Cruisin' on the CarrieB

One sure way to make yourself feel your own insignificance is to take the CarrieB cruise around the inland waterways of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Choose a nice sunny day, pay your $25 and prepare yourself for an hour-and-a-half of having your ego stomped on.  The emphasis of the narrative that accompanies this tour is on the mighty dollar.  Minute by minute you observe the backdoor entrances to outrageous, sprawling mansions with outrageous, sprawling ocean-going yachts berthed waterway-side and outrageous tennis courts and pools, both swimming and decorative and, for all I know, tether ball courts with titanium poles.  And minute by minute you are told the cost of everything, not only the houses, pools and poles but the palm trees ($350 a foot) and everything else that has a horrendous price tag.  To top it off there is not one sign, not one, that any of it is even used.  After a while it wears you down and although you are not prone to seasickness your stomach waxes queasy with the knowledge that the toys of the 1% are on display and you yourself have paid $25 to take a boat ride to observe it.  Next time I’ll do a swamp boat ride so I can see the alligators and other exotic forms of beauty without knowing how much a pair of nice shoes might cost.