Lupine and I are flying home today, Jacksonville to Houston to Salt Lake City. Patty will pick us up and drive us to Logan. But wait, I am home. Aren't I? Where is home, because I feel confused? North Florida is home because every plant, animal, and ecosystem are part of my soul. We spent yesterday floating down Juniper Springs Run in the Ocala National Forest and crossing the St. John's River four times. It was familiar and wonderful. That said, North Florida has plenty of issues to complain about. Every morning when I read the local red-neck-conservative-Baptist-bible-belt-biased newspaper, I am shocked at all the crime and murders. I've been away too long. Could I ever live here again, with the thought of crime always in the front of my mind? I have forgotten how to lock a door. And the traffic? Everything is Jacksonville (the largest city in the country, in area) is spread out and completely auto-centric, the model of failed urban planning. It seems all I do when I come here is drive.
So in a way, Utah does not look so bad. I live beside beautiful mountains. The doors of my house and car are always unlocked. Always. The keys are always in the ignition. Not that I turn them; I ride my bicycle nearly everywhere I need to go.
Good bye Florida. See you in five months.
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