We have left freezing temperatures in Fort Wayne for balmy temperatures in Fort Myers, Florida. Allegiant Airlines has a direct flight into Tampa-St. Petersburg, and it was a great flight - a little over two hours, nice seats, and best of all: no connections. Our friends flying down today were not so lucky - they decided to fly out of Indianapolis, and in the winter storm they were unable to get out of town. They ended up taking a limousine to Detroit, where they will be flying into Ft. Myers - good for them for finally getting here, but they've dealt with a whole day of having to make phone calls and get really creative.
We've been to the beaches at Ft. Myers and Sanibel Island, while the weather was beautiful and in the 70s. Today some clouds and winds moved in, so we looked for an alternative. We chose going to the greyhound racing track at Bonita Springs. It's a slice of life if you have never had the experience. If you like to gamble you'll fall right into the culture, trust me on this. Whether you read the stats or play the odds or simply like the look of a dog or how s/he acts on the way to the post, you'll get into it. And somehow, over the years, everyone always enjoys the simple entertainment of the trainers running away from the track - a footrace for the underpaid working class - you'll feel like a Roman gladiator basking in the coliseum, whether you realize it or not.
But my memory today was about good old Fort Wayne. There was a day like this a few years ago, before children, when we were downtown in the Fort for some event. Now is the time of year for ice and snow. It was an icy day then, probably between 9 p.m. and midnight, and we were traveling on the city streets in the car. It was a black ice, hard to see, but extremely slick. The kind that would make your feet fly out from under you and give you a concussion in a second. My husband, driving, stopped at a red light, and this urge came over me. I knew there was enough ice to slide as if on skates in street shoes. Without telling him, I watched the traffic light for the perpendicular traffic, and when I saw it go yellow, meaning green for us in seconds, I jumped out of the car. My husband, shocked, craned his neck behind the wheel to watch me slide back to the rear bumper of the car.
The light changed, and there were cars behind us, honking. He was pissed, but he had to drive forward - and I was bumper surfing - ice skating behind the car on downtown city streets. It was great, I was euphoric - until the police cherry lights behind us lit up the downtown
sky.
We were pulled over. What I was doing was illegal. We would have been given a big ticket, but my husband was furious with me, and the policeman saw that. Basically, what he said, was there was nothing he could have done that was any more punishment than what my husband was going to do to me for putting him in that position. He probably had worse criminals, or hooligans, to deal with that night. And somehow, he let us go.
That's the midwest, and Fort Wayne; that icy, that dangerous. Opportunity, fun, and danger. I could have cracked my head open, as they say; but it didn't happen. I was fortunate. For a few seconds, bumper surfing was a lot of fun. It's a distant memory, and I can still see Fort Wayne's beautiful downtown buildings overhead as my feet slid as if on skates behind the car. Even with the cop car behind us, somehow it was worth it. I'm not saying, however, I would do it all over again. And tomorrow, on this far-away vacation, gentle Florida will revive us all again. What a beautiful nation we live in. Goodnight and sweet dreams, all.
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