Florida | Post Halcyon

It was the stretched blue silk of the sky in flight, that band of white gossamer in between. It was the way that she carried herself with her marked hands and carefully coiffed hair. My impressions of Florida and her inhabitants are warm. Carefully manicured, what is natural appears unnaturally benign, gentle, easy to digest.

There is a uniformity.

She likes what she likes. Look carefully enough and you’ll notice the eccentricities.. Her idea of what people want and her efforts to provide. The expanse of sand, the friendly waters. The frolicking dolphins come to give their evening show to the oohs and aahs of aging sun worshippers. The islands separated by blue green jade inset with glittering speed boats and connected by monolithic arches of steel and concrete. Palms in the wind. Absurd little vehicles otherwise known as golf carts. Cardboard store fronts, chlorine pools, clay courts and SUVs. The elderly have come to be happy, the rich have their holiday homes behind towering hedges and faux roman columns.

The youth… well, the youth eat ice cream and look to each other for solace.