Returning to Reality

There is something to be said for taking a vacation.

I've just returned from 2.5 weeks in Miami Beach. For someone who lives up in snow country, that is a BIG change. For one thing, people do not stay home at night. We were gone almost every night doing something - whether it was just walking down Lincoln Road and people watching or walking along the boardwalk or skating. We were always doing something. I can see how being in a warm climate makes for more exercise. At home during the winter, it is so easy to veg out on the couch and watch movies and stay warm. When warmth is not a problem, it is easy to up and out practically every evening. I can see how I would watch a LOT less TV because there are so many more choices there about how to spend time.

In fact, I was totally blown away by the fact that people do not stay home even on Christmas Day or evening there. I suspect that the high numbers of Jewish folks probably contribute to the fact tat Lincoln Road was packed on Christmas night! But even so, there were tons of people out and about that night. Where I grew up and the experiences I have had around Christmas, people stay home that day. It's almost a "sin" to even THINK of being out that day.

The point I am making is that if a person doesn't travel, it is easy to assume that everyone does it the way you do it, which, of course, is a mistake. No one does it exactly like I do it or anyone else does it except maybe family members. And that's where my cruiosity lies most of the time. I do things one way; someone else does them another way. It is the observation that I love - noting how everyone has a different way of doing things. When I can get out of myself and just observe and ask questions about why people do what they do, then life is fun. That's really the fun of life for me. Seeing how everyone is different.

Watched "Man on Fire" this week. Talk about brutal. I had no idea that this kind of thing went on or that people would do these things to each other. Sometimes I wonder if there is any hope at all for the human race. I suppose if I take the idea of people do things different ways to the extreme, I wouldn't be so appauled by what I saw. It was just his way of handling the situation. On the other hand, what is it in our world that creates people who will steal children for randsom and others who will cut off fingers to get them back? I don't know if I have EVER been in that kind of situation so I don't know how I would behanve but I doubt very seriously that I could cut off someone's fingers for information. I just don't think I could do it no matter what the circumstances.

I've decided that writing again on the blog is going to be my daily routine. Let's see what happens.