Working at Home

When my husband and I decided to take the plunge and move to Celebration, I never thought I'd be able to keep my corporate job. Fear of financial ruin was one of my biggest worries. Sure, I had my travel agency, and I planned to start a counseling practice, but both of those businesses involve a lot of variables.

Travel agents don't get paid until their clients actually take the trip. Thus, you might book plenty of vacations for 2006, but you won't see a penny of that money in 2005, when the bills are due. Counselors who see self-pay clients (as opposed to those using insurance) get paid at the time of treatment, but since I'd be starting from scratch, it would take some time to build up a client load. The unsteadiness is quite a change from a nice, comfortable, regular corporate paycheck.

Then it turned out that I'd be able to keep my job after all. Whew! My husband already knew that he'd be able to work from home for part of each month, so now I unexpectedly joined him in the ranks of telecommuters.

After 16 years in a bustling corporate environment, I wondered what it would be like to work from my family room, with a laptop balanced on my knees. Would I have the necessary discipline to drag my carcass out of bed at a reasonable hour and focus on my work? Could I resist temptations like television, community pools, and the fact that Disney World is a mere five-minute drive from my front door? Would I miss the companionship of co-workers and the joy of strolls to the cafeteria for coffee and gossip?

I also wondered whether my husband's presence would make a difference. Most of the time, I knew he'd be upstairs working in his office while I toiled away at my labors on the first floor. But ten days a month he'd be in Chicago, and I'd be entirely on my own, rattling around in a house devoid of other humans.

Originally, I had planned to accompany him to Chicago at least one week a month. However, that idea quickly flew out the window. The very first week I tried working from our old condo, I nearly went mad from boredom. When he's in Chicago, my husband is gone all day...and I do mean all. Our old home is in the suburbs, and he works in the heart of the city, so he has a roundtrip commute of over two hours. Stack that on top of his work schedule and his health club workout routine and he's rarely at the house, except to sleep.

At Duloc Manor, even when he's in Chicago, I'm never lonely because I've always got two cats worming their way onto my lap and a bird taunting them from the back of the couch. In Chicago, I was all alone except for an array of houseplants. Unlike Celebration, where we have a lot of friends right in the neighborhood, our Illinois friends are scattered far and wide. People in our condo building barely tolerate each other, and the town itself has no sense of community. It's a sprawling suburb where each cookie cutter brick bungalow or condo unit is an isolated island. There's no one living nearby to go out for coffee or lunch with, and no one ever drops in just to say hello.

If I still lived in Chicago, I would rather be working in an office environment, getting some social interaction. I enjoy my work, but sitting in isolation and staring at a computer screen for five to six hours a day would drive me insane.

But in Celebration, things are different. Even when my husband is gone for the week, I have my furry and feathered menagerie to keep me company. Cats dislike it when their human pays attention to anything other than them. Thus, they are in constant competition with my laptop, trying to climb on the keyboard or batting my hands in desperation for petting. Bradley, my bird, is loose I'm home, and he usually stays on top of his cage. But when I'm on the main floor, he knows that he can tease the cats because I will protect him if they try to reciprocate. He divebombs them and perches on the couch pillows behind me while I work, squawking birdy insults at the hapless felines. Sometimes he takes a nap on my shoulder and bites me in the ear if I dare to move and disturb his rest.

There is also plenty of human company. At our condo, if someone knocked on the door, I'd be afraid that it was drunken, drugged up revelers looking for the place across the hall. In Celebration, it's not at all uncommon for neighbors to simply stop by. Since my hours are flexible, I can take a little break for a cup of coffee. Instead of office gossip, I tap into the latest neighborhood happenings.

I can also break up my workday by running to Disney World for lunch (Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney is a favorite). Sure, I could run out in Chicago, but a suburban strip mall is no match for lunch at one of the Mouse House's many options and the ambiance of the Disney resort. Sometimes, I'll even slip in a quick ride (or two). The Land pavillion at Epcot has an excellent food court, so I'll grab a Fast Pass for Soarin', eat, and then jump on for a quick tour of Calfornia. The singles line at Test Track is usually short, so I might squeeze that in, too. Even if I'm there with friends, it's worth the time savings to ride separately.

I don't have much trouble starting work at a decent hour, especially since Florida time is an hour ahead of Illinois. When it's 10 a.m. for me, it's only 9 a.m. up north. I wake up about an hour before I start working so I can take the cats out while I water my flowers, shower, and get some coffee into my bloodstream.

Once I start working, I force myself to focus completely on my job until 3 p.m., when a block of court shows (Peoples Court, Judge Mathis, Judge Judy, and Judge Joe Brown) runs until 7 p.m. I usually work a few hours more, depending on how long I took for lunch, but I allow myself to multi-task and watch the television out of the corner of my eye.

Another pleasure of working in Florida, at least in mild weather, is being able to work outside on my front porch. In the condo, we have a large balcony, but it overlooks the parking lot and dumpsters. Sadly, our Chicago neighbors aren't clear on what a dumpster is meant for. Instead of making the supreme effort required to open it and put their trash inside, they toss the garbage bags down in front of it. Tying the bags closed is too difficult for some of them, so their refuse blows across the parking lot. Not a pleasant picture to view from my balcony, so I just stay inside.

At Duloc Manor, I have my beloved porch swing and a pair of rocking chairs. My front yard blooms with multi-colored flowers, and our home overlooks a quaint little cul de sac park. Instead of slobs tossing garbage bags around, I see people biking by or walking their dogs. Neighbors wave as they work in their gardens or enjoy their own front porches. Now that it's summer, the temperatures in the high 90s have driven me back inside, but I'm looking forward to returning to my outdoor "office" in the fall.

In theory, I should be able to work in downtown Celebration, as there is supposed to be wireless internet access in the area. I like the thought of relaxing at the lakefront in a rocker while tapping away at my keyboard. In practice, though, it would be hard to juggle paperwork and potentially distracting when the gaggles of timeshare victims and tourists come through. The lakefront is better for times when you don't need to focus and concentrate, like when you're indulging in an ice cream cone or Barnie's coffee. Also, cell phone reception tends to be spotty in town. Since I frequently take part in phone conferences, I need to be close to my land line.

Sometimes I venture out around rush hour and notice the traffic jams on I-4 as I pass over it on World Drive. Those are time times that I say a silent prayer of thanks that things worked out as they did. I'm spoiled rotten now; I just love working at home in Celebration. My commute is from the bedroom to the family room, and the coffee table makes a perfect desk...and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

Never Say Never

While fielding some travel agent phone calls recently, I pondered the many times in my life when I've said, "I'll NEVER, do that!" God, with His wicked sense of humor, often makes me eat those words.

Regular readers of my blog may recall that I swore I'd never own an Aztek. When I first saw it on "Survivor," and after I was done retching, I swore I'd never own such a hideously ugly vehicle. Years later, here I am...with not one, but two Azteks in the family. I was won over by the attractive price tag, amazing gas mileage, reconfigurable seats, cavernous interior, and side air bags. After all, as the driver I spend most of my time inside, so it's not like I have to look at its ugliness. Nowadays, Azteks are pretty far down on the "ugly scale" anyway.

Cars are not the only area in which I've eaten my words. When I first met my husband, I'd have bet the farm that I'd never, ever marry him. He was hell bent on dating me, but at the time I was single, carefree, and not ready to enter a relationship. His attempts to entice me got on my nerves, and finally I developed a strong dislike for him. Several years passed, and we remained on the perimeter of each other's lives, since we had many mutual friends. My dislike slowly softened into tolerance, and finally into affection. I discovered that he grocery shops, cooks, and even does laundry. A keeper! Now, we've been married for over a decade. I look back on my journal entries from the old days, when I couldn't stand the sight of him, and marvel at life's surprises.

Another of my famous "I'll never do that" delarations was that I would never become a travel agent. Considering that I've taken well over 40 Disney cruises and have been to Disney World more times than I care to count (not to mention visiting dude ranches from Wisconsin to Wyoming and amusement parks across the U.S.), becoming a TA might seem like seem like a natural progression. But when anyone suggested it, I would roll my eyes and snicker at such a ridiculous notion. Why turn fun into work?

We'll have jump back in time a few years to understand my eventual change of heart. Back around the time of my first Disney cruises, I had developed a hobby website. That was in the late 1990s, when the internet was still new and largely uncharted territory. I am a designer and developer of corporate training, and at the time I'd been creating classes on CD-ROM. My employer directed me to study HTML, just in case the 'net was going to stick around for a while.

"Learn HTML" didn't necessarily mean formal training. It meant "buy some software and books, go forth, and create websites." Before tackling an actual course, I whipped up a personal website that covered everything from my pets and comedy/tragedy mask collection to my growing obsession with Disney Cruise Line. The Disney Cruise part of the site was by far the most popular; gradually, I eliminated the other sections and morphed my website into "The Platinum Castaway Club." The name was my own little in-joke, since "The Castaway Club" is Disney's designation for repeat cruisers. Considering how many times I had sailed, even before Y2K, I figured that I should be a platinum-level member. Better yet, Disney had not purchased the URL www.castawayclub.com, so I snapped it up.

My website was non-commercial; it was meant strictly as a resource to help fellow Disney cruisers make the most of their experience. Websites like www.allearsnet.com had been invaluable to me for planning and maximizing my Disney World vacations. I wanted to return the favor, and since Disney Cruise Line was fast becoming my area of expertise, it became my site's sole focus.

As the years passed, the Platinum Castaway Club grew in popularity, attracting an average of 600 unique users per day. Meanwhile, our ten-year plan to move to Florida had suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated. I knew we'd be moving to Celebration within a few months, and it didn't seem very likely that I'd be able to keep my corporate job.

