Susan Bruce [11/14/2003]

By Susan Bruce

Travel and vacation are two of my favorite words. I decided to take a week off this year, after a three-year vacation lapse. Europeans are much smarter than we are they take up to a month off in many countries, knowing the need to relax, recharge the batteries and spend time with family and friends. That time of renewal is so important. I didnt read a single newspaper or watch the news. I was out of state and my news questions (did the school bond pass?) werent going to be answered in Florida. Two years after Sept. 11, 2001, airports have resumed normal functioning. There were no armed guards around. The only difference between before and after is the screening process and it was all done very politely and professionally. In fact, what impressed me the most about all of my trips through airports (a total of four) was the civility shown not only by the staff, but by all of my fellow travelers as well. This was a real treat. Florida is a funny place. Plenty of pavement, concrete and construction. Id be lost driving there everything looks the same like an endless strip mall. There are places you can go to witness the natural beauty of the state, but you may have to make an effort to find them. I was staying in a nice little residential neighborhood, which originally was full of small ranch-style houses. These properties are being bought up by wealthy folk who tear down the houses and build a McMansion that dwarfs the tiny lot. The disparity between the haves and the have nots is huge. The highways are packed with SUVs. Its impossible to imagine anyone doing some four wheeling in a Mercedes SUV so I fail to grasp the need for such a vehicle in Florida. Just another way to suck up gas and support our buddies in Saudi Arabia, I guess. The beaches are nice and clean. This time of year they arent too overpopulated, either. A lot of German tourists seemed to be in the area. Every day, I watched a trio of German women go through their day at the beach. Two of them brought two bathing suits every day, one for swimming and one for sunning. One woman would change right on the sand, covering her chest with a towel, as she changed bikini tops and covering her lap with a towel as she changed the bottoms. The other, more robust woman, wore a one piece that she changed in the dunes. This was a strange kind of performance art we witnessed all day long. We could only speculate as to the reasons for it and my guess is that it is some sort of hygiene related thing. A group of older men were there every day. All had hearing aids save for one, who spend the day bellowing at the others. He sounded like a Texan so sitting near him was like spending the day with Foghorn Leghorn in zinc oxide. The great thing about the beaches in Florida is they arent a beauty contest. All shapes and sizes in all manner of swimsuits are represented and no one thinks too much about it. Of course we were all easily pegged as new arrivals our skin so pale as to be nearly translucent. At the end of the week, my skin is slightly colored and freckled. Thats about as good as it gets for me. I require sunscreen with hightest SPF, otherwise I burn. I can burn on a five minute walk at high noon in New Hampshire. In Florida I have to be careful to slather it on. Its been surprising to learn that laying around on the beach is actually enjoyable the total opposite of my fast-paced life at home. On the way back, the flight from OHare to Portland was not even half full. A few of us sprawled over the unoccupied rear seats, with our necks at uncomfortable angles and watched a lunar eclipse from 20,000 feet. Amazing. Its good to be home, to be rested, and ready to wade back into the fray. Correct me if Im wrong, but hasnt the fine line between sanity and madness gotten finer? George Price Susan Bruce is a writer who lives in Jackson. She can be reached at madameovary@msn.com