BY BECKY ADESSO

I have been in or near DeLand since 1993, and I have seen a lot of changes. It was such a sleepy little town back in the 1990s.

We used to joke that at least DeLand was a grid, whereas Deltona was a big loop so that all the retirees couldn’t get lost, because they would always circle back to home eventually. I was young(ish) and craved the excitement of Orlando over the sleepiness of Volusia, but it was home.

I’ve loved watching DeLand come into its own, like a shy little poet who finally found her voice. The cafes, the ice cream shops, boutiques and art are everywhere! I discover some new little artsy piece nearly every time I come Downtown. They are like Easter eggs just waiting to be discovered.

I love that the store owners know each other and know us. We wave to each other as we pass by on our way to coffee, lunch, dinner, ice cream or shopping. We know each other’s children by name and love to remark on how they’ve grown or “Say hi to your mom for me!”

DeLand has really blossomed. Inevitably, there have been growing pains; pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable, disagreements about our future, and some blemishes (the teen years are never pretty). DeLand is still growing and, for the most part, doing a damn fine job of it. She has found her path and is coming into her own.

The leaders of our sweet little town have done a good job over the past few decades of loosening the apron strings and allowing DeLand to become her own entity with her own personality. She is very different from her sibling towns Deltona, DeBary, Orange City and DeLeon Springs. She is the artsy, free-spirited daughter of Volusia County.

Sometimes, however, it seems our sweet DeLand’s Guardians of the Good Ol’ Days try to push back and force DeLand to “blend in,” to “be more like we remember back in our day!”

I guess some parents have a hard time understanding that change is inevitable and that all things grow, change and become their own individual selves.

DeLand is art. Art is DeLand. Whether it’s music, theater, sculptures, murals, painted rocks, culinary art, artsy cocktails, indie markets, or body art, DeLand is art.

To keep on the books an antiquated and absurd ordinance preventing Downtown DeLand from including every form of art is just pure spitefulness from the powers-that-be who don’t like that their dear sweet little DeLand is no longer the quiet and subdued DeLand of their youth.

These same Guardians of the Good Ol’ Days are perfectly OK with having vape shops with ugly neon signs and public cannabis-consumption dispensaries on “America’s Mainstreet.”

These eyesores are accepted with open arms, but an artsy little tattoo boutique is considered taboo? I call BS.

Some of the Guardians of Old DeLand need to consider retiring. Maybe they should go enjoy rocking on their porches, polishing their rifles and telling stories of the good ol’ days when women stayed home, men never cried, and only gang members got tattoos.

DeLand isn’t your vassal anymore.

— Adesso lives in DeLand.