Around that time, I was approached by an online travel agency about becoming an outside agent. Suddenly, the idea didn't seem so crazy. I could put an ad on my website; after all, visitors to the Platinum Castaway Club were a perfect target audience. I could focus on Disney cruises and Disney World, and my experience would add a great value for my clients. There wouldn't be much of an upfront investment. I already had server space, so all I'd need to do would be to buy a URL and develop a separate travel agency website. I didn't want to use castawayclub.com as the business site; I wanted it to remain an independent information resource. I bought a cheap laptop, found a service to provide a toll-free phone number, and rented a P.O. box for my business mail. Thus, Platinum Vacation Planners was born.

With no advertising other than a notice on www.castawayclub.com, I soon had a successful business on my hands. I could run it just as easily from Chicago or Celebration, and I realized that being in Florida was actually a plus. If I had clients at Disney World or in the Port Canaveral area who needed immediate help, I was literally only a few miles away.

Ironically, I ended up being able to keep my corporate job, telecommuting via my phone, laptop, and DSL. Even more ironically, one of the things I always swore I would do was suddenly placed on hold. Becoming a counselor is one of my lifelong dreams. Ever since I was in high school, I set my sights on a doctorate in Psychology. Life responsibilities intervened, but finally, in 1995, I began the ten-year path through B.A., M.A., and finally Psy.D., juggling my classes around one or more jobs. My internship at a social service agency made me even more determined to become a professional therapist. I had stayed on at the agency for a while after I earned my Masters degree, but the pressures of a full-time job, combined with classes for my Doctorate, forced me to throw in the towel.

When we decided to take the plunge and move to Florida, I thought my opportunity to start a counseling business had finally materialized. I'd have to leave my corporate job, and the travel agency hours are flexible. I could set up a practice in tandem with finishing up my last few Psy.D. courses.

But, as the magnet on my refrigerator says: "Make God laugh. Tell Him your plans." Surprise, surprise! Turns out I was able to keep my original job after all. Sure, I could have turned it down, but my practical side refused to throw away a steady income for the uncertainty of a start-up business. Launching a counseling practice isn't nearly as simple or inexpensive as starting an online travel agency. It would have been an easy choice if I didn't like my corporate job, but it's actually pretty cool. I design and develop online courses, which allows me to use a variety of skills, from writing to graphic design to Flash programming. I even get to toss in a little psychology while working out instructional strategies.

So here I am in Florida, still doing the same two jobs that I did back in Chicago. I finished my psychology degree this year, so now I am Dr. Barb, but goodness only knows when I'll be able to put all that education to use.

Perhaps God gives us a few little hints. I remember driving home from college one night, lost in my thoughts on the dark, winding highway. Suddenly I had the strangest feeling. For just a moment, I felt what it would be like to be driving down a highway in Florida. For that little blip in time, my reality was 1200 miles away. It was like someone had momentarily folded a gauzy curtain of the future over my present-day life. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come, but I never forgot it. At the time, I thought that Florida was still a decade away, but it wouldn't be all that long before I'd be heading down 417 to my Celebration home and feeling reverse deja vu.

At this point, I have no idea of what the future will bring. I'm very content with my present life; I live in Celebration, right next door to Disney World, in a state where "winter" typically means 50 degrees. I can visit the theme parks whenever the whim takes me, and the Disney Cruise Line terminal is less than an hour away. I'm not doing counseling, but I enjoy running my travel agency, and my corporate training job is fairly enjoyable too. I'm toying with plans to run life skills classes, and God willing, someday that will come to fruition. But I'm not going to say anything definite...at least, not until I figure out whether God has alternate plans.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

NOAA's Arc

Like many of my fellow Florida residents, I have a good friend named NOAA. Yes, that's spelled correctly; it's a bit different than the Biblical Noah. Early last year, I didn't know a thing about NOAA, but I made his acquaintance when fall rolled around. By September, I was visiting him several times a day, along with thousands of fellow Central Floridians. He never turned us away, but he didn't spare us from the harsh truth, either. When the hurricane trio bore down on the Orlando/Kissimmee/Celebration area, he warned us with unflinching honesty.

Of course, NOAA isn't always right. Sometimes his predictions are just a bit off, and other times they're as accurate as Serena Sabak's psychic visions in the "Weekly World News" (Elvis's alien love child will real himself and marry Michael Jackson in a same-sex ceremony in Hawaii!). But, like any weather forecaster, you have to cut him some slack. After all, Mother Nature is fickle, and NOAA's scientific gadgets are sometimes no match for her whims.

So just who is this "NOAA?" Or, more accurately, what is it? It's an acronym for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a government agency that became all too familiar with Floridians during the Hurricane Hell Season of 2004. Before that time, I thought that the worst of the storms never made it as far inland as the Disney World area. Now I know that we can get hammered.

The National Hurricane Center section of NOAA's website can be found at www.nhc.noaa.gov. It features all sorts of useful information, including radar and path predictions. I've already logged on obsessively this year as Hurricane Dennis taunted and teased Central Florida before focusing his wrath elsewhere. Now I'm keeping an eye on little sister Emily, although the three and five day "cones" (path prediction maps) have us pretty much out of her range.

I never thought I'd learn the different wind speeds that transform a tropical depression into a full-fledged hurricane. I was totally ignorant of the difference between a Category 1 vs. a Category 4. Believe me, I could have lived the rest of my life quite happily never needing to know.

But now that I'm a Floridian, this knowledge is as common as a Chicago South Sider knowing that Crawford and Pulaski are the same street. I can rattle off a list of hurricane survival supplies in my sleep, and I know the exact dates on which hurricane season officially begins and ends (June 1 and November 30). I know that this year's prediction is 15 storms (ugh!), and I can tell you that the remaining storm names for this year are Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katrina, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rita, Stan, Tammy, and Vince. Of course, I hope never to meet any of them!

Dennis brought us some rain, but not much more than our usual summer thunderstorms. Unfortunately, the storm savaged several other areas, from Jamaica and Cuba to the same parts of Florida that got battered by Ivan last year. It seems odd to pray that a hurricane won't hit us, knowing full well that if it turns in another direction, someone else will most likely feel its wrath. Dennis racked up a nasty death toll, killing 40 in Haiti, 16 in Cuba, 1 in Jamaica, and 5 in the United States.

Emily's arc could still change, but so far it looks like we're relatively safe. But she and Dennis will probably have lots more siblings; it's not a good sign that we've already had five named storms this season.

Still, even with the hurricane danger (plus the highest number of lightning strikes in the United States), Florida has plenty of advantages that far outweigh the risks. I love the warm winters, the sunshine, and palm trees. There are pools and theme parks galore, and the ocean is less than an hour's drive away. Better yet, Celebration is right next door to Disney World; to me, Florida is the best state to live in, and Celebration wins top honors as my favorite town.

I neglected NOAA this winter and spring, but now that it's summertime, I'm quickly renewing our acquaintenance. Like a patient and loyal friend, he's right there waiting for me. He may not always tell me what I want to hear, but he always speaks the truth (or at least, what he thinks is true).

It's going to be a loooooooooooong hurricane season.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

Rain, Segways, and the Front Porch Picnic

As Saturday dawned in Celebration, the radar showed bands of rain from Hurricane Dennis that threatened to make the day a washout. My husband and I had booked a Segway tour at Epcot in the morning, and the Front Porch Picnic (for Celebration intranet users) was scheduled for 5 p.m. Even though the sky looked only mildly threatening, I was worried that the storm clouds might take over at any time.

The most noticable effect of Dennis was stronger than normal wind. In the front, my new flag whipped wildly on its pole. In the back, my tree's branches were swaying and my pot of flowers had tipped over. But it didn't look like it had rained overnight, despite the weather man's dire predictions, and I even suspected that the sun might peek through at some point in the morning.

Still, we wanted to be prepared just in case a monsoon came. We packed two umbrellas and rain ponchos in our backpack, plus a large plastic bag to keep the backpack itself dry, if necessary. We wore shorts so we wouldn't have to deal with soaked jeans plastered to our legs and sandals so we wouldn't get stuck in squishy tennis shows.

We left for Epcot early, since the tour begins at 8:15 a.m. You spend one hour learning to ride a Segway, and then you spend the next hour touring World Showcase before it opens to the public. The parking booths don't open until 8 a.m., so we sat in line with the car idling, waiting to enter the parking lot. I have a AAA Diamond Parking Pass, so once we got in, I knew I would get a nice, convenient spot.

We followed the green line to the AAA parking area and pulled into a space right by the walkway. Then we hiked off to figure out how we'd get into the park, since it doesn't technically open until 9 a.m. We found a cast member with a clipboard listing all the people coming in for the tour. He let us through and we headed off to Guest Services, breathing a sigh of relief because the rain hadn't come...yet.

Soon, the entire tour group had gathered, and we were herded to the training room in Innoventions. The training session consists of a short video and operation instructions, followed by actually climbing on the training Segways and veering around an obstacle course of cones. We also covered how to dismount and bring the Segway over a curb, how to duck under a low tree branch while in motion, and how to go up and down a ramp.

I've been on a Segway a few times before, although it's been a while. Disney Cruise Line used to rent Segways on their ships and their island, Castaway Cay. They don't do that anymore, but my husband and I managed to try them several times before it was discontinued. The area to ride in was very small; onboard, you were confined to part of the ship's atrium, and on Castaway Cay there was a "Segway Pen" marked off by logs.

Segways aren't too diffcult to ride; the only thing that takes some getting used to is turning. Instinctively, I used to want to turn by using my body weight and shifting the handles like a bike's handlebar. Unfortunately, that doesn't work! On a Segway you turn both ways with your left hand. You rotate the handle knob one way to turn left and the other to turn right. To go forward, you shift your weight forward; to stop, you simply shift back. Segways can be set at three different speed levels; for safety, the practice and touring Segways are set at the slowest level.

The training room in Epcot was small, but I was looking forward to riding in the wide, open space of World Showcase. Alas, it was not to be. As we perfected our zig zags and 360 degree turns, the weather outside turned positively ugly. The sky went black, the wind whipped into a frenzy, and the driving rain poured down in buckets.

