Ode to FLA

I had it brought to my attention, rather abruptly, but necessarily nonetheless, that I was disparaging the great state of Florida with my "drive-by" postings. Now, in my own defense, that's exactly what I was doing - grabbing 5 or 10 minutes of "down time" to dash off a quick note. Which, really, is what I'm doing now as well... But it's not doing the state justice.

Yes, traffic was bad entering Orlando. Yes, I expected it. My comment was meant mainly to point out that we timed our departure to coincide with light traffic in the major traffic centers of the Northeast - Boston, Hartford, New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC., Richmond. The afternoon on 95 South through North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia was blissfully traffic-free, including hitting the Savannah area right around the height of rush hour (5-6). Orlando was, quite literally, the only place we encountered traffic in the entire 1300+ miles.

And Al, commenting on piss-poor drivers is kind of a specialty of mine - please notice the "Road Rage" tag. No traffic = no chance to comment on bad drivers. That's the only reason for the comment about FLA drivers. I suppose I could have made more mention of the fact that VA had about 500 cops on the highway in the time we were on it, or that in GA the speed limit of 70 was apparently just a suggestion, as I set the cruise control at ~ 78 and was getting passed by school buses and construction vehicles.

The comment about Jax, well, I guess we just caught the errant section. It happens. I'm the first to admit that MA has bad sections - I certainly wouldn't want to be out after dark in Lawrence, for instance, or parts of Springfield, for that matter. I'll chalk that one up to fatigue and not thinking about what I was saying before I said it and apologize for the cheap shot.

And lastly, the Klan comment. Lighten the hell up on this one. I would have said the same damn thing if it had happened at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH. It had NOTHING to do with it taking place in the south; hell, FLA isn't the south, for crying out loud, it's G-d's Waiting Room, where snowbirds go to live out their Golden years in the sun and warmth. It was the stark contrast between Disney World, the self-titled "happiest place on earth" and what looked at a quick glance like a gathering of Klan members that just struck me as so incongruous as to merit observation. It was a very surreal moment - that's all, no heavier connotations intended.

I've been to Florida five times now - I flew down as a child to do Disney with my family; I took a cruise out of Tampa with some friends before I got married; I attended a conference in Fort Lauderdale as a graduate student; and the past two trips to the land of the mouse with my wife and kids. It's a warm, welcoming place with horizontal traffic lights (that was the first thing I noticed as a 12 year old upon visiting Florida). It's light later, it's warm in the winter and really hot in the summer - it's about as far from MA as one can get and still be in the United States.

I'm sorry I gave the impression that I had something against your state, Al, I don't, really. It just happens to be my current location, and poking fun at wherever I happen to be is somewhat of a specialty of mine - there's a lot to make fun of no matter where you are. Heck, it'd be a pretty boring place if everything was perfect - whatever would we complain about? :) But it appears I struck a nerve, and I can understand that. As much as I hate MA with the nanny state overregulation and imbecilic gun laws, there's a lot I do like, and I'll admit to getting my back up when folks start trashing her unfairly (which, given that it's MA, isn't terribly often that the criticism is unfounded...)

However, I don't think anyone would say I don't poke fun at Massachusetts...

That is all.