A few years ago in a small Florida town, a wild turkey became an unexpected local celebrity. This bold bird, nicknamed "Gobbles," had a peculiar habit of hanging out at the local gas station. Gobbles would strut around the parking lot, puffing up his feathers and chasing unsuspecting customers trying to pump gas.

One memorable Thanksgiving week, Gobbles outdid himself. A man in a shiny new convertible pulled into the gas station, music blaring, windows down. Gobbles decided this car was an enemy turkey and launched a full-scale attack. He hopped onto the hood, fluffed up his feathers, and started pecking at his own reflection in the windshield.

The man panicked, jumped out of the car, and tried to shoo Gobbles away with a pool noodle he found near the air pump. Gobbles was undeterred. Instead, he jumped into the convertible’s back seat as if claiming it for himself.

The gas station attendants eventually lured Gobbles away with some snacks and a trail of crackers. But not before the whole spectacle was caught on video by several customers. The footage went viral, and Gobbles became the unofficial mascot of the gas station, with locals bringing him treats and jokingly calling him “Florida’s Fiercest Turkey.”

To this day, the gas station has a little sign that says, “Watch out for Gobbles,” and a framed photo of him in the store.

(OCALA, FL.) Nov. 23, 2024 – Ocala Fire Rescue responded to a transportation vehicle fire near Mile Marker 349 on Interstate 75 Southbound around 4:42 a.m. Units dispatched included Engine 6, Rescue 6, Battalion Chief 11, and a Safety Officer. Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters found a 53-foot refrigerated semi-trailer ablaze, with flames originating from the rear wheels and ventilating through the cargo trailer. The trailer was carrying a load of potatoes, and quick action was taken to shut down the refrigerator to prevent further complications. Engine 6 used approximately 1,500 gallons of water to successfully extinguish the fire and cool down the affected wheel and trailer areas. Fortunately, the driver of the vehicle was not injured in the incident. The fire is believed to have originated in the wheel area due to a tire failure, which led to the subsequent tire and trailer fire. In addition to Ocala Fire Rescue, Marion County Fire Rescue's Engine 11 and the Florida Highway Patrol also responded.

 

A couple years back in Sarasota, a woman named Lisa came home to find her pool already occupied—not by her family or friends, but by an 8-foot-long alligator lounging on her pool float. It looked like a scene straight out of a cartoon: the gator was chilling in the middle of the pool, floating serenely on a bright pink inflatable lounger, as if it had rented the place for a vacation.

Lisa, understandably, freaked out and called animal control. While waiting, she took a video (because this is Florida, and we need the proof!). The gator didn’t seem to care about her yelling or the commotion—it just continued to bask in the sun like a true Florida retiree.

When animal control arrived, it took some wrangling to get the gator out of the pool, but the real kicker? The gator took the float with it, popping it in the process. Lisa said later, “I guess it just wanted to relax like the rest of us!” The video, of course, went viral, and people now jokingly call it "The Florida Pool Guest."

Classic Florida—where even the wildlife knows how to have a good time!

In the 1980s, the small town of Sopchoppy, Florida, decided to host its very first Worm Gruntin’ Festival. If you’ve never heard of worm grunting, it’s an old-timey technique where you rub a piece of metal against a wooden stake in the ground to make vibrations that trick earthworms into thinking there’s a predator. The worms pop out of the soil, and you can scoop them up for fishing bait.

Well, during the festival, they held a worm-grunting competition to see who could coax the most worms out of the ground. A local man named Bubba entered, claiming he was the best in the business. But then, out of nowhere, a team of city kids in sneakers—led by a precocious 12-year-old girl—signed up, saying they had read about worm grunting in a science book.

The girl brought along a violin bow, insisting she could "play the ground" like a fiddle. Everyone laughed until she started stroking the bow against a metal rod she stuck in the ground. Lo and behold, the worms came wriggling out faster than anyone had ever seen! Bubba’s face turned as red as the worms, and by the end of the contest, the city kids had crushed the locals, leaving everyone speechless.

