We could use a little perspective

Recent events have me somewhat befuddled.
​
Politicians at one another’s throats? Allegations of wrongdoing? Citizens calling for the Tallahassee cavalry?

This is the stuff of a political reporter’s dream. Why, then, am I so bummed by all of it?

---

Shouldn’t I be pounding the doors of the Courthouse demanding justice? Why am I not combing through emails, text messages, smoke signals, and dirty looks to track down the truth of Betz Farm, Finegan-Wooten, and all the other nefarious actions we don’t even know about?

Two reasons, actually. One is rather practical: I don’t feel like it. The blog evolves, and what was fun two years ago no longer holds my interest as much. I’m less likely to crawl down rabbit holes. Basically, I’m just not motivated enough to spend my waking hours looking under every rock.

In my reporter days, I owned the rabbit hole. I’d grab onto something and not let go, until an editor or the publisher told me to back off.

I loved that Chronicle job. I wrote about Citrus County politics for a long time, and it was quite enjoyable. Gerry Mulligan taught me well how to cover the beat aggressively in a small, growing community.

But here’s the thing: After my stories were finished and I hit the “send” button, that was it. I’m done for the day.

My lane for 34 years was Citrus County politics. It wasn’t until I started the blog that my lane widened to include the entire community. That broadened my perspective considerably.

The other night, I attended the memorial service for Kay Torcuator, who died May 5 at the very young age of 36. Kay fought kidney disease valiantly for years, together with her mother, Anna, attached at the hip. Both were extremely helpful, encouraging, and loving to Deb.

Anna is a Chamber ambassador, so she often is one of the first Citrus Countians a newcomer meets. She and Kay warmly greeted people together. They were a dynamic mom-daughter Chamber of Commerce on their own.

I sat with Josh Wooten and our friend Becky Beattie. My blog that very morning skewered Wooten and the entire mess.

Becky knew the service would affect me in a personal way. Shortly before it started, she leaned over and whispered, “We always come together when it matters.”

And there it was, right there.

Why can’t I get riled up about the current political landscape? Because it doesn’t speak to who we are as a community. Only one part of it.

Look. Everyone involved deserves what's coming to ‘em. There’s a lot of anger and distrust out there, and people who didn’t pay much attention to county government are suddenly paying attention, and not in a flattering way.

But this can’t define us. It just can’t. And it shouldn’t.

I’ll be blunt: This idea of bringing in the governor to somehow get to the bottom of county government…it has a gotcha feel, something Library Guy would have dreamed up. 

Nope. This is our problem and we’ll fix it ourselves. The election is only a few months away. We're going to hear about this on the campaign trail. If voters are really concerned about what’s going on, it’ll show up at the ballot box.

This community is so much stronger. We’re family. We’re going to have squabbles. Some of us don’t behave well. And we occasionally point fingers everywhere but at ourselves.

Still, you know what? Next hurricane hits, everyone will drop that animosity and converge onto Crystal River, Homosassa, and Ozello in a wave far more massive than the one that sweeps ashore. That’s the power of our Citrus County community.

We always come together when it matters.

I’m sure county commissioners wish they never heard of Betz Farm. Too late for that. And the underbelly politics is now out in the open. These next few months won’t be pleasant, except for those who get their kicks from turmoil. We’re not going to hear the end of this until November, so buckle up. 

All I suggest is we keep our perspective. None of the people involved are evil. They just have inflated egos. Right now, a lot of people do. Present company included.

(And no, I’m not suddenly going soft in my grandpa years. I’m right there, just not in a disproportionate way. We’ll pick it back up again next week.)

This is the current state of Citrus County politics, but it does not reflect the overall community at all. We are not mixed up or rudderless. This place rocks. We'll be just fine.

I believe that more today than two weeks ago. And because of Citrus Countians like Anna Torcuator and her beautiful daughter Kay, I’ll believe it even more tomorrow.

It’s a three-day Memorial weekend. Please be safe and enjoy it, friends.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon.