Jupiter Sky

Little babies own nothing.
Big babies own everything.
Big babies will do just about anything to keep the things that they
once never had. They will work grueling hours and travel long
distances daily to do what they need to do to keep those things
from going away. The thought of losing the things that they once
never had is practically unbearable. Many sacrifice their physical
and mental health in trade for keeping these many things. Once a
big baby gets a big thing, it’s hard to accept a little thing in its
place.

Let’s take, for example, South Florida. The sky above Jupiter is
the same as the sky above Rivera, and a scant ten miles separate
the two places. Jupiter has mansions on the water and Rivera has
run-down motels along Blue Heron Blvd. Would the big baby from
Jupiter ever be able to manage even one night in a Rivera motel
with peace and comfort? Would he dine at a rib joint where a
stove is hand-fed by a wood pile from out back? There is life near
that rib joint and that motel. The people who live there were once
little babies, but they became big babies with not so many toys.  
The thought of spending my 24-hour days there is not so tough to
take anymore. I think I might even make something very good out
of it

The Manatee Queen is a tourist boat that cruises the Jupiter River
twice each day. They are supposed to be spotting manatees but
most people are more interested in seeing the multi-million dollar
mansions along the Intracoastal. I took this tour and went by those
houses. There we passed the biggest hotel of a house I had ever
seen, and the Manatee Queen blew its air horn so that the owner
came out with a cocktail in his hand, waving to us 20-dollar fares
as he stood on his balcony in his palace.  

I didn't wave to the guy. I thought he looked lonely up there all by
himself, and I would have much rather had seen a manatee from
the Manatee Queen. Since there were no manatees, I rested my
thoughts on the chef at the rib joint in Rivera who came out of the
kitchen to hand me a napkin that he had wet with water when he
saw me trying to wipe barbecue sauce from my lips with the back
of my hand.

The sky over Rivera was the same as the sky over Jupiter.