The past few winters, we have spent January and February in Miramar Beach, Florida. Miramar is adjacent to Destin, which sits halfway between Ft. Walton Beach and Panama City in the Florida panhandle. We stay in one of the thirty 2-story cottages on a culdesac located perhaps eighty yards from the beach.
The winter residents are referred to as 'snowbirds' and based on all the activities and perks offered by local organizations and businesses, we old farts are apparently a financial windfall for the area. One recent perk by many rental companies is permitting renters to bring pets. On our culdesac alone, twenty-eight of the thirty occupants have dogs. The dogs serve several purposes for old-timers. The dogs cause exercise. Consider the fact that owners walk their pets for potty purposes and then people who would never bend over to do toe-touches must bend to pick up poop or run the risk of being the 'talk' of the neighborhood. Of course, another advantage forthcoming from man's best friend is memory assistance. Most of us seniors can't remember what day it is much less every body's name, however I have been successful making dog-owner name association. 'Cotton's' parents are Mike & Barb.
There is one downfall to this 'snowbird-life.' In a brief three year time period, I notice one couple did not return from last year due to a spouse's death. Another gentleman returned for a weekend with extended family to sprinkle his wife's ashes in the gulf. And...too often I hear some NOT so good health stories via-the-grapevine. I'll just put all that in God's hands, embrace each morning and get out of bed to find joy in picking-up Poodle-Poop.
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