What's been goin' on/we're not in Idaho any more

Many of you may know that in July of '08 I returned to Idaho from 2 years of serving the Lord in the Oregon Portland Mission (OPM). Since then I've been emloying my time by attending school at BYU-Idaho. I've also been helping myself to a healthy portion of frisbee playing (my true love). But, the semester is over and I've moved on to what's been called my next adventure.

I am now living in Orlando, FL about ten minutes from Walt Disney World. I am also working at Disney, as part of their college program (CPs) in their transportation department on the monorails. During the past weeks I've been going through my "Platform Training" which includes a harsh regiment of pushing the door open button and yelling at guests to "move down."

There are many things here that obviously imply that I'm no longer in Idaho. Some indications are: people asking how long I've lived in Iowa, everyone making a big deal about the ridiculous cold 45 degree nights and the ever present majestic palm tree. There are a lot of indications that I am no longer in Idaho but I think the biggest of all came to me just yesterday.

It started like a normal day, as all days do, but as I boarded the A bus for work I noticed something that appeared a bit odd. There were 2 CPs at the end of the mostly empty bus with their lips intertwined. I'm not saying I was surprised to see 2 people kissing, it's not something I'm unfamiliar with. I did graduate from high school and i had just spent 2 years in Portland, so the sight of 2 people expressing their love in public was nothing new. The part that caught me off guard and caused me to double take was the fact that both of them were men. huh.

Next at work my trainer, a retired catholic school principal named Jim, told me a story. -Just as some back ground on Jim. He stands about 5'6" tall and weighs in at about 300 lbs. Jim has arthritis in just about every joint in his body and both of his Achilles tend ends have been removed for some reason or another. Jim also moved here from Boston area Massachusetts.- As Jim was telling me about a visit he had made to the park on a particular day he made reference to his husband. And now you're doing what I did mentally you're going over that sentence again to make sure you got it right. Maybe Jim just misspoke, but a mistake isn't a mistake when it's made repeatedly. Jim indeed has a husband to go along with his love for the Catholic Church. huh #2

And just to put the icing in the cake on the bus ride home from work at about 12:15am that night the bus was occupied by a couple wrapped in each others warm embrace. Once again both men. huh #3

Now I'm not saying that I'm a hater or a homophobe, cause I'm not. I'm just saying that I was a little caught off guard and now I've learned my lesson. I'm not in Idaho anymore.