To the Editor:
I moved to Ocala over 20 years ago. It was such a quiet, quaint little hometown surrounded by a National Forest and a tourist attraction called Wild Waters that people and families traveled to visit every year.
The streets were tree-lined, and many had canopies of oaks that you could drive under. It was like being one with the universe – a tunnel created by nature and God. You could walk the streets at 11 p.m. with your children after seasonal events and feel safe. The city had a nickname that I hated: Slo-cala.
The peace of mind. The beauty. A pace in life where you could walk, not run. We are all running to raise our family. Do our jobs. Help our community be better for all. So in my downtime, slow sounds great.
There is no slow here anymore. It’s lit up like Las Vegas and county roads are now speedways. Our schools are buckling under the growth, yet no one is building those. Our children keep getting the short end of the stick. What happened? Why?
If we wanted to live in Detroit or Orlando, we would have moved there. Shame on you for destroying one last piece of heaven we had left.
Karin Ahrman
Ocala resident
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