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Recovering a man's gold chain from the northeast yard at Peachtree, where he lost it while playing football. He was one of Dad's co-workers and we had hosted the company picnic that year.

Thirty years ago this month, the Bierce Family moved to "Peachtree", a plot of land that previously belonged to Dad's half-brother Patrick and his family. The town to which it belonged changed in the times since we got there. First it was "El Pico North", allegedly an outskirt of Brooksville. But then the Postal Service decided that Spring Hill was big enough to become a de facto municipality (even if the place didn't formally establish self-governance itself) and Peachtree was counted as Spring Hill some years later.

We arrived from Pennsylvania after two days of driving to an almost completely empty house. Our household items took a few days to catch up with us. So us kids slept on the floor, and danced to a tape of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in the wide-open living room much of the day. It was way too hot outside for us to do much outside. That and the grass was long and we noticed something new: sandspurs. Our habits were going to change...just about ALL of them.

MORE TO COME.

That tornado that struck middle Florida last night?

Next county over from where I used to live.

Did NOT know that The Villages was that close by. They advertise the place on PGA Tour TV programs, but I thought the place could have been further south or something. Well, I might have visited the place if it had been there when I was living there.

I always kinda liked that area of Florida, the hills above Orlando. We'd drive through there on the way to Disney World or one of Mom's book signings in Kissimmee or an airshow at the Cape, and I guess I had a bit of "grass is greener" envy, compared to the boring area where sat the house we took over from my uncle (a.k.a. Peachtree).

I guess there is still a part of me that wants to build New Peachtree there someday.

Once you get sand in your shoes...

FP