Shanti Thokchom's Life Experiences
- Part 29 -
A Trip to Miami Beach, Florida

By Shanti Thokchom *

I was barely back from my Colorado trip and sure enough another Manipuri couple from Miami Beach, Florida invited me to visit them as they were very eager to meet us. I thought to myself, Huh!! have I become some sort of a strange creature from an outer space or what ?

I tried to make excuses not to go but you know what, they began to rattle up what not...... that I went to other places to meet friends but not too interested in them... blah...blah... blah..... That kinda made me feel guilty !!

Did they say that to make me feel that way? No,I dont think so.

Its just that they too were wanting us to visit them. But I tried the 'hurricane' excuse but the husband of my young friend Bikram was quick to retort that it had not arrived/started yet!! Folks, that one line of his shut me up for good and not try to make any more excuses not to visit them!!!!

I must give credit to both of them for their doggedness in persuading me to make a trip there!! I dont regret it at all!!

After all, the wife turned out to be the classmate of my sister's sis-in-law back home !!! I did not want to disappoint them and the name of the place Miami Beach... was very tempting....I could conjure up the images of lovely sea beaches and lots of fun people out there ...in the sun, sand and sea !!!

I then said to myself "Tera Kya Jata Hai Re ? (what have you got to lose? Wow! gal, go!! It'd not hurt ya!!" After all,I am a khongyangbi (footloose ) as many of you have called me that...ha..ha..ha..!!

So at any given time and opportunity (during summer especially), I would jump at it to go anywhere my khongbi /feet takes me....!! and of course, my beloved and reliable car without which I would not have been able to drive to all those places I have been to this year!!!

Its just an ordinary Ford 'Taurus' car and not a fancy one, but that baby is damn good !! maa kasam !!

Random shot of Miami Beach, Florida

Well, all said and done, I packed up my car with enough bhojan (food ), snacks and other essentials. Me and my son had a good discussion about the long trip to Florida. We made a pact and high-fived each other that we gonna have great fun and adventure !!!

The distance was over 1441 miles and 22 hours' drive from Tulsa but that did not deter me at all!!

Hey ,I have been called in jest by my friends young and alike as "hingchabi" (witch), "angakpi "(strange creature ),"as imai pemma"(o my gosh!), "hare hare","baap re baap " "kamaal hai" " enda deivame "(in Malayalam..o my gosh),"tijaat sah ah...(goodness gracious ) ,vo henu ( oh mother "(in Kuki ) etc...etc...!!

We were all agog to go see another new interesting place. It was mid august and very , very hot summer month!! We started early morning at 5am from Tulsa. It took about 4 hours to reach Little Rock ,Arkansas. Its a quaint midwestern little town unlike the east coast cities!

I only know this place as a connection to Bill Clinton who became the nation's president!! I found that its people there were very proud of him!! They all agree that apart from his near impeachment about the Lewinsky scandal, they were all behind him and even said that they would have voted for him if he had run for a 3rd term !!

You could see and sense the pride they have when thay talked about him and the prosperity the country had during his presidency!! That one fact is very true!

I love stopping by at the little stores to fill the gas in my car and make small talk with folks there!! The Arkansas folks too speak with their Southern accent and I find that very sweet!!

After an hour or so, we reached Memphis, Tennessee. We stopped by a McDonald's at the city's outskirts for our restroom break. We did not stay there for too long as I could sense that I looked different and the people stared and stared, for god knows what reason!!

I thought, may be its the Deep South of the nation and its people still linger all thoughts of anger towards anyone who looked different than them !! I dont know... Its just a curious thought!!

Maybe with this year's election of the nation's new president of one of their own, hopefully it should start an era of a new dawn/beginning for all !! This should give them an impetus to strive harder to work towards progress rather than harp on their hard slavery days of their forefathers but that they can better their lives with hard work and grit and determination to achieve much more !!

Hey!ya'll, forgive me, I am veering off again from my story but I could not help it! Its just that I noticed and experienced them at such stops on my trips!!

As we drove through the countryside of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, I could not help admire and enjoy the beauty of the land!! I then thought about its past history and marvel at how it has evolved over the years!! Some folks were friendly and helpful at some gas stations to help me with directions but at some places, they were curt and down right unfriendly!!

Thats when I dont even look back but leave soon after!! I might have looked too tomboyish or what, I dont know but thats the way I am !! I am not a dressy person nor love to do so!! And I can't for pete's sake, even wear high heeled shoes for any kind of special events or some ladies night out thingy!!

I am more comfy with my casual clothes and become alive and kicking for anything!! People must have been perplexed to see a tomboyish , slanty eyed Asian woman like me getting into the corner gas stores to ask for directions or just use the bathroom!!

Believe you me, I came across so many such stores owned by business savvy Gujjus, the Bangladeshis, the Pakistanis etc...Some were nice and helpful and some not so !!! But I guess they have to deal with all sorts of people and I can understand their mistrust of others!! But its a good learning experience !!

Random shot of Miami Beach, Florida

After nearly 12 hours of driving, we reached Atlanta, Georgia at night. I stopped by a motel near the high way which had a sign saying $34/a night. But its just a trick!! When you ask them about it, they tell you that its all filled up and that we needed to get another room at a higher rate!!

I was exasperated and saw no use trying to argue with them about the sign they put up in front of the motel !! Why the heck did they do that if those rooms were all out ? It was a week day and it was pretty obvious that the rooms were vacant as you can make out from the near empty parking lot!!

But we needed to rest for the night so we had to shell out that amount!! So much for my bargain hunting for motels run by the PATELS here!! But this is life!! They too have to do business to survive!!! My son was very excited to be staying at a motel!! Cos it had the cable tv and cartoon network he could watch!!

Who'd wanna watch tv at such times!! Not me !! All I needed was a good rest so as to be able to drive good the next morning to Florida !! We ate our snacks and other goodies we had brought along!! I let him watch tv for sometime and then we hit the sack!!

Early morning, I got as much ice I could from the motel freezer for our little icebox in the car!! The motel provided continental breakfast and so that kinda was a good vasooli for us...!! I must say Georgia is a pretty state and most of its people work on farms !! I love to listen to their typical Southern accent when they speak!!

Their most well known son is ex- president Jimmy Carter who was a peanut farmer. He is working tirelessly more now for peace all over the world than during his presidency!! I used to remember when he visited India during his tenure in Punjab or Haryana,the people were so happy and named their village Carterpuri in his honor!! I dont know if that village still exists there or been renamed !!

Well, after our nasta (breakfast ), we started our remaining trip feeling fresh and good about ourselves!! It was a beautiful sight to behold the farms on the way!! I took the I-75 South all the way onto the toll road named Florida Turnpike which was pretty long. We had to pay $10 for this!!

The gas prices were so high..my god!! all above $4/gallon !! chalti ka naam gari so I had to keep my focus on reaching Miami Beach soon and not think about the gas prices! Thats a real dampener to one's spirits!! I whispered a silent prayer and continued on with my driving!

I told myself..dekha jayega!! ( come on, face it!) I swear by aloo soibum ironba ( special Manipuri dish with bamboo shoot, potatoes, dry fish... ), nothing gonna come my way!! saitya sarisol !!(I promise by god!)...



More stories later ...... to be continued ...!!

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* Shanti Thokchom, a resident of Tulsa, Oklohoma, contributes regularly to e-pao.net . She can be reached at sthok65(at)hotmail(dot)com . This article was webcasted on December 15, 2008.

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