City Slicker am I

My parents live out in the middle of Nowhere, Florida.  To get to the grocery store one must embark on a journey that lasts days and nights.  The internet connection is almost nonexistent and the chance to run out to see a movie after the kids have gone to bed is next to none.  For the last two days I have been wondering why they, two people who have traveled the world and lived near great cities, have chosen this remote, seemingly uninteresting location as their retirement place.  I have only been here two days and I miss walking down the street to the park or to the Korean grocery store for vegetarian eggrolls and Jasmine ice tea.  I miss my high speed connection and ibook. 

Then, last night as I floated in the pool in their backyard, I opened my eyes and drifted silently.  What I saw was breathtaking:  stars strewn across the entire sky.  Not just one freckled here and there, fighting their way through the manmade city lights and smog, but literally thousands right there before my eyes.  And then I noticed the quiet.  Sheer, deafening silence – with the exception of crickets and dogs  off howling in the distance. 

I don’t know if I will ever been the kind to take off my city hat, but I sure understand now why some people do.