Living in a city for eighteen years of your life, you may not realize that some of the things that seem normal to you, aren’t exactly experienced in other cities. Every city has something unique about them that only people living there understand and it’s something that makes the town special. Here is a list of 12 things you’ll understand if you grew up in Middleburg, Florida:
Being in a town where almost everyone owns a gun for recreation like hunting or fooling around with, and right next to a military training camp it’s not unusual to hear gunshots coming from the house right next to you. No, we don’t duck or run inside…. We grab ours and shoot some target practice with them. Trailing these gunshots is usually very thick-accented southern mothers and fathers telling their “youngins” to cut it out or wash off the dirt for dinner.
When anyone that doesn’t live in Middleburg asks you where you are from, you just tell them you’re from Jacksonville because no one will ever have heard of it. Also, it’s much cooler to say you’re from one of the largest cities than saying you’re from a town so small that everyone is related somehow. I guarantee that people that are actually FROM the heart of Jacksonville don’t even know Middleburg.
Almost every house is on a plot with at least 1.5 acres of land, which I guess means you can have your own animals. So, it’s not unusual at all to have a goat wander into your yard or see signs up for a missing pig. Even seeing someone ride a horse down the side of the road is a daily thing. Chickens aren’t the only farm animals crossing the road in this town.
Saying you live on a dirt road is nothing special around here, because we ALL know that the only two paved roads in Middleburg are C.R. 218 and Blanding Boulevard. Not decent dirt roads either, ones torn up by four-wheelers and dirt bikes because for some reason, everyone owns one.
We all know that the movie G.I. Jane starring Demi Moore was shot here and that Demi Moore was spotted in the local Winn Dixie and that was the city’s big break. Demi Moore, thank you for putting us on the map and letting people know we existed.
LITERALLY every gas station is referred to as a Jiffy Store because we are that old-school, and if you hear jiffy store and think of the tire place, then you are NOT from Middleburg and my point is proven.
A staple that is guaranteed to show anyone in any of the neighboring towns that you are from Middleburg is the plethora of cowboy boots and camouflage printed clothes that you own. We have farming cowboy boots, school cowboy boots and going out cowboy boots, and dressing up means changing out of your camo long-sleeve into a button up paired WITH the nicest pair of boots you own.
You must have been born and raised in Middleburg to know who I’m talking about. Joey is a local resident who walks all over town bumming a cigarette or beer off anyone that is nice enough to get it for him. When you’re coming out of the local Winn-Dixie or looking for a movie in Redbox and you here that raspy voice say “Hey ladies” you know what’s going on. In fact, he is so famous, that if you type in ‘Middleburg’ in the Facebook search bar, the phrase ‘Middleburg Joey’ is a top search.
While most places have a club, theatre or ballpark that all the kids hang out at, ours is Sonic Drive-In. This is the place all the teens with big trucks go after school or when they can’t sleep and want to chill with their friends, making it the busiest place in town. The cheap food and constant sales they have make it the hot-spot that everyone in Middleburg visits at least once a week.
Sure, in most towns people are close with their neighbors and the locals, but when I say everyone knows EVERYONE, I mean that I can name every person living on my street, three streets over and all the kids that attended my high school. No one ever leaves, so generations pile up and no one ever voluntarily moves here so diversity is unknown.
If you ever had a car problem, you either took it to Orbe’s to have it fixed or fifteen people recommended Orbe’s to you. Orbe’s is the family-run car shop that either has REALLY loyal customers or people hate them. It’s the main topic of controversy and debate in the town. Ask anyone and you’ll find very passionate arguments on both sides.
Though some may take offense to the above terms, we accept them. Our southern accents, dirt roads, farm animals and lack of big-name companies makes us seem foreign and underdeveloped to neighboring cities. However, we have immense pride and we all love each other in the small town of Middleburg, Florida.
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