2006-03-23
what can be said about florida? land of breezy haired old people, big statues, great public library, amish in full skirts and bonnets bicycling to and from wherever they go. Old men who look like barnacled sea captains swimming in the pool shortly after my brother and I were cajoled into aquasizing by our slightly too nice grandmother. shuffleboard. turtles with thier backs all coated in green fuzz, big fish, tall buildings, suppers out, trying to be good, sleeping on a soft couch, listening to the croaky whirr of the coughs of the elderly. trying to explain debit vs. credit to my grandmother. looking at scrapbooks that reveal they were really mean to my mom during the divorce. reading the sad and messy missives my dad sent post-divorce. feeling strange to be spoken of as "the children" in letters when really we are four freaking awesome survivors of a strange and sad life. seeing my grandfather read The Progressive in the library, thinking my gosh, if they'd known they were going to grow old and liberal back when they supported the vietnam war. Helping them look up a book in the online catalog because they are deathly afraid of computers. it was all very amazing and green and sad and strange and they drive a red jaguar that is remarkably un-luxe. I can see them and also barely see them at all, they are so strange to me.