"ORLANDO UNITED"

 A series of essays.....

BEAUTIFUL RAINBOWS CRISSCROSSING OVER ORLANDO, FLORIDA

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Like beacons in the night, the digital highway signs above us along the 417 were guiding us home with their bright flashing messages of "ORLANDO UNITED!" 

"AMBER ALERT," or "HEAVY TRAFFIC NEXT 10 MILES," or "SILVER ALERT" need not apply here. "ORLANDO UNITED" was showing us the way home tonight. And, we were almost there!

The colliding evening sea breezes between the Gulf and the Atlantic decided to take a late hit as the skies opened up above us along I-95 near Palm Coast a short while before. For the last forty-five minutes our world had been wrapped in a cloak of darkness that was sporadically illuminated by bright flashes of intricate lightening bolts tossed at us from a hostile eastern sky! 

Happy about our final leg of driving after a long, long day on the road, and feeling comforting warmth on the back of my head, I decided to text our two daughters of our imminent arrival. "The fiery red sun is in full bloom low in the western sky and we are between Sanford and home! There are at least three rainbows to the east! And, it's still raining! WOW!" What a magnificent welcoming party! What a glorious sight!

It felt as if the highway signs had teamed up with the sun, rainbows, and rain in welcoming us back to a place we've, literally, grown up in for twenty years. And, true to nature, the growing pains have hurt, as well as inspired us along the way.....

Growing pains. All large cities have them. It's a challenge to keep up with the needs and constant fluctuations of the multitudes that incorporate so many various ideas and desires. Death. It surrounds all of us every day, big city or small town, in one way or another. With life there will always be death. Senseless Death? Hate? Gun Violence? Please help me understand these acts because I'm having a major problem here!!!

Rainbows in the eastern sky. The souls of the recent gun violence victims from the massacre at 'Pulse,' an Orlando nightclub located on Orange Avenue, in the very early hours of Sunday morning, were still making their way Home. The brilliant colors comprising each rainbow, representing their vibrancy and pure joy of life, were vehicles assisting in their climb up to the heavens along perfectly formed arches.....God's elegant gateway to Bliss. 

The 'tears of the survivors' that we have been shedding for these innocent souls are splashing down upon us in the form of rain from the Heavens above. God's way of stripping off the dirt and grime of travel; cleansing us of the filthy, tangible atmosphere of Hate and Fear.

The blood orange evening sun, now large and bold having broken through the angry black cloud cover, coupled with the bright digital signs right above our car, warmly light our way as we pass by the exit to Orlando Sanford International Airport, our personal gateway to Michigan, and over the bridge at Lake Jesup, spanning its calm, lazy alligator-filled existence. These landmarks exist between time and space and embed into one's very being given exercise and time. 

Yes! I truly understand and believe that rolling along the 417, we have become witnesses to this miracle of Life and Death. 

As a 'survivor,' I welcome the challenge that exists for those of us who clearly see the backwardness of our society and are capable of standing up to the idea that a gun-toting, miserable and mentally insane loner can cause such damage to everything we hold dear. Let's check a person's mental stability at the front door of every gun shop, gun show, and NRA meeting that exists today!

And, by the way, the National Rifle Association is an organization, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, founded in 1871 that promotes the legal use of guns and gun safety in the United States. It defends a U.S. citizen's constitutional right to own and bear arms. 

You see....I have a problem with accepting an archaic law that refuses to change or upgrade with the times. Let's pull ourselves out of the Wild, Wild West and actually admit that circumstances and people do change over time. More guns will never make it right! And, just for the record, isn't a large part of "gun safety" about protecting the innocent?

Owning another human being as a machine to provide labor for one's personal benefit and enrichment is ARCHAIC! Telling half of the nation's population (women) that they cannot vote....is ARCHAIC! Pulling your gun from its holster in order to shoot another human being because he or she is taking what you believe to be a personal possession of yours (Such as land, space, gold....) is ARCHAIC and very much related to modern day road rage and pure hatred of those around you. 