Of course, in Florida that doesn't necessarily mean that the whole day is shot. Even with the outer effects of a hurricane, a band of rain can pass over within a few minutes and the sky can clear out again. We left the training room and selected our touring Segways, which we rode up and down the hallway. One of the tour guides checked with Guest Services and reported that the radar looked bad. The second part of the tour was officially cancelled, and we were promised a half-price refund. The guides also offered to let us ride around the hall for a while.

Before his ride, my husband hurried over to the Land pavillion to get a Fast Pass for Soarin'. That's my favorite ride at Epcot; even though it's basically just an Imax movie with motion and piped-in smells, I can never get enough of it. If you ever ride it, look at the top of the hill during the skiing sequence and you'll see a guy jump/fall off. Also, watch for the horseback riders below you in the mountains. Personally, my favorite part (besides Disneyland at the end) is the citrus grove. I love the music in that part, and the scent of oranges reminds me of the long-gone Horizons pavillion (anyone remember that?).

As we zoomed back and forth inside Innoventions, the sky suddenly brightened up and the rain moved out as though it had never existed. The only evidence of the sudden, severe downpour was the wet pavement and puddles. What little crowd there had been had scattered; we saw a few guests here and there, but most had been scared off to shelter.

Since the threat seemed to be over, the instructors let us bring the Segways outside. We zoomed around on a brick path between Innoventions and Journey Into Imagination that reminded me of the Belgium Blocks sequence in Test Track. It was great fun zipping around outdoors, even if we didn't make it to World Showcase. They let us ride for a fairly long time, considering that we were getting a partial refund. Finally the "tour" was over, so we brought our Segways back in and received a special Segway Tour pin. Then it was off to Soarin'.

There weren't many people in Epcot, but of all those who were, I suspect that 80 percent of them were heading to the same place as us. When we arrived, the line hadn't swelled too badly yet; it was almost walk-on, even for those without Fast Passes. We trooped down to the loading area, were sent to our assigned row, and prepared for our "flight" over California.

I don't tend to get motion sick, but I hadn't eaten any breakfast or drank anything at all. It was already nearly 11 a.m., so my body was feeling rebellious due to the deprivation. I happened to look down during a high-motion sequence, and suddenly my equilibrium short-circuited. I felt an awful sense of vertigo, and there wasn't much I could do since I was strapped in a chair and elevated up in front of a giant movie screen. I closed my eyes, but it didn't help. I groped for a drink of water, but our backpack was stashed under my husband's seat, and he couldn't reach it too easily. Finally, I focused on a stationary object (my sandals, which I was holding so they wouldn't slip off my dangling feet). The feeling disappeared; my brain must have hit the "reset" button, as I was suddenly fine again.

We grabbed another Fast Pass, since the return time was not much more than half an hour away. Meanwhile, we hopped into the standby line, hoping that it was still short. Alas, it had swelled to over half an hour. We figured we'd wait anyway, and to kill time I called 407-WDW-DINE to make a priority seating at the Garden Grill, one flight up, for when we were done riding. We did our standby ride, then zipped through again with our Fastpass. Amazing...I couldn't believe we had ridden Soarin' three times in a row in peak season July!

We had a nice lunch at the restaurant. They serve a meal for $19.99, with a choice of several entrees (I chose steak and mashed potatoes, while my husband opted for seafood pasta). Your drink is also included, as well as break sticks with three dips (flavored oil, hummus, and melted cheese). For dessert, you receive chocolate fondue with yummy dipping items like chocolate chip cookies, gummi worms, pound cake, brownies, marshmallows, strawberries, and pineapple. It's also a character meal, so Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale all stopped by for a visit.

If I was bringing children to Disney World, I'd definitely do at least one character meal. It's so much less stressful than waiting in lines for photos with the characters. Instead, they come to you, and you have a nice, relaxing interaction. We had our camera with us, since we'd snapped some shots of the Segways, so we took some pictures of Mickey and pals.

While eating, we looked through an Epcot map, and I noticed that Figment was supposed to be out for photos. Since he's one of my all-time favorite Disney characters, albeit a lesser known one, I had to go seek him out. I have an old picture of me with him and Dreamfinder; it was taken back in the good old days when "Journey Into Imagination" was still one of the best rides at Disney World. Then they totally ruined it, and there was such an outcry that they shut down the travesty and reworked it into something a little better, although it's still a shell of its former self. At least Figment is back in the reworking; he had been removed entirely from the ruined version.

We found him hanging out near the entrance to "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience." When he used to be out with Dreamfinder, he was the size of a small dog and fit in Dreamfinder's arms. Now, he is life-sized, in all his purple glory. I got some photos and stopped in the gift shop, where I bought a Figment t-shirt and water globe. My foyer is decorated with Stitch paraphenalia on one shelf and Figment knick-knacks on the other, so I'm always looking for new additions.

It had been a busy day at the park...Segway riding, a triple play on Soarin', good food, character photos, and of course shopping. Now it was time to head some and get some work done before the Front Porch picnic.

The picnic was the brainchild of another resident; he, along with many others, is a regular poster in the Front Porch, which is the Celebration community intranet. There are several sections that can be accessed by the general public, but the forums are password protected and available to residents only. Many people regularly post messages, but most have never met face to face. The picnic was meant to be a way to meet fellow Front Porch regulars.

I joined in to assist the planners, and we set up a gala affair for Saturday, July 9. But now the effects of Hurricane Dennis were threatening to scare off the attendees and to turn the picnic into a washout.

Since there had been no rain other than the morning shower, we decided to go ahead with our plans. We had reserved the North Village Pavillion, so that would offer some shelter from all but the nastiest of downpours. The event was slated to begin at 5 p.m., but my husband and I headed over early since we were helping out. I'd already joined the other planners to shop for necessities a few days ago. We'd loaded up on hot dogs, hamburgers, soda, chips, plates, and utensils...all the necessities for the perfect picnic. The attendees had been instructed to bring pot luck dishes, so we knew we'd be well set for salads and dessert.

But as luck would have it, as 5 p.m. approached, the sky grew darker and more threatening. People had started to trickle in, but suddenly the heavens opened and a vicious monsoon poured down. We worried that potential attendees would think that the picnic had been cancelled...and of course, no one had access to a computer to let them know that it was still a go. We shoved the tables and chairs into the middle of the pavillion, where they were protected from the rain.

Just as I expected he would, my husband took charge of the grill. He pretends he doesn't like to do it, but I know that he's only happy when he's got a spatula and tongs in his hands and he's charring dead cow over a propane blaze. Even though the initial crowd was sparse, a wonderful variety of side dishes was taking shape. Baked beans, ambrosia salad, potato salad, cole slaw, cookies, carrot cake...mmmm! Soon, the brave little band was grabbing plates and digging in.

Thankfully, the rain didn't last too long; during the reprieve, more people started to arrive. Initially, we had figured on about 60 people based on the RSVPs. By the end, we managed to break 30; not bad, considering the miserable weather. Even though the grass was wet, the kids all played within the pavillion while the adults milled around, chatting. Everyone managed to eat and drink their fill and to mix with their fellow Front Porch posters. I'm hoping that this was just the first incidence of what will become an annual event.

We had figured the picnic would run for about two hours, but we were still going at 7:30 p.m. If it hadn't been so windy and rainy, the bugs would probably have driven us out, but the weather was keeping them at bay. Mother Nature still had one last surprise for us: she battered us with a last downpour that made the previous one look like a light misting. The wind whipped water into the pavillion, sending us all scambling. We realized that it was time to pack up and end our little party.

It would have been nice to have 60 people, but given the circumstances, I was impressed that even half had braved the weather. I guess that after you've lived through a direct hurricane hit (or two or three), waves of rain from an outer band are nothing. All in all, I thought it was quite successful and definitely a lot of fun.

Below are some group shots from the picnic:















Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

Bye Bye Jaguar

This afternoon, my husband returned the Jaguar that he won for a week. As reported in my 4th of July parade post, he entered a trivia contest at work, hoping to win a $20 Starbucks gift card. Instead, he was one of the grand prize winners, scoring a 7-day Jag rental.

Problem is, we didn't really know what to do with it. We prefer driving Canyonero (my Aztek) because of all the room for groceries, household stuff, gardening suppplies, etc. that we are constantly buying. Plus, we discovered that a Jaguar is hard to tame down on the 25 m.p.h. streets of Celebration. It rockets forward at the slightest touch of the accelerator, and the speedometer is marked in 20 mile incremements, which makes it hard to gauge lower numbers. I scrupulously obey the speed limit; if I'm feeling particularly wild, I might flirt with 28 or 29, but that's as rebellious as I get.

We entered it in the Fourth of July parade, and after that, it mostly just sat out front. This Friday, it was time to return it to its home at Hertz Rent-A-Car, hopefully to go to someone who appreciates its abilities. My husband drove it to the Hertz location just outside the airport's North Exit. Then he took the shuttle bus to the terminal, where I picked him up so we could head to Florida Mall. He has been in desperate need of a new computer for a while now, so we figured we could swing over to Best Buy. We hate shopping in and around the mall, so we were pleased at the prospect of getting that unpleasant task over with.

We took Boggy Creek Road to Sand Lake Road to avoid the typical mess on Orange Blossom Trail. Traffic around Florida Mall typically resembles I-4 at rush hour. It resembles a giant parking lot, although the vehicles do crawl forward an inch or two every five minutes or so. Sand Lake is typically not as bad as OBT, so we slipped into one of the mall's back entrances.

We both like California Pizza Kitchen, so we fueled up with a shrimp/goat cheese/wild mushroom pizza and two-in-a-bowl soup before heading off to the hell that is Best Buy. We also stopped briefly at Bath & Body Works to load up on scented plug-ins. I know you can get 'em at the grocery store, but B&BW has such wonderful smells. My husband's favorite is Sun Ripened Raspberry, but I'm partial to Pearberry or Tangerine myself. We keep them plugged in at strategic locations throughout Duloc Manor, just in case I've been lax on my daily litterbox duty.

