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A little cheese with that Whine?




I found a great site that I started to frequent before I moved here to Florida and have been reading ever sense. It gives the "real deal" report on all things good AND bad concerning the area of Florida you happen to live in, as told by regular Joe Schmoe who happens to live here and either knows first hand about whatever topic you can think to ask, has had a relative or friend go through it, or it is just common knowledge as a lot of things are for the natives of any particular city/town/county.

And so the term "swiss cheese" started leaking into my brain via this website.

Seems I live on the ground floor of swiss cheese central.

Here in Florida, at least in my corner of Florida you are known more by the county that you live in rather then the city or town - unless you live in Tampa or St Pete, in that case the city usurps the county and you are known for your city of residence. Here in the Tampa area there are about 400 counties that are associated with living in the "Tampa Area" the counties around here are roughly the size of a football field so naturally there are going to be lots of them. Back in Yuma, it takes about 1.5 hours in either direction to reach the boundies of Yuma County, and in the whole of Arizona there are like 15 counties...So I am not sure how to react to the idea that a county should just contain one or two neighbourhoods then you move on to the next silly name...Manatee county, Citrus County (der, right?) Hernando County, and then there is my county - Pasco County, AKA: Swiss Cheese County...but from all that I have been reading on the area, Pasco and the county immediately to our north ( about 4 blocks up the street actually) Hernando County, share that swiss cheese name equally.

Swiss cheese does not refer to the edible product of that name, though it is very good and I like mine in a roast beef sandwich from Subway, no, swish cheese in this case refers to the land beneath my feet.

Definition: SINKHOLE: [singk-hohl] –noun
1. a hole formed in soluble rock by the action of water, serving to conduct surface water to an underground passage.

Here in Florida the underground aquifers are numerous and they must be fed, in order to do that, at random times of the day or night, week, month or year, for no rhyme or reason, the ground will start to depress and then collapse, the resulting crater is then a water access for whatever aquifer lay beneath it. Aquifers don't seem to care if there is a house sitting on top of it, if it wants water by god, water it will get.

I found a map of recorded sinkholes in the counties mentioned above and by all rights the area I live in as well as miles up the coast and a bit south should have been swallowed up by the gulf long ago.

There are insurance companies that will not even insure houses here in my area...not because of hurricanes, but because of the sinkhole situation. If one happens to open under your house well the resulting damage is extensive and expensive.

Mike and I are now rethinking our need to purchase a house here and this is one of the reasons. So if your house is not taken out by flood, high winds or hurricane then better watch out, cuz a sinkhole could be in your future. Gotta love Florida
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