That little girl’s method became legendary in Sopchoppy, and they still talk about "the kid with the fiddle" at the festival today. A true underdog story, Florida-style!

Back in the mid-2000s, a woman in Clearwater decided to teach her boyfriend a lesson after he kept leaving his truck unlocked. She thought it’d be funny to "steal" it as a prank and hide it around the corner. But Florida being Florida, a guy riding his bicycle happened to see the unlocked truck with the keys inside, thought he’d teach the owner a lesson, and decided to steal it for real.

The woman, now realizing the truck was actually gone, called the police to report it stolen—while leaving out the part about her prank. Meanwhile, the guy who stole the truck realized he wasn’t great at driving stick, stalled out, and abandoned it… in front of a donut shop. Of course, an officer enjoying his break spotted it, called it in, and the whole thing unraveled.

The boyfriend thought the whole ordeal was hilarious. The woman? Not so much when she had to explain it to the cops. The guy on the bike? He was arrested, but apparently, he said, "This is why I don’t prank people!" when they cuffed him. Total Florida chaos.

In 2019, a woman in Lecanto, Florida, was arrested after she attempted to construct a bomb using items she found on the shelves at Walmart. Yes, you read that right—she walked into a Walmart, gathered ingredients from various aisles, and began putting together a device in the middle of the store. Security footage showed her walking through the aisles, picking up items she believed were bomb ingredients, and assembling them on the spot.

Walmart employees and other customers, alarmed by her strange behavior, called the police. When officers arrived, they managed to disarm the “device,” which thankfully wasn’t even close to functioning. It turned out her “recipe” was more fiction than fact, but her enthusiasm for a DIY project certainly stood out.

Though it wasn’t clear why she’d chosen Walmart as her “lab,” the story quickly spread as a bizarre example of Florida Woman’s creative approach to a (completely misguided) project. In the end, she faced charges for attempting to make a destructive device and earned a unique place in Florida’s unusual history.

https://24petconnect.com/MarionCountyAdopt/Details/MRON/A327215

In 2017, as Hurricane Irma barreled toward Florida, people across the state were busy preparing for the storm—except for one particularly bold Florida Man. When he heard about the impending hurricane, he decided the storm had met its match. This brave, albeit misguided, soul went viral after he posted a video of himself standing outside, shirtless, waving an American flag, and screaming at the sky as he attempted to "fight" the hurricane.

In the video, you can see him daring the hurricane to come closer, swinging his fists at the sky as rain pelts down around him. The video instantly became a sensation, with people across social media applauding him for his "patriotic stand" against nature.

Later on, police reported several similar incidents of people attempting to go outside during the hurricane or even "fight" the winds as if they were taming some wild beast. While authorities had to issue a reminder to stay indoors, the video became a legendary symbol of the Florida spirit—equal parts defiance and questionable judgment.

The storm eventually passed, but this man’s hurricane “battle” lives on in Florida folklore, a reminder that while Floridians may respect hurricanes, they’re definitely not afraid to throw a few punches at Mother Nature.

In 2020, a man in Port St. Lucie was pulled over by police after his car was seen swerving erratically across the road. When officers approached the vehicle, they found a sight that’s rare even in Florida: the man was sitting in the passenger seat while his dog, a large pit bull, was in the driver’s seat. The man informed the officers that he was “teaching his dog to drive.”

The officers, understandably baffled, questioned him further, and he stuck to his story, insisting that he had simply wanted his dog to learn how to drive. The man admitted he had been guiding the dog by steering from the passenger seat (though, as you can imagine, his “guidance” left a lot to be desired).

While the dog seemed perfectly calm and unaware of the fuss, the man didn’t fare as well—he was arrested for DUI and reckless driving. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident, including the pup, who was eventually taken into safe custody by animal control.

The story made headlines nationwide, and people were quick to joke about the man’s “unique” dog training methods. It’s one of those classic “only in Florida” moments that perfectly captures the creativity (and sometimes absurdity) of Florida Man’s antics. The tale remains a testament to the unpredictable lengths some Floridians will go to in the name of a good laugh…or a bizarre excuse!

