberries, and you’ll have added respect for our farm laborers.
Waffle Houses – where it is always morning – are way cool. Playing Waffle House- themed songs on the jukebox at these yellow and black interstate exit stops makes everyone in the joint smile.
The first time I ordered a cheese steak at a Publix supermarket it came on white bread. They’ve learned, with Wawas sprouting up everywhere, and Amoroso rolls are now shipped south.
Open air orange trucks are overloaded and fallen fruit can be “picked” at intersections when you are lucky. The first thing I bought in Florida was an electric orange juicer, and with all those free oranges, I used it a lot.
Some say they’re bored with a single season, which is a bit of a misnomer since there are both dry and wet Florida seasons. It seems like it rains every day at 4 p. m. in the Tampa area, the lightning capital of the U. S. Oddly, it does not cool down after a 10- minute Florida thunderstorm.
The humidity magically decreases drastically after Oct. 1, as if somebody flipped a switch. Yeah, it’s hot and humid during the summer, especially on the coasts, but it’s often said that you go from an airconditioned house to an air- conditioned car to an air- conditioned workplace.
I have made it an entire year never needing to wear a coat in Florida. I was lucky to have missed experiencing hurricanes firsthand; but like everybody else, I bought batteries and candles at the start of the hurricane season.
Alligators, feral pigs, armadillos, bald eagles and mosquitoes are everywhere.
That big rat at Disney helps run the state. While I always considered it mostly a place for kids and their parents, I was amazed by how many young couples, singles and seniors enjoy the Disney theme parks. You can also get a season pass cheap if you are a Florida resident.
I especially enjoy riding the free boats along the Disney canals and shopping what was then called Downtown Disney.
Although I once considered it a kiddie ride, my niece adored the teacups at the Magic Kingdom, and I was queasy.
I also discovered that most visitors from the northeast ride down I- 95 and consequently reside on the East Coast of Florida, while those from the Midwest end up on the Gulf and the West Coast since they often arrive on I- 75.
Local politics is a knock- down, drag- out thrill show. Florida Sunshine Laws are some of the best in the country. Consequently, it’s often the first time agenda items have been discussed between voting supervisors, and much airs during public meetings. It isn’t pretty, but the insults can fly freely.
And it also features one of the best ideas ever, you can vote prior to election day. Just hope your candidate doesn’t get caught with his hand in the cookie jar just prior to that Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Grass and sugar sand is everywhere. Many parking lots and highway shoulders are grass. Forest fires during the dry season occur regularly and are sometimes caused by motorists parking a hot car on the grass shoulder.
Where would Florida be without those year- round beaches?
I often tell people that everywhere I went I carried a bathing suit, towel, folding chair and a pound of sand in the car.
“Why the sand?” they would ask.
“It just accumulates,” I’d say with a smile.
Is that a bad thing?