Leaving Florida

There’s no other name so glorious, all hail, Florida, hail!

Home of the happiest place on earth, Florida is always ranked in the top places to visit in the U.S. The beaches are amazing. The inland lakes and rivers are full of beautiful birds and wonderful foliage. You can swim in the ocean or the gulf almost any time of year.

I use to love telling people I’m a fifth generation Floridian. Most people think that everyone in Florida came from somewhere else. While many do, I grew up playing in an orange grove that my great grandparents owned. I swam in rivers with gators because I knew they really don’t want anything to do with us. I’ve fished on the St. John’s River and know how to put a hook right in-between roots of a mangrove without getting snagged.

My email address has the word Florida in it. Most people think it’s because I’m a University of Florida Gator fan, but it was really because I was proud of being from Florida. Notice I said was.

It started with hanging chads for me. Oh, yes, that 2000 presidential election where everything came down to Florida, and we failed the country. Florida was a running joke for years after that election.

Then there was Florida man. Ah, yes, so many times something crazy or weird happened, you just knew they were going to say it was in Florida. It got so painful being the butt…