Bunions

Lots of people say they inherited their talents or have received a genetic gift from family. President John Quincy Adams no doubt received his intellect from his dad, President John Adams. Also, bad teeth! My wife’s nephew, (another Q) Quinten Millora Brown is a 6”10 basketball player who recently graduated from Vanderbilt – he got his height from his folks who are 6″6 and 6″2.

Speaking of feet, I’m hoping I wasn’t bequeathed with bad feet? See, nobody on my side of the family has the attractive and distinguished cleft chin or adorable dimples. Unfortunately, what we do have are bunions also known as hallux valgus, which sounds like the revolting distend that it is. My Grandma Harriet used to take off her shoes and show me these protruding hideous bony bumps with the big toe angling toward the other. Yuck. My dad over the past few years got the unwanted gift and had to have surgery to remove them. The bunion removal is not such an easy surgery, and the recovery takes a long time. The only time I wanted to hear about Podiatrists was Norm McDonald’s famous “A moth walks into a Podiatrists office” joke, but my dad interviewed several of them along with multiple orthopedic surgeons. And thankfully due to such an extensive array of prodigious doctors – success! We are blessed with great doctors today. When we moved down here in 2000, the medical care was much more limited, not only for bunions but for just about everything.

Which brings me to 6 reasons to live in South Florida other than the weather, beaches, and fun in the sun activities.

1. Medical

It used to be the personal injury attorneys who dominated the billboards on I-95. “I got me my $790,000” or that lawyer with teeth whiter than the albino alligator at the Palm Beach Zoo, used to dominate the big posters in the skies. But now the hospital wars rule the blue landscape. Jupiter Medical versus St. Mary’s versus USF. All the hospitals have upgraded equipment, have added wings, and have recruited the best doctors to come here.

2. Restaurants

When we first moved to Jupiter, Mondos was on the must try restaurant list. The only Italian was Nicks Tomato Pie. Chinese was ethnic food. We used to travel to West Palm Beach to find a Mexican joint (or go to Delray Beach for something different). Since then an explosion of variety and a multitude of Michelin star restaurants fill your culinary delights (including Coolinary Café which is now in the Michelin Guide). Our comprehensive restaurant guide details all the restaurants in South Palm Beach County, North Palm Beach County, and the Treasure Coast. It sorts by category along with website links and phone numbers. Check it out.

3. Airports

We flew from Miami to Lisbon recently. There are direct flights to LAX from West Palm Beach. We are lucky to have 3 major airports close by.

4. Shopping

Publix and Piggly Wiggly were about it when we moved here. Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Doris, Sprouts, Trader Joes, Josephs, and Carmines are just some of the options on the gourmet side. Great shopping was always here from Worth Avenue to the Boca and Palm Beach Gardens Mall so not much has changed in that respect.

5. Culture

The Kravis Center opened in 2000. The Broward Center unlocked its doors just 9 years before. Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton in 2002. Maltz Theatre in 2004. Frost Science Museum in 2017. The Cox Center Aquarium in West Palm Beach is going through a 122 million dollar renovation that will expand its tanks from 10,000 gallons to 130,000 gallons.

6. Schools

There is an amazing choice of schools in South Florida, from private to public. This was a piece I wrote a few years detailing many of the options that our own kids had growing up here. The choice programs let students in middle school start to specialize in everything from culinary to medical. And who knows, maybe one of them will become a great podiatrist or specialist surgeon of the feet and take care of my bunions when the day comes.