Reporting from Orlando

I don't mind the parks, so you probably see where I'm going with this. If a pin is dropped in the middle of a deserted five-lane highway, does it make a sound? Maybe I was too fortunate not to face traffic jams near parks, but I did not experience any situation that could justify such big roads. During my morning run through the desert sidewalks around my Airbnb at 7 am, I saw a few cars moving around the streets. These sidewalks ain’t made for walking, and one of these days, these sides are gonna walk all over you. On the second running day, I finally bumped into “real houses.” Or traditional houses, should I say? Everything else seems to be condos, hotels and islands of commerce. Unfortunately, I did not see a natural park with benches and human beings enjoying the fine weather. While in an Uber with multiple screens, I reached the mega-conference complex where my event occurred. 25 minutes if you go on foot, 5 minutes if you go by car. At night, I watched some live TV after years of only streaming. Several local news channels not to be seen ever again reported killings, machine gun assaults, and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton fighting his demons (real people) in some crazy encounter. To be fair, Twitter had brought me Cam’s story previously. I don’t want to watch MSNBC Atlanta, or Austin, or Miami, or Orlando anymore. It is impressive how such a great country turns out like this. A friend says Chicago is in the same way. Walking through the deserted condo area of my Airbnb to get something to eat by Walgreens, I wondered what it’s like to live here. We can always adapt, of course. But I’d rather not. Not even for you, Mickey. Especially not for you. I lost my keys in Orlando. My apartment keys disappeared in a supermarket while I walked through all the lanes to find new products I did not intend to buy. I listened to a Paris Review podcast episode and got lost between thoughts. Then, the Mickey key chain disappeared. The supermarket crew was collaborative, but the keys are forever lost. There were copies with the owner, though. I did not visit downtown. There are certainly people on the streets there. But I did not want to take an Uber for miles. I could have gone by bike if my area had some. I would bike miles if not oppressed by cars on the roads. But I would be oppressed. How interesting it is to know different cities, peoples and cultures. I wish good luck to the people of Orlando. And maybe they would do the same for me after noticing that I live in Toronto.