My husband is a very focused electronics shopper, and he doesn't appreciate commentary from the "peanut gallery" (i.e. me). Often, he takes forever as he pours over each little feature and nuance of a computer or television set or digital camera. Even when he has already done his research on the internet (as he had in this case), I still find that it's best for marital harmony if I just stay out of his way. Thus, I dropped him off at Best Buy and headed into Barnes & Noble next door to see if there were any new true crime books.

I managed to dig up two books that I hadn't read yet and headed back to the car. A quick call on the cell phone revealed that hubby was nearly done. He'd chosen his computer and was heading to the checkout. I pulled up in front of the store, snapped on my flashers, and waited...and waited. Finally, I called him again, only to discover that the front cashiers had sent him back to the rear of the store to check out. I was getting nervous because I was sitting in a precarious spot, halfway between blocking a handicapped parking spot and the entrance to the store. You'd think an electronics retailer, were people are likely to be hauling out big, heavy boxes, would have a pickup lane, right? Heck, no!

I finally got out and opened the rear hatch so it would be quite apparent that I was only making a temporary nusiance of myself. A few minutes later, I saw hubby heading out; he paused for a third degree by a worker at the door who checked his receipt as though he were on th FBI's Most Wanted List. Then, at long last, his new computer was safely stowed in Canyonero so we could head back home to Celebration.

How I hate to leave "the bubble," as Celebration residents tend to call our hometown. We tend to put off shopping at stores that cause us to leave town as long as possible. I don't really count the Xentury City Publix, since it's right across 192. I don't count going to dinner at Disney World as technically leaving, either; for me, Disney property is sort of an extension of the bubble.

At home, my husband has been busily setting up his PC, while I have been glued to the news. On Saturday morning, we're supposed to go on a long-awaited Segway tour at Epcot. Then, in the early evening, the Front Porch Picnic is supposed to take place. It looks like the fringe effects of Hurricane Dennis might make the whole day a washout. Hard to tell; storms are so unpredictable, even with the best scientific equipment. I guess I'll know when I wake up in the morning.

No matter what, it looks like Central Florida is escaping a direct hit, thank God. I feel so bad for the people in Haiti and Cuba who are going through the brunt of the storm, and it looks like it's going to batter parts of the U.S. too. A very ugly start to hurricane season...maybe, if we're lucky, it will be the end too (although I doubt it, as we've still got a few months to go).

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

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Thar We Blow Again!

It seems like hurricane season just started, and already we have Dennis (the fourth named storm so far) bearing down on Florida after wreaking destruction in Jamaica and threatening to hit Cuba at any time. Last year we got hammered, but at least it was at the end of the season, so eventually we knew we were safe for another year. If it's been this bad and we're only in July, I dread imagining what will happen by September.

At Category 4, Dennis is a musclebound storm. Originally, it was supposed to avoid FL altogether, but now it looks like we're going to get some fringe effects. At worst, it could veer and attack us on the same path as Charley. I don't want to imagine that possibility; I still remember what Kissimmee and Poinciana looked like after the devestating wind and rain last year. They still aren't fully recovered, so another strong storm would be a death knell for many of the homes that barely survived the last blast.

We have bottled water and extra cat litter, but that's about the extent of our hurricane preparation. We need to stock up on cat food and human non-perishables, but it's one of those things we never quite get around to. I'm probably somewhat complacent by seeing how well our house survived last year. We got by with minor soffit damage from Charley; the other storms tossed our landscaping around but didn't damage the house. But that was due to the storm's course; if its track had been just a bit different, Celebration wouldn't have fared nearly as well.

I guess it's no different than the tornados that I'm used to in the Midwest. They can rip one house apart, leaving nothing but a slab or gaping basement hole, and leave the place next door untouched. We were fortunate never to have a tornado touch down close to our condo, but over the years there were some bad ones that ripped through neighboring communities. Plainfield, which is about half an hour's drive away, is smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley. I had co-workers who lost everything when a particularly nasty twister tore through there a few years back.

Our old townhome was close that tornado-haven vicinity; I remember driving to pick up a propane tank one afternoon and noticing that the sky had turned green. Both my husband and I stared up in awe as a funnel cloud danced through the sky in the distance. Thankfully, it was moving away from us and never touched down.

While tornados were our worst weather worry in Illinois, Florida can get a double whammy. When a hurricane comes, the risk of tornados is elevated, too. Oh well, with any luck, we'll escape this one mostly unscathed. If it continues on its present course, we'll get some residual wind and rain...and consider ourselves very lucky.

I can deal with bad weather, but I'm praying frantically for a reprieve because of a special event on Saturday. I am very active on Celebration's Front Porch intranet forums, and this weekend we're having a picnic so posters and lurkers can meet each other face to face. Usually, we're all staring at computer screens, with no idea who we're bantering with via our keyboard. One of the posters had a brainstorm: Hold a picnic so we can meet in "real time."

We've been planning this get-together for quite some time, and yesterday we made the final preparations. We took a little field trip to Sam's Club and loaded up on burgers, hot dogs, chips, buns, condiments, plates, napkins, silverware, pop, and bottled water. Our little group is providing the core items, and attendees are bringing pot luck dishes.

I've been compiling a list of attendees, and it looks like we could have around 60 people (or maybe more if we get some surprise drop-ins). We've got the pavillion in North Village reserved so we have lots of lawn space for games and picnicking, as well as the pool for relief from the heat.

But now everyone is getting worried as the newscasters dangle Dennis as the lead story in each broadcast. The Fox newsteam has promised "responsible coverage," but so far they haven't defined that phrase. I guess they're implying that they won't resort to fear-mongering and sensationalism. We used to have that same thing happen in Chicago with snowstorms. A somewhat minor storm would be whipped by the media frenzy into "Killer Blizzard!" and "Monster Snowstorm!"

I hope they really do stick to responsible reporting because people in Florida are already gun-shy. Charley, Frances, and Jeanne showed us just how nasty a hurricane can be, even inland, and just how many storms can hit in one year. The anxiety fire doesn't need any more fuel.

Right now, the sky is a gorgeous shade of azure, punctuated by white, fluffy clouds. It's hard to imagine that tomorrow it could be dark and angry, with gale-forced winds. Maybe Mother Nature will take pity on us this year and focus her wrath elsewhere. Even if she just holds off for the picnic, I'll be happy; we can use a little fun before the hurricanes make their 2005 comeback.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

The Subversive Side of Celebration

On the tidy streets of Celebration, behind the neatly clipped lawns and the pristine house facades, you could probably never imagine the subversive television viewing activities going on.

Even I had no idea, and I consider myself pretty open-minded. I was an early fan of "Beavis and Butthead" and "Ren & Stimpy," and I watched "South Park" in the early days, before it entered the mainstream. Ah, those were the days! Some of the new episodes are still funny, but for me, nothing has ever topped Stan's grandpa begging him to perform euthanasia while all of the parents were committing suicide by sling-shot-ing themselves into the wall of the Cartoon Central building to protest "Terrence & Phillip" fart humor. (Well, okay, Cartman's tricking Scott Tennerman into eating the flesh of his own parents somes close, and "Woodland Critter Christmas" is the ultimate holiday classic.)

Nowadays, the foul-mouthed Colorado kids are nearly passe, and the new version of "Family Guy" is a watered-down shadow of its former disgusting, politically incorrect first incarnation. I loved "Kid Notorious" on Comedy Central, but I think I was one of only three people who ever watched it (and one of the other two was my husband, who I forced). I thought the only truly pants-wetting-hilarious, politically incorrect cartoon was "Drawn Together," and even they exhibited a rare modicum of taste by not airing the Christopher Reeve episode due to his passing away.

For the uninitiated, "Drawn Together" is an animated spoof on reality shows, in which characters such as Foxxy Love (a Josey and the Pussycats/blaxploitation 70s character), Toot (a chunky, black-and-white Betty Boop clone whose hobbies are eating and cutting herself), Wooldoor Sockbat (a cross between Stimpy and Spongebob Squarepants), Princess Clara (a stuck-up, racist Disney-style princess), Spanky Ham (a nasty internet cartoon who looks suspiciously like Chuckles the Silly Piggy from "Dave the Barbarian"), Ling-Ling (a Pokeman ripoff), Captain Hero (the requisite muscle-bound jock superhero), and Xandir (an elfin video game hero who was on a "neverending quest to save his girlfriend" until his housemates forced him out of the closet) attempt to live together in harmony.

Typical plots include the housemates' efforts to help Clara with her "problem" (her genitals are inhabited by an octopuss monster), leading the characters to break into song like on "Scooby Doo" and those other 60s Hanna Barbera classics. But on "DT," the lyrics aren't exactly Saturday morning material; the song is "La La Labia, Baby."

"Drawn Together" can manage to gross out and/or offend virtually anyone, regardless of sex, race, orientation, or belief system. You know that you're being very, very naughty by watching it, but that's part of why it feels so good. I get the same feeling when I dare to admit how much I enjoy "Reno 911."

But although "DT" walks the edge, it's getting hard to shock people in a day when even Disney Channel cartoons have their subversive moments. For example, on the "Lilo and Stitch" series, for Halloween Lilo dresses up like a Disney princess...with a bloody ax embedded in her skull. On "Dave the Barbarian," Fang yells at Uncle Oswich for touching her monkey warmer. He laments, "But touching the monkey is addictive!" (If you don't get it, think back to Dieter's Dance Party on "Saturday Night Live.")

Thus, when I tell you about a show that was revealed to me by a Celebration friend, please, please believe me when I classify it was possibly the most disgusting and offensive thing that I've ever watched on t.v. I feel like scrubbing my eyes out with Lysol when I'm done. But still, like a train wreck in which an engine full of babies collided head-on with one full of nuns at 75 m.p.h., I want to look away...I know I should look away...but I just can't. Dare I admit it, it makes me laugh. It's horrible...hideous...and often very funny in the most perverted way possible.

