Well, I was a kid, going to college at USF. Decided college wasn't really my thing, so why keep asking my mom to pay for it, or work toward no goal, but I did like FL. Mom said if I didn't have a job, she was going to take me home to NJ, and I wasn't ready yet. So I got a job as a delivery driver in a florist, stayed for four more years, then decided on my own that I really missed NJ.
My family was all up here, and I came home for a friend's wedding in October 1992. I drove around my home town, the county I grew up in, and I just missed the history, the age, the old town quality that wasn't around in Clearwater. I like old junk, and FL is so pretty and new, at least where I was ... I just missed being around what was familiar. But I was glad I lived away from my family for a while!
My FL friends all thought I was crazy to move back, but I haven't regretted it. FL just wasn't for me, though I enjoy visiting ...
I worked in a tiny shop right in downtown Clearwater on Cleveland St for 4 years "Happy Balloon Company & Flowers by Flowers". I learned about being a florist there, but really credit my learning to the much bigger shop I worked at for 10 years up here. The little store closed when I moved to NJ - the owner had become very ill, and I believe he has since passed away.
I remember when Countryside Mall got the skating rink inside, the insane traffic gonig south to Largo, or north to Tarpon, route 19, the causeway to the beach, gorgeous sunsets, the Scientology HQ that toursits thought was a military school! Most of all, I remember not making many friends, because people didn't stay long! It wasn't the easiest time in my life, but I learned a lot about myself, and made a couple of good friends, one who was so influential in my life. I learned how to read a map there, all those busy streets! I'm sure a lot has changed ....
anyway that's my trip down memory lane!
My family was all up here, and I came home for a friend's wedding in October 1992. I drove around my home town, the county I grew up in, and I just missed the history, the age, the old town quality that wasn't around in Clearwater. I like old junk, and FL is so pretty and new, at least where I was ... I just missed being around what was familiar. But I was glad I lived away from my family for a while!
My FL friends all thought I was crazy to move back, but I haven't regretted it. FL just wasn't for me, though I enjoy visiting ...
I worked in a tiny shop right in downtown Clearwater on Cleveland St for 4 years "Happy Balloon Company & Flowers by Flowers". I learned about being a florist there, but really credit my learning to the much bigger shop I worked at for 10 years up here. The little store closed when I moved to NJ - the owner had become very ill, and I believe he has since passed away.
I remember when Countryside Mall got the skating rink inside, the insane traffic gonig south to Largo, or north to Tarpon, route 19, the causeway to the beach, gorgeous sunsets, the Scientology HQ that toursits thought was a military school! Most of all, I remember not making many friends, because people didn't stay long! It wasn't the easiest time in my life, but I learned a lot about myself, and made a couple of good friends, one who was so influential in my life. I learned how to read a map there, all those busy streets! I'm sure a lot has changed ....
anyway that's my trip down memory lane!
