Seems summer has been here for several months already, but it is only July! Hurricane season is thirty days old, but we know that the heart of our “windy season” is August through October. There are only about 175 days until Christmas so there is something else to think about!
The Master Board is working on our 2026 budget. The Master and Neighborhood Directors use the summer to take our “professional courses” as required by the Florida legislature. Annually, the directors of HOAs and POAs are required to take 4 one-hour computer-based courses approved by the legislature. COA Directors are required to take one course/year. We have found the courses to be interesting and germane to our responsibilities as Board Directors. The state rules are always in a state of flux, so this is a way to keep up with the changes.
How many of you have seen your TV focus change over the last few years? It seems we are watching many more streaming shows than regular network TV shows. I wonder how much the main network viewership has declined. I get tired of all the commercial breaks in programs and appreciate the limited (or absent) breaks on the streaming channels. Also, I wonder what it is like at athletic events with so many breaks in action for TV commercials! We will see what the future is for network TV!
This summer, have you traveled out of “paradise” to visit family, events or places? We had a family reunion in Michigan, and it was great to visit relatives who we have not seen for several years and to remember (and discuss) friends and family who are no longer with us. Have all the airport security procedures made you feel safer or more concerned?
Have you traveled around our adopted state to see its attractions outside of Orlando? There have been many changes since my first visits there in the 1950s! I remember enjoying Silver Springs and all the big fish we could see through the glass bottomed boats as well as the mermaids at Weeki-Watchee and driving on Daytona Beach. I wonder what we would have thought of 1950s Naples. Back then there were still some dirt streets in Naples and newly started small businesses that since have been taken over by big businesses. Two changes that transformed Florida were Disney World and the interstates. Each depended on the other in the early years. Imagine driving from Chicago, Detroit, or NYC on two, three, or four lane roads. That would have added an element of excitement to the trips.
Of course, the airlines played their role in the growth of Florida. The two biggest airports, Orlando and Miami, now each have more than 55 million passengers/year. Not all airplane passengers end up at the entertainment parks, as annually there are over 16 million cruise passengers in the Miami area and another 7 million at Port Canaveral. One of the busiest Florida ports is unique in that it pays the passengers to take cruises from what was the biggest port in Florida for many years, Pensacola. It was, and is, one of the Navy’s largest ports.
As a matter of fact, do you know that the only U.S. Navy recruit training base is about 50 miles north of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan? An interesting aspect of that base is that it has one of the largest concentrations of dentists in the world. My Chicago area family dentist was a retired Navy Captain who was the commander of the dental operation. He had more than 500 dentists, 100 of whom did nothing but root canals! It is interesting, too, that many of the recruits had never seen a dentist when they first reported for duty. Because the recruits may end up on a ship without a dentist, the Navy ensures that all have an excellent dental condition when they leave basic training.
All for now! Hope you are having a great summer!
