Welcome to Miami
I live in Miami. Actually I live in a 'burb of Miami called Aventura. I guess this is Spanish for Adventure. Not really sure. Don't really care. I think it sounds like a good explanation, though. Unfortunately, adventure has nothing to do with Aventura, unless it's the adventure of finding something unexpected at the mall. We have a big mall. It might have come first, since Aventura was only incorporated in 1997 or so. Not sure about the mall.
Don't get me wrong. I like Aventura. The weather is wonderful when compared to New York, my last place of residence. No snow. The sun shines most days. It doesn't get very cold.
Aventura is a haven for the wealthy and semi-wealthy from America and abroad. No shortage of Jewish folk here either, but this is Miami where being Jewish is almost as common as being Hispanic. Hispanic Jews are not a rare breed here like they are in New York. I have nothing against Jews either. They annoy me for a variety of reasons, much as Southern Baptists do. I grew up in a Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago and New York, so I'm more at home with Jews than Hispanics, although I must confess that yamulkas still tend to throw me off balance. Couldn't Hispanics wear something to set them apart? Maybe a brightly colored sash around the waist. In any case many people who know the area assume that we are Jewish because we live in Aventura. That's okay. They'd be wrong, but most people are wrong about me for one reason or another.
The most striking thing I've found about Miami, aside from the great weather, is a peculiar attitude almost everyone in any kind of service business has. No one seems to care whether they show up or not. At first I thought I was having an extraordinary string of bad luck with my selections for various tasks I wanted done in my new home. Things like plumbing, cleaning, painting, etc. But it kept happening so often as to be typical.
The single most amazing example of how common this phenomenon is comes from a pool service truck I see occasionally in my neighborhood. With a limited amount of space on his truck to advertise his service's advantages, all this guy chooses to boast about is "We show up!"
Don't get me wrong. I like Aventura. The weather is wonderful when compared to New York, my last place of residence. No snow. The sun shines most days. It doesn't get very cold.
Aventura is a haven for the wealthy and semi-wealthy from America and abroad. No shortage of Jewish folk here either, but this is Miami where being Jewish is almost as common as being Hispanic. Hispanic Jews are not a rare breed here like they are in New York. I have nothing against Jews either. They annoy me for a variety of reasons, much as Southern Baptists do. I grew up in a Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago and New York, so I'm more at home with Jews than Hispanics, although I must confess that yamulkas still tend to throw me off balance. Couldn't Hispanics wear something to set them apart? Maybe a brightly colored sash around the waist. In any case many people who know the area assume that we are Jewish because we live in Aventura. That's okay. They'd be wrong, but most people are wrong about me for one reason or another.
The most striking thing I've found about Miami, aside from the great weather, is a peculiar attitude almost everyone in any kind of service business has. No one seems to care whether they show up or not. At first I thought I was having an extraordinary string of bad luck with my selections for various tasks I wanted done in my new home. Things like plumbing, cleaning, painting, etc. But it kept happening so often as to be typical.
The single most amazing example of how common this phenomenon is comes from a pool service truck I see occasionally in my neighborhood. With a limited amount of space on his truck to advertise his service's advantages, all this guy chooses to boast about is "We show up!"
posted by Grog @ 6:43 PM
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