This is nothing new for that area. An I will go one step further and say that the overwhelming majority of people who now live in that area DID NOT GROW UP in that area. They are transplants from more northern places. There was a time when the Orlando area was little more than orange groves for miles and miles. In the spring, turning off the interstate, all you could smell was the exotic frangrance of orange blossoms. Then rapid development arrived with Disney, Paramount, Universal, etc. Everything changed. The beauty and peace of that part of the state deteriorated. Snowbirds became year round residents. With the support services springing up to accommodate the large influx of new people, central FL was forever altered.

It's a shame. It was once a beautiful agricultural area, where you knew your neighbors and your children played together, where folks hosted picnics and everybody showed up because everybody was welcome, where the community pulled together to help out when weather threatened and people respected and obeyed the law.

Too many places - all over the country - that were just like this once, have denegrated into spaces filled with anger, malice and hate.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, we moved from FL over two decades ago and have never once regretted our decision. And to listen to family still there, it has only gotten so much worse.

It's too sad. Too many places. Lost forever.