FLORIDAYS

Silly Anna and Katie showing off some of their layers

Picture of Mom taken by Jia

Jia's new "jacket" let's not tell her that it's a bathing suit cover up.

"I am umbillically connected to the temperate zone, It brought me life it's brought me love I never have outgrown"
-"Everybody's Got a Cousin In Miami"
Jimmy Buffet

Okay, so today WAS the cold day. When Jia and I went to school this morning it was 36 degrees Fahrenheit. That is beyond cold for South Florida. Some of you from "up north" will laugh and say this is nothing, and I will make jokes about how many layers of clothes we all wore. In reality it is devastating to Florida farmers, especially citrus growers (the juice freezes in the oranges and leaves them tasteless and ruined), in these economic hard times I say a prayer for people who make their living in this industry.

My history lesson:

I moved to Hollywood, Florida, (right outside of Miami) in 1968 solely because of the weather. My parents were from a very small town in Pennsylvania. My father's company transferred him to Puerto Rico and he made a solo flight south to check out the situation, he hated Puerto Rico but Daddy had a layover in Miami and he fell in love. This was the over the top, tacky, glamorous Miami of the 60's, live flamingos in the lobbies of the hotels, shabby art deco buildings fading into ruin and gorgeous, warm sunny beaches. He quit his job and brought his wife and two young children south to live on the beautiful beach that he always dreamed of. He never regretted this decision and fully reveled in it till the day he passed away.

So that is why 41 years later I consider myself a native Floridian, don't remember anything else. I grumble about the humidity and how my hair is always bad in the summer heat, I no longer cook myself in baby oil for hours at a time on the beach, in fact, I rarely have time to go to the beach (but the important part is--I know its there any time I want to see it) Florida is my home, it is a large part of who I am, and on days like today, not only am I a little "off" but the whole (temporarily) cold world seems a little strange.