The trip to Costco yesterday was unusually stressful.\u00a0 First there was a backup on I-75 caused by what appeared to be the end of a police chase: two black cars surrounded by 8 state patrol vehicles and troopers with guns drawn.\u00a0 Then, less than a mile later, another backup caused by a single-car accident.\u00a0 It appeared that a car spun out and landed in the median strip (how does that happen in the absence of ice?).\u00a0 Finally, two ambulances blew by me as I was turning into the Costco parking lot.<\/p>\n
Which was completely filled.\u00a0 Cars were cruising, looking for people leaving.\u00a0 I was at Costco before Christmas and this was *much* worse.<\/p>\n
I had to return some items so I got into the long returns line.\u00a0 Directly behind a guy who was loudly telling anyone who would listen that he was “feeling the stress” caused by the “northerners”.\u00a0 I couldn’t disagree, because I just experienced some of what he was talking about, but, being Florida, I was a bit concerned that he would pull out a .45 and start plugging anyone who didn’t have a deep tan.\u00a0 And he would probably get away with it under Florida’s horrible “stand your ground” law which appears to give anyone with a weapon the right to use it anytime you feel a bit threatened.\u00a0 This guy was apparently feeling a lot of stress, which a jury could construe as being life-threatening.\u00a0 Then it would be open season on snowbirds.<\/p>\n
This rather uncomfortable experience\u00a0gave\u00a0me cause to reflect on the tension – real and figurative – that snowbirds bring to southwest Florida.\u00a0 The economy here is totally dependent on the snowbirds.\u00a0 But the infrastructure needed to support their 3-month residency – highways, police and fire, to name a few – is huge and is largely unused the other 9 months of the year.\u00a0 Schools aren’t affected much, but everything else has to be built to a scale that is larger than would be needed if there were no winter visitors.\u00a0 Even shopping centers and recreational facilities (e.g., casinos) need to hire for the “season”, then lay off workers when it is over.<\/p>\n
It must be very hard to balance all of this, which makes me glad I don’t have to deal with it year-round.\u00a0 But I hope they continue to manage it tolerably well so that guys like the one I ran into at Costco don’t start shooting.<\/p>\n
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The trip to Costco yesterday was unusually stressful.\u00a0 First there was a backup on I-75 caused by what appeared to be the end of a police chase: two black cars surrounded by 8 state patrol vehicles and troopers with guns drawn.\u00a0 Then, less than a mile later, another backup caused by a single-car accident.\u00a0 It … Continue reading