The show is called "Wonder Showzen," airing on MTV2. It looks like a PBS children's program on the order of "Sesame Street" or "Zoom," and the theme song would even lead you to believe that. But here is the advisory, verbatum:

WONDER SHOWZEN CONTAINS OFFENSIVE, DISPICIBLE CONTENT THAT IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL AND TOO AWESOME FOR ACTUAL CHILDREN. THE STARK, UGLY, PROFOUND TRUTHS WONDER SHOWZEN EXPOSES MAY BE SOUL CRUSHING TO THE WEAK OF SPIRIT. IF YOU ALLOW A CHILD TO WATCH THIS SHOW, YOU ARE A BAD PARENT OR GUARDIAN.

If you are easily offended, I implore you not, I repeat NOT to click the link below. It is a link to the Wonder Showzen pilot, which the show's creator's prepared for the USA Network. USA immediately took a pass, but they somehow convinced MTV to go for it, albeit buried on their bastard red-haired step-sibling channel.

It will open in a new window, and since it's a 15 minutes video, it may take some time to download (I only recommend it for high speed connections). One more time, before you click, I implore you to think twice, especially if graphic horse sex, child reporters questioning adults as they come out of the bathroom, puppet sex and childbirth, cows pooping, and a turkey getting its head lopped off would disturb you. You'll either think it's hilarious or will projectile vomit all over your computer screen and then start a petition to get me run out of Celebration (just remember, I'm not the one who discovered this!).

Don't say I didn't warn you: Click here to see the train wreck

Okay, hopefully you survived that, or had the good sense not to click on the link. And speaking of puppet sex, that makes a good segue into another subversive piece of viewing material that I was introduced to by yet another Celebration resident. It's both hilarious and disturbing, although in a more mainstream way than "Wonder Showzen." I'm referring to the movie "Team American: World Police," created by Matt and Trey of "South Park" fame.

"Team America's" characters are all marrionettes, but that doesn't stop them from destroying various locations around the world, decapitating liberal celebrities, and making graphic love in almost any imaginable position. I was nearly rolling on the floor throughout the movie, although the hilarity factor was probably enhanced by chugging margaritas beforehand. For those who appreciated the "South Park" soundtrack, you'll love "America, F&!k Yeah!" and "Montage" (which is also featured in the Aspen timeshare "SP" episode). The movie is loaded with quotable quotes and dialogue so hokey that it makes George Lucas look like Shakespeare. I had wanted to see it in the theater, but somehow I never got around to it. Now, it's a must for my home DVD collection.

Click here for the "Team America" script. I promise it won't make Jesus cry like "Wonder Showzen surely does; it's funny and subversive in a much more mainstream South Park/Simpsons/Family Guy kind of way.

When I moved to Celebration, I thought I was already corrupted pretty thoroughly. Now, I can see that I barely scratched the surface. I'm tapped into the seamy undercurrents flowing below the Disney/Stepford facade, and life will never be the same.

So if you're ever in Celebration in the evening and you see the bluish flicker of a television screen dancing around the edges of a window shade, be very, very afraid. And if someone tries to invite you inside for some t.v. or a movie, RUN! You never know what disturbing images might be dancing on their screen.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

4th of July, Part 2: The Holiday

As I mentioned in my previous post, Celebration residents got to double-dip this holiday weekend. We had the premiere of "Tugger" on July 2nd and then our usual festivities on the 4th.

I was a bit worried that the actual holiday would be sort of a letdown after all the Tugger fun. How can you top a movie premiere and celebrity concert, not to mention a dazzling fireworks show? But heck, I'm not one to turn down two days of partying, so I was looking forward to the "rerun."

Fourth of July was decidedly different than the Tugger event. It was more of a "traditional" small town festivity, complete with hokey parade in the morning, right down to fireworks over the lake to cap off the night. In between, it was much more low-key than Tugger, with the usual downtown booths and entertainment that are omnipresent at Celebration events. No giant movie screens, no concert roadies. Even the Shell oil tanker was missing, although Shell reps. were still taking Tugger photos and handing out fans/fireworks "enhancers" (like the angel glasses at Disney MGM for the Osborne Light Spectacular). Here's our picture:



You can tell that I am having a great time, but my husband looks less than thrilled. He must know that he's going to end up in a car trunk on the 4th...but that's getting ahead of the story.

Our Fourth of July was slated to start quite early, as I'd entered us in the parade. I was originally planning to drive Canyonero (my Aztek), but my husband won a free Jaguar rental for a week. He entered a trivia contest at work, hoping to win a $20 Starbucks gift card, and he ended up with the Jag. We're not really car buffs (come on, we drive a 'TEK!), so we didn't really know what we'd do with it. Then, brainstorm...why not use the Jaguar for the parade? Canyonero can always wait until next year, unless some crazed tourist or speeding Celebration Hummer destroys it in the meantime.

The theme of the parade was "The Fabulous 50s," so I borrowed a CD of 1950s sitcom theme songs and set to work on related decor. I made three panels for each side of the car, decorated with a scene from each of 10 shows, such as Howdy Doody and Donna Reed. Then, I topped the whole thing off with pink, white, and blue balloons (yes, I know, but Wal-Mart was out of red ones; my husband said we could pretend they had faded in the Florida sun).

This was my first time driving in a parade, but I've been in many on horseback. My horse, Cochise, is nearing 30 now, but when he was a youngster, I used to ride in several parades in the suburban Chicago area. I swear that horse knew exactly what he was doing and played to the audience. One year, as we were riding along, he suddenly reared up as we passed the judges' stand and did some sort of quasi-Lippizzan rear/buck. They seemed to like it, so I nudged him with my heels while putting pressure on the reins, and he did it again...and again. We ended up winning "Best Performance" (I didn't even know there was such a thing), and that became his parade trick.

Only problem was, every now and then he'd rear up a bit too high, and I'd have visions of him crashing over backwards and squashing me like a bug in front of hundreds of people (it can happen; a friend of mine had a horse fall backwards on her, although thankfully she escaped with minor bruises). Even in my terror, I would maintain a happy, everything's-under-control face because someone was inevitably nearby with a camera. Fortunately, Cochise never lost his balance. These days, he's too old to buck or rear very high, although he tries every now and then.

The Jaguar was much easier to control than a horse, although it tended to rocket forward with even the tiniest touch of the accelerator. After a bit of practice, I learned to keep it at a steady idle speed.

The 3rd was mostly a day of rest; we attended church in the morning, then went to Bennigan's for lunch with friends. On the monitor in church, there was a large blow-up of Mel Gibson in "The Patriot." Last time I attended, they showed a movie clip from "What Women Want," starring Mel. No wonder I love Community Presbyterian...any church that gives me a weekly dose of Mel Gibson is tops in my book! Now, if they'll just start showing Johnny Depp clips...

Afterwards, I worked on blowing up endless amounts of ballons and pasting photos on my panels. The cats were trying their darndest to assist, but claws and balloons are not a good mix. I tried locking them out of my work area, but that was a pointless exercise in futility. They scratched frantically at the door, and my limited workspace was soon too cluttered anyway, so finally I relented and just worked around them.

Then we headed over to a friend's house for a NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) decorating party. Her vehicle was being featured as the Democrats of Celebration entry, so we all descended on it with a mound of streams and banners and patrioctic garland. Soon it was transformed from an ordinary little red and white NEV to a gaudy, parade-ready patriotic bandwagon.

After we returned home, I finished up the Jag decor and stashed it out of reach of the cats. My husband and I decided to wait until morning to put the decorations on the car. We didn't know just how motion-worthy they would be, so the smartest course of action seemed to be plastering them on in the staging area.

We were up bright and early the next morning, learning the complexities of stashing 36 inflated balloons into a car. We decided that Canyonero would be the "roadie vehicle," since the panels wouldn't fit inside the Jag without being folded. We headed to the Sycamore parking lot, where the parade was slated to begin, and settled into slot 23 to transform the Jag into a rolling monstrosity of balloons and black-and-white sitcoms.

We were among the first to arrive, but the other participants slowly trickled in. As they arrived, I quickly realized that 90 percent of them either a) hadn't bothered to keep to the theme; or b) didn't even know there was a theme. Red, white, and blue banners, flags, and streamers were the order of the day, with very little Fabulous 50s worked in.

Among those who did go with the theme, see if you can guess the obvious choice. Now remember, Celebration is known as the "Disney Town." 1950s...Disney...Fabulous 50s...Mickey Mouse. If you said, "Mickey Mouse Club," you've earned a pair of ears. My Jag was surrounded by two dueling "Mickey Mouse Club" factions: the Celebrators (a retiree group) and Gaw Realty. The Gaw gaggle had festooned a floatilla of NEVs with giant mouse ears. Not to be outdone, the Celebrators had hoola hoop performers and a roller skater (yes, rollerskates, not blades).

Apparently, Celebration has a parade entry contest, but unlike most parades, it isn't broken down into categories (i.e. marching bands, floats, cars, bicycles, etc.). Everything is against everything else, and both Gaw and the Celebrators were determined to win. In the end, the old-timers triumphed (how can you compete with people who actually lived the 50s?), while the Gaw entry came in third. I never did figure out who/what won second place; by that time, I was holed up in the car with the stereo blasting. My hyperacusis makes fireworks-viewing difficult, and it also causes ear pain with certain pitches like backfiring cars and loud motorcycles. Since both of those items were entered in the parade, and were therefore nearby in the staging area, the music helped offset their painful pitch.

Of course, people might have though my Jag was backfiring, too. I'd insisted on inflating the balloon as much as possible, not realizing that they'd expand in the vicious Florida July sunshine. Every now and then, one would explode with a jolting POP!

My poor husband, who had won the Jaguar rental in the first place, was relegated to the trunk. When I was originally going to drive Canyonero, I thought it would be cool to have him sit on the tailgate, waving a giant flag. Now that we had switched vehicles, I clung to my original idea, but the Jag's trunk was decidedly less user-friendly. Still, he was a good sport and balanced himself in the back, fulfilling my artistic vision:



Oddly enough, there were a number of exotic cars in the parade that were not decorated at all. In the parades of my youth in the Chicago 'burbs, if you wanted to be in the parade, you had to stap on streamers and banners and stars and stripes, no matter what you were driving. In Celebration, I wondered if I had committed a travesty by sullying a Jag with common ballons and posterboard.

