I truly do love Florida. However, every single day there is so much crazy to write about. Years ago, I occasionally wrote "Florida Man" stories. When the newspaper headlines began with "Florida man....", I knew it was gonna be a doozy. And then, eventually, the term was used often and many times much better than me, illustrating our wacky behavior from time to time.
Besides our own Scott Maxwell, the writer who did this best has been, in my book, Fred Grimm. Fred has been a Fort Lauderdale resident and columnist for the Sun Sentinel for many decades. But, today, in our own Orlando Sentinel, he announced he was hanging it up.
Below is the first paragraph of his column. I hope you enjoy it and will find the article and read all of it. You will be impressed.
So long.
Not that it hasn't been fun chronicling Florida's descent into a waterlogged, python-infested, uninsurable, hurricane-pummeled, book-banning, gay-bashing authoritarian dystopia, but I'm outta here.
As you know, I wrote a book a while back titled Florida, A Love Story. The story starts in 1884 and lets us know immediately how hard it was to live in Florida. Maybe that's partially why we're so zany to this very day.
For the dedication, on page 3, I chose to write this:
To all of you who love Florida,
- from the panhandle which we lovingly call the Redneck Riviera, to Key West, where we can enter an Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest or celebrate Fantasy Fest where anything goes
- for those who love our flora and fauna our swamp lands and woods, our indigenous wildlife, and work to keep them flourishing
-for those who love our warm winters, including our visitors from all over the world who make our lives richer in various ways
- for those who love our hot summers, especially those of us who love to swim in our beautiful pools and enjoy our 825 miles of breathtakingly beautiful beaches
- for my family and friends who are there for me, winter and summer, in good times and bad,
I dedicate this book, Florida, A Love Story.
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