Heck, the wife and I moved out of the Baltimore, MD area some 30 years ago, and wild horses couldn't drag us back there again. I doubt we will even ever visit that state again. And I was born and raised in Maryland myself. I can still remember sitting outside in a high chair at the picnic table as a very young kid, with my mom feeding me chunks of steamed crab meat. I can also remember my mom telling me that it was OK that I drink Pepsi with crabs, even though my dad sternly told me that I MUST drink beer when I eat them. Never did like the taste of beer, so this was an awakening for me. Parents will lie to you.
Yeah, there are some things we miss (readily available steamed blue crabs, for one), but the balance sheet is WAY heavy on the other side.
Connie and I bought our property here in north Florida with the intention of moving down when we retired and building a house on the property. So happens that a friend of mine I worked with got diagnosed with lung cancer and since we both worked the night shift at the data center, we had some long discussions many nights. He said to me, "Rich, you know, there were a lot of things I planned to do when I got older, but now I know that I will never do them." Made a BIG impression on me, let me tell you. I talked it over with my boss at the time, and he told me, "Rich, you can always come up with excuses NOT to do something, and live to regret it. You need to figure out what you really want to do, and just do it."
So Connie and I put our heads together to figure out if we could move then and there, and although it was dicey, at best, we took the plunge. And it worked out pretty well. I believe for the best, but heck, when you make a decision at a fork in the road, you really never know what might have happened had you taken the other road. But I sincerely doubt not moving would have been a better choice.
Heck, if I remember correctly, I believe that half the guns I had at the time would have become illegal to own in Maryland when they passed some goofy laws not long after we moved out of there.
Good riddance, Maryland.
