I’ve had more than a few heartless people say “Well, I guess you don’t have anything to write about now” or “You’re not “Island Lizzy” now, you’re just Lizzy”
To them I say “fuck you”, not really, but a there is a millisecond that I daydream saying this and also roundhouse kicking them to the head, instead, I say:
“once you let the island into your heart, it rests there forever, it changes you irreversibly and renders you unacceptable for the mainland life ever again, so I will always be living the “island life”, no matter where I am.”
We got settled into our beautiful beach bungalow here in Florida. I literally had almost no furniture because we sold everything when we moved to the island, I bought an entire household of furniture in two weeks.
At the furniture store, I looked like Pretty Woman after Richard Gere showed up and made the store be nice to her. Within one day we had it set up and livable. You can get anything and everything you want within days here, which is scary.
There is so much more here. More of everything. More People, more assholes, more to do, more to look at, more, more, more.
I reject more.
I’ve since the day I was born been a “too much” kinda girl. If one is good, I’ll take 5. Something on the island changed that. By subtracting I realized that there is so much beauty in simplicity. More is not always better, there are exceptions. More friends, yes, more shit, no.
People are very nice here. There is a “how’s the weather vibe”. Very civil. Very guarded. Very interested in etiquette. I feel that it is a win that I’ve only been asked to not say “bad words” in front of one kid so far. I prefer to call them “adult words”.
People are far more likely to look down on you for saying “god damn it” than to look down on you for not including someone because they are weird. I say “fuck that”.
That’s one thing I learned from my island, we are all in this world together, trying to make it, and you never know when you will need someone, and you never know what someone is dealing with, so make connections, not dis-connections, and maybe, just maybe, your mind and consequently, your heart will be split open like a coconut and you will drink the juice called life.
Also, it taught me, that weird people are so fucking cool.
Let’s be really honest, we are all weird, or we are walking around dead, you pick. Anyone who doesn’t stand out is not being their truest self.
There are things I miss about the island. Real conversations about what drives someone’s life, what’s in their hearts, what scares them to death. I miss funny stories about cockroaches or centipedes. God, I never thought I’d ever say that in a million years. I miss naked babies on beaches. I miss Daniel the homeless flower maker. I miss my friends. I miss the mindset that being busy makes you appear lame instead of being busy makes you appear to be worthy.
Thank you to my friend Kathryn, who said she needed the writings of “Island Lizzy”. I love you, friend.
