Once upon a time, Spanish explorers flocked to the humid, flat swampland that is our current state of Florida in search of a fabled “fountain of youth.”
Now, near five-hundred years later, this Californian explorer is heading there in a day with similar goals in mind.
Not that I’d like to rewind my life, but rather that I’m looking forward to the restorative power that the Southern state has come to represent to me. The older I get, and the longer away from the place I’ve been, the more I come to relish our time there. The weather, the pace, the family and friends, the familiarity… the religion. And, on the other side of the coin, all the “nots” that go along with it being completely separated and across the country from home. Home with all its trappings of work and responsibility and stress.
There’s something about the air down there, like breathing water, like a having a nice steam. There’s something about the people down there, sitting at Sharaun’s grandmother’s dinner table in the morning sharing coffee or catching a nap in my father-in-law’s chair. More importantly, there’s something about me down there… something that relaxes inside me, something that either turns off or turns on – I’m not sure. Whatever it is, I’ve come to almost idealize the place… and I look forward to spending time there more and more. This coming trip being no different – I’m ready to pack right now and get on a plane.
Let’s go; let’s go; let’s go.
Goodnight.
Also written on this day...
- the hug voyeur - 2007
- three days off - 2006
- paid vacation - 2005
- fake your way - 2003