Here's what's rattling around in my scary little mind today...
JOY
My daughter lost her first tooth this past weekend. She's young for a 1st grader, having a birthday at the end of the school registration cycle. She's also the only kid in her whole class - possibly in the entire 1st Grade - who hadn't lost a tooth yet. It's a little ironic, because just in December her dentist (the hottie Dr. Sanjuan - there's a reason why oh, I don't know, EVERY SINGLE MOM IN THIS AREA takes their kids to see Dr. Sanjuan) declared that those two bottom teeth weren't going to come out anytime soon, and we'd need to have them extracted. Extracted is hottie dentist speak for "pull the teeth." Bart and I threw the bullshit flag* and decided to wait it out. Sure enough, about 2 weeks ago one of the little suckers got loose. And then last week the new tooth started to pop out right behind the loose one. By Saturday, she could spin the tooth all the way around, so I told Bart it was going to have to come out - I was afraid she'd swallow it or something. So I grabbed the video camera. Morbid, you're probably thinking. But I figured, hey - if it went all bad, and blood started spurting out of her mouth and she's screaming and yelling and all hell breaks loose, then I'd just delete the tape. What actually happened was just the opposite. Bart sat her down, and with a teeny tiny tug, the tooth came out. You should have seen her face when he showed her the tooth. Joy, amazement, and wonder all at once - she was lit up. Right now, I can close my eyes and still see her beautiful little face. But those special little memories are fleeting, and before I know it, it will fade and then be gone forever. But I have it on tape. Hopefully, I will always be able to look at that tape and remember what a special thing that was, and how excited she was. In 10 years, when she slams the door in my face after telling me that I'm old and dorky, and she hates me, and all her friends are allowed on dates and she wishes she never had me for a mom, I can retreat to my recliner, pop in that video, and smile. I can always remember a time when pure joy and amazement and magic could all be found in one tiny little tooth.
KARMA
In my never-ending, not-so-successful battle of the buldge, I went running today. 4 miles, plus a little, to be exact. I'm feeling a little bummed, because although I've lost 7 pounds since January, I really only lost what I gained over the holidays. So now I'm right back where I was before the whole Halloween - Thanksgiving - Christmas thing. So really no loss at all. Anyway....I was jogging on this trail called the Upper Tampa Bay Trail. I decided to run a nice stretch on the north part that I hadn't run in awhile. While on the trail, I encountered a baby turle, only about the size of my hand. It was cowering on the trail, likely confused by the noise and size of the multiple 10-ton concrete trucks rolling by on the roads. (I'll get to all that in a minute.) So, I stopped my stopwatch (taking a break to save wildlife is allowed, right?), stepped over, and reached down to pick the little thing up. Now, in the "old" days, "old" meaning when I worked at a zoo, I would have picked up pretty much anything non-venemous without a second thought. Actually, I DID pick up all kinds of crazy stuff, and I still have the scars to prove it. But as I reached down for the little turtle, the parent in me heard my nagging mom voice scream "SALMONELLA!", so I stopped. I grabbed a couple of oak leaves, and used them to pick up the little turtle. I walked about 6 yards over to a fence, and placed him on the inside of it. The fence was someone's yard, and beyond the yard was wide open space, some brush, some trees, and a lovely little pond. Perfect for a turtle. The homeowners wouldn't mind. right? So - turtle saved. Good Karma - bring it on, baby!
THE STUPID "AMERICAN WAY"
Now that you're all warm and fuzzy with the tooth and turtle stuff, hold on a minute. The stretch of the UTB Trail that I mentioned above used to be one of my favorite sections. It runs through a half mile or so of woods, then opens up into a lovely little rural area. There's a single lane paved road. On one side, there were older single-family homes. Most are on an acre or so, and many have little ponds, and keep goats and chickens. A couple had horses and cows too. Made me really miss my old Petting Zoo days.** The other side of the street had I think 2 homes and farms. Even though this area is not far from development, it was cool to see a little bit of Old Florida hidden away. These farms were maybe 3-4 acres, had green grass, ponds, 200 year old oak trees and spanish moss. Lots of cows. Some horses, goats, and chickens too. I remember one time this crazy little ram decided I was just a little too close to his territory, so he was charging the fence. Repeatedly. Made me laugh out loud.
Well, today I knew something was wrong pretty quickly. It was the stench of tar. As I broke throgh the wooded area, I could see immediately what was up. One of the homes was still there. But the other home, and all of the farmland was GONE. Bulldozed (no tress), leveled with dirt (no ponds), and fenced 3/4 of the way around with ugly vinyl fencing. A big sign read "Coming Soon! Ashton Woods!" There were 2 large concrete trucks dumping out concrete; 2 large tar and gravel machines pouring their stuff out, 1 huge roller thingie for smooshing it all down, and a few other noisy and offensive machines. Amidst the loud "beep!beep!beep!" sounds and the engine sounds, one could almost ignore the huge clouds of black smoke and exhaust pouring into the air. It's entirely possible that I have lung cancer from all that crap, and I was trying to EXERCISE!
Of course, every single home and lot on the street now had "For Sale" signs in front. I think a few of those homes had already been torn down.
So I know what you're going to say...people need a place to live, right? But come on! You would have to have been under a rock - literally - for the past year to not know the current real estate situation. NO ONE can sell their houses right now. And those that do take a huge loss out of desperation. Hillsborough County has a record number, an all-time high of vacant homes on the market. Foreclosures are rampant. SO CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY EXACTLY THAT BEAUTIFUL FARMLAND HAD TO BE DESTROYED FOR A NEW FREAKIN' SUNDIVISION?!? They are going to build 60 or so cookie-cutter houses, of which they might sell half, and the other half will remain empty. There are news stories in the paper every weekend about how this new neighborhood was supposed to have a park, or that one was supposed to have a pool, but the developer pulled out, leaving unfinished, unsold, and abandoned homes. The Hillsborough County Commission is so crooked, and so thoughtless, and so stupid, they'd re-zone and approve development of the toilets their own mothers are sitting on if it puts dollars in their pockets. I am seriously considering starting a new Blog called "Boot the HCC - Who's With Me?" But them I realize that whoever gets elected into their spots would probably do the same things. So now this "progress" is the "American Way." Depressing.
* "Bullshit Flag" - this is a term that came into my vocabulary when I was with the Israel Pensacola Posse in Key West 2 years ago. We'd all be drinking, and someone would tell a story or make a point, and if you didn't believe it, you'd grab a dish towel (or really any kind of fabric), throw it on the ground penalty-style, and yell "Bullshit!" REALLY fun. You should try this at your next party.
** Yes - at one point in my life I worked in and was in charge of education programming for the Petting Zoo. There are only a few people out there that will understand and possibly agree with me when I tell you that, for some strange reason, I find the smell of hoofstock (um - that would be goats, pigs, horses, deer, etc) strangely comforting. It's very familiar to me, and reminds me of happy days.
Later gators - I'm going to see if I can find someway to spam the "Ashton Woods" web site 'till it shuts down - he he he
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