RSS
Every older generation looks at every younger generation with a certain amount of suspicion. We just know they must be up to no good. There’s even an old Broadway song whose lyrics include these lines: “Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way? What’s the matter with kids today?” But based on what I’ve seen of Spring Break this year so far, and in recent years too – well, I can’t find much to complain about. It’s almost weird to a former hippie like me. Where’s the big drunken parties? Where’s the wild carousing? Where’s the good old-fashioned youthful mayhem? Yes, yes, I know. That really has been gone from Fort Lauderdale for many years now. This isn’t a “Where The Boys Are” place any longer. Not by a long shot. I tend to see families and adult couples, both straight and gay, more than anything year round.
The difference is that Spring Breakers weren’t welcome here for quite a while, starting in the late 1980s. Now they’re returning in modest numbers during March. And South Florida is slowly opening its arms to them again – for a laidback kind of Spring Break. These are college students who want to both warm up from their winter campus climate and chill out from the pressures of their studies. It’s almost bizarre.
For example, I saw a TV news story last week about students who are visiting from several northern universities. And what are these self-absorbed troublemakers doing? They’re spending their vacation cleaning up South Florida beaches, that’s what. I drove A1A twice in the past three days and here’s what I saw: a busy but relaxed beach scene with an increased number of people in their early 20s among the crowd. They were walking along in groups of twos and threes and fives.They were sitting in restaurants and bars, just like everyone else. They were lying on the beach. That was about it. Today I parked to watch the ocean for a while and a group of three girls who looked like Spring Breakers were hanging out on the sand nearby. Two of them posed by the waves, hugging and smiling, as their pal snapped a picture. Then they spread out towels to sunbathe. Sheesh. Students like that could give Spring Break a bad name.
The difference is that Spring Breakers weren’t welcome here for quite a while, starting in the late 1980s. Now they’re returning in modest numbers during March. And South Florida is slowly opening its arms to them again – for a laidback kind of Spring Break. These are college students who want to both warm up from their winter campus climate and chill out from the pressures of their studies. It’s almost bizarre.
For example, I saw a TV news story last week about students who are visiting from several northern universities. And what are these self-absorbed troublemakers doing? They’re spending their vacation cleaning up South Florida beaches, that’s what. I drove A1A twice in the past three days and here’s what I saw: a busy but relaxed beach scene with an increased number of people in their early 20s among the crowd. They were walking along in groups of twos and threes and fives.They were sitting in restaurants and bars, just like everyone else. They were lying on the beach. That was about it. Today I parked to watch the ocean for a while and a group of three girls who looked like Spring Breakers were hanging out on the sand nearby. Two of them posed by the waves, hugging and smiling, as their pal snapped a picture. Then they spread out towels to sunbathe. Sheesh. Students like that could give Spring Break a bad name.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 12:10 PM
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home