Give my regards to Broadway!

"It's Monday, school is out and I am home sick for New York. Yes, I know I wasn't raised there but it's something about the rumbling of the subway train under my feet, the cold artic breezes and the smell of pizza mixed with a hint of Chinese food that has me longing. I've always wished I was from somewhere else. Telling people you are from Orlando only sends them to question if I know Mickey Mouse and why would I leave the sunshine for snow. My only reply is, there's more to Orlando than Mickey(while trying to believe that hype) and I hate heat. Who wouldn't want to live in a place where there is always something to do other than go to the movies, the mall and the latest tourist attraction? Give me streets blocked with yellow cabs, musicians on streetcorners and protests in the middle of Times Square any day!."

so i get home from the worst plane rides ever. the first flight was from new york to washington and i was stuck in the middle of one man who complained that he had to move to let me in and a woman that sat as if she was riding first class. the second flight i thought would be better because i had a window seat. boy was i wrong. we were informed that the flight was full. okay, i had no problem with that for i had the WINDOW SEAT. my outside partner seemed cool. but when the middle seat holder arrived i found myself hoping that the oxygen mask would drop down from the ceiling as she plopped down next to me. she reeked of cigarette smoke. it was as if she had just climbed out of a box of kools. i looked to the window and wanted to curse it out. i wanted to say, HOW DARE YOU BE A WINDOW AND CANT BE OPEN! but i couldnt. and i didnt. so i just laid my head down and got uncomfortable.

it didnt occur to me that we were home until we arrived to my sister/s house to pick up my car. it was the images of palm trees that brought my reality to a screeching halt. my head is still hurting from that wall of truth. all is not lost, i still love orlando. i cant see myself living anywhere else. my bed helped me to realize that truth. the springs poking through my mattress into my back and the sun opening his trench coat to flash me to wake me with the morning was a good thing. i am thankful for these moments where i can say i have a home to go to and nothing to complain about. i missed my children at school. i missed my co-workers. i missed my friends. i missed my mama (even when she gets on my nerves thousands of miles away). i missed my life. so it is here that i hang up my scarf, hat and the mask of pretending to be a real new yorker and put on my sandals, hawaiian shorts and eat a vegan hot dog.