Mission Statement and Beginning

A few months ago I was unceremoniously laid off from my job at Lockheed Martin after being with the company almost 25 years. Happily, with no debts, no dependents, and not even a pet I found myself in a position to retire. Of course one cannot do nothing all day without turning into Jack Nicholson from the Shining. I could of course just play video games and watch movies on-line but instead I would like to share


some of my experiences as a longtime resident of Florida and amateur historian. I hope this will be interesting and informative. I'll try to stay off any soapboxes but I can't guarantee it because many things that happen in my home state would drive anyone nuts trying to figure out why they happen.



Where to begin then? Florida was around for thousands of years before it was "discovered" by Ponce de Leon but other than someone getting eaten by an Alligator there probably wasn't a whole lot of drama before then. Also I doubt the natives would have chosen Florida as the name as one does not think first of the pretty vegetation when one is trying to eke out a living amid the snakes, sharks, and pterodactyl sized mosquitoes.



Contrary to popular folklore, de Leon was not seeking the Fountain of Youth when he found the eventual home of everyone's favorite mouse. Rather, like all Spanish explorers and really every other businessman and politician who has ever come to this state, he was trying to make a profit after being pushed out of a cushy job elsewhere. Sadly for him things didn't really work out but happily for those

of us who love living here and others who enjoy visiting Spain did not abandon its ambitions in the area

and others were able to build on what he began.



For more reading about Ponce De Leon and the early exploration and colonization of Florida I recommend the following sources:





Wright, E. Lynn (2010). It Happened in Florida(2 nd ed) Guilford, Ct: Globe Pequot press.









Fuson, Robert H. (2000) Juan Ponce de Leon and theSpanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida



Blacksburg, VA: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company.









Thompson, Bill and Dorcas. (2003). The Spanish Exploration of Florida.



Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers.