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There is something unique about Miami that penetrates every activity that it touches. It has an almost bipolar way-of-being. At one moment, our city harkens back to a day that only exists in the mind of the elderly and the native Miamian. We infuse this with the memories of other places and times, countries that died decades ago but still live in the minds of exiles and immigrants trying to create a new paradise. We are a city built on the illusion of a “good old day” where children play in the streets and neighbors are our closest friends. And then the reality hits, the truth that we are the fourth largest urbanized area in the country.
So we try to parent in this 50’s sitcom city that is being colorized as we speak. When we close our eyes, we see ourselves running next to our child as we give them that first gentle push and they peddle their bicycle for the first time. We fill with pride as the joy and exhilaration plays across their innocent faces. And then we open our eyes to see that our street does not have sidewalks. All we have is a grassy patch that abuts a four lane street, with two of the lanes shut down and littered with construction gear.
Farms give way to condos, acres are divided to zero lots and we adapt. We find ways to maintain this stereotype without pushing your kid into rage-filled traffic. We play Wii. Yes, we take what we can’t do outside and turn it into a video game. We can’t play baseball with our kids because we do not have the $250 plus uniform fees to join the local little league so we play Wii sports. There are no open fields or unoccupied parking lots where we can teach our child to drive a car so we play Grand Theft Auto, the Vice City version because it is based on Miami.
Nowadays, the Miami dad has become more of an astronaut’s trainer, preparing his trainee for space with sophisticated software and video scenarios. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It is probably neither. It just is. Like the passing of the dinosaurs, the Miami dream of the past gives way to a new future. The stick ball games that we remember are now digitized and rendered into a new memory that our children will cling to when they are adults.
For more from Paul, along with his wife, visit www.CoupleDumb.com
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