New Smyrna

This is a track blog, but since we haven't officially started practicing I figure that I may as well keep you up with other things. I think its about time to tell you a little about where Im staying. New Smyrna is a small town just South of Daytona. I don't think that everyone in the town knows each other, but there are people that everyone knows. For example, my cousin Ruby, who helps to run the town hall meetings that are held once or twice a month. People from the community come and voice their opinions about the happenings in and around the city from abandoned buildings to upcoming festivals. I had a chance to sit in on one the first day I arrived; the topic was about housing and development. There were representatives from three or four different development and construction companies discussing future projects. I thought it was good to get an inside scoop about some of the town news, so I went.

The city's nickname is Florida's Secret Pearl. I think its called this because less than 10 minutes away from one side of the town there is a beautiful beach, stretching as far as you can see in either direction. With the tropical weather here on the coast of the Atlantic there are usually lots of clouds in the sky and towards the evening by the beach really makes for a alluring presence. There are only about 24,000 people who live in New Smyrna, half of which are family, lol; or so it seems. Throughout the town there are at least 8 houses that belong to family members of mine: cousins, aunts and uncles, great aunts, etc. I have always liked the thought of living near family. On one street there are 5 houses full of relatives. In another house a few blocks back resides another cousin, and there are three family houses on my Aunt Nay's street, including the house (still standing and in good condition) that my great great grandfather built from the ground up with his brother. It's great to actually gather around with everyone, eat, talk, and reminisce. I personally like hearing about all of the past stories and history lessons. Sometimes it feels like the young people today do not know enough about history, their ancestors, or even their more immediate family so I try to make it my duty to find out about ours.

My great great grandfather was said to have moved around here for work. The railroad was beginning to take over the country or at least the eastern coast in the mid 1800s, and so he worked developing it in this area. He loved to build and farm; it almost sounded like he had a whole plot filled with chickens, pigs, fresh fruit, and flowers. My Aunt Jackie said that he planted almost every kind of fruit you could think of, from tangerines and sugarcane to watermellon and grapes. All the kids would play outside and help pick the ripe fruit and they didn't even have to go inside to eat. If you think your three kids are a lot to handle, all in all there were about 16 kids I believe. There was a large orange tree directly outside the front house and you could pick one from right on the front portch. I sure wish they had all of those fruit trees now, I would be loving it (p.s. fruit is one of my favorite things to eat...all kinds).

My oldest relative here in New Smyrna is my Aunt Nayomi, who I have briefly talked about in a prior blog. She will be 85 years old on Sunday, and that is a great thing. "We have to take care of our elderly," my cousin Rie said to me one day while attending to Aunt Nay. I couldn't agree more because they posess immeasurable history and knowledge within and its great when that information is shared with others and passed down through the generations.

Headed back to Rie's house to get changed then head down to the beach for a quick workout...abs and a run. If you see me don't be afraid to say hey :)