By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Blogger
It was Floridays for the state of Florida on Jan. 25, and on the corner of Walk and Don’t Walk, somewhere on U.S. 1, there was a moment for its famous troubadour.
Florida’s legislature celebrated Jimmy Buffett Day to recognize the fallen unoffical songwriter and singer of the Sunshine State.
It did this my offically passing two bills, renaming A1A the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway and commissioning a Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville speciality license plate.
“In the state of Florida, our lives are better because of Jimmy being here,” Sen. Lauren Book, (D) Senate Minority Leader, said in making the announcement.
One of Buffett’s daughters, Savannah, said, “I’m so thrilled. One of my dad and I’s favorite pastimes was just to get in the car and cruise and get lost on the scenic route and that was often A1A. He loved this state and it loved him and he raised us to love this state. It gave him so much.”
The license plates, available starting in October, cost and extra $25. The fee will go to Singing For Change Foundation, Jimmy Buffett’s charity to help communities across Florida recover from natural or manmade disasters.
“The tangible benefits of a grant from Singing For Change Foundation remained in those communities where Jimmy played. This foundation makes sure the folks who need the magic most are not forgotten,” Judith Ranger Smith, Singing for Change’s Executive Director, said.
As Buffett himself sang on the song “Floridays:”
I’m back to livin’ Floridays, blue skies and ultra violet rays
Lookin’ for better days, lookin’ for better days
Lookin’ for better days, lookin’ for Floridays