Just the other day, I read in a history book that Florida's Polk County was created in 1861 from portions of Hillsborough and Mosquito (yes, Mosquito) Counties.

I thought it was amusing to know that Florida had a county that shared the name of an infamous bloodsucking insect. As a result, I did some web surfing and found from the University of South Florida website that Mosquito County was created in 1824. The name came from "Los Mosquitos", which the Spanish called the entire Florida coastal area. In 1845, the name was changed to Orange County. Little did those early Floridians know that, over 120 years later, another creature whom some may call a "bloodsucker" would invade Orange and Osceola Counties and change Central Florida's very landscape forever.

Being a "county clincher", I do think it would've been cool to "clinch Mosquito County" as I drive along I-4, the Beachline (formerly Bee Line) Expressway, or Florida's Turnpike. Perhaps you could've seen the following sign...

WELCOME TO MOSQUITO COUNTY. WE SUCK!!!

Better yet, we Southerners would've probably called it "Skeeter County". Anyhow, I was quite fascinated that Florida, in its early years, had a county that (seemingly) was named for a pest. Come to think of it, aren't mice also considered pests by exterminators? Okay, enough jabs at "the mouse" for tonight.

In a couple of days, Mary and I are going to visit her sister Polly in Orlando (the Skeeter seat of government) and even though I've long since "clinched" Orange County, I cannot help but think that I could've been "clinching Skeeter County".

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back again.