Yes man.

Well, I'm back from Florida and as tired as I could hope to be. Kinda'. The trip was cool overall. I didn't much care for the drive. It was a bit of a torture. Not a nightmare, but a torture. I am not built properly for sitting for such long periods of time. I also didn't get nearly as much done as I'd hoped. If you remember I'd hoped to have the trade and the film done by the time I got back. In retrospect that was a little optimistic and a lot stupid. Nothing got even toughed on the trade and the film, while a lot of time was spent on it, didn't get done. What it got was moved along and we were able to more clearly see what we did NOT want. More work needs to be done. WHILE I work at catching up at work, with bills and ... life-stuff.

I found Universal the most enjoyable because of the Marvel Comics theme to a great deal of the park. Lots to see and do. I only made it to the Magic Kingdom of Disney because I was running out of time and money. Truthfully, when other people are paying for your vacation, you can only get so much outta' them before they dry up. Life can be a little crappy like that. I ate waaaay too much and felt sick for a good deal of the time I was away. (Stupid on sooo many levels, there.) It was cool. I stayed in a condo the first night and was worried that the house we rented would pale by comparison. It didn't. Not at all. Florida rocks and anyone who lives down there is far, far luckier than they know.



As I got closer and closer to actually entering Disney I found myself getting nervous. What if I became infected the this odd, insane, cartoon joy that I saw all around me? Would they be able to induct me into this cult of happiness or would my defenses hold? I wondered who this Walt guy was and how he achieved so much. I thought of how gratifying it must be to leave such joy behind you when you pass away and leave this world. I thought how great the artwork looked and the talent of so many people coming together. I was becoming very afraid that I'd lose my self and find a smile glued to my face as I walked glassy-eyes around bright lights and happy people. Would I actually become one myself? I was seriously out of my element and I didn't care for it.

I love new experiences. I love seeing new place. Being someplace I've never been before. I love seeing and meeting new people ... but they can say the strangest things. A group from Tennessee and another from New York all decided that I looked like Kiefer Sutherland. Okay. Why would you blurt something like this out to a total stranger? Is it normal for people to do this? To try and make a new person someone they know or know of? To make the new recognizable? Kiefer Sutherland? I don't much see it but I suppose it could have been worse. I mean, I'm not blond. Of course, after this little exchange I found myself walking through the park I noticing that I was by far the ugliest person there. Seriously. I was looking for someone uglier and I couldn't find them. By the end of the day I'd decided to embrace my troll-like looks and find a way to work with them. I'm still working on this part. (No offense to Kiefer Sutherland but I don't really look like him. I think.)


Okaaay ...

Two things I learned from my time in Florida:
1. People like to be happy.
2. There are a LOT of people.

Now, these things might seem self evident to you (because you're not as stupid as I am) but they came as a revelation to me. People want to be happy. They really and truly want this. Not to work or stress or struggle or feel bad, they want to feel good and they'll do just about anything to feel this. I'm learning and even at this old age, I'm growing a little bit more mature. People have always mystified me. I've never "gotten it". Never understood them. People have always been background noise to books and the world inside my head.

By the forth year after Steve died and I had to admit how empty and boring my life had become. Suddenly ALL I had were my books. I decided then (consciously) to stop being a "NO" person and see what being a "YES" person would be like. My Florida vacation was one of the results of this attempt at change.

My whole life I've never been a joiner. "Want to go out?" No. "A movie?" No. "Cookout, road trip, convention, hang out?" No. No. No. No. "Dinner?","Lunch?" No. No. It wasn't that I didn't like people or that I was angry. I just truly did not want to do any of these things. I had my books and when I need something more, Steve was there. So ... I decided to become a "YES" man and my life became anything but slow and boring. I was suddenly VERY busy and always on the run. My "NOs" became "YESs" and I was off and running. "Want to go out?" Yes. "A movie?" Yes. "Cookout, road trip, convention, hang out?" Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. "Dinner?","Lunch?" Yes. Yes. One very bad side effect is that I gained weight. Everyone always wanted to feed me and for a long while I'd say "NO" and I'd stay thin. Then I started saying "YES" and, well ... we can see where this is going. This is another thing I'll have to work on.

Do I like the "new me"? Sure. Okay. Fine. What I really do find myself enjoying is people. People are cool. With the exception of a few truly distasteful monsters out there most people are great. They're fun and interesting.

People like to be happy and there are a lot of them. Now, the question is ... How can I use this information in my question for world domination? Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions should be sent to mark@five-star.com .

...

1. People like to be happy.
2. There are a LOT of people.

I need to think on this because, I fear, it may just change everything ...