‘Happiest place’ forever tied to grief
Known for decades as the “happiest place on Earth,” Orlando will now forever be linked with the deadliest mass shooting this country has ever seen.
Mickey Mouse, tourism and the cowardly act of a gay-hating terrorist will now will meld together just as the Big Apple and 9/11 did 15 years ago.
And that’s not even the part that makes you want to cry. We rallied after 9/11, rallied after Paris, rallied after San Bernardino, rallied after Belgium and now today we have to do it all over again.
How much are we expected to endure? How much fight is left?
Yes, we will rally. Central Flori- da will come together. Orlando will come back. But it’s exhausting to think about. It’s mind-boggling to have to lie to your children and say that we will keep them safe when those who mean them harm will never stop.
It’s difficult to gauge how long it will take this city of palm trees and theme parks to bounce back from this murderous horrific weekend. The city was still reeling from Friday night’s shocking murder of pop singer Christina Grimmie while signing autographs after her Friday night performance, when a terrorist decided he would play God and decide who got to live and who didn’t as he mowed down his victims at a gay nightclub.
The day was a study in contrasts as frantic and teary-eyed family members crowded outside Orlando Regional Medical Center desperate for news of family members while all around them the city trudged forward.
There was Jose Horonato, who was gracious enough to speak with the media present at a staging area near the hospital, despite not knowing if his younger brother Miguel had made it out of the club.
“I don’t know if he is in the hospital or if he is still lying in that club,” Horonato said, wiping his eyes. “He was there with three friends who made it out. But I can’t reach him.”
Horonato said his brother wasn’t answering his cellphone.
There was Maria Arocho, who shared a similar story. She was searching for her cousin, Martin Torres, whose boyfriend Michael Morales had been shot in both legs and was in surgery across the street. “Everyone’s a wreck,” she said. “We are all just so nervous.”
The news would get worse for many throughout the day as the death toll jumped from 20 to 50 as family members kept pouring into the area.
But just a few miles away at Thornton Park at Lake Eola, life seemed to go on without missing a beat. There were people feeding the birds, others sweating through a yoga class and some playing the guitar.
The park was teeming with people eager to show the world a brave face even if it wasn’t real.
“It’s very depressing,” Ashley Coleman said moments after finishing yoga with a large group. “Everyone’s acting like they’re OK, but they’re not.”
Coleman said she rarely goes out Sunday mornings but felt compelled to do so after hearing about the nightclub shooting.
Nearby, Jarvis Carter held his infant daughter by the water’s edge as swans eager for a handout glided closer through the water.
“I feel very sad, but at the same time I wanted to take my daugh- ter outside and show her a good time and keep it family-oriented,” Carter said. “I think it’s going to take a lot for the city to recover.”
If Sunday was any indication, then maybe Orlando will prove itself more resilient, more real and tougher than any storybook character brought to life at one of the nearby theme parks.
It’s OK if the bravado shown Sunday was not genuine. It’s OK if you want to cry. It’s OK to feel as if there is no way we can live through yet another one of these mind-numbing terrorist attacks. We will live through it. We will find the energy. We will eventually stop crying. And we will continue to live. Because that’s what we do. That’s what we will always do. I just wish our enemies would get it already.