Up to our asses in alligators

That was a favorite expression when I was growing up in Florida. It's funny because it's (still) true.

I was born in Ft. Lauderdale (well, actually Hollywood) and the place was much different that it is now. All of South Florida has changed, at least those parts on the east coast. But you still get a feel of old Florida when you go inland around Lake Okeechobee.

Anyway, my family moved to Palm Beach County when I was young. The west part of the county that is. I remember as a young boy watching dozens of gators floating in the canals and drainage ditches. They were many during the day, but at night a flashlight would show dozens more.

At one time the Florida alligator was supposedly near extinction, so it was put on the threatened list. Worked great...there are lots more now. And better yet there are lots, I mean LOTS, more people in the areas that gators inhabit.

The recent deadly attacks just show how difficult it is to live with nature, when you surround nature then invade. I love Florida and I understand why so many other people do. But more humans will be attacked and many will die. The price, or downside, of paradise.

Update (5/24/06)

And Florida Cracker over last couple of weeks posted a few times on the horrors of these attacks.

Florida Masochist has a post yesterday on an alligator causing a traffic jam in South Florida. I like his closing sentence: "Life in Florida, you got to love it." (He and his wife also had some great news!) Yes, sometimes alligators are just an inconvenience. Reminds me of a time several years ago when a gator shut down a runway at Orlando International Airport.