rest zone florida

S: “I hope you leave Los Angeles. It’s no longer a place for artists and free thinkers.”

I’ve been praying about whether to move. As long as my free thinker ways still has a voice and God sends me a smile each week, I will stay. Los Angeles was never an easy place. I don’t recommend anyone to move here unless they have a solid head on their shoulders. This city had a way of eating lost souls way before Covid bumped the crazy up a new level.

I’m watching friends paralyzed with fear. They conform and comply with the mandates. They dare not share an opposing thought. And I watch others, less paralyzed, embrace the choreography of conformity. The new normal suits them. They also celebrate people losing jobs for refusing to comply. Uncle Screwtape has made California party central.

It’s a wonder that I still manage to feel buoyant despite moments where I feel utterly disappointed and broken hearted.

Maybe it’s because I spent some time in Florida and found a rest zone from the Covid crazy. I found some restorative strength in facing fears. My most terrifying moment was taking off my mask for the first time while out shopping. I thought someone would immediately approach me and start shaming me or at least demand that I reassure them with vax papers. But no one even gave me a disapproving look.

I enjoyed celebrating my birthday feeling like a free and normal person. I lived mask free for four months and didn’t even suffer a sniffle. My pregnant cousin wanted me to stay til the baby arrived but the music studio in Los Angeles finally opened to have in person lessons. I stayed to help prepare the home for the baby’s arrival, celebrate a couple of baby showers, and feng shui the home. Covid made this long visit possible. We visited museums, played golf, and saw gators from an air boat. MASK FREE. I watched children splash about at a water park and people celebrating birthdays….in houses where people ate together at a table. It felt absolutely subversive to me but it felt totally normal to them. Everyone had the same response when I told them I was from California. They all said they were sorry that I didn’t live in a free state and asked when I was moving to Florida.

I had a nice routine. Wake up and listen to the news without headphones worrying about upsetting anyone. R would bark to tell me to come downstairs where my cousin was working online. The pirate room became my music room. I would play and teach on a keyboard. The days usually ended with some time in the pool and watching the moon.

Friends and family worried that I would surely die in Florida. I received doom and gloom news that didn’t match the CDC numbers. Across the reports, there were zero Covid deaths on the CDC website and yet the “news” was that Florida was a failure with DeathSantis as governor.

It took me three months to get homesick. I didn’t know I was gone for a whole season but it was good to finally return. I am much more relaxed and happier in my solitude. People are noticeably wound tightly here. Some are miserable and mean. Others feel compelled to confess their vaccine status to assure they are safe to be around. The vibe is resigned and demoralized. I wish I knew of more brave and hopeful people. Someone asked me if I thought California would go full on mad for mandates. I don’t see that happening. When push turns into shove and we feel the void; people will see fear’s appetite for power and control and stop feeding it.

I recommend everyone travel somewhere less lockdowned to decompress from the fear routine. Once you get over the hurdle of thinking you are in mortal danger without your mask and enjoy the kind and normal random hello and smile of a stranger, you might see that you feel lighter. You will live and feel more alive than you’ve felt in over a year. Everyone needs a rest zone from the Covid crazy.

JNET