The sun sets on Florida and 2024
Ending the year on a positive note
But first...
2024 was arguably the worst year of my life. Could it have been worse? Even a pessimist would point out that it could have been worse. Much worse. But relative to my life? It was just plain shitty. I'm not going into that this week though. Someone on Mastodon talked about not being pessimistic can mean being aggressively or assertively optimistic: choosing to focus on things that we want to will into existence or bring about through hard work. Something like that. So, as the year comes to a close I want to look back on what I like about South Florida and why I am going to work hard and will the damned state to a better place.
Starting simple with food
Is South Florida a food mecca that should be considered a stop on any foodie's bucket list? I don't know, maybe. But not necessarily for reasons that make New York, San Francisco, Paris, or Madrid a food mecca. What's great about Miami is that while it has good examples of most cuisines you'll find in those places, it also has food you won't easily find in them. From empanadas from every corner of the Americas to the iconic Cuban Sandwich to cuisine from every country in South America, South Florida almost certainly has something from someplace you'll find hard to pinpoint on a map. Now do I have great photos of all that? No. No, I do not because I've been obsessed with finding California-style burritos and pizza. But I have some!
A burrito, cashew chicken, Argentinian style half chicken, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Cuban sandwich and pizza. All photos copyright Philip Cardella 2024
The place is paradise--in the winter
While no place is perfect, South Florida's weather in the winter is spectacular, and, though flat as a pancake, it is gorgeous. There are ecosystems here that don't exist anywhere else on the planet. There are crystal clear waters and exotic species of floral and fauna, and it's the only place on Earth where you can find a crocodile and an alligator in the same spot.
Crystal clear waters framed by darker areas that are coral reefs, Miami Beach beach at sunrise, a pier in the Florida Keys, another pier in the Florida Keys, Egyptian geese, a tree sticking out of the water in the Everglades, a crocodile in the Everglades, sunrise in the Everglades, a purple gallinule in the Everglades. All photos copyright Philip Cardella 2024
Then there's the people
We have a lot of assholes, to be sure, more than our fair share, but we also have an incredibly diverse collection of humans from all over, each with their own stories, their own places to gather, festivals to gather together, and things to love.
The Miami Book Fair, a church in Coral Gables, a drag queen leading a parade in Miami Beach, a person dressed up for Dia de los Muertos, people celebrating the tree lighting in Downtown Miami, The Breakwater in Miami Beach, Maiz y Agave restaurant in Coral Gables going all out for Dia de los Muertos, Miami as seen from Virginia Key, artwork on Calle Ocho near Downtown Miami. All photos copyright Philip Cardella 2024
There are people doing right by each other
People Acting in Community Together, or PACT, is an organization making real change in Miami Dade County, as they have been since they rose out of the fires of the McDuffie Riots in the 1980s. For the last year, I've been heavily investing time and money into the organization. The Miami Children's Chorus is another organization trying to bring light to the community through the joy of song--one of my kids sings in the chorus. Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ is a church where people from all faiths gather to do good in the community. These organizations bring me hope and joy and I'll be investing heavily in them in 2025.
An April front-page story in the Miami Herald about PACT, choristers singing at the tree lighting in Miami in December 2024, and the Coral Gable Congregational Church marching in solidarity during the Pride 2024 Parade in Miami Beach. Photos of choir and the parade Copyright Philip Cardella 2024.
Today I'm choosing reckless optimism for 2025
While I know the odds are that 2025 will be worse for most of us than 2024, I choose reckless optimism. When I'm tired and feeling defeated I'll turn to the beauty, the food and the people around me to find strength. I'll turn to my religious community and my friends and family (natural and found) that will stand with me in love for all people and all the planet. And if that fails I'll snuggle my fur babies.
What about you?
What brought you joy in your community this year? Where will you be investing time and treasure in 2025? Comment below. I want to hear!
Follow Me to the Fediverse (encore post, now with more links!)
Think social media like X, Xitter, BlueSky, Threads, only not owned by CryptoBros, Would-be dictators, TechBois, or anyone else! The fediverse comprises thousands of little Twitter-like things (called instances) that are privately controlled, and users can come and go as they please. X or Xitter, is owned by the Saudis and their little democracy-murdering apartheid lover Elon Musk; Threads is owned by democracy-hating Meta (Facebook) and Mark Zuckerberg; BlueSky was started inside of Twitter, broke off when Musk bought it and is funded by shady investment groups, the known ones being mostly cryptocurrency ponzi+ schemes. It is run by a CEO whose primary experience is technical work for...cryptocurrencies. BlueSky says it won't be a crypto-centric thing. Also, cable TV said it wouldn't have commercials until it did.
Here is a page to help you get started. There's a learning curve at first and then it's intuitive.
The fediverse: all the assholes, none of the fascist rule.
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