Otis
26/10/23 01:26
We’ve never been much for resorts. When we were younger, we made a few visits to ski resorts in the west. Big Sky, Montana isn’t far from where I grew up and we once had a few days at the resort compliments of the radio station for which I worked. The station traded advertising for rooms in the hotel and meals in the restaurant and we had a lovely time. At the time we had only one child. Susan isn’t much for downhill skiing, so she took care of our son while I skied and then we enjoyed a dinner that would have cost more than we would have been comfortable paying were it not for the radio station trade out.
Having lived most of our lives in places that experience a significant amount of winter weather, we have had friends and known of people who saved up to visit Mexican resorts in the winter. Having never visited any of those places, Cancun, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta all sounded exotic and fun with their luxury hotels, restaurants, and a host of water front activities from parasailing to diving to swimming with dolphins. However, making such a trip never became a priority for us.
I suppose that it is something we might re-think as we grow older. There are times when the gray weather and rain around here seem a bit oppressive. However, the truth is that we have a wonderful and exciting grandson who lives with our daughter and her husband in South Carolina, which has plenty of sunny weather for us. A vacation in a warm place where we have a grandson seems a lot more attractive than a few days spent at a resort. I guess we just aren’t resort people.
Not every vacation in a resort community is a dream come true. The news coming out of Acapulco following the devastation of Hurricane Otis sounds pretty bad. Many of the beachfront hotels are shattered hulks. The hurricane blew out hundreds - possibly thousands - of hotel windows. One report that I read said that the hurricane was the most powerful storm ever to hit the pacific coast of Mexico. The resort is a scene of chaos, with thousands of people engaging in massive looting. Streets are choked with mud and debris. Many visitors received no warning of the coming storm and were offered no safe shelter during the terrifying night of record winds, rain, and flooding. Acapulco’s Diamond Zone, an oceanfront area of hotels, restaurants, and other tourist attractions looked to be mostly under water with streets, and bridges completely hidden by an enormous lake of muddy brown water. Many large buildings had walls and roof partially or completely ripped off. Some visitors were wandering in water up to their waists.
It is a mess.
Like I said, I’ve never visited the resort, so I don’t know what it was like before. And I’m not there, so I don’t really know what it is like now.
What I do know is that the storm shares its name with a great nephew of ours. Based on our experience with that particular four year old, I think that the storm may be appropriately named. Our Otis is the third child in his family, with two older sisters. Coming from a large family, I often say that parents simply grow more tired as each child comes into the family, so the youngest ones get away with things that the older children would never have been able to do. I don’t know how true that thought is, but our Otis is certainly capable of making a mess when he puts his mind to it.
He is strong, and that doesn’t only apply to his physical strength - the boy is strong-willed as well. He is creative and thinks of things that never enter my mind. When we have been involved in caring for him for short periods of time, it demands close attention. I’m not confident leaving the child unattended. There are too many ways for him to get in trouble.
Of course, comparing a child to a devastating storm isn’t fair to the child. Otis the child isn’t responsible for death and destruction. I suppose, however, that there are times when he has been a bit of a terror between 1 and 3 am, when the worst part of the storm blew through Acapulco. Children do have a way of disrupting their parents’ sleep.
I think that our great nephew was named in part as a nod of respect and admiration for the soul singer and song writer Otis Redding. His maternal grandfather was a radio disc jockey who has a great collection of rhythm and blues records and is a fan of many different kinds of music.
As far as I know, his name has no connection to the company that makes elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. That company has been around for a long time, tracing its origins to the installation of the first safety passenger elevator at the Crystal Palace Convention in New York City in 1853.
We all share our names with other people, companies, events, and more. Part of the adventure of each human life is to claim our name and make it our own through unique thoughts, actions, and intentions. I’m pretty sure that someone has already played some of the music of Otis Redding for our great nephew. It is entirely possible that he has on some occasion ridden in an Otis elevator. Though his family lives in a small town in Montana, they frequently travel. I know that they were not in Acapulco this week when the hurricane slammed ashore. I won’t stick him with labels associated with any of those other things that share his name. I’m content with him being his own person and making his own way.