Join the World Equestrian Center at the Second Annual Ocala Holiday Craft Show, an incredible three-day event, featuring over 375 talented artisans and crafters! This year, due to the overwhelming popularity of the first show,  an exclusive "private shopping experience" on Friday morning has been added for those who prefer a more intimate setting. General Admission is $8, with the special advance preview on Friday being $20. We hope to see you for this whimsical event!

 

Back in 2011, Florida faced an invasion—no, not by alligators, snakes, or mosquitoes (we’re used to those)—but by giant African land snails. These are no ordinary snails; they’re massive, slimy critters that can grow up to 8 inches long and are known to munch through stucco, concrete, and pretty much any plant they can slime their way onto. They’re also known carriers of a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans, adding a bit of menace to their already unsavory reputation.

When the first sightings were reported, Florida officials quickly realized they had a huge (and unusual) problem on their hands. These snails were multiplying faster than rabbits on a lettuce farm, and they were tough little creatures. Pest control teams suited up and set out to hunt the snail invaders, using everything from chemicals to salt, but the snails seemed nearly indestructible.

One story goes that a homeowner in Miami-Dade County found the snails munching on the side of her house. She tried to shoo them away, but they just kept coming, leaving a trail of slime that no amount of garden hose could wash away. Pretty soon, sightings popped up all over, with locals describing the snails as “shell-covered bulldozers.”

The snails even made it into the “weird news” sections of major news outlets, becoming Florida’s own version of a slow-moving horror movie. But for locals, it was just another Tuesday. After all, in a state where people run into alligators at the local golf course, having a few slimy giants around was hardly a reason to panic.

It took over a decade of dedicated eradication efforts, but by 2021, officials finally declared Florida free of the snail menace—only for a new batch to show up a year later! Today, the giant African land snail saga lives on as a hilarious (and slimy) reminder that Florida isn’t just home to alligators and pythons but, apparently, giant snails with a taste for plaster and adventure.

The Rock the Country 2025 lineup is here, and it's absolutely huge!!! Tickets go on sale November 15, but the presale opens at noon local time for our Rock the Country Insiders.
Great event to tailgate to with a slew of friends!

Presale tickets on sale now! www.rockthecountry.com

Get ready to snag some treasures! Ocala Roller Derby is hosting a huge Two-Day Yard Sale on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, the 23rd from 8 AM to 3 PM.
Head over, support your local roller derby team, and see what goodies you can find!
And if you’ve got your own items to clear out, donations are welcome!
Just reach out to the Ocala Roller Derby team’s Facebook to arrange a drop-off.

 

Get excited for the opening reception of Threading the Needle: National Art Quilt Exhibition!
Threading the Needle is a competitive national exhibition organized by the Webber Gallery of the College of Central Florida. Open to both 2D and 3D quilted works, the exhibition will present a fascinating examination of contemporary art quilts from artists throughout the United States. At the reception, awards will be judged and announced, as well as an artist talk presented by Bobbi Baugh– a member of the Studio Art Quilts Associates– as the juror..
Threading the Needle will be on view from November 7 - December 12, with the opening reception on November 13 from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. at the Webber Center. Light refreshments will be served, with admission free and open to the public. 

 

Key deer are an adorable, miniature subspecies of white-tailed deer found only in the Florida Keys. They’re protected, so locals and visitors alike do their best to drive carefully and avoid disturbing them. But one Key deer had a particularly strange run-in with the law that left everyone scratching their heads.

One night, Monroe County deputies pulled over a man driving through the Keys. He was erratic, swerving all over the road. As they approached his car, the deputies got the surprise of a lifetime: a Key deer was in the back seat, seemingly unharmed but understandably confused. When questioned, the man claimed he “found it” and was taking it home to “keep as a pet.” Only in Florida, right?

