Lisa's Florida Factoid:
Chickee: Seminole word for house, traditionally an open-air cypress log frame with a raised wooden platform and a palmetto thatch roof.
They basically look like this:
A little south of me, there are Seminole neighborhoods where just about every backyard has one. I'm told people even sleep in them in nice weather.
OK, well, imagine the above example blown up about, oh, 20 or 30 times, and you have the chickee someone in a very posh neighborhood near me put up in their backyard. Supposedly, my town has all kinds of homeowner codes designed to keep all the neighborhoods beautiful and dignified. Ha ha ha ha ha! This puppy has to break every code known to man, and it's just blatantly, ostentatiously, hugely in your face! It's so tall its highest peak pokes above the trees, and square footage-wise, it actually rivals the real house on the property, and let me point out that this is a neighborhood of mansions and big rambling homes. In my backyard, this thing would make my house look like a Fisher Price toy.
And you want to talk fitted out for parties? This place has seen some hard partying, or the bar, kegs and electrical equipment on the ground level are a figment of my imagination. Yes, electrical equipment, as in sound systems and no doubt refrigeration for the beer. As to what's hidden beneath the thatch on the upper level - I guess the sky's the limit because this thing is practically scraping the clouds.
So why do I mention it? Am I gearing up to call my image-conscious city and complain? Going to pass around a petition to have it leveled? Hell no! I love the thing. Lately, whenever I need a good chuckle 'cause the holiday rush and deadline angst are starting to get to me, I'll take a couple of turns out of my way just to drive past it. And it works every time -- my harried mood melts away and I remember that life is just an act in the theater of the absurd. Would I have this monstrosity in my backyard? No way! But to the people who own this thing, I just want to say THANK YOU for giving me one more reason to laugh at the world!
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I remember building a model chickee in elementary school when studying seminoles!
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