Houses And Roads

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 98 degrees, afternoon showers all around, but none here

For the second day in a row, we were out exploring some of the changes that have taken place in Marion County since we left about 30 years ago. Today's trip took us down to the Santos area and west across I-75. We think the biggest changes down there have taken place in and around the Marion Oaks area.

When we left here, that area was just woods and fields, with hardly any roads. Not any more, as the roads are running everywhere, and houses are in places we would never have imagined. There's only one problem with all this growth: the recession has hit hard and there are more than 1,000 homes that are in foreclosure. Many of the houses have been abandoned, which has affected property values for the people who still live there.

Before we left home this morning, we took care of some housekeeping, including the laundry. While the clothes were washing, I talked to a man visiting here from Iowa who has been here about six months. His observation about the state of the economy here is that about the only thing selling is plywood used for sealing up houses and buildings that have been repossessed.

Florida has always been subject to booms and busts as the economy goes up and down periodically. People in construction and tourism related businesses are especially hard hit, and now is not any different, except for the fact that a lot more people live here. Carolyn has relatives in construction down here, and we feel for them as they try to survive until things get better. With the economy in the shape it is, who knows when that will be?

I apologize for the nature of this post. It's just that we would like to see our politicians get their acts together and do something meaningful to get the economy going again, instead of bailing out businesses that are "too big to fail", and getting ready to raise our taxes.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Tallahassee, Florida: The Other Florida

Not all who wander are lost.