This is a typical Florida rural retirement area. Most people move here so the husbands can fish and the wives can do their wifely things (mostly competitive cooking, cleaning, and shopping for their homes or grandchildren). They are friendly and social. Some move away after a number of years to be closer to family or to live in more senior-friendly housing. Those that remain more than a decade are often sweet old ladies. Short fluffy hairdos. Shorts and pants with elastic in the waistbands. Smelling of citrus or white flower based perfume. Owners of pampered lapdogs.
We stop and chat. The lapdogs' leashes wrap around our legs and bikes. The sweet old ladies coo. We talk about the neighborhood. They smile a lot. Their lapdogs are all very pudgy. The ladies, well, they are very sweet and social. They tend to flock together like cooing pigeons. They are hard not to like.
We never tell the ladies much about ourselves. These are the ladies that say "fudge!" when they are really, really, really upset. I'm more the f#*k type myself. The less they know me, the more they will like me! And I know I will never ride down the road with them. So I pet their lapdogs and pedal on.
