Monorails for all.
In this Wednesday is for WIPs I pitch my memoir and pine for the city of tomorrow.
I have vague aspirations to write a memoir of loss told through the lens of trips to Disney. For example, the summer after my mother died, we went to Disney World. The summer after my father died, we went to Disney World again. The week before my father died, we went to Disneyland. He was meant to be with us, but he was in the hospital and never left. There’s the time I went with my former best friend because our parents had already paid for it. The trip I took with my kids after my divorce. My first trip I went to EPCOT with my birth father and his parents before my adoption was finalized. Successful memoirs have a frame, and I like this one. Something something the happiest place on Earth let’s talk about death.
My enthusiasm for this project has dimmed somewhat because I’ve been priced out of the ability to go to Disney, but then, that could make a good final chapter—the loss of the magic and the middle class. EPCOT is an acronym for “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,” and was imagined to be an ode to technology (Future World) and interculturalism (the World Showcase). Yes, it was always a monument to capitalism but the pretense of a self-sustaining city that welcomes all is a progressive idea. That dream, too, has been lost. Abandoned in favor of owned IP, of superheroes and princesses, and other things that are easier to sell, easier to maintain, and easier to erase. The truth is, EPCOT was old-fashioned when it was brand new. But I wanted to live in the city of tomorrow. I wanted to ride on monorails forever.
This past Winter, I drove my car for months with three warning lights lit. Every time I got gas, it would stall out at first. Every time. But then it would start, so you know, not an emergency. When the fourth warning light lit, and I got my tax return, I brought it into the shop, and now it has none. I mention this only to say, my car is a good, tough car. I am thankful for my car. But what if we had monorails? What if we had monorails everywhere?
I love monorails. I love trains, too. Given the option, I will always choose train over car, bus, or plane. Monorails are not particularly distinct from trains (they are trains), but trains (including monorails) are old technology. Monorails belong to the city of tomorrow.
Obviously, the monorails in Orlando, Florida, are my favorite. Including the one in the airport that goes from terminal to terminal which is only like 500 feet, but it makes me grin anyway. The Disney monorail system is the reason I love monorails. However, I will take any opportunity to travel on a monorail. I’ve been on the ones in Seattle and Las Vegas, too, and they made me just as giddy.
Which brings me to my point: I want to build one in my city. All I need is an architect, an engineering team, a billionaire investor, a marketing campaign, buy-in from local businesses and politicians, a government that believes in infrastructure, and for American society’s opinions on transportation and clean energy to fundamentally change right now. Totally doable.
In reality, if I were to throw my whole life, self, and soul into campaigning for something that would benefit the wider community, it would be 1. universal healthcare with no strings, 2. universal basic income with no strings, and robust housing regulation so rents/mortgages wouldn’t go up at the same or higher rates, or better yet, universal basic housing, too, and 3. education reform. Also, I would like to destroy the insurance industry. Insurance is a scam.
But I was promised monorails. I still want them.
ICYMI
The latest post in my Reproductive Care on Television project is on the 1998 episode of ER, “Shades of Gray”, in which a clinic is bombed by anti-abortionists.
And here’s my new vid about Wanda Maximoff.
Now
Watching
I’ve caught up to the present with Transplant, and I’m still rewatching CSI, now interspersed with Leverage. Law & Order: Organized Crime and Black Butler: Emerald Witch each have one more episode this season, out tomorrow and Saturday respectively. The Top Chef season finale also airs tomorrow night.
Listening
Speaking of Top Chef, at the end of each episode of Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams, she tells us to share an episode with our networks and this one with Tom Colicchio remains my favorite