Another odd thing about the parade is that there are no "real" floats. I'm used to lots of big, fancy entries, even from community groups, as that's what we always had in Illinois on the Fourth, even in small suburbs. I guess that wouldn't be too practical in Celebration; there's no way a full-sized float could have made the turn out of the parking lot. The Celebration parade is definitely very "small town." The closest thing I ever saw was in a little town called Ward, in Colorado. It's a bastion of ex-hippies, where the classic VWs are plentiful and the children and dogs run free. One year, we were vacationing in Estes Park and were on a drive to Boulder. Our driver decided to take us through the Ward time warp, but apparently it was the day of their annual Fourth of July parade. The town is so small that they hadn't even blocked off the streets too well. Thus, we somehow found ourselves in the parade! Since most of it just seemed to be people walking down the street, we fit right in (well, almost...we weren't in a Beetle).

Celebration's parade has more entries and more decor than Ward's, but the number of spectators was much more sparse than I had expected. Still, even though it looks impressive to have hundreds of people jostling for space in a wall-to-wall crowd, it was rather cool to head down our hometown streets and actually recognize so many of the people as friends and neighbors. With the 50s tunes blasting, I couldn't hear a thing, but my husband got lots of good-natured ribbing about his perch in the trunk. He played social butterfly, waving to the spectators, while I concentrated on not punching the accelerator too hard and destroying the vehicle in front of me.

We learned the futility of sticking with the theme when my husband found himself continually fielding the question, "What's up with the 50s shows?" Also, from the younger generation, "What are those shows?" Next year, I'll be driving Canyonero and going with a Simpsons theme, no matter that the "official" theme is (for those who aren't fans, Canyonero is the name of a big, obnoxious SUV in two Simpsons episodes).

Overall, the parade was great fun. Even though I'm used to fancier floats and a bigger turnout, I liked the whole retro feel...a small-town gathering of townsfolk. Goodness knows we have plenty of big, crowded events; even the Fourth of July turns into a madhouse of tourists as the day wears on. It's cool to have a hometown Celebration event in the morning.

The rest of the day went by quickly. We planned to head downtown around 6 p.m., as we were attending a barbeque at Celebration Hotel. Meanwhile, we had a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel and went home to slip in a few hours of work (neither of our jobs pause for the holidays).

We usually walk downtown when there is some big hoopla rather than fighting for a parking spot, but this time we decided to drive so we wouldn't be all hot and sweaty when we got to the restaurant. Amazingly, parking was not too crazy yet. We didn't even stress ourselves with trying to find something unreasonably close. We just parked near the 851 building, facing towards East Village for an easy getaway. I prefer being on the street rather than in a parking lot because the lots are a madhouse after the fireworks.

The hotel was holding a ticketed barbeque buffet, which included being able to view the fireworks from their pool area. The Rotary Club of Celebration was holding a concurrent event; they had reserved the Plantation Room as their dining area (a nice respite from the muggy weather). The food was bountiful and delicious...everything from ribs, brats, and burgers to pulled pork, chicken wings and grilled mahi. Th honey barbeque wings had a bite to them, but they were addictive. There was also a variety of traditional salads with a twist (my favorite was the potato salad, which had a different hue and a delicious flavor that I couldn't quite identify). There were many temptations at the dessert bar, but I opted for a huge white chocolate-coated candy apple. Heaven! The price included an open bar; I stuck to iced tea, but my husband downed three glasses of wine.

After dinner, we had some time before the fireworks, so we went wandering among the booths. I paused for a 10 minute massage at the Celebration Day Spa area, and we headed down to the church to see Celebration's new theater group performing patriotic songs. We missed the first part, but from what we saw, they did a wonderful job. Then we headed back out into the crowd, which had swollen a thousandfold from the morning. We figured that by the time we managed to work our way back to the hotel, fireworks time would be nigh.

We scoped out a spot near the pool and waited; a big, black thundercloud was threatening, but I think the people of Celebration kept it away by a combined act of will. This time, I had remembered my shooters' headphones, so I was able to watch the show without clamping my hands over my ears. The Tugger fireworks had been quite a sight to behold, so I was wondering if the second show could measure up. It most certainly did! The hotel deck is a perfect viewing spot, and the show was absolutely dazzling. This year, I've been spoiled rotten with two shows. Usually I'm happy enough with just one, but if that's all we get next year, it will be quite a letdown! I hope that Tugger is successful,and I have to admit that part of my reason is selfish...I'd love to have another premiere every year.

Unlike the Tugger fireworks, the crowd on the 4th was massive. My husband and I worked our way through the mass of humanity to our vehicle, which we'd left in a relatively uncrowded area. But while we were gone, the cars had come out of the woodwork to plaster the parking areas solid all the way down to Eastlawn. We quite literally would have gotten home more quickly by walking, but we'd known that when we chose to drive. Lightning was flashing overhead, so I was glad we were in the car just in case a downpour started. Fortunately, the monsoon held off until most people had probably made it home.

All in all, it was probably one of my best Fourth of July weekends ever. The only memory that comes close is a childhood 4th at the Beecher fair. Now, it's time to return to the work week and look forward to Founders Day in November (the next big Celebration bash).

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

4th of July, Part 1: Tugger Comes to Town

The holiday weekend festivities started early in Celebration this year. The long-awaited (some might say long-dreaded) premiere of "Tugger" came to town on July 2nd. Far from a mob scene of 60,000 crazed Tugger/Jim Belushi fans, it was an orderly event on the scale of a typical Celebration Fourth of July.

If you're wondering just who/what Tugger is, visit www.tuggerjeep.com In a nutshell, he's a World War II Jeep that dreams of flying like an airplane. His computer-generated story was created by former Disney animators who formed a company called Genesis Orlando, which is located in Celebration. In a very real sense, Tugger is a hometown creation. The cartoon that premiered this year is the first in a planned series.

My husband and I had volunteered to work at one of the merchandise booths, so we were scheduled to report downtown at 2 p.m. In the morning, we had lots of errands to run, so we took our "Tugger" pass and headed out in Canyonero. One of the more controversial aspects of this event was the closing down of the entrances to town. In order to drive into Celebration, you had to be a resident or worker. Otherwise, you were routed to the Celebration Place parking lot, where you paid five bucks a pop and were shuttled into town. There were lots of online complaints about the inconvenience about having to show a pass. Personally, I rather liked the idea; perhaps it can be a blueprint for future events, since downtown parking is always at a premium.

I had been a bit worried because I'd seen postings from people who had received their "Tugger" passes, but mine hadn't come before my last trip to Chicago. Thankfully, they were waiting in the mailbox when I returned. A few people didn't get theirs, but thanks to the Front Porch intranet, people with extras were able to share.

As it turned out, we didn't even need the pass. There were flashing signs warning that the roads would be shut down by noon, but when we got home around 1 p.m., there was no one checking. I did see a "Road Closed" sign that was being totally ignored. We took one of the "back" entrances, so perhaps they didn't start controlled access there until later.

As the appointed time approached, we donned our yellow "Volunteer" shirts and headed out. Normally, we walk downtown for special events, but the sky looked somewhat threatening so we decided to drive. After all, if the parking plan was going smoothly, we figured we'd be able to find a decent spot. We didn't look all that hard for a prime spot, as I don't mind walking a bit. We easily found a space on Campus Street and hiked over to town hall to sign in. We spotted Tugger himself sitting nearby, so my husband snapped some photos.

One we had taken care of the formalities, we headed over to the booth, which was located between Seito and Herman's. It sold a variety of Tugger merchandise, including hats, t-shirts, beach towels, a storybook, bracelets, and coloring books. We also had soda, bottled water, and popcorn, but the non-edibles were definitely the most popular sellers.

Even though the event didn't officially start until 3 p.m., people started trickling in almost immediately. We made nearly $100 in sales before we even got our cash box. I was a seller and my husband was a runner who was supposed to get us more merchandise, if needed. Since we didn't run out of anything, he stayed just outside of the booth and kept an eye out for shoplifters. But trouble wasn't too likely, as the sheriffs had a very visible presence. The dire prediction of 60,000 people didn't materialize, but if it had, there were plenty of police officers to keep the peace.

While manning the booth, we saw many friends and acquaintances. It amazed me how many people we've gotten to know in less than a year. I also noticed that among the customers, there were certain "Frequently Asked Questions." Number One: Do you take credit cards? Answer: No, cash only. I did get a couple of people who seemed clueless about the whole Tugger concept and who asked what the festivities were all about. Perhaps they had come to Celebration expecting a typical day and had stumbled into our big event. Fortunately, I'd been following the Tugger saga on the internet, so I was able to spiel a pretty decent version of the Jeep's backstory and the tale of Genesis Orlando, our hometown animators.

My most interesting interaction was with an obnoxious tourist who obviously hadn't spend enough time at Disney World. He was raising a little fuss because we were selling bottled water for $2. Come on, dude, it's for a good cause! (Frequently Asked Question Number Three: Where does the money go? Answer: Arnold Palmer Hospital). He kept ranting about how he gets water for free out of the lake back home. I resisted an urge to hand him a straw, point to the lake across the street, and say, "Go for it!" Instead, I pointed out that it's still cheaper than the theme parks. Finally he relented and ponied up.

The crowd started out at a trickle when we first arrived at our post, but by the time we left, there was a steady, heavy stream of people pouring into town. My husband bought a "Tugger World Premiere" towel (it was very cute; I wish they had that logo on a t-shirt), and we headed over to the Columbia for some salad and sangria. For us, no downtown event is complete without at least one serving of sangria (the salad is optional).

We walked down to the end of the road to see which booths had been set up. I got a nice, new airforce coffee mug, and we headed back toward downtown. On the way, we noticed that Columbia also had a seafood paella, so we bought a plate. I discovered that, in addition to clams and mussels, it also contained chicken. Not good, since hubby is allergic to chicken meat. I picked out all the offending poultry, while he focused on the sea creatures.

