Posted on 05/07/2025 11:15:18 AM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
We called shoes with pointy toes and high platform heels, Puerto Rican fence climbers.
Lots of people kayak in Louisiana in water with gators. I think the gators usually shy from people, but kayakers don’t go out of their way to antagonize the gators. There’s kayakers in Cane Bayou every single day and there’s never been an attack I’ve heard of.
Water temps?
Just a snow bird opinion here. In big residential areas, big alligators are mostly kept at bay, When we snow birded in the Tampa area most of the alligators were in the 2 to 5 foot range. We made a couple of trips to central Florida out in the sticks of Polk county. There isn’t a lot of civilization out there so the gators grow big.
The were roach killers because they were pointed and could kill roaches in corners
I grew up in Tallahassee and I can’t believe how unaware I was while swimming in Silver Springs back then. Or every other swimming hole.
The BSA did their mile swim in Lake Talquin every year during summer camp.
Bear spray probably didn’t work.
I worked in uniform in NY State's prisons for 25 years. My first experience of seeing a cockroach was at Auburn Prison while I was searching an inmate's cell. Each cell had a high shelf on the back wall, and when I pulled a shoe box off to search what was in it, a crapload of roaches went skittering from the shelf. Made me jump a mile. That was around 1980 or 81.
The fumigator came to the prison once a month and sprayed the messhall kitchen, the school buildings, and the industry buildings where they made license plates and metal office furniture. One of the worst areas for cockroaches was the bakery where the inmates made bread every day. They would bake the bread and put it in steel boxes for the next day's breakfast. They'd also put the formed dough in heated boxes for it to rise, but that didn't mean the cockroaches didn't get access to the bread and dough. Back then, an inmate could take a loaf of bread back to his cell at the evening meal. One of the things about cockroaches is that if you step on a female, you can carry the eggs on your shoes, and end up bringing them home. Thankfully that problem never occurred for me during the 25 years I spent working in the State's prisons.
We still called them roaches in FL. Even if they were Palmetto bugs. Is there a difference?
Well, maybe there is. Even a bazooka and TNT wouldn’t kill the roaches I grew up with. Geez, they’re the size of a mouse! It’s the truth!
I don't think there is, but my friend's wife seemed to have taken offense when I called it a cockroach.
Yeah Polk county is growing like crazy. Subdivisions everywhere. There’s still a few “sticks” left😳
Don’t be fooled. The Springs themselves are pretty cold, but I was there a year ago, in early June. Besides in the canal off the house we were renting, we saw PLENTY of gators in the actual springs. (Took a guided tour since we ruled out kayaking the day before.)
I refer you to my post earlier today. https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4315497/posts?page=40#40
We always called them roaches growing up. I heard the Palmetto bug term, but nobody I knew called them that.
That’s kind of like saying that we called soft drinks soda or pop. No we didn’t. Everything was Coke. We always say said, “what kind of Coke do you want? Coke, Crush, Sprite, Mountain Dew?” We never said “soda” or “pop”. They were all Coke.
I know. Southerners are a little weird. Well, we think all of y’all are a little weird, too. ;)
That’s all of Florida anymore. You have to drive to Evinston to find old Florida. Still some good dirt roads that a way.
The Mohawk Valley area where I live and the Syracuse area an hour west of here, are familiar with salt potatoes. They sell the salt and small potatoes in a 5 lb. bag. You dump the package of salt in a pan of water and mix until it's dissolved. Add the potatoes and cook until tender. They're delicious with butter on them. When my youngest son moved to Indiana years ago, he discovered that they had no idea what salt potatoes were. He hadn't realized they were a regional thing.
As you can guess, I’m not from Indiana, and I’ll tell you. I’ve never heard of salt potatoes before either.
Speaking of regional differences, when my husband and I were first dating in college, he asked if I wanted to go out with him for pie. He’s from Long Island. I’m from northern Florida, which is quite Southern. I told him “sure!” , then hung up the phone and asked my girlfriends “how do you dress to go out for a dessert date?” I even ate a little bit of food in my room, because I hadn’t had dinner yet. It’s been over 40 years, and that story still makes me smile. Times were so simple then.
And far more enjoyable. I'll forever be thankful that I was born in 1947, and grew up in the 50's when America was still mostly normal, and kids were allowed to be kids.
Out on the highway late one night in Florida. I saw dead alligator on the road. It stretched out close to a full lane of a 4 lane road. So I’ll get to my destination and I ask my nephew (who was a tow truck driver at the time) about whether or not these alligators could damage your vehicle if they were hit. The nephew replied, “they can take out your whole under carriage. They total cars. It’s like running over a log.”
Actually I got the county wrong. It was Hardee county just south of Polk. Close enough for government work..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.