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#41
I was sad for the 3 years I lived in Fort Myers. A Christmas isn't the same without snow (or at least cold) for the season. I remember people putting up all types of Christmas decorations on their front yards. Seeing a snow man next to a palm tree doesn't exactly create the proper picture. The Christmas holiday was always depressing in Florida. It was the first time in my life that I faced having to deal with depression.
Then of course Lee County was one of the highest in foreclosure rate in (ranked 4th total) in US in 2009, even worse in 2008. What does that mean? People leaving, losing their jobs and higher crime. It was so bad that after Obama was elected he made a trip to Fort Myers to address it: Obama pushes stimulus plan in hard-hit Fort Myers - CNN.com
Don't get me wrong, Florida is a nice vacation spot but that's about it. I also loathed having to pay over double my car insurance compared to when I lived in Ohio. Only one good thing left in Florida for me and that is my daughter.
/rant
It is all in what you are used to. As a second generation native Floridian, snow and cold weather have no relationship to Christmas for me. And having spent considerable time in the tropic, Christmas does not equal snow. :)
No Christmas song applies to Florida. No snowmen outside, no snow angels, no sleigh rides, no frost on the windows, no icicles, no snowflakes, no sitting by a fireplace, no drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows, no real pine/fur trees (they are imported from out of state and die quickly in Florida heat) and no reindeer.
All you have are beaches, spiders, alligators, palm trees, love bugs (see attached), frogs, air conditioning, ghost ants, brush fires, bad traffic and illegal immigrants. That just screams the traditional Christmas holiday season.
Edit- Note that I am being sarcastic in all of this. Don't take offense.
No offense at all. And I hate love bugs ... especially as a motorcycle rider.
Actually Florida does have a native pine that makes fairly nice Christmas trees, Sand Pine. As the name indicates they grow on the sand ridges of Central and North Florida and the panhandle. We used to cut our own. If we happened to be in the state for Christmas when my kids were growing up, we kept the tradition of cutting our own alive.
Oh, and most of those songs are meaningless to me. They aren't about real Christmas; they only apply to the figid northern wastelands. :)
Tropical Depression #2 heading to Brownsville, Tx Landfall 7PM TONIGHT. At 35mph now but may go to 40 or 45 before landfall.
Jim
Wow that thing moved in quick. Made landfall a few hours ago but only about 30mph winds but the main concern is the rain and flooding.
Jim
According to the history channel, the US and UK have weather generating technology that can produce or kill hurricanes so what are we worried about lol