Visit to Orlando

We drove to Orlando yesterday with two of Ellie's latin friends, one seeking a passport. They spent most of the day at the Mexican Consulate.

Orlando has an excellent library four blocks from the Consulate, and I made two round trips to it during the day. I encountered a total of perhaps 20 people loitering in the area. Practically all of them sought conversation, but I avoided eye contact and went on; if one was too persistent, I would tip my cap and move on. I had no desire to subsidize a bottle of cheap wine or something worse.

Near the end of this odyssey I stood on the corner waiting for the light to change: I heard something behind me, but paid no attention. Then someone touched my shoulder, and I moved quickly away; it was a woman calling my attention to a man in a wheel chair. I maintained an attitude of indifference, and the man finally crossed the street.

Life is hard, especially in a place like that, where the down and out seem to congregate; probably least likely to be arrested there. I thought nothing of it, but occasionally there went through my mind the familiar phrase: there but for the grace of God .......