The deer, small enough to look a little like a dog curled up in the back seat, had indeed been “rescued” by the man, though this "rescue mission" happened to be in the middle of a busy stretch of road. In true Florida fashion, the man was promptly charged with DUI, and the deer was taken into custody as well—though it got a much more polite release back into the wild after a quick health check.

In the aftermath, locals had a field day. Jokes about the Key deer “joyriding” with its new buddy, or the man simply thinking the deer was his designated driver, became instant Keys lore. The deer got back to grazing happily in the wild, and the man learned his lesson (or maybe just took a new route home). Today, the tale of the Key deer DUI lives on as one of the many charmingly weird stories that make the Florida Keys a place like no other.

South Carolina just got their first taste of the "Florida experience!" It seems they’ve borrowed a page from our Silver Springs playbook, only this time, it's courtesy of some escape-artist rhesus monkeys from a lab. Now, down here in Ocala, we’d probably just nod and offer them a banana or tell them where the best trees are, but up there? They're in full “who let the monkeys out?!” mode.

Picture this: South Carolina officials, likely wearing gloves and looking wide-eyed, trying to track down monkeys that are probably way ahead of them. Those monkeys have already decided which state parks they're going to tour and are probably scouting local picnics as we speak. They might not know it yet, but they’re in for a wild time trying to catch up to those little macaques, who have a knack for causing just enough mischief to keep life interesting.

So, if South Carolina needs some advice on handling their unexpected monkey population, tell them to give us Floridians a call. We've got a few tricks up our sleeves—and a decent stash of bananas for negotiations. And who knows? Maybe those monkeys will find their way down here to Ocala. We know how to handle 'em!

Andrea's Funny Florida Story is dedicated to our South Carolina neighbors:

In the 1930s, a quirky boat tour operator named Colonel Tooey decided to spice up his attraction at Silver Springs, Florida. He thought tourists would love seeing live monkeys, so he introduced a group of Rhesus macaques on a small island in the Silver River, believing they’d stay put. What Colonel Tooey didn’t realize, though, was that these monkeys were excellent swimmers. The monkeys quickly made their way off the island and into the surrounding forests, establishing a population that’s still thriving today.

Fast forward to the present, and the Silver Springs monkeys have become something of a legend. They roam freely through parts of the Ocala National Forest, often popping up on hiking trails, in campsites, or even in nearby neighborhoods, surprising the locals who don’t expect to see monkeys in the Florida wilds.

For years, the monkeys have kept wildlife officials busy. In the 1980s, it was discovered that many of the monkeys carry the herpes B virus, a dangerous disease for humans. Since then, officials have tried various ways to manage the monkey population, including attempts to trap and relocate them—but the monkeys always seem to outsmart the trappers.

In one memorable incident, a tourist reported seeing a group of monkeys commandeering an unattended picnic, happily munching on sandwiches and fruit. Another time, a troop of macaques decided to “join” a family’s tubing trip down the river, hopping from tree to tree, keeping pace with the surprised paddlers.

Today, Florida’s “mystery monkeys” are one of the state’s more unusual tourist attractions. Sightings are unpredictable and always a bit of a thrill, as you’re never quite sure when a monkey might leap out of a tree or wander through a campground. And while they’re a bit of a nuisance to wildlife managers, locals have come to embrace the monkeys as just another quirky piece of Florida’s ecosystem—a reminder that here, you can expect the unexpected, even when it’s a gang of mischievous, tropical monkeys in the heart of the Sunshine State.

Imagine it’s the late 1800s along Florida’s east coast—a strip of isolated, sandy beaches and dense, tropical wilderness. There are no highways, no bustling beachfront properties, just miles of rough, empty coastline. Between Palm Beach and Miami, only a handful of scattered settlers lived in remote communities, practically unreachable. Enter the “Barefoot Mailmen,” a group of brave, unconventional postal carriers who took on the nearly 70-mile mail route through the wild, all on foot.

