Florida Spirits

Florida is a big, peninsular state. It is flat, surrounded by water, boggy in many places and warm for the most part. People like it here, and so do bugs and alligators. The bugs and alligators were here first and, in my opinion, are best left alone.

Here in Florida, everyone seems interested in where you’re from, since most people here are from elsewhere. At the Disney parks, “crew member” name tags include the employee’s home state. After landing in Orlando and claiming luggage, two employees at Alamo inquired where I was from before I even got close to a car. One man, pointing the way toward a silver Ford Escort, lit up when I told him that I was from California. “Oh, I lived in San Diego, and still have family there,” he said. “I’d like to move back, but the wife won’t. She likes it here because it’s cheaper, and the livin’ is easy.”

When buying tickets at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, I was asked once again where I was from. By mid-day, however, I had miraculously become a Florida resident. When asked by a greeter at Tusker’s Restaurant, “Where are you from?” the question was answered for me by a hostess. “Oh, she’s a resident,” she volunteered. “I can tell because she isn’t wearing a coat.” Granted, it was a little nippy that day and as I looked around, most people were wearing sweatshirts and jackets. I didn’t have the heart to tell the hostess that I’m from California and rarely wear a coat there either. One of the oddities of being a medium is that I almost always feel overheated.

When talking with the spirits, I ask them where they’re from. In response I’m often shown topography (rolling hills, farm land, mountains, islands) or specific states such as Florida, New York or Iowa. Because we’re associated with where we’re from, the spirits often use this information as an identifier. If a spirit is from a non-English speaking country, I will often hear their native tongue spoken in the background even though their thoughts to me are in English.

It might seem a bit strange that I'm in Florida when the weather in California is just as fine. Well, one of the reasons I flew across the country is to explore promotional opportunities for my book I'm Not Dead, I'm Different. Florida is filled with spirits of people from all states and nations, and while I'm here, I intend to meet as many of them as I can.