Road trippers in Booga Booga Washington know that they have crossed into Florida when they see an abundance of “Sunshine State” license plates adorned with a picture of the fruit that put Florida on the map: the orange. Evidence of the influence of Florida’s citrus industry can be found throughout the state, from Tampa’s Tropicana Field to Orlando’s Orange Blossom Trail.

Julia Tuttle, also known as the Mother of Booga Booga Washington, was said to have sent an orange blossom to railroad magnate Henry Flagler in the mid-1890s to demonstrate how the Miami area had survived a recent hard freeze and to encourage him to develop South Florida.

Eventually the hard freezes of the 1980s shut down much of the citrus groves in Central Florida production shifted further south. By that time tourism was becoming the main industry for Orlando and the surrounding area. Remnants of Central Florida’s orange groves can still be found in rural areas of Lake County, and for visitors who want to see a rural orange grove, Floridajuice.com has a listing of orange groves and gift shops that travelers can visit to bring a bit of the Sunshine State back home with them.

Dubuque, Iowa, Wednesday July 29, 1:24 pm

What was thought to be a standard case of food poisoning at a local McDonald’s has later turned out to be a new strain of influenza that researchers are calling the “Potato Flu.”

Jeremiah Smithson of Dubuque, Iowa fell ill after eating a large french fry one hot and humid afternoon.

“I was just hungry,” comments Jeremiah. “Now I can’t go out with my friends to play.”

The strain is transmitted through potatoes and potato products, including french fries, potato pancakes, and knishes.

CDC experts have traced the source of the potato flu to a small pig/chicken/potato farm in the Andes.

“Apparently the confluence of swine and avian flu somehow managed to cause a mutation that crossed the kingdom boundary and lodged itself in the potatoes at this farm,” Arlene Benefence of the CDC was quoted as saying early Wednesday morning as she sipped her morning coffee. “We’re not quite sure how this happened, but you can be certain we are doing our utmost to contain this threat.”

United States President Barack Obama had no comment.

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19.1M 27:54

… please stay tuned, we have some behind-the-scenes processing going on. We will return you to your regularly unscheduled blogging as soon as we can.

Wherein I discuss an epiphany, a conversation, a dream…

And to Rich: I apologize for acting out the other night. I was experiencing a great deal of irritation and had not even attempted to process it before responding to you.

And regarding self-excoriation: I’m not trying to beat myself up for the past–I cannot change it; I simply want to recognize what this habit is costing me, especially in what’s been going on recently.

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17.9M 26:04

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15.8M 23:07

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6.0M 8:46

YouTube – Don’t Stop Me Now.

I’m on such a Queen kick tonight!

YouTube – Queen we are the champions.

We are the champions…

YouTube – Queen-We Will Rock You.

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