I live in a small town. Cocoa Beach is a small town.
You know you live in a small town when people know you and don't ask for your ID when writing a check, you use landmarks and points of interest rather than street names or addresses when giving directions to out of town folks and you measure distance by the number of traffic lights rather than minutes or miles.
When we moved to Florida, one of the things that attracted us to Cocoa Beach was the small town atmosphere. The 12,000 locals were friendly and the pace of life was relaxed. That still holds true today, 25+ years later, even though Cocoa Beach has been discovered and has become a popular tourist destination.
As is often the case, when you live somewhere for a long time you no longer notice certain things but tend to take them for granted. The other day I realized just how guilty I've become of taking our small town atmosphere for granted.
I was giving directions to some folks from out of town and mentioned some well known landmarks along the way. Usually that works well, this time it did not. The conversation went something like this:
Me - Just take A1A south past Ron Jon's and continue south past the old Wendy's. Get in the inside lane and make a left turn into the parking lot next to where Herbie K's used to be.
Tourists: HUH? What is Herbie K's and where was it?
Coops, had to resort to making a rough sketch to indicate where to turn - luckily "X marks the spot" saved the day.
That got me started thinking about other local references that we use daily - my former office was "across from the Pier", the Shark Pit is "next to Ron Jon's", Winn Dixie is "next to the old Radio Shack", the library is "next to the new post office", etc.
And the sad thing about it is that if I ever needed to give anyone a street address, I would not be able to do so without looking it up!
Life in a small town - you have to love it!
P.S. Herbie K's was a 50's style diner. The staff dressed in 50's era gear, the juke box at each booth played 50's and 60s tunes nonstop, the waitresses wore poodle skirts and saddle shoes, chewed gum and pulled up a seat at the table while they took your order. And the waitresses would pull people up from their seat to dance in the aisle and work off those unhealthy calories...remember the stroll, cha cha and bunny hop?
Herbie K's has been gone for some years since the hotel next door bought it and demolished it for extra parking and nothing has ever replaced it.
I live in a small town. Cocoa Beach is a small town.
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