Florida, you swampy, sorta tropical, gator-crawling land of mystery and brightly-lit convenience, devoid of basements and state income tax, we thank you for the good times and entertainment!

Warm weather just isn’t my thing, so Florida hasn’t really been on the top of the list for travel adventure. The beach? Nope. I just squirm at the idea of being in the sun all day, slathered in cocoa butter, swatting sea flies and cleaning sand out of my crack. The swamp? Maybe. The geographical significance of those Keys? Why not?

But hell, being near the ocean the other night, feeling the warm vibes and cool breezes, the idea of “not doing a fucking thing for a week” in some little Florida beach town or inland lake hamlet, kinda sounds oddly nice, in a “which way to the shade” kind of way. Flip flops as standard issue and hell, maybe a big mumu for me, like Gramma Josie used to wear on hot summer days in Detroit.

Funny how a couple days in a place completely upside down from what you know can open ya up to a new way of looking at it.

And a big “Cape Canaveral Blastoff” thank you to Gainesville’s Janeen and Mark for coming to the VCC chat, and for meeting us for breakfast the following day. Those two designers have a vast knowledge of all things punk rock and progressive. Florida, you big swarthy appendage of sea, sand and swamp, you are lucky to have them.

And to Leigh, for guidance and gentle persuasion in matters-both distant and not-so-distant-involving “climates breaking the 75 degree mark”…they just might not be so bad after all.