You know you're a Floridian if....

[OmahaBlueDog]

(a friend forwarded this to me)

Socks are only for bowling.

You never use an umbrella because the rain will be over in five minutes.

A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

Your winter coat is made of denim.

You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.

Anything under 70 degrees is chilly.

You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.

You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.

You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.

You dread love bug season.

You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley or Hurricane Frances. You know them as Andrew, Charley , Frances , Ivan, Jeanne, Wilma...Irene...Cheryl...Rita, Mary..Alison

You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave.

You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

'Down South' means Key West

Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church, but you HAVE worn flip flops to church before.

You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.

A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

You know the four seasons really are: Hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season and
summer.

You've hosted a hurricane party.

You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Withlacoochee , Thonotosassa and Micanopy.

You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than have a boat yourself.

You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.

You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Years.

You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba '

You not only forward this but you understand it

[SwampG8r]

1. [phone]

if you drive north to get to the "south"

[Roon]

2. This is so funny

I used to spend my summers in florida when my parents divorced, so i can relate to some of this.

[SwampG8r]

3. if you have an interstate that only goes to your state

and it goes north to south but is labeled east to west

[DarkTirade]

4. That list is a load of bull.

6 feet is well below average for gators. Hell, smallest one I ever saw when I was out walking was a juvenile that was at least 4 or 5 feet counting the tail.

[csziggy]

5. I agree with everything but the hurricane party

And you forgot Miccosukee, Wewahitchka, and Estifanulga. Extra points if you can find Estifanulga - Google Maps can't!

[OmahaBlueDog]

12. I've ridden bikes through Thonotosassa twice

....and I still don't know how to say it.

[csziggy]

17. Just about the way it is spelled, except the 'to' is silent

Tho-no-na-sa-sa.

Most of the weird names are Hispanic versions of Native American names. Since Spanish is not as big on silent letters and syllables that are spelled nothing like they sound, it's pretty straight forward. The only complicated part is slurring the words the way Southerners do.

Heck, even Estifanulga is pronounced the way it is spelled, though many locals call it "Stiff and Ugly." It's big attraction is Dead Lakes. Great fishing because of all the dead trees in the lake bed. Hellacious to navigate.

At one point a long time ago there was talk about putting a nuclear power plant there and we were all ROFL at the thought of the "Stiff and Ugly Nuclear Power Plant." We even made up the plot for a schlock science fiction movie featuring the power plant - the title was to be "The Oyster that Ate Apalachicola."

Now REAL Floridians know where to find Two Egg.

[cwydro]

6. i saw this somewhere the other day,

So true! Anything less than a Cat 3 isn't worth waking up for!

Love it, thanks for posting!

[Crazy Dave]

7. I have driven through Yeehaw Junction

Nothing around for over 20 - 30 miles but better cell phone reception than I get in the middle of any city.

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. If you are a kid, in South Florida, Yeehaw Junction = We're Almost @ Disney World

Especially back when the spped limit was 55, and that trip seemed to take forever.

Also, theyre used to be a travel center/time share sales office that had corny billboards from about Ft. Pierce, all the way up to the exit. COunting and reading those billboards was another passtime in the days before I-Pods and portable DVD players.

[Crazy Dave]

13. Next year I'll be saying "We're almost @ Omaha"

Bryan Sr. High 30 year reunion :hi:

[OmahaBlueDog]

14. We just drove from South Florida to Omaha - for the second time!

Kansas City becomes "we're almost there!"

I have missed all the HS reunions. I was told our 5 year was the "let me show you pictures of my kids" and the 10 year was the "let me tell you about how much more money I'm making than you" reunion. I envision the 30-year as the "let me show you pictures of my grandbabies" reunion.

[JCMach1]

8. You can spell Ichetucknee and understand why swimming in a Spring

is 10x cooler than any beach.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Absolutely! My very favorite place in the entire world.

I love the list....a lot of truth to it. Would rather live in Florida than anywhere else in the world!

[Turbineguy]

9. I'm fairly official myself now.

The other day I ran a stop sign, made a left turn (without signaling of course) cut off two other motorists, all at the same time.

After I was going straight, I turned on my left blinker and turned right.

Around here nobody seems to make the connection about the number of signs for injury lawyers.

[KG]

10. i've never driven thru Yeehaw, but the rest of the list is spot on w/o a hint of hyperbole.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

15. Isn't there a sign along the lines of 'walking barefoot in the kitchen with the lights off...'

'...and not worrying about roaches'?

[OmahaBlueDog]

16. No, no, no..not "roaches"

"Palmetto Bugs" Sounds much nicer, don't you think?

I remember at work, once, a gal let out a blood curdling scream. I'm figuring injury..maybe a rat (?). No. On a wall, there's a chameleon .. no longer than 4". You'd have thought she'd have seen a litter of rats running through the office.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Is there a "panhandle addendum"?

or would "sex with farm animals" get the thread locked?

Great list.

:hi:

[sinkingfeeling]

20. Understand, but thank god, I only had to live in South Florida for 16 months!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

22. Dude, come back.

Eveyone's like, "Where'd that sinkingfeeling person go?"

[Arugula Latte]

21. In Oregon we never use umbrellas

not because the rain will be over in five minutes, but because the rain will be over in five months. :P