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I am on vacation in the land of old folks and oranges. As I travel and find free wifi I will be posting from the road. I have been amassing sound bytes and pics to power my posts for long after the vacation is over. This post comes to you courtesy of an anonymous wifi connection in a residential part of Weeki Watchi. I would apperciate it if someone would be so kind and put a map of the area I am talking about in comments.
If you didn’t already know Homasassa is one of those ‘developing’ counties in Florida. It is a place that is caught between the old and new way of doing things. It’s a place where the country is very reluctant to give way to the sprawl. This situation makes sense considering the number of retirees that settled in the area between Crystal Springs and Homasassa proper.
The fact that there is a lot of retirees and older folks effects the way life is lived in this slow moving burg.
The ‘group’ conversation about death is ‘matter of fact’. Death and old age pervade just about everything that goes on in Homasassa. There is a ton of churches , nursing homes, medical centers, funeral parlors, and mobility stores. Death, death, dying, death, death.
They talk about it at breakfast, They talk about it at lunch and then 2 hours later at the early bird dinner special. As sick as this sounds it’s kinda funny. "Hey, Joe did you hear, Mac has cancer of the liver.", " Ah shucks that’s nothing I got macular degeneration and next week they are going to cut out half my lung." "You think that’s bad they cut my Social Security and now I have to pay 7 times as much for my prescriptions." It a never ending macabre dance of one up-manship. If you think you have it bad don’t worry, because 20 minutes later a lonely eyeball with stuffy sinus will belly up to the counter to order coffee and the .99 cent special. Somebody is always worse off than you.
Death is everywhere in Homasassa. You see it in the ‘For Sale’ signs planted in front of the double wides. You see in in the eyes of the alligators that patrol the creek sides looking for a lost dog. You see it in the ‘mega’ sized thrift stores that have no shortage of donations to sell.
Oddly enough you don’t see it in the over crowed cemeteries. In fact you hardly ever see a cemetery at all. Now I find that strange.
Dig the Caesers tune. See ya'll soon.
Time is tight for me so I'm wishing everyone a pleasant holiday season now.
I got family coming over tomorrow night, last minute wrapping to do, and a house to clean before we get on the road to Florida on Friday.
My road trip will take me south for 2 weeks and then on the return trip I will be meeting up with our good friend Chuck (aka Groon). Honestly this is one of the highlights of my vacation. As one of the people I have grown close to here on MOG, I think it is appropriate that I be the one to pop his MOGmeet cherry. Afterwards we won't have to hear him whine about never hanging out with one of us. It will be for a few hours only but I think anytime we get to spend is golden. I can't wait.
I will be purchasing another Mog Wars trophy to give out come February when Mog Wars kicks in again. Get ready. I'll be looking for suggestions soon. The last one worked okay but I think there is room for improvement.
Unfortunately I will not be able to spend time with Hello Mimi in Tennessee (that's for another trip). Actually I am working on a Mog Trip that will be the envy of all Mog Trips. Stay tuned for that one.
If there is anyone in the Orlando area, Tarpon Springs area please Mogmail me. We may be able to hook up and say hello. I know Tyler (aka contrabandwidth) is down there and I think SunshineDaydream (is it Helen?) is also down there. Georgia will be a blur to me so I won't be able to hook up with The Pimp.
You guys have a good holiday and remember it's all about peace and goodwill. Love your family and share the spirit long after the holidays are over.
Enjoy the Dr. Demento tunes. I just know he's up in heaven singing these songs and getting the yuks from St. Pete and all of the angels.
Comments
Oh Chris...happy holidays to you and yours...
Believe me when I say...one day we shall meet, and it will be awesome.
Oh, you know...
I'm pretty sure SunnyD does live in that general vicinity, although I've not seen her about these parts for a while.
Merry Christmas to you as well sir.
No joke, that's Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's tagline.
This time of year the downtown area is nuts with shoppers and parties. Who would have thought that those austere Moravians would tap into the biggest seasonal shopping spree of the year just by naming my hometown Bethlehem. That's the economic view but there is another view that gets mentioned less by the tourists (yeah, tourist. People actually come here spend money and to get a dose of the 2nd bastion of Christian holidays. In my opinion Easter is the 1st bastion holiday, because it gives Christians their connection to God. I digress).
If you went straight up into the air about a 1000 feet and oriented yourself due north you would see the faint lights of Nazareth, PA. If you spun around and looked southwest you may catch a light from Emmaus, PA (one of the towns I grew up in. Graduated from Emmaus High back in '88). If you looked due south you would never see Philadelphia, but trust me it's there. Just way off in the distance.
The first settlers in my area were serious about the Bible. so much so that they named the towns they lived in after real Biblical places. Bethlehem being the place where Jesus was born as was David (who was also anointed King by Samuel in Bethlehem). Nazareth is the old stomping grounds of Jesus. He grew up in Nazareth. Scholars say this is where Joesph made his living as a carpenter. Emmaus was one of the places Jesus made himself seen after his resurrection. While this is disputed Emmaus is still considered a holy site if you where going to take a tour.
So what was I saying ...... oh yeah the Christmas City.
The 'Holiday Season' or HS for short seems to be push farther and farther back on the calendar every year, doesn't it? You have the appearance of Santa Claus right around Halloween in the stores. 2 weeks later your ready to stab your ears with an ice pick because one of the local radio stations is playing Christmas tunes 24 hours a day. Then Thanksgiving comes. This uniquely American holiday is like the choke on the Christmas engine. Up until that point the machine is idling with an uneasy sound. Come the 'Friday of Black' that machine is humming along like a well oiled chainsaw ready to cut a hole in your wallet. Once again, I digress.
The modern Bethlehem (I would say within the last 40 years or so) has cultivated an image of the place to be come Christmas time.
This year it took hold when I found out that my in laws were donating a pine for the center city nativity scene. That's a pretty big civic honor. The tree stands between the library and City Hall. For a few weeks that tree is the epicenter of the Christmas shenanigans my city likes to pull off. This year my son Baylor got to turn on the Christmas lights for that tree and the lights that line the 3 bridges Bethlehem has (they cross the Lehigh River). Once again a great civic honor. Something to talk about when he gets old.
Here's the tree:
And here is my in-laws Sally and Bruce Johnson.
Below Patrow Plaza (where the tree is) stands Christkindlmarkt which is run by Artsquest, another brainchild of Jeff Parks.This gig runs right up to Christmas then gets dismantled for another year.
Next up, why you should never ask for help at the Moravian Bookstore come Christmas time. Night kids.
Comments
aw turning on the lights is exciting! You didn't mention one of the few Christmas things I know about Bethlehem: There are storefronts wrapped like presents! or so I was told by my best friend who was there over Thanksgiving. Hope you are enjoying the festivities :)
Feel the Pennsy love Dani.
Bethlehemites are crazy insane when it comes to Christmas.
As a footnote my city keeps the real beginings of Christmas in full veiw. Our churches are packed this time of year.
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Glad to hear from you monkey. Hope you're having fun.
All well and good, I am. Don't forget to stop and smell the orange blossoms. BTW, are the Weeki Watchi mermaids still performing their fab underwater show?
a place that reeks of death but without cemeteries. you should've taken George Romero along.
"Death, death, dying, death, death." oh, stop, you're making me feel optimistic about 2009.