On the other hand, I may not be able to completely refrain from hurricane references when we are with the family and he gets himself into a bit of trouble.
Having lived most of our lives in places that experience a significant amount of winter weather, we have had friends and known of people who saved up to visit Mexican resorts in the winter. Having never visited any of those places, Cancun, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta all sounded exotic and fun with their luxury hotels, restaurants, and a host of water front activities from parasailing to diving to swimming with dolphins. However, making such a trip never became a priority for us.
I suppose that it is something we might re-think as we grow older. There are times when the gray weather and rain around here seem a bit oppressive. However, the truth is that we have a wonderful and exciting grandson who lives with our daughter and her husband in South Carolina, which has plenty of sunny weather for us. A vacation in a warm place where we have a grandson seems a lot more attractive than a few days spent at a resort. I guess we just aren’t resort people.
Not every vacation in a resort community is a dream come true. The news coming out of Acapulco following the devastation of Hurricane Otis sounds pretty bad. Many of the beachfront hotels are shattered hulks. The hurricane blew out hundreds - possibly thousands - of hotel windows. One report that I read said that the hurricane was the most powerful storm ever to hit the pacific coast of Mexico. The resort is a scene of chaos, with thousands of people engaging in massive looting. Streets are choked with mud and debris. Many visitors received no warning of the coming storm and were offered no safe shelter during the terrifying night of record winds, rain, and flooding. Acapulco’s Diamond Zone, an oceanfront area of hotels, restaurants, and other tourist attractions looked to be mostly under water with streets, and bridges completely hidden by an enormous lake of muddy brown water. Many large buildings had walls and roof partially or completely ripped off. Some visitors were wandering in water up to their waists.
It is a mess.
Like I said, I’ve never visited the resort, so I don’t know what it was like before. And I’m not there, so I don’t really know what it is like now.
What I do know is that the storm shares its name with a great nephew of ours. Based on our experience with that particular four year old, I think that the storm may be appropriately named. Our Otis is the third child in his family, with two older sisters. Coming from a large family, I often say that parents simply grow more tired as each child comes into the family, so the youngest ones get away with things that the older children would never have been able to do. I don’t know how true that thought is, but our Otis is certainly capable of making a mess when he puts his mind to it.
He is strong, and that doesn’t only apply to his physical strength - the boy is strong-willed as well. He is creative and thinks of things that never enter my mind. When we have been involved in caring for him for short periods of time, it demands close attention. I’m not confident leaving the child unattended. There are too many ways for him to get in trouble.
Of course, comparing a child to a devastating storm isn’t fair to the child. Otis the child isn’t responsible for death and destruction. I suppose, however, that there are times when he has been a bit of a terror between 1 and 3 am, when the worst part of the storm blew through Acapulco. Children do have a way of disrupting their parents’ sleep.
I think that our great nephew was named in part as a nod of respect and admiration for the soul singer and song writer Otis Redding. His maternal grandfather was a radio disc jockey who has a great collection of rhythm and blues records and is a fan of many different kinds of music.
As far as I know, his name has no connection to the company that makes elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. That company has been around for a long time, tracing its origins to the installation of the first safety passenger elevator at the Crystal Palace Convention in New York City in 1853.
We all share our names with other people, companies, events, and more. Part of the adventure of each human life is to claim our name and make it our own through unique thoughts, actions, and intentions. I’m pretty sure that someone has already played some of the music of Otis Redding for our great nephew. It is entirely possible that he has on some occasion ridden in an Otis elevator. Though his family lives in a small town in Montana, they frequently travel. I know that they were not in Acapulco this week when the hurricane slammed ashore. I won’t stick him with labels associated with any of those other things that share his name. I’m content with him being his own person and making his own way.
On the other hand, I may not be able to completely refrain from hurricane references when we are with the family and he gets himself into a bit of trouble.
