Day four in Orlando

I made it to my destination safe and sound and before I start whining I'll be positive. Marilyn came and undid the deadbolt and I told Ana via hotel room phone and so that problem is solved. Upon hearing of my smartphone plight, Amy (bless her!!!) is coming to my rescue with a spare she has which she'll bring with her for tomorrow. She is going to BestBuy to get a sim card and putting $20 on it. I feel so much better having a phone for the trip home, especially for rendez-vousing with Marilyn next Wednesday who will unload the car for me and stay to get me organized again. She's an unpacking, laundry-starting, mail sorting star. I really have sincere gratitude for the people in my life. And Nancy volunteered to trade rooms with me if my room is closer to where we'll be working, but I'll do OK.

Ok, now that's out of the way. I hate Disney. I really do. It's a big machine. We're actually at a Disney resort which is so effing big. When you pull in to the "gated community" style gate, the security guard who looks at your photo ID says, "Welcome Home!" No, this is not my home. I have a home and this isn't it. Does anybody who hears that think "Oh yeah, I'm home!"

Then the fakely cheerful officious registration guy who is out of central casting. Photo ID again and you get a prisoner's bracelet to wear which doubles as your room key and you have to make up a PIN... I don't know for what, but I did.... then to the bell station, then back to my car... then wait for a bellperson.

Here I'll stop whining and say I got the most lovely bellwoman named Maria. She asked me what I did and I said "I'm a writer" which is the easiest explanation, and she said I should write about her life. I had to follow her in my car behind her golf cart, to parking, to unloading my car into her golf cart and then I had to get in the golf cart which was high, but I did it on the first try and away we went. I'll never find my car again... but then we went as far as the golf cart can go and I'm sweating and hot and puffing and now we're off on foot. The Iditarod takes less energy than getting to your room.

Meanwhile, I hear that she came here from Chile when she was 17 by herself. Has worked for Disney for 35 years. Served Princess Diana who she describes as "beautiful and humble." Married and had kids with a bad man (Hmmm... seems to be a lot of that going around) and when they were divorced, he got the kids because the judge was racist. The husband was Anglo and a drug addict and she was an immigrant. She fled Chile because of Pinochet who had burned her father's business and to answer my question she knew "very many people" who disappeared and were killed.

That was a coincidence because in the drive today I was thinking about that Jack Lemmon/Sissy Spacek movie (was it called Missing?) about that time period.

Her life had a happy ending... her kids want nothing to do with their bio-dad and have returned to her as adults and they are a happy family. She was just a beautiful person who offered to get me ice (I said yes, please) and she bought me a bottle of water... and yes, I tipped her appropriately and she earned every penny.

When I had to stop to rest in the trek to my room, she told me that she'd go put my stuff in my room and come back and push me in my walker. And she would have... but I made it OK and caught up with her.

So the moral of today is "I get by with a little help from my friends!"