Madison Messiah

Revisited

A number of things came to light during my short jaunt to Orlando: a greater degree of common understanding and a movement back towards a greater degree of patience. Sitting in the hot tub at night talking with Jason, a dude from Jacksonville who brought supplies and the motto, “don’t worry about it, we’re on vacation”, Angie a 43 year-old visiting with her daughter and niece before she returned to NJ for a serious surgery, a couple of Pennsylvania boys who had been hitting the gin a bit too hard resulting in John Smith singing “Just Around the Riverbend” from Pocahatas, and Jason a man meeting his 8 year-old daughter for the first time, trying to fulfill his responsibilities as a father and partner and wanting to start it in the "happiest place on Earth"; I realized that although Orlando isn’t my Dream, it’s a dream to many and there is something admirable in that.

There is something admirable in the family who may never have been outside the state saving up money to come to Orlando to see the exotic palm trees and eat Greek food. It’s someone’s dream to visit the place where their kids will have the time of their lives and speak of nothing other than meeting Mickey Mouse for the next 3 weeks. There is something of value in Florida. It’s a place “just around the river bend”, where people can come to forget about their problems for a while. Something that is not all that uncommon from many a international experience: positioning of yourself in unfamiliar surroundings tends to make you contemplate things other than expected in your place of origin. I sometimes forget that the things common to me are not common to all in this country.

posted by Burbs @ 11:31 PM