Florida - the people

It's hard to tell about people in Florida. Many a person wearing broken down deck shoes and grungy shorts are actually multi-millionaires. Often the clothes here are just comfortable and not a badge of the wearer's accomplishments - unless it's layers of paint. The population is very diverse and is a mix of natives, retirees, immigrants (from many locations), and people wanting to make a buck either legally or not.

I find the natives or long-term residents hard to fit into a pre-defined box. The interests and passions are not easily lumped into a single label. The natural conservationist might also be a political conservationist. The developer might also be working toward some very progressive energy alternatives. All those seemingly dichotomies confuse the general public who wish to think of Floridians as people who wear plaid shorts and black socks, ride around in golf carts and are marginally functional.

What is encouraging are the number of people who quietly go about their business of living the lives they want to - in a lovely environment.

The surprise of a hidden waterway skirting homes in an urban area is a delight. The habitat of alligators and snakes with SUVs and pools is a juxtaposition which tickles my sense of tweaking the smug.

But I think that's a lot of what Floridians enjoy. The quiet joke.

A muggy welcome

Florida is a very misunderstood state. It has a natural beauty that is badly treated and a population with a surprising character. It encompasses lush green foliage which is just barely contained by man's efforts; a network of interlaced waterways; and an amalgam of people which can not truly be defined.

I have lived a good portion of my life in this state. But this current visit is the first I have made in over a decade. I am surprised and reminded at how the natural beauty peeks out from very unexpected spots, just waiting to take back it's natural habitat. The layers of green foliage are so dense that it is surprising the individual plants don't choke out one another.

And this is the season of rain. The first thing anyone notices upon arrival is the moisture laden air surrounding everything. It seeps into the skin, hair and clothing with relentless invasion. The afternoon thunderstorms come in and take over a landscape cloaked in drama. The building clouds of white turning into gray and finally black towers of moisture announce the afternoon's intention. Then the rain slashes down, driven so hard from the wind that it is almost horizontal. Heavy drops of rain, collecting to flood the streets, roof tops and lawns everywhere. All in a few minutes. Then the pace settles and the air is clean and clear for the rest of the day.

And this is just a small portion of the many diverse parts of this area. Rainfall is very ample but the availability of potable water is a serious concern.

Another View

The summer is almost upon us. In some places that means it's already hit temps over 100 degrees for sometime, and in others it's still nippy. My personal location means the days are warm and the nights are cool. But that won't last. This year I'm going to do something a bit different with my summer. I'm going to spend most of it enjoying the beauty and wonderful diversity of the U.S.

I'm presently planning to head out on an extended - about 6,000 mile - trip around America. I want to see some of the grandeur and natural beauty of our country. I'll be taking pictures and sharing them with you. This is just too wonderful not to.

There are a few national parks that I hope to include in my travels. Our park system offers a great opportunity for many of us to experience the unique geography around us in as natural a state as we can preserve, practically. I'll share with you both what my camera and what my mind captures of the places.

I hope this will be a pleasant trip for you and maybe even give you a greater appreciation of our interesting country.

I look around me and listen to the news and I'm so surprised to find myself in my native country. To hear the majority of the loudest voices out there you would think everyone had all just had a lobotomy. There is very little reasoning in the thinking. But there is a large amount of vitriol.

For some reason a lot of attention is being directed at something that seems either personal and not their business, or taking a probably innocent situation and trying to turn it into a scandal. Don't we have enough drama in our lives? Why is this type of thing taking up so much time? Don't we have a few more important issues to resolve like the economy, a couple of wars, education, health care and climate disruption?

I'd like to get into the meatier topics of our society and have a more substantial discussion. Let's pick a single topic for now and see what we can do with it. (no personal attacks accepted)

Water: Quantity and Quality

What can we do and what is being done to mitigate the larger demand, smaller quantity and more polluted content of our water?

I have lived in diverse environments from arid to humid; sparse rain to torrential monsoons; deserts to jungles. It is time to look at the lessons we can learn from our ancestors about how to survive.

Lesson one: Catch and save as much rainfall as we can.
Lesson two: Use only as much as you need.
Lesson three: Reuse all you can.

What is your opinion?