Only in South Florida

Interesting reading in this morning’s Miami Herald.  Yes, I know you can get newspapers online, but I like the feel of the newspaper in my hand as I drink my cup of morning coffee with the other. 

DH & I tend to switch between our local newspapers down here.  We’ll get the Herald for a period of time and then switch over to the Sun-Sentinel for awhile.  Since “the South Beach Scene” is in Miami Beach, the Herald is loaded with Celebrity Gossip.

But what I found very interesting this morning was the crazy headlines and crazy stories that, I suppose, if you wanted to write a book of fiction, no one would ever believe these things -- too preposterous.  But, they are real life.  I read them in the newspaper!

How about this one -- “Worker finds head, body parts near a canal”  Not an everyday occurrence, eh?  Did the worker quit his job?  Or did he come back to work the next day, figuring the odds were good that this kind of thing would never happen again?

And then there was “The trial against a police officer accused of raping a family member while his allegedly drugged wife and 4-year-old child slept in the same bed begins”  He also allegedly drugged the family member.  Gives more meaning to “let’s keep it all in the family”.

And in Miami-Dade county, you can pay your property taxes online.  But, they charge you $87.25 for the privilege.  They call it a “non-refundable convenience fee”.  I think writing out a check and putting a 44¢ stamp on an envelope would be much more convenient.

And the most bizarre of all.  It seems that a book published this past summer, which didn’t really sell many copies, might have been possibly the inspiration for a recent murder.  You’re just going to have to read this one for yourself – another book will probably come out about this whole thing.

Do these stories happen in your neck of the woods?  Or is it just South Florida? -- “Things are different here” was a clever advertising phrase to sell tourism in South Florida, at one time.  I don’t think it was intended to be a derogatory comment.

I know South Florida won’t disappoint.  I know I’ll be back with some more “Only in South Florida” stories … all I have to do is open the local newspaper …