Cathie:

I must tell you about my first day visiting my parents in Florida. I was 24, had my own apartment and my parents had decided to move to Port Richey, Florida. They would tell me about the palm trees, the Causeways, the beauty of Florida, well, I just had to see for myself, so I took 2 weeks vacation and off I went.

The plane lands and my parents pick me up and we are all smiles and as we drive out of the airport it starts to rain. But it's not raining on the other side of the street. As we go under a tunnel and out of the airport, it's raining again, but then I look back and it's not raining behind our car. I look at my father and he laughs "yeah, I know, I'm not used to this either, it's some kind of phenomon in Florida, it rains on one side of the street but not the other!! okay, that was interesting!!!!!

Then we drive into their driveway, I get out in front of their beautiful brand new house and I'm blown away by the majesty of all this beauty, with the palm trees, the foliage, (well, compared to Brooklyn, NY), Florida is gorgeous. So I had to go back to the car to get something, when I notice this THING on the door handle of my dad's car. I start screaming and say "what the hell is that thing"?? My father starts laughing and says: "oh, you have now met our new friend, the Palmetto bug". I said "the Palmetto what???" and he says "oh, it's a flying waterbug". I say "you have flying waterbugs and you still live here??" and he's laughing his head off. I most certainly did not find this amusing!!!

So we go into the house and they have something called a Florida Room, where you watch tv in a screened off room. My father is outside building a patio, laying down square pieces of patio material. I go outside and sit in a lounge chair. All of a sudden, this green thing jumps over my body. It was like watching a tennis game, with the ball going back and forth. These green things are jumping over my body. Well, I must have zoned out because after the 5th green thing jumped over me, I started screaming and my father finally noticed me and he said "what's the matter??" I look at him like he's lost his marbles and I say" "what's the matter, there are green things jumping over me, what's going on". I then get up and walk over to where he is laying down the patio and I kid you not, there were hundreds of green lizards hopping about, and my father is actually moving them out of where he was trying to put the cement and all the while he's talking to them saying 'get out of here". I look at my father like he lost his mind.

I run into the Florida Room and one of these green things follows me. I start screaming, my mother runs in with a broom and she laughs and goes "oh for crying out loud, one of them got in again"??? and she shoos him out of the room. I look at her like she lost her mind also!!!

I wouldn't leave the house again except to get in the car (which they kept in the garage). So what happens when we are in the car and we are driving around Port Richey and my father and mom are trying to show me the beauty of Florida??? I notice some kind of screen on the front of my father's car. No sooner do I say "Dad, what is that screen laying on top of your car??, when we are hit by a swarm of some creature known as Love Bugs. It seems that they travel in pairs and are always mating. They hit the front of the car with such force you need special screens.

When we got home, my father had to hose down his car because it was covered with Love Bugs.

My parents then asked me if I wanted to move down to Florida.

My answer. "You are both mentally ill". I really said this.

Between Palmetto Bugs, lizards and Love Bugs, are they serious????

I can laugh about this now because it's many many years later but I will never forget that Palmetto Bug if I live to be 100.


ick, and double ick!!!

Melody