You do see my point, don't you? What was written up in the year of our Lord, 1871, may not apply in the same way in 2016. Times change. Circumstances change. The world evolves. People within a society should evolve along with these changes. Laws and regulations need to match the changing times. Many refuse to believe this and continue to act like small children soon to be denied their 'toys of choice.' If organizations such as the NRA convince you that your life is threatened and your 'toys' are required to maintain the wellbeing of your existence.....then, what better way to do so than to convince you that there are terrorists, unstable minds, unmitigated hatred constantly surrounding you?

Create the seed and hashtag it #power and you will find you've created monsters legally possessing lethal weapons.

Create the seed and hashtag it #Love and you will find that Love attracts more Love and can be shared throughout the world....  

Orlando nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, and the killer of the twenty-two year old singer, Christina Grimmie, this past Friday at The Plaza Live in Orlando, should both be filed under 'mentally unstable' and yet....both were sold guns. Both succeeded in annihilating the innocent lives of those they had targeted for whatever reason. 

CHURCH LOCATED IN BOONE, NORTH
CAROLINA, OFFERING PRAYERS OF
HOPE AND LOVE FOR ORLANDO

As a reasonable human being, I cannot justify this unreasonable behavior. I will not attach a certain lifestyle to a "God given right" if it means the death of innocent people. I refuse to glorify young women and girls posing with handguns and attack rifles in a 'Charlie's Angels' like opening scene. I am still shaking my head after seeing my niece and her young daughter engaged in this imagery on Facebook! 

This is not "I am woman; hear me roar..." material. When women take pride in themselves, we see them flocking to the poles on Election Day, working hard to secure equal pay for the same job done by men, and maybe, just maybe, ensuring the fundamental rights of women over their own bodies instead of taking the lead from men who believe they know what's best for all women. The power I seek will be securing all of the above in my lifetime for myself, my daughters, and their daughters. For ALL women in the future! And, I will be voting for our nation's first female president in November in order to assist in making this country a better place where both women and men can coexist in mutual tolerance despite different ideologies or interests.

Talk is cheap....as the old saying goes. The words and actions of a self-proclaimed racist, egomaniac, and all-around nasty man will fire-up the masses, including those who think along the same vein as he does; their latent hatred being encouraged and served-up on a platter reinforced by Fear itself. May they tumble around in their massive machine of bigotry and denial (often under the guise of religious beliefs) until some sense of reality is forged from their actions. Their power is weak and self-serving. Their leader is, as well. The sad part is that this guy is crazy dangerous with his many twisted lies and opinions that are untethered to reality.

My friend, Amanda Patterson, shared a post on Facebook, written by Gareth Van Onselen for The Rand Daily Mail, suggesting diseases affecting South African politics. I am applying it to American politics, as well. "Entitled: The Instability Itch. Description: Instability itch manifests as a compulsion to disrupt or destabilize order by introducing chaos and uncertainty into a situation. Symptoms: Randomness, irresponsibility, and patronage." I believe it fits in our case quite well.

Light and Hope shined into our car windows just a few miles from our house bringing peace and contentment into my heart. I knew that coming back home to Orlando carried its heavy burden of grief for the lives so indiscriminately taken away from our community. And, for those they left behind. Knowing that I had to decide how to live with the pain and attempt to make the changes needed to make things better, I turned to my writing.

My words do matter. And I will continue to write them for all who are willing to read them and hope for a better life; a better, kinder life in a world filled with change and renewal.

If the written word is a means of replacing or repairing something that is worn out, run down, or broken, then there is a general need for more people to open up and relate how they feel to others. Simply put, we cannot afford to allow bigotry, walls, hatred, the ego, and negative power to take over our lives. 

Coming home to "ORLANDO UNITED" was living proof of this....!

That's the spirit we see in Orlando!

Remember that Love is what will always matter the most!

REMEMBERING THE LIVES SO BRUTALLY TAKEN
FROM US BY SENSELESS GUN VIOLENCE
IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, 6-12-2016

Note: At this time I would like to extend my condolences to the Graves family from Elkhorn, Nebraska, who lost their two-year- old son, Lane, at the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World. Prayers are being sent out to help you carry this burden and let you know how much you are loved..... 

Copyright © 2016 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved