The Shocking Goodbye to Life in Florida

My old neighborhood back in Florida

Remember the blogs about my bizarre neighbors? Well, those stories were nothing compared to the grand finale send off that my neighborhood gave me just four days before I moved away.

Have you ever seen those people on TV being interviewed by the news media after a crime happened next door to them? They say, “This is such a nice, quiet neighborhood. Nothing like that ever happens here.”

That was me!

Well, not exactly, but almost. When the media came to our door, we refused to go on camera. They were pushy too, but we remained steadfast.

Okay, I’ll let you in on the finale of my 27 years in Florida. On a Thursday evening, we kept hearing a helicopter flying low overhead. When it wouldn’t cease, we looked out our front window. Flashing lights were flickering down at the corner of our street.

Neighbors sprinkled out of their homes fluttering toward the commotion like moths to a flame. My husband, Gary, and I jumped into the flow. I got halfway there and jumped out again, but Gary kept going. From the position where I stopped, I could see yellow crime tape surrounding two houses on the cross street to mine. One ambulance and several police cars with their flashing lights blocked off the road. A low helicopter buzzed overhead.

What if some armed people were running around our neighborhood? I thought about going home to make sure our gun was handy, and then remembered, we’d packed it for the move! I wanted to call out for Gary to come back and hide inside, but he was too far ahead. Thankfully, he didn’t stay there long, and he told me which specific house the police were focusing on.

It seems that a hoarder, a lunatic and a ghost are trivial compared to what we learned happened in that house a few doors down.

Some time ago, probably more than a year, I met the young man who lived there. At least I thought he lived there at the time, now that’s questionable. He was twenty-four years old and lived with his girlfriend. I say “was,” because he was murdered … butchered from what I understand.

I can’t get over that something of this nature happened so close to my home.

A few days later when we left for our long awaited move, they still hadn’t caught the murderers. Yes, there was more than one. Apparently, that young man who spoke respectfully to me about our dogs one day, was into some shady dealings. That’s all I’ll say about that.

See if you can find the clues in the photo to the shady dealings (click to make larger).

There you have it … the grand finale to my life in Florida.

Have you ever wondered if you’d be the one on the news talking about your nice quiet neighborhood? Have you ever been shocked by learning about something that went on behind close doors? Have you ever felt like the safety of your home has been threatened?