The sound in the background you hear is Dueling Banjos

Well, maybe I will get the blog rolling again and hopefully keep it going. Depends if I get in another "fuck everything, I'd just as soon napalm a baby seal as smile mood."

At any rate, I got back from visiting family in Florida, a good time was had although I do not believe any hilarity ensued.

My Mom lives in Lakeland, Florida almost dead center in between Tampa & Orlando. She lives in a nice subdivision and there are some nice area, but the county it is in is poor. I have never seen so many people missing teeth as I have around here. Illegal aliens here have better dental work than the poor white folk of Polk County. I am not even talking about old people, There was a woman about my age, who had these gnarled looking choppers, chipped, one or two on the dark end of the grayscale chart and one or two gaps from missing teeth. This is not incredibly rare either... we make fun of British dental work but Polk county makes it look like the Tooth Fairy lives in the Midlands. It makes me think of the Wilco album Summerteeth, because Some'er there, some'er ain't, some'er black, some'er white.. you get the idea.

People out here tend to forget that Florida is a Southern state. Granted, the coastal cities are now a mixed collection of relocated Nor' Easterners, Cubans and some of the more upscale natives. Orlando area has gathered a great range of people who have moved there because of the businesses that have congregated. You get into the areas that are even slightly more rural and whammy, it's another world.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have a number of good Southern friends, and I don't think everyone down South thinks the same way, but when you get into that certain segment that fit the stereotype.... oohhhh boy.

We are talking about sitting in Cracker Barrell restaurant and every male member of the family sitting next to you is wearing camoflauge.

The mobile home sitting in the middle of the clearing that is covered by so much moss, mold and debris you would think it abandoned except for the line of laundry flying from it.

The experience of "Hairstyles of the Deep South". I saw more guys who looked like their stylist was armed with a bowl and scissors. My Mom had a lady do her hair to get a bit more body in it and I swear to God it looked like she was a demonstration example for people grooming Bichon Frise's for competition. I actually only saw one mullet, 3 less than I had seen in the Wal-Mart the last time I was there.

Sleeveless t-shirts, yea baby. And let's not forget no ensemble would be complete without the Confederate flag showing up somewhere.

So, it's fun and games for me to people watch down there and although there are some minuses there, they have a lot of barbeque places so in the end I call it a draw