Florida in the cold

SUNbelt software has �sun� in its name and its location in Clearwater, Fla., is considered a significant recruiting tool. As probably everyone on the planet knows, Florida, the UK and most of Europe have been having what is modestly referred to as a �cold snap.� It�s different here though. This place is generally described as �semi-tropical. Here are some observations about Florida in the cold:

-- Temperatures are in the low 30s in the morning, there are still leaves on the trees and outdoors it smells like Pennsylvania in October.

-- Just because you have a heating system in your massively air-conditioned house doesn�t mean it actually does anything.

-- People who have moved here from Rochester, N.Y., believe they are being cheated.

-- The fish are cold and aren�t biting. Not that you�re going to go fishing in 30-degree weather with a 15-knot breeze anyway.

-- If it gets cold enough, cats will sleep on top of dogs.

-- If it gets cold enough, people will sleep with their dogs, some of which will have cats on top.

-- Large warm men are valued by women at night.

-- South of Clearwater, the cold temperatures mean that the non-native iguanas are falling out of the trees, sometimes on your windshield.

-- Malcode still works in the cold.

Tom Kelchner