I remember one year I was down in Stuart, Florida for the holidays, and my mother surprised me with a trip to Cypress Gardens via chartered bus. Cypress Gardens was another of those old time Florida tourist attractions which featured acres of beautiful gardens, water-skiing shows, a little village of shops, and even a boat ride. When you went around a bend in the river on this ride, you would see a Southern Belle, dressed in an old-fashioned white gown, holding a parasol in one hand and waving to us with the other. The park closed a number of years ago, and as I understand it, Lego Land took over the park and preserved the gardens. I have no idea what it looks like now, but I imagine it is nothing like it was the day I took the above photograph of my mother in front of the poinsettia display. After visiting down there for a week or two, my mother and I traveled back to Denver to savor the special joy of a Christmas mostly below zero with my sister Susan and brother-in -law George up in Fort Collins. And actually, as for Christmas in Florida, it is actually pretty nice. It can be a bit brisk some days, but nothing like up north, and everyone is in a great mood, especially if the weather is nice down there and extremely miserable back up north. I also enjoyed the festive Christmas television commercials down there, especially the ones from Publix, the local grocery store chain. And I dare you to click on the attached link and tell me this ad doesn't melt your heart just a bit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1foZ_szc3hI). Am I a sentimental fool or what?
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