This is a collection of unedited articles written from our home in Florida where we used to spend our winters. They were published in a local paper. Many stories concern the alligators, snakes and exotic birdlife. Some of these stories are a little out of the ordinary like when the school bus driver stopped on the way home to allow the kids to catch a 4ft.alligator and take it onto the bus. Like the great horned owl that took off with a small dog that had been let out on the lawn to 'go to the bathroom'. Like the golden eagles that had to be culled because that were dining on an island's rare pigs. Then there was the 80 year old woman sitting out on her porch one evening enjoying a cigarette. She was attacked by a rabid fox which she clung on to and held until she was rescued next morning.
The police obligingly (though unwittingly) provided me with a good deal of material. Over a space of a few weeks three Orlando cops lost their rifles in different circumstances and were suspended. One drove off with the trunk open and the rifle fell out. One took it out of his trunk to get to the spare wheel and forgot to put it back. One left his in a school where he had been lecturing the students. There were also two or three that had their police cars stolen by someone they had arrested and had left in their vehicles. One arrested suspect escaped when he asked the cop to lower his window so that he could get some air.
This was also the era of Blair and Bush and it was interesting to hear what the Americans I spoke to thought of those two and the war in Iraq.
You may remember the fiasco of the Bush/Gore election. It dragged on for weeks and the outcome depended on Florida's vote and it's 'hanging chads'. Did the Americans wait with baited breath? Wherever I went the air was charged with apathy.
Florida may call itself the 'Sunshine State' but much of it's weather is far less friendly with it's lightning,hurricanes and tornadoes. Then there are the sinkholes that can swallow your house while you are out shopping at Wal-Marts.
Florida is certainly a lot different to Dorset but both have their appeal.. (By the way, don't expect any pieces about Disneyland or the Attractions - we've never been). Florida's attraction for me was the vast wild areas and the wildlife, especially the amazing birds and for Anne it was the sun and the golf. As for the Americans, they were great hosts and we made some very special friends over there.
The police obligingly (though unwittingly) provided me with a good deal of material. Over a space of a few weeks three Orlando cops lost their rifles in different circumstances and were suspended. One drove off with the trunk open and the rifle fell out. One took it out of his trunk to get to the spare wheel and forgot to put it back. One left his in a school where he had been lecturing the students. There were also two or three that had their police cars stolen by someone they had arrested and had left in their vehicles. One arrested suspect escaped when he asked the cop to lower his window so that he could get some air.
This was also the era of Blair and Bush and it was interesting to hear what the Americans I spoke to thought of those two and the war in Iraq.
You may remember the fiasco of the Bush/Gore election. It dragged on for weeks and the outcome depended on Florida's vote and it's 'hanging chads'. Did the Americans wait with baited breath? Wherever I went the air was charged with apathy.
Florida may call itself the 'Sunshine State' but much of it's weather is far less friendly with it's lightning,hurricanes and tornadoes. Then there are the sinkholes that can swallow your house while you are out shopping at Wal-Marts.
Florida is certainly a lot different to Dorset but both have their appeal.. (By the way, don't expect any pieces about Disneyland or the Attractions - we've never been). Florida's attraction for me was the vast wild areas and the wildlife, especially the amazing birds and for Anne it was the sun and the golf. As for the Americans, they were great hosts and we made some very special friends over there.
