Portal

Train stations have always struck me as portals into the past. Since 1926, Orlando's Seaboard Coast Line railroad station has welcomed generations to Central Florida. The first time I saw it, in 1985, I had just arrived in the South after 14 years in Los Angeles and eight years in Nebraska. I remember noticing that everything seemed to be duplicated -- two drinking fountains, two women's rooms, two men's rooms, side by side. That's when it hit me -- the reason for the duality -- it was as simple as black and white. That was when I realized I wasn't in Kansas any more. The signs had been removed, but I later saw them at the Wells' built Museum. Later I learned about about the Wells' built hotel, where Ray Charles swept the floors after running away from the St. Augustine school for the blind. The Wells' built was where the African American luminaries, like Duke Ellington and Jackie Robinson had to stay because the rules of the day prohibited them from staying at the Angebilt, the posh "whites only" hotel with the tunnel under Orange Avenue to the backstage dressing rooms of the Beacham Theater. The tunnel, though boarded up, is there to this day.

The good stuff:

butch wax

Bazooka Joe Comics

apres ski

slaw burgers

deep tissue massage

photo darkrooms

model railroads

signed first editions

morning newspapers

Skeeball

Finding Nemo

A few miles east of Orlando, on State Road 50, families of all stripes gather for the cultural phenomenon that is Crash-o-Rama -- three hours of metal-bending, non-redemptive destruction -- the good old-fashioned demolition derby. Now I've wanted to see a demolition derby since the first time I heard Jim Croce croon about Rapid Roy, that fearless dirt-track demon doin' 180 miles an hour with a toothpick in his mouth. From the bad P.A. system to the ear-splitting roar of motocross and drag-racing in the distance, Crash-o-Rama was everything I'd hoped it would be. Metal bleachers that let the aluminum beer bottles fall through to the ground. Rebel flags, Elvis imitators, and car-crushing monster trucks. I even got to ride on one of the demolition derby buses before the races. And then there were the features: figure-eight bus races - with crashes and flames, skid-plate (front tires only) racing, boat-trailer destruction, and the finale - last car standing, total demolition. All of the bloodlust of bullfights and gladiators, without the actual blood and death. Sadly, Crash-o-Rama may soon go the way of the Drive-in movie theater. I've heard that Orlando Speedworld has been struggling to make ends meet. Here's hoping they can keep body and soul together for another generation or so. It was a beautiful thing.

The good stuff:

demolition derby (of course!)

bonfires

bike rides in the rain

graffiti

tie dye

worm grunting

learning a new skill

Halloween

brussels sprouts

slow-dancing