Finding History, Finding Place

In a city where you can pass seven strip malls in a one mile radius (yes, I counted!) it can feel disorienting. Having just moved back to Orlando, it didn't take me long to realize I'm not in Boston anymore. Where is the history? Where are the mom and pop businesses? It is one bleak, perfectly landscaped, concrete repetition of the same chain stores and restaurants over and over. Namely, where is the sense of place? At any given time I could be in any American city. It is not just an Orlando problem, it is an American problem.

So, I went out with my camera to see if I could find some small snatches of beauty and history. Even as I drove toward the older section of the city I began to see more independent businesses...Buffy's Car Wash, Brooklyn Pizza, Marilyn's Consignment. Ah, the glory of it all. And as I poked around Winter Park with my macro lens, I found so many examples of beauty, history, and originality...all is not lost I suppose. (And yes, I do realize the sign in the picture is not an Orlando sign but a Brooklyn one, but at least it's not a Papa John's!)