I arrived at Ft Lauderdale International Airport. It had already gotten dark. I needed to get to my hostel in North Miami which was about a 45-minute drive away. After I got my bag, I did what I had to do and sat down on the floor, connected to the free internet via my laptop, and requested an Uber. After I saw my driver was close, I packed everything up and went out to meet him. He was Venezuelan (I could tell from the small flag hanging from his mirror) and we had a limited conversation as he really did not want to talk. Seeing how he picked me up in a tricked-out BMW, I could tell he was probably just interested in working enough to cover the note on the car.
We drove down the South Florida highway at night, neon light streaming across the window and body of the car. I was thinking about strange it was to be back home. My driver pulled up to the house and I pulled out my notepad where I had written down the address to make sure I was at the right place. It was North Miami, but there were still bars on some of the windows. It was the correct address so I thanked my driver and got my things.
The door had a keypad entry so I let myself in. There were a few other people there, which was OK. I was shown my bed, which was an upper bunk in a 6 topper. Let’s just say the decor was more of a flop house than that of what I was used to staying in. But that was OK. It would be for only one night.
I was hungry, so I secured my bags and went out to find something to eat. Luckily, there was a Publix nearby. For those of you that have never experienced one, Publix is the best grocery store in the world. They are clean, they are well stocked, and the staff is usually friendly.
When I walked in, it was like I had just entered a Cathedral. The lights were bright but inviting, the produce was all fresh, there were aisles and aisles of choices of things to buy, there was a salad bar and a deli. I could swear I faintly heard a choir singing. I almost fell to my knees and wept. The words of James from Hiroshima came back to me about the simple marvels of being home, and I definitely felt it. God bless America.
After I made my dinner selection, I headed back to the hostel. I ate while conversing with a few hostel mates that were more interested in their phones than chatting with a new arrival. I did not take it personally as I was pretty tired. I took a shower and went to bed.
The next day, I had a little time to kill so I went back to Publix to get breakfast from their bakery and some Cuban coffee. I was scheduled to meet my family later for lunch before we headed down to Key West together. I went back to the hostel, ate, hailed an Uber from my laptop, and was soon on my way to see them.
The way my driver took brought me past the Dadeland Mall. I immediately thought about my experiences in Colombia and remembered that not too long ago, this was an incredibly dangerous city. I had always come to Miami with my family for the better part of 30 years, even during the Miami Vice days. I am very glad to say that I experienced none of the violence that was ever-present at that time. Soon, I arrived at the best barbecue restaurant in the world, Shorty’s. I saw my sister and after embracing her and her family, I placed my bags in their rental car and we all went in to eat.
After a fantastic meal, we packed up the car, and began our drive to Key West to see my father, stepmother, and eventually A. I always loved the drive from the mainland down to the Keys. It is beautiful because there is one highway with a lot of high-spanning bridges that show where the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico meet with their different colored waters. This seemed like an interesting coda as I had spent so much time here as a child. I still could not believe I was back.
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