I began defending Hudson even before I discovered the joys of the Hudson Inn and the recently burned-down Sam's Restaurant, because of some friends of mine. The Hudson family, descendants of Isaac and Amanda Hudson, whose home is one of the oldest in Pasco County, still lives in these parts. Wyman Hudson, who was then my florist, introduced me to the rich history of that pioneer family whose forbearers settled there in the late 1870s. Since Hudson is one of the county's first settlements, it means it was here long before there were zoning codes and planning regulations. And so, like some other areas, it is possible to see mobile homes, large brick houses and a chicken farm within short distances of one another.
Some people find that quaint, some find it bothersome.
It does seem like the renaissance, if you want to call it that, of such establishments in northwest Pasco sprang from nowhere, but it actually did come from somewhere. It came from capitalism. Interestingly, however, it was always full of customers, most of them men, spending lots of dollars. Same thing goes for strip bars, full body rub and scrub parlors, massage parlors, and places where you can rent and buy dirty movies. They flourish because somebody, I know, none of you of course, but probably your slightly strange neighbor who wears too many gold neck chains, keeps spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on their product.