‘Waiting for DeSantis,’ the new campaign tragicomedy
DELRAY BEACH – It took 15 years to get the project off the ground. But this month, Island Cove, Delray Beach’s latest affordable housing community, was officially unveiled.
Built on a once-vacant lot originally zoned for townhomes at 900 S.W. 12th Ave., Island Cove brings 60 new apartments to the city. Forty of those are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units and 20 are three-bedroom, two-bathroom units.
“This was a project that we needed to build,” President and CEO of the Delray Beach Housing Authority Shirley Erazo said to a crowd of a few dozen people at the project’s Jan. 17 ribbon cutting. “We built a blueprint here, folks, of what is possible when all when we all come together and put aside our differences.”
Initially, 54 townhomes were to be built on the 3-acre site. Each would
The following is an excerpt from “Waiting for DeSantis,” a Samuel Beckett-inspired tragicomedy in two acts.
In this scene, Estragon and Vladimir, two supporters of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, encounter each other on a cold, have sold for as much as $300,000. But, in light of the pandemic, the city’s housing authority shifted to convert the project into affordable rental units.
Leasing for the properties started in desolate roadside somewhere in New Hampshire.
It’s a few days before the primary election there.
Vladimir: You’re back. I thought you were gone forever.
Estragon: Me too. Let’s celebrate.
Vladimir: Absolutely.
(Long pause. Neither man moves.)
Estragon: DeSantis. He’ll be here soon. Right?
Vladimir: That’s what they say. the summer of 2023. Within months, all 60 units were filled.
Marilyn Simpkins, 63, like many oth
Estragon: Maybe he’s “getting his ticket punched” again somewhere.
Vladimir: What does that mean?
Estragon: Nobody knows. I think I hear somebody coming.
Vladimir: No, that’s just the howling wind. Are you sure he’s coming?
Estragon: Maybe we should go to South Carolina.
Vladimir: Absolutely. Let’s go.
(Long pause. Neither man moves.)
Vladimir: I’m so excited about Tuesday’s primary. It will be a great victory against “wokeness.”
Estragon: Do you think DeSantis will lose by 30 points again?
Vladimir: To the insurrectionplotting, adjudicated sexual molester facing 91 felony counts? Without a doubt.
Estragon: And that means DeSantis gets his ticket punched again, right?
Vladimir: You can count on it. It will be quite an accomplishment.