When you fly into Orlando and your plane is coming down out of the clouds, the very first thing that you see is total greenness—and lots and lots and lots of lakes. There are lakes everywhere in Orlando, even mini-lakes right in the middle of downtown.
After arriving at the airport, the first question I asked at the information counter was, “How do you get to the Pulse nightclub?”
“You take an Uber.” Can’t do that. Gotta have an iPhone to call an Uber and all I have is a bedazzled go-phone. “Well, then you pay $60 for a cab.” Can’t do that either. “Then you’d better take the #38 bus.” Done. And it only took me two hours to travel ten miles. But it was worth it. Totally. You have to actually be there for the immensity of this tragedy to really sink in.
The police had just opened up the crime-scene street the day before and already there were hundreds of balloons and bouquets of flowers on the site. So sad. Such a waste. This horrendous crime isn’t about homosexuality. It is about hate.
Then I went off to Walt Disney World. Disney has four kingdoms in Orlando. Which one to choose? I wanna go to Small World again! I’m an idealist. That’s the kind of world that I want to live in, not the real world—where we have two forms of fascism to choose from in November, each one worse than the other. Clinton or Trump? Has America really been forced to come to this?
Anyway, I decided to go to Epcot because I’d never been there before. And it’s a good thing that I did—because otherwise I’d never have gotten a chance to meet Elsa, the Snow Queen!
But, unlike Elsa, America has now become frozen with hate. But there is hope. Elsa was able to change. Perhaps America can too. But we all have to work at it. It’s so much easier to kill than to be nice.
I’m just going to say that hate and haters have no business spewing vitriol all over the shirts, pillowcases, skinny jeans and towels of America. Haters need to take their dirty laundry someplace else.
I wish that the Pulse nightclub massacre had never happened. And that no other such useless, unproductive and scary massacre in America will ever happen again.
Jane Stillwater is a freelance writer who hates injustice and corruption in any form but especially injustice and corruption paid for by American taxpayers. She has recently published a book entitled, “Bring Your Own Flak Jacket: Helpful Tips For Touring Today’s Middle East.” According to Ms. Stillwater, “It’s a fabulous and entertaining book. I loved writing it. And I hope that you will love reading it too.” It’s available at Amazon or you can order it at any independent bookstore.
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Frozen: My trip to Orlando, Florida
Posted on July 5, 2016 by Jane Stillwater
When you fly into Orlando and your plane is coming down out of the clouds, the very first thing that you see is total greenness—and lots and lots and lots of lakes. There are lakes everywhere in Orlando, even mini-lakes right in the middle of downtown.
After arriving at the airport, the first question I asked at the information counter was, “How do you get to the Pulse nightclub?”
“You take an Uber.” Can’t do that. Gotta have an iPhone to call an Uber and all I have is a bedazzled go-phone. “Well, then you pay $60 for a cab.” Can’t do that either. “Then you’d better take the #38 bus.” Done. And it only took me two hours to travel ten miles. But it was worth it. Totally. You have to actually be there for the immensity of this tragedy to really sink in.
The police had just opened up the crime-scene street the day before and already there were hundreds of balloons and bouquets of flowers on the site. So sad. Such a waste. This horrendous crime isn’t about homosexuality. It is about hate.
Then I went off to Walt Disney World. Disney has four kingdoms in Orlando. Which one to choose? I wanna go to Small World again! I’m an idealist. That’s the kind of world that I want to live in, not the real world—where we have two forms of fascism to choose from in November, each one worse than the other. Clinton or Trump? Has America really been forced to come to this?
Anyway, I decided to go to Epcot because I’d never been there before. And it’s a good thing that I did—because otherwise I’d never have gotten a chance to meet Elsa, the Snow Queen!
But, unlike Elsa, America has now become frozen with hate. But there is hope. Elsa was able to change. Perhaps America can too. But we all have to work at it. It’s so much easier to kill than to be nice.
I’m just going to say that hate and haters have no business spewing vitriol all over the shirts, pillowcases, skinny jeans and towels of America. Haters need to take their dirty laundry someplace else.
I wish that the Pulse nightclub massacre had never happened. And that no other such useless, unproductive and scary massacre in America will ever happen again.
Jane Stillwater is a freelance writer who hates injustice and corruption in any form but especially injustice and corruption paid for by American taxpayers. She has recently published a book entitled, “Bring Your Own Flak Jacket: Helpful Tips For Touring Today’s Middle East.” According to Ms. Stillwater, “It’s a fabulous and entertaining book. I loved writing it. And I hope that you will love reading it too.” It’s available at Amazon or you can order it at any independent bookstore.