One year ago today: May 25, 2014, 3D printers in action.
Five years ago today: May 25, 2010, on erasing CDs.
Six years ago today: May 25, 2009, apply for a job.
MORNING
Up and at ‘em. By daybreak, we were westbound to Wildwood. Now that I know the lay of the land, we can branch out with me as the navigator. Thirty miles west is the little town of Eustis. I hate that word, Eustis. Useless Eustis, ha. It skirts a lake and as we got closer to Wildwood, JZ began to recognize certain landmarks. But, it has been too long.
Shown here is a pier near the site, as JZ slowly began to recognized various landmarks. Man, is that guy's brain wired differently than mine. The place is nowhere near Yeehaw Junction and I may have to take him there to see the difference. Wildwood is way out west in central Florida. This is a fishing pier near the location but so far, Good Counsel Camp is a figment long forgotten.
We did find Wildwood by 8:00AM, but could not find a coffee shop. Well, we did find a franchise, where we had the big $8 breakfast special and met the mayor. On the way in, we saw several properties owned by the name “Burke”, so naturally the mayor became Burke to us. He says the summer camps in the area were out across a bridge. None were Good Counsel Camp. I thought to ask around town at the hardware stores to find anyone who supplied the camps. No dice, if there was a camp or a playground called “Devil’s Canyon”, it is long buried under the golf courses and trailer parks.
Sure, we kept an eye out for real estate, which made for some interesting wastes of time. It’s the usual, the ads don’t have to tell you what kind of neighborhood the place is. Or they can’t tell you, but the code is if the ad says “suitable for rental or flip”, that means you don’t want to live there.
This trip took us out way past the Amtrak station, through Leesburg (which sprawls on forever) and the return leg along the edge of a forest preserve. I could live out here, but JZ does not understand he does not have anything like the experience living in a small town. He does not realize what a different frequency these places operate on.
NOON
"Even today, well-bought-up English girls are taught by their mothers to boil all vegetables for at least a month and a half, just in case one of the dinner guests turns up without his teeth." --Calvin Trillin.
Laugh, it took me an hour to decode this one. Trillin is one of those famous people you never hear about, a writer for the New Yorker.
Back in town by noon, the pace is hectic and I needed a siesta. Not much later, I borrowed the truck and drove ten miles around town. I found the neighborhoods nobody would say to stay away from and took the tour of the historical part of town everybody said didn’t exist. Very few properties for rent and none for sale. Dang, though, the historical district of Deland is the historical district, you might say. The area to the west of Stetson (university) is like a showpiece. Never had no houses like that where I grew up.
We also found the local playhouse theater, the Athens, but as bad luck would have it, we hit the off season. Nothing until next month but ever since my ex, I like live theater. Just to watch all the mistakes and dropped lines. And put up with how every modern stage production must include a queer, or a classical character portrayed as a queer. Or else the Millennials won't think it is meaningful enough. They are soft in the head. Here's a photo of the theater with the Toyota in front. I read the posters but nothing the exact days we were there.
Then I find out JZ is not a fan or patron of live theater. What? It's a hoot, one play in ten is worth the time and money, but the others are excellent fodder for just about any loose conversation at street level. Avoid, if you can, the plays with older actors, that is one field that experience does not compensate for talent. And the whole aura of the field is one of looser relationships, less commitment-making, and living to enjoy to the maximum. Acting is still a field for the spoiled rich, but it holds immense allure to those bound not to work for a living.
I even toured around to find a local newspaper to find the dispensers (Pennysaver) were empty. I bought the local papers and it was same as before. Every week 60-80 houses on the foreclosure lists, but no houses listed for sale. For the record, we read the “Beacon” and the “News-Journal” to find they are obvious not advertising the thousands of properties that would otherwise be on the market.
JZ finally found the local free papers, same thing. No properties except expensive townhomes and a few trailer parks that did not include the land. So we did another tour and found the other bad areas, then parked downtown on New York and went for ice cream. A cute place, with a dozen different flavors and hundreds of topping. Your for 49 cents an ounce. That was a total treat.
EVENING
I think we've done Deland. We drove the streets, we bought the Publix fried chicken, large size. That's it, all the high spots. We even looked at a piece of property, $34,000. Two bedroom, two bath, there is little chance we'll buy. We are just checking out the local market, something I always do when I travel. And this was a major trip for us. How do I know? Because whenever he's out of town, his relatives call to check if he's okay. And his phone has been ringing since this afternoon.
We visited Cliff's used books, the local landmark for me. JZ was agog, I told you this was the most organized bookstore ever seen. Now at least one person believes me. But nobody listens to the base player. Another walk through downtown, I know the place already. Most everything was quiet for the holiday. All the locals we talk to say to wait until "Stetson is in". What they mean is the university corwd and secondarily that the town fills up with single women. I can imagine, I saw the tail end of the last semester last month. And I was mighty pleased with the eye candy.
All this driving around and looking at women, it's exhausting. He got me talking about girlfriends I haven't really remembered in twenty years. Another small town, it brings back memories. Drop back in a day or two when I have time to fill in the details. This town even has greasers. Right out of 1950, with the hotrods and air-breather stacked up on the engine, like the Dukes of Hazzard. The creepy part is, I think these ones were for real.
If you are expecting a big final night in downtown Deland, sorry. JZ even didn't head out. Maybe he's beginning to notice that all the "friendly" people simply know that he is new in town. The shine is wearing off. It is also becoming evident we are far and away the city slickers in the crowd. The population is low enough that even the casual shop-owners know when a new face walks in the door. I feel like an old hand because I pretty much know where everything is now. Don't take me long.
If we do return to this town again, I insist as much as possible that it be during a college semester and not near exam time. I mean, gorgeous girls were giving us the looks and it is evident that there is a far better ratio of women to men in the area. Saturday night was like a fashion show. And although there was no country bar or music in evidence in town, I would likely have a band together in no time if I was local. But I can say that about most small towns.
ADDENDUM
A note of caution here. JZ has never lived or spent any time in a small town. He is still allured by the Disney-esque charm of the place. He does not understand the psychology that many small-town people are there because they never made it in the city. And their lives are boring beyond belief. He is unaware of how he would be watched 25 hours a day and everything he does scrutinized in unimaginably negative light.
As for the mentality of gossip, well, actually, I can forgive people for interpreting everything based on their own naive and narrow experiences. Some say I'm intolerant of fools. You see, I can't really say I don't hold them responsible for having such limited experiences in the first place. If the next guy is stupid, that is hardly my fault. There were telltale signs that Deland may be one of those localities that are great to visit.
As I've said since a teenager, I like small towns, but I don't like small town people. The picture here is a local convenience store, the objective is how the signs say, "Beer", "More Beer", and "Endless Beer". While the humor slayed JZ, I kind of hinted to him that the possibility exists that the sign may not be meant so much for wit than geared to the local temperament.
