Remember when you were a youngster and perhaps you were looking for a seasonal gift for a family member and you, being a little kid didn’t have much money so your choices were limited? Remember those little glass balls that were filled with water and a picturesque little town or a scene of one was sitting at the bottom, then you turned it upside down and all the “snow” that was on the “ground” went up into the “sky” and then gently fell back down to the “ground” When I was a little kid I remember getting my first one from my little sister who gave it to me for Christmas and I called it my bubble town ball. I remember thinking how cool it would be to live in a bubble town, where everything crispy clean.
I now live in a bubble town. It’s called Naples Florida. Let me explain. My wife and I go over to the other coast for a short getaway every now and then (by the way, how nice is it to be able to get to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or Tampa, all within 3 hours, experience all that those cities have to offer and come back the same day or evening? Not bad right?) Anyway, usually, but not always, especially in the summer time we end up getting rained on over alligator alley, or in Miami, wherever. It’s happened more times than not that as we approach Naples it seems that there are clouds everywhere but directly over Naples. I always look at Anna, and say “look at the bubble over Naples”. Now I know it rains in Naples, I’ve lived here for 20 years and as Jim Taylor says in his song, “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain.” It’s no joke. But if you’re ever driving back from the East Coast, check it out and see if it doesn’t seem like there is a blue sky bubble over Naples.
I remember in the heyday of real estate when things got outrageously expensive and unaffordable in Naples. I try to golf with a friend of mine once a month. We have for over 25 years now. Once a month like clockwork. Anyway, I go up to his place in Tampa and golf in the winter, and he comes down to my place, Naples, in the summer. Invariably when we golf, being a twosome we get paired with another twosome. So every time we’d get paired someone would ask us where we’re from. Tom would say, here in Tampa. I’d of course say Naples. I use to get the “oh one of those rich people” looks more than I’d like to admit, especially in those days when I said things were outrageously expensive here. But one day we got hooked up with a twosome and one of the guys was a doctor, and he said, “so where are you guys from”. “Tampa”, said Tom. “I’m from Naples” I said, bracing for the looks and or comments. “? “Ah, Naples”, said the doctor, “You know what Naples reminds me of?” he asked. Here we go, I thought to myself. “No, what’s that?” I said. “Naples reminds me of a town that was painted the night before you arrived there, it’s so clean and pristine.” “A bubble town” I said. “Like those little balls with fake snow and perfect little towns inside.” “Exactly” said the doctor.
I guess the point is this. Pick a town, any town in this great country of ours and I’d bet that there aren’t more than a handful that someone would say it reminds them of a town that was painted the night before they arrived. But isn’t that the most appropriate description of Naples? I think so. In fact, I think maybe we should put it on a bill board on I-75. Let the whole world know about it….. Wait a minute, what am I thinking? I remember last season, Old Man Winter slammed the Northeast, Midwest, just about everywhere but here. Our streets were packed, the beaches were flooded with people, reservations were impossible…..what am I saying. Maybe we need a sign on I-75 that says Naples, sorry no vacancies. I wonder if that’d work. Have a good day, and remember you live in a town that others look at with wonder, the same way you may have looked at those little towns in those little glass bubbles.
Life’s good in the Naples Bubble…
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