There was so much going on; my favorites were Uncle Sam on stilts and the Celebration Players cast members from the production "1776," who were walking around in period costumes. I felt like I was at the Naper Settlement back in Illinois, or Greenfield Villlage in Michigan. I don't mind the crowds; specials events were one of the reasons that we moved to Celebration. Fourth of July is always a big bash, but this year we were getting two full days of fun, courtesty of Genesis and Tugger.

A black, threatening cloud was lurking overhead, and workers covered the electrical equipment with plastic. But I knew that we were safe from the rain because my husband had packed two plastic ponchos and I'd slipped a portable umbrella into my fanny pack. As long as we were prepared, the rain would never come. If we'd left the rain gear at home, it surely would have poured.

By this time, the crowd had grown quite formidable. With no small effort, we worked our way towards the hotel and then down Market Street towards Town Hall. Apparently, some sort of parade was about to begin, as barriers and ropes had been erected to make a clear path between the end of the street and the main stage by the lake. Since Tugger himself was sitting right at the start of the pathway, my husband predicted that he'd been heading to the stage. Like lemmings, we joined the other people thronged around the barricades, waiting for something exciting to happen.

In theory, the festivities were supposed to start at five thirty. There was an announcement that the parade would begin in five minutes...nearly half an hour passed, and I grew quite restless and impatient, along with the people crowded around me. Meanwhile, music continued to blare from the main stage. I knew that I was a true Celebration resident when the song "Celebration," by Kool and the Gang, blasted over the loudspeakers and I cringed. I live in the constant hope that I'll hear the Chumbawamba version at an event someday, but no such luck.

Soon, my husband and I began betting each other a quarter on whether there would be another song or whether the festivities would begin. Finally, the hostess from one of the local news stations stepped up to the microphone to kick things off. At first, she was totally confused about just what she was supposed to be announcing, but soon everything was sorted out. She announced the names of Celebration military veterans as they walked up on stage.

Then, finally, the moment we'd been waiting for. Surely someone or something interesting would be coming down that roped-off walkway. The crowd leaned forward in breathless anticipation. Would it be Jim Belushi and Carrot Top driving Tugger at top speed? Would the little Jeep that could use the path as a runway and soar over the lake? No, it was a group of Air Force recruits. They were joined by a color guard...and that was it. Bummer. After 30 minutes of wait time, I felt as let down as if I'd joined a line at Disney World, expecting to eventually get to a ride, and had found out it was only for the restroom.

The new recruits were sworn in on stage, and then there was singing and performances by the 1776 cast. The clock was rapidly ticking down to the premiere of the Tugger movie, which would be projected onto giant screens throughout the downtown area, and the nightcap of fireworks. Jim Belushi was also slated to perform with his band, the Sacred Hearts, but I wasn't too interested in that. I figured that during the concert we could drop the car off at home, pick up our camp chairs, and walk back to town.

A friend told me that there was a booth taking Tugger photos; you stand in front of a green screen, and your image is superimposed into the Jeep. There were some performances still going on on-stage, so my husband and I slipped over to the booth while a lot of the crowd was still occupied. Sure enough, the line was quite manageable. The photo booth was sponsored by Shell Oil, a prominent sponsor of Tugger; amazingly, the pictures were free. My husband and I posed in front of the green screen and were given a card with a number, which we could use to download our photo later. Pretty slick!

Shell also had a booth where you could apply for their charge card. The free premium they were giving away was absolutely perfect: mini portable camp chairs. Ideal for viewing the movie, concert, and fireworks! Personally, we already have enough (too many) credit cards, so we took a pass.

A lot of people must have taken advantage of the offer, as we saw droves of them sitting in their freebie chairs around the Tugger Jumbo-Trons. It was like a drive-in movie without the cars. We were going to stake out a spot to stand near the Town Hall screen, but as we slipped past the Town Tavern to cut across the parking lot, we spotted some friends in the crowd. They had chairs to spare, so we settled in with a perfect view of the screen in front of Barnies. Finally, it was time for the Main Event, the reason for all of the controvery and festivities. Tugger was about to make his big-screen debut.

Here are my personal thoughts about the movie, written from a perspective of a person with no children (those with probably have a better idea of how well it will hold the attention of the Pee Wee crowd):

The story is rather simple: Tugger is a WWII Army Jeep who was wounded in combat, resulting in an airplane propeller being installed in place of his fan. As a result, Tugger dreams of flying like the airplanes that he tugs on the runways every day. He works at an airfield where he ended up after the war, with Chief (a cranky ex-military man) as the unsympathetic boss. Chief's dog, Max, is an ugly, obnoxious lump of fur that loves to chew tires and chase poor Tugger. The Jeep's best friend is Shorty the short-wave radio, and he also has various animated object buddies such as Ma and Pa Pump (two old-fashioned gas pumps), an old war plane, and a superstitious ladder truck.

The message is a positive one, i.e. follow your dreams, even if they are impractical. Poor Tugger doesn't lose hope, even when he is exiled to a semi-abandoned hanger for five years. The animation is not Shrek-quality, but it's certainly adequate for a kids' video/DVD. My only wonderment is whether contemporary kids will relate to the World War II theme; it's ancient history to most of them. It made me feel quite old to realize that my dad had fought in WWII. I know what Shorty is supposed to be, but I think children are going to peg him as some sort of Fisher Price toy. (Well, actually, I was wondering about the magical air base where all the inanimate objects talk, too...I'd feel much safer on my semi-regular Chicago trips if I knew that the 737 was alive, sentient, and consciously wanting to avoid a crash).

I didn't like the song in which the birds join in with Tugger; the rest of the soundtrack was okay, but for some reason that one really grated on me. Donny Osmond was originally pegged to be Tugger's voice, so I wonder if I would have liked it better with him in the role. Jim Belushi's singing isn't in the same league with Donny's; I still have fond memories of seeing Donny in downtown Chicago performing in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." When not singing, Belushi did fine in the voiceovers, and Carrot Top fit the role of Shorty quite nicely. The radio sidekick tosses in silly jokes that are not unlike Carrot Top's own brand of humor, although he didn't plug AT&T.

Ironically, the sound went out during that song, and the movie had to be stopped temporarily while the technical glitch was fixed. Tugger was rewound so we wouldn't miss anything, so I got to hear my "favorite" song yet again.

One company that did receive lots of plugs was Shell. On one hand, the product placement fit, since you need gas pumps in a place where lots of vehicles are working. On the other hand, the number of times that the Shell logo was shown seemed a bit distracting. But kids might not even notice, and I'm wondering if there is perhaps a bigger tie-in in the works. In the past, Shell sold Charlie Brown videos at their gas stations, so offering Tugger DVDs would be a natural promo opportunity.

Kids will like the simple, easy to follow story, but as a sadistic adult, there was one additional plot twist that I would have enjoyed. I am an animal lover, but the dog, Max, was so nasty and obnoxious that I was rooting for Tugger to turn him into a grease spot on the runway. Normally, I'm not fond of cruelty to animals, but if Max had bought the farm, I would have cheered. But other than that, Tugger had the requisite happy ending; after a short flight under his own power (and his subsequent exile), the little Jeep soars triumphantly into the blue with his buddy, Shorty, in the cargo hold of a plane as he heads off to join the Blue Angels.

All in all, I'm proud that Genesis Orlando is located in Celebration. I hated it when Disney shut down the real working studio over at Disney MGM and turned the tour into a clone of the lame California Adventure version. Now, we have former Disney animators working right here in town. Hopefully Tugger will be the start of a long string of movies. I'd love to see a premiere every Fourth of July weekend (the next movie slated in the series is "Tugger and the Kansas Twister"); otherwise, only having one day of festivities is going to seem like a let-down now that we've been spoiled.

After the movie, my husband and I headed back to East Village to pick up our camp chairs. We missed the Jim Belushi concert, but that's okay...I was worried that he might perform the "bird song," and twice was quite enough. I guess our rain ponchos really were keeping the rain at bay, because after we left, the downtown area had a quick downpour. Oddly enough, there was no rain by our house. We left the car at home and hiked down the walking trails, arriving just in time for the fireworks.

Below is a picture of Jim with the intrepid leader of the Celebration Bunny Brigade. She has a talent for meeting up with celebrities, but even though she spoke highly of Jim, all of Celebration knows that Davy Jones is her true love:


Some friends had staked out a great lakeside spot, so we set up our chairs and settled in for the light show. What can I say? It was awesome! The fireworks were set to the Tugger soundtrack (yay, I got to hear the bird song again), and it was so cool that at several points I thought I was seeing the finale, only to realize that the show was far from over. The sky continued to blaze with color as the explosions rocked the lakefront. When the finale did come, there was no mistaking it. The only thing I've ever seen to rival it was the Christmas addition to Illuminations at Epcot. It was a nuclear explosion of white fireworks that just kept coming and coming. The sight was absolutely mesmerizing.

Ironically, although I love fireworks, I have a condition called hyperacusis that makes their pitch painful to my ears. I have shooters' headphones (which electronically deaden the sound), but I forgot to bring them, so I resorted to my old fashioned method, i.e. covering my ears. During the earthshaking finale, I experienced a curious mixture of pleasure and pain. My hands were clamped firmly against my head while my eyes were riveted on the amazing sight in the sky.

Normally, after a downtown event, we are like salmon swimming upstream when we try to walk home. This time, it was no challenge to get to the walking path. I don't think we were anywhere near the drastic predictions of huge, Disney-sized crowds. The parking/shutting seemed to work smoothly, so hopefully Tugger will serve as a prototype for future events.

Now, let's hope Fourth of July goes as smoothly! We've already been to the parade this morning, so it will be time for dinner and the fireworks soon. Watch for my next post, "4th of July, Part 2," for details.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

Celebration Destiny

It's been a while since the parking meeting that dropped me from Celebration into the Twilight Zone. It was a terrible feeling to watch helplessly as the kangaroo-court "approval process" took place. But it seems that something good often springs from the bad stuff. In this case, the good is the formation of Celebration Destiny.

