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I live here

This family knows firsthand, snow is what you visit, Brandon is where you live.

By DON P. HEALD
Published February 25, 2005

Valrico - In 1977, we were drawn to the Brandon area. Orange groves, horse pastures and wooded lots were located everywhere, around houses and developments. There were only two traffic lights on Route 60 and very little was south of Bloomingdale Avenue except woods. We chose to buy in Valrico to live in the country, but initially thought we might have moved too far out.

Little did we know!

The community was blooming with families like ours, schools were being built everywhere, as was a new hospital. We watched the groves, pastures and wooded lots slowly turn into housing developments.

Our oldest son was in the inaugural class at most of the schools he attended - Buckhorn Elementary, Burns Middle School and Bloomingdale High.

We loved Florida's weather and the beaches and seabirds were beautiful.

Over the years, we adapted to the two seasons here, bake and chilly. Although the chilly season seems to get colder each year, we can't really label it cold, because it would insult our northern neighbors. We do miss the colorful, fall seasons, and some of the snow activities, although we can travel to them, as our fall season here is various shades of brown.

The first time our oldest experienced snow was during a soccer tournament in Colorado. Not to leave our younger son short, his first experience was somewhere south of Atlanta. He really wanted to experience snow, so I promised him we would drive to it the next time snow ventured south enough.

When it did, we grabbed the very dusty toboggan out of the attic (I was born in Maine), took our sleeping bags and drove north on Interstate 75 until there was enough snow to play in. We spent the night in a truck stop in our truck with the engine running. The next morning we drove until we found an open field on a slope. We ran up that hill and slid down together until we got tired, then we packed up and drove home.

We feel blessed to live in the Brandon area as it is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. There is always something fun to do.

We are close enough to cruise lines, a great airport, all the city things, professional sports and tourist attractions (those in Orlando too). We really don't have to go to the tourist attractions on our own, as there is enough of that when relatives and friends come to visit.

Heald lives on Ravenna Drive in Valrico.

We're looking for readers to tell us, in 400 words or less, why you live where you live. Please include your likes and dislikes. Send essays to brandon@sptimes.com and please include a daytime phone number.

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 09:35:09]