The mail route stretched along one of the most rugged coasts in America. Starting in Palm Beach, these men trekked barefoot along the sand to Miami, with no shade, little water, and absolutely no paved roads. They were called “barefoot” for a reason: most of the route was beach sand, and shoes only filled up with sand, slowed them down, and quickly wore out. For them, barefoot travel was the easiest option, as strange as it might seem today.

The route itself was exhausting and, at times, dangerous. The men covered about 30 miles a day, sometimes in the heat of the sun, sometimes through sudden thunderstorms, their bare feet toughened by the rough sands and shells. With no bridges or ferries, they waded through rivers and used rowboats to cross wider waterways. Hillsboro Inlet, a nearly 300-foot-wide stretch of water, required them to haul their mail and row across, often in windy and unpredictable conditions.

They carried no firearms, which sounds astonishing given the number of natural dangers they faced. Swamps along the route teemed with alligators, and rattlesnakes were a frequent sight on the trail. If an alligator approached—or, heaven forbid, attacked—their only line of defense was a sturdy pole, used primarily to push through the thick, mucky swamps. A true weapon was a luxury they couldn’t afford to lug along with all the letters and parcels weighing them down.

But the greatest danger of all may have been the water itself. In 1887, a mailman named Ed Hamilton—a veteran of the route and a well-loved figure in the community—mysteriously vanished. The story goes that Ed arrived at Hillsboro Inlet and found his rowboat missing, likely taken by a passerby or washed away by the current. Determined to stay on schedule, he took a fateful decision: he would swim across, pulling the mailbag behind him. Ed was an experienced swimmer, and he’d crossed that inlet dozens of times before.

But this time, Ed didn’t make it. He disappeared into the water, his mailbag found washed up on shore, but Ed himself was gone. People searched for him, wondering if he had drowned, been pulled under by the current, or attacked by an alligator. Some locals speculated that he might have even been a victim of foul play; Florida’s coast was notorious for smugglers, and a lone mailman could have been an easy target.

The disappearance of Ed Hamilton sent a chill through the coast. Other mailmen continued to brave the route, but Ed’s fate became a story whispered among locals, a reminder of the incredible risks these men took to keep communities connected. The “Barefoot Mailmen” carried on until 1892, when finally, a railroad connecting Miami and Palm Beach was built, making their long, perilous journey obsolete.

Today, Ed Hamilton’s legacy lives on in Florida history. His story has been immortalized in books, local lore, and even a Carl Hiaasen novel, Skinny Dip, in which the rugged spirit of the Barefoot Mailmen is fondly remembered. They were more than mailmen; they were pioneers of a wild, untamed coast—testament to the raw courage and resilience needed to survive in old Florida, where men went barefoot into the wilderness, carrying not only letters but the lifeline that bound the coast’s settlers together.

It's time for the 6th annual Cops & Cars car and truck show, benefitting the CASA Marion.
Tomorrow morning Saturday, November 9th from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Ocala Police Department Headquarters
This family-friendly event will be a fun-filled day for everyone! Bring your loved ones and enjoy an impressive display of classic and modern cars, delicious food trucks, vendors, music, and more.
This year there will be a power wheels kids car show inside OPD HQ!

 

HIT AND RUN AT BELLEVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL

Authorities are searching for a white pickup truck involved in a hit-and-run crash in Marion County that left 12-year-old Kennadie Reskoinjured. 

 

The Florida Highway Patrol says the incident happened Wednesday afternoon, November 6. The truck, towing a lawn care trailer, suddenly veered off the road and struck the girl, who was walking on the shoulder. Well within the school zone and among school buses, the speed limit was 20 miles per hour, while the truck sped to an excess of 30. The vehicle immediately fled the scene despite obviously hitting the girl, heading north on SE 36th Avenue. 

 

Kennadie was taken to a local hospital with severe rubber embedment, meaning the pattern of the tires was worn into her skin. As of this morning, she’s recovering well, but Belleview is on high alert. Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward. Drive safe, Ocala!

 

If you adopt Blueberry Muffin, please let us know what you name him!