Sunday, March 23, 2008

That Cooter Festival

I got back yesterday from eight days in Florida. Ah, spring break! Ah, greenery! Ah, warmth! Ben played in the pool every day, and he even figured out how to swim. Yeah. Laps. The technique isn't textbook, but he gets across the pool, mostly with his face in the water, with confidence. The last time he was in a pool, over Labor Day weekend, he couldn't do this.

I thought about going to Inverness to find a "Save a fish, eat a cooter" t-shirt, because Mona had wanted one a couple years ago. But then I Googled that phrase, and found this blog post by a local bemoaning the hick reputation that the lame Cooter Festival was giving the county. (And that county needs all the help it can get—between the Badcock furniture store, Mama's Kuntry Kafe, and the U-Kill-Em self-serve pest control store, it doesn't need any more blows to its elusive sophistication.)

The week in Florida was the most relaxing vacation possible without spa treatments. My mother-in-law cooked a lot, the air and the pool had both just warmed up in time for our trip, we had wireless internet access, we slept late every day, we did laundry a couple times (that counts as relaxing because not having any clean clothes left is stressful), and Ben went in the pool twice a day. Good times. And now, it's an Easter Sunday full of laundry and getting ready for a busy week. And—sigh—there's about 5" of fresh snow on the ground from Friday's storm, only the evergreens are green, and the cold, dry air is working hard to chap my hands, smooth from a week in warmth.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH! You've been there I see... it gets worse than the Badcock furniture store, try living there all of your life. The Cooter Fest is the least of the problems...

The Absent Minded Housewife said...

I need your vacation.

Mona Buonanotte said...

I still want that t-shirt.

And I need your vacation!

It's snowing here today, of course, after I pack away the snow pants for another year...!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I am personally from Inverness, currently in Tampa for college. Inverness is my home and I take offense to the way you talk about it. And upon googling the Cooter Fest, to get the dates I came across your blog. Not to insult you, but did you even go to the Cooter Fest? My guess is no. If you had, you would have known its actually a family oriented festival with local business and childrens games. Yes, we turn it into a joke but thats because were not stuck up enough to start a fuss over it. Most of the residents are able to laugh it off. And for the record, Badcock Furniture is not a small family owned store, only located in Inverness. They are all over Florida. And before you judge Inverness on its sophistication, maybe you should realized you were willing to make a trip to get a t-shirt that says "Save a fish,, eat a cooter."