COASTE | EDITOR’S WELCOME
With my nose pressed to the cold glass.
I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but my heart and soul has been owned by Florida since I was a child, visiting my older bro and nephews (about my age) in Clearwater each year. Once November arrived and the trees were stripped barren, I knew I was in for a six-month punishment. Overcast skies that hovered week upon week, like some gray alien mother ship — mirrored on land, of course, by snow, not the pretty white stuff that lasts a few hours, but the ugly and dirty snow that accumulates everywhere, the last filthy touch to this bleak-and-white picture called winter. And me? I watched out the window with my nose pressed to the cold glass, waiting for spring. It still amazes me that so many people I know from the Midwest and other parts of Cold Country U.S.A. are adamant about life there — that while they love vacationing in Southwest Florida, well, it’s a nice place to visit but they just
couldn’t live with the heat. First, we thank you for visiting us; you’re always welcome back. Second, thanks for not moving because the traffic would be, if possible, worse. I say this as summer in Southwest Florida descends upon us, with 90-some degree days for the next three months and humidity like a wet blanket. I love it. I love it hot, and I always will. And I know many of you feel the same way. Four months of rigorous heat sure beats six months of monotonous cold. So get out there and join me in embracing summer, with all its heat and humidity and sunshine and blue skies and afternoon showers and gorgeous, God-given sunsets. And take a magazine with you to read — tablet or print. You know which one. Enjoy.
John Sprecher, Editor
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