I Live Here

A tourist in her own state appreciates all that ''kooky and wild and fun'' Florida offers.

By SUE CLARENDON
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 21, 2003

This is bliss. This is fun. This is incredible. This is the life.

Such thoughts frequently remind me of why I live here, even as recently as my visit to the state fair.

After so many years, our day at the fair has become a ritual. As part of that ritual, we made a hasty beeline from the gate to the Kachunga show. It is essentially the same show every year. Although alligator wrestler Burt (a.k.a Kachunga) had a new sidekick this year, the cornball humor remained the same.

As Kachunga straddled the 300-pound gator, holding its snout, his sidekick told the crowd, "Right behind the alligator's eyes is a little tiny brain ... The alligator has one, too." It was still funny, even when we knew it was coming. We were still amazed at Burt's physical derring-do in hoisting the huge creature, the sight of those 80 teeth, the delicate pastel colors inside its mouth, the emphatic snap of its jaws closing, its ominous hissing.

Another part of the ritual is a visit to Cracker Country, always a soothing respite from the carny chaos of the Midway. The same bluegrass bands performed under the same magnificent oak trees, and the same portly carpenter in beaver hat and overalls displayed antique tools and a penchant for antique jokes. We missed Curly Dekle, the fair's oldest Florida Cracker, a rail-thin and cowboy-dapper bullwhip artist and craftsman. Sadly, he was too ill to be there this year.

Soon we'll have another adventure, or two or three. We are unabashed tourists in our own state, visiting and revisiting the hidden treasures of Central Florida: tourist attractions that date from decades before Disney's theme park, the state parks and canoeing rivers, spring training games, music and art festivals. There are always lots of reasons to be outdoors, to turn one's face to the warmth of the sun, and to be grateful for everything that makes this place so kooky and wild and fun.

I hope never to lose my amazement at this place. Perhaps that has been part of the experience of coming to Florida from someplace else. There are so many uniquely Floridian adventures too wonderful to have just once, and more to discover all the time. That's why I live here, for the pure joy of it.

-- Sue Clarendon lives on Wister Circle in Valrico.

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