The website is www.celebrationdestiny.com. There's not a lot of content out there yet, but it's in the works. We're still in our infancy, but Celebration Destiny is made up of a group of concerned citizens who will act as watchdogs over government agencies, spread awareness of important issues, and support self-determination for our community. The worst thing about the Issa/Carlyle proposal and land swap was that no one among the citizenry realized what was going on until it was too late. Knowing in advance would have allowed us to make our opinions known and to have researched alternate proposals.

For me, personally, the most important issue is maintaining the viability of Celebration's downtown. Without the shops and restaurants that attract tourists (and dollars) and the special events that keep it fun and vibrant, we'll be just another town. I'm not necessarily against development, but I draw the line when it eliminates precious parking spaces or threatens the downtown district in any other way.

If you take away downtown, Celebration becomes like virtually any other suburb. I can't imagine living here and not being able to walk downtown to enjoy a Barnie's Cooler in a rocking chair in front of the lake. As a matter of fact, it was that very mental picture that helped to bring me to town. I'd heard about Celebration for years, and it was one of those places I knew I'd visit someday. Since my husband and I had a ten-year plan to move to Florida, I even though I might like to live there. But I didn't seriously entertain the thought because I thought it would be too expensive (ironically, it wasn't at the time, but now it is!)

Then I met a woman from Celebration in the spa on a Disney Cruise Line ship. As she rattled off the advantages of living here, one thing in particular caught my attention. She described the pleasure of relaxing in a rocker on the lakefront with a good book. It sounded so appealing; I couldn't even imagine doing that in my hometown. In my Chicago 'burb, they do have a park with chairs, but the ambience is destroyed by the heavy chains anchoring them into the concrete. That conversation planted a seed that sprouted when we finally made it to Celebration a year or so later; after that visit, it blossomed, and here we are today.

Of course, Celebration Destiny is concerned with the bigger picture, but those are just my personal reasons for joining. I've never been a community activist before, mainly because I've never really cared all that much about the towns in which I lived. They were a place to crash in between my busy days. In contrast, Celebration is my home.

I've participated in a couple of activities so far. One was a field trip to the Osceola County Planning Office to see the Celebration Master Plan. It shows all of the current zoning for the various land parcels. Interestingly enough, there is one area near Disney MGM Studio that could be used as a theme park. The planner we spoke to also showed us the Celebration DRI 2004 Annual Report. According to its introductory letter, it contains items such as "project development activity and approvals" from March, 2003 to Feb. 2004. Interestingly enough, the 2005 report is overdue and has not been filed by The Celebration Company yet. We ordered copies of the two documents, which I picked up this week to peruse at my leisure and to make available to other interested residents.

I also attended the latest CCDD meeting. There was nothing volatile on the agenda, but it was still interesting. It flashed me back to my days of covering school board and village board meetings for the Southtown Economist newspaper. I was what is known as a "stringer," meaning they would call me up and give me my assignment for the evening. It brought in a little extra cash and helped me build up experience to ease my way into magazine writing.

Now, I attend as an interested citizen. I am going to try to attend as many meetings of the various alphabet-soup boards in Celebration as I can. We have CCDD (Celebration Community Development District), CROA (Celebration Residential Owners Association), CNOA (Celebration Non-Residential Owners Association), CJC (Celebration Joint Committee), CSEC (Celebration Special Events Committee) and ARC (Architectural Review Committee), just to name a few.

The talk at the CCDD meeting centered around downtown parking, with a chart showing the total number of parking spaces (for anyone who is interested, Main Village parking breaks down like this: Iris St., 26 spots; Camilla, 33; Verandah Pl., 17; Elderberry, 6; Jasmine, 122; Greenbriar, 108; Campus, 144; LOngmeadow, 45; Golfpark, 150; Honeysuckle, 64; Teal, 69; Mulberry, 80; Water St. E, 39; Water St. W, 46; Celebration Ave., 204; Front St., 40; Sycamore, 87; Arbor Ct., 8; Arbor Circle, 53). However, there wasn't a breakdown of the number of spots that would be considered specifically "downtown" parking.

They also talked about incorporation, which is a topic that is heating up in Celebration. Despite the common perception, we are not a real town. But someday, perhaps, we will be. Plans for possibly incorporating are still in their infancy, but there is a growing movement. There is a separate group examining the feasibility of incorporation, but the CCDD board discussed some of the potential issues. They also discussed the turnover of the last 10 roads to the county and a new stop sign to be installed at Celebration Avenue and Spring Park. Nothing too exciting, but it's best to be there anyway because you never know when a whopper item will slip onto the agenda.

Actually, I'm wondering if one of the items will cause some repercussions down the road. It's not specifically a CCDD issue, but they did chat about it a bit. The ECDD is installing meters to measure the use of reclaimed water (i.e. irrigation water for sprinklers etc.), and people who use more than the recommended guidelines will have to pay for it. This is a new policy; letters have gone out, but I don't know if people have paid attention to them. I suspect there will be a stir when meter installation actually begins, or at least when people start getting higher bills. I'm not sure exactly what "reasonable use" means, so we'll see.

Thus far, my community activism has been low-key, but I'm sure it will jump into high gear when another big issue rears its ugly head. There are a few that are somewhat dormant but that could jump into the spotlight at any time.

I've discovered that I enjoy being "involved." It was one of things I looked forward to when making the decision to move to Celebration. I didn't know about the community issues back then, but I looked forward to volunteering at the special events and supporting local groups. Thus far, I haven't been disappointed, as there always seems to be something going on. There's always a high school or community play or a fund raising car wash or sporting event or the like. Tomorrow I'll be selling Tugger merchandise downtown and praying that the weather holds.

When I return to my old Chicago stomping ground, I feel no sense of belonging. The town looks as bland as ever, with pathetic attempts to make it more exciting. Besides the chained-down chairs, there is some odd artwork (when I see it, all I can think of is the thousands of dollars it must have cost) and hideously painted themed benches. I guess they're meant to draw people to the main street, but all they do is scare me away. The town's efforts must not be working, because one of the prime-location restuarants is in its fourth incarnation. In its last one, it morphed into a rather rough biker bar...nothing says "Spend some time downtown!" like two dozen Harleys parked in a row.

In contrast, I love spending time downtown in Celebration, and just living here in general. How nice to live in a place that I actually care about.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com

The Soggiest June

I think we might have had the soggiest June on record. As of yesterday, Fox news said that we had moved up from fifth place to second. We got lots more rain today, so I suspect that we have moved into first place.

Only a few weeks ago, I was lamenting the lack of rain. Now, we've got all we could ever want...and more. Ironically, it's very, very dry in Chicago. Too bad I can't package up the rainclouds and send a few over.

Of course, afternoon rain is a fact of life in Florida. Every summer, the midday monsoons move in. Usually, they don't last very long. They just boom with thunderbolts and blast with lightning, disgorge a downpour, and disappear. The problem this month is that they're starting early and staying all day.

When they come at their usual time, it's easy to deal with them. Even in my tourist days, my husband and I became expert at planning meals or indoor activities around the afternoon showers. I feel sorry for the poor souls who are vacationing with the Mouse this week. It's bad enough that they've paid top dollar to take their trip in the peak season. Then they get to plow through the crowds and wait in two hour lines. Now, worse yet, they're getting drenched too.

When my husband and I know that showers are coming, we pack our bright blue ponchos. They offer good protection, especially if you're wearing shorts. But here's an important tip: DO NOT wear tennis shoes. If you do, your feet will be sloshing all day and probably developing blisters. Wear tongs or water sandals for maximum comfort on soggy turf.

Speaking of the sogginess, my floors are a real mess from tracking in wet grass and mulch all week. I have minimized some of it by laying new stepping stones along the garage. I had smaller ones, but they made me feel like I was playing hopskotch. Now I've got nice, big ones that are easy to maneuver on. Hopefully they will cut down on my floor scrubbing.

My house is considered a bungalow, and amazingly, it's standard that the back family room comes with carpet. Ours was upgraded to tile, thank God. I can't even imagine the horror of trying to keep carpeting clean. We almost always park in our driveway and trek through the backyard, so if we had carpet, by now it would have a permanent mud-colored path worn in.

The weather just came on t.v., and rain is in the forecast all the way through Saturday. I hope it blows out early, as the Tugger World Premiere starts on the 2nd at 2 p.m. I don't have a choice on whether to go or not, as my husband and I have volunteered to work in one of the merchandise booths. There are festivities planned throughout the day, from an Air Force fly-over to a premiere of the Tugger movie on big screen televisions to a concert by Jim Belushi and a fireworks display capper. Celebration will be closed to everyone except residents (and, presumably, those associated with the premiere); others will have to park on the outskirts and take a shuttle downtown. We all received passes in the mail to allow us to come and go freely.

The rain needs to hold off on Monday, too, which is the actual 4th of July holiday. Sunday promises to be low key, but on Monday we have another full slate of activities, capped by yet another fireworks display. I will be driving in the parade that morning; my husband won a week's Jaguar rental in a raffle, so he's picking up the vehicle tomorrow, and we'll be decking it out for the parade. Originally I was going to enter Canyonero, but I couldn't resist using the Jag.

I'll be very happy to see my husband, since he's been in Chicago for two weeks (his usual jaunt is one week at a time). The weather there has been at FL heat levels, so at least he's felt at home. Or maybe not...it's hard to get used to boring Midwest landscapes when you're used to palm trees and lush tropical vegetation. I'm sure that Farquaad will be pleased to see him, too. Quaad is definitely his cat, since he's spoiled that cat since kittenhood with handouts of raw beef and half & half. Quaad goes crazy if you say either "Beef" or "Cream." He's always miffed when hubby is out of town, since I'm not nearly as generous with the goodies.

Tonight I'll start my prayers for sunshine, and hopefully it will be a dry (and fun) holiday weekend.

Learn more about Celebration on my website: www.celebrationinfo.com