Florida got this one right.
It’s been overcast in Margaritaville ever since the world lost Jimmy Buffett back in September. The leader of the Parrotheads passed away at 76-years-old, and his passing was announced with a touching messages posted on the Buffett’s social media accounts:
“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st, surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
There was no doubt in the world that Jimmy Buffett loved the beach, if you couldn’t tell by his expansive catalogue of beach-and-booze-themed songs. So naturally, he spent a lot of time in the state of Florida, where the sunshine and beaches are plentiful.
Buffett owned a home in Palm Beach, Florida for a majority of his life, and frequented the Florida Keys because…why wouldn’t he? Jimmy might as well have been the mascot of the Florida Keys.
The late great singer, who made a living by singing about his tropical lifestyle (A.K.A. he lived the dream), had plenty of ties to the “Sunshine State.” A plethora of his songs were likely inspired by Florida and all the state has to offer, so the state of Florida decided to give a little of that love back.
It was announced last week that the state of Florida will now on celebrate August 30th as “Jimmy Buffet Day.” Florida will dedicate that day in August to pay tribute to the singer and all the joy he brought to so many people with his music:
“The date celebrates the life and music of Jimmy Buffett, whose free-spirited life and significant contributions to national and state culture are commended and celebrated.”
Hey Siri, remind me to book a trip to Florida on August 30th so I can celebrate “Jimmy Buffett Day.”
In my opinion, the rest of the country should hop on board and make “Jimmy Buffett Day” a national holiday. We could all celebrate by downing margaritas and leaving work at any moment by using the valid excuse (on that day only) of “it’s five o’clock somewhere.”
I’ll see if I can do anything on my end to make that happen, but for now, we can all just press play on “Floridays” by Jimmy Buffett:
