Soaking it all in

  As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, there’s not much I miss about living in Florida, other than the friends I grew up with and had throughout the years, the Florida Keys and just a few other hidden gems. Driving over the seven-mile bridge was always my favorite part of a Key West road trip. Surrounded by the ocean, you knew you were that much closer to paradise. Also on the Gulf Coast, but closer to the panhandle, is a small, welcoming place called Cedar Key. It is not the touristy, barfilled, rambunctious and in-your-face place Key West can be at times. On the contrary, Cedar Key, while just as laid back, offers a more unique visitor’s experience. It is the clam capital of the state. The main attractions are the tranquility of the Gulf waters, with plenty of porpoises and loggerheads, art and crafts stores and boutiques, just a few dining facilities and the best sunsets in the state. The Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge is a group of small islands with trails and rich birdl...

  Adding to the exploits I wrote about in last week’s column here are a few more interesting, weird and just plain silly Florida Man adventures. In April a Florida man from Lehigh Acres was arrested after he was found naked, humping a tree and later running down the road in the nude. The story mentioned police believed he was high on something. Ya’ think? It gets better, as he attempted to run away from the cops, he was nearly hit by a car. Once apprehended he allegedly punched a cop in the face. That same month in Hernando County another Florida man was arrested and charged with grand theft auto after he allegedly stole an ambulance from a hospital. The man jumped into the ambulance as EMS officials walked a patient into the hospital. He supposedly drove it down a road where it got stuck in the mud.  Karma is truly alive and well as one Florida man can attest. In October of 2016 this pathetic piece of poopy Florida man was attempting to shoot to death some of his puppies. One...

  There is always something funny or unusual coming out of my home state of Florida. Just the other day, a “Florida Man,” washed ashore in Flagler County after he encountered some problems while trying to, “run to the Northern US or Bermuda,” on what appeared to be a giant floating hamster wheel. The man, Reza Baluci, said he was raising money to help the homeless, and raise funds for police and fire departments and the Coast Guard. Turns out that guy has his own You Tube Page and website: https://www.runwithreza.org/ It’s a great website to visit when you want to start going down a Florida Man rabbit hole. Seems to me this guy has done more for his fellow humans, with his feet firmly panted here on Earth or in the water, than billionaire Jezz Bezos has done.  But seriously there have been some truly weird headline throughout the years, some too funny to be believable, others too horrifying, yet true. One of the first headlines I can recall was back in 2012: Florida Man chews ...

  Years ago, when I worked for the American Red Cross in Miami, one of my duties was to teach first aid and CPR classes. I don’t remember what year it was, but I was asked to travel to Anguilla, in the British Isles, for an entire weekend to teach the staff at the Cuisinart Resort (now called the Aurora Anguilla Resort and Golf Club). Passport in hand, and packed up with clothes, books, CPR mannequins and whatnot, off I went. If I’ve never shared with you my terror for flying, welp, here it is. My first plane trip, in my early 20s, was from Miami to Philadelphia. I was going with a friend and we were going to check out Atlantic City, visit her mom in Cape May, New Jersey, and drive back down to Miami in an antique Cadillac limousine. As we circled the airport in Philly, there was a bad storm. Several planes had to circle until the storm slowed, and it felt like we were circling the airport for a lifetime. The turbulence had us all bouncing around our seats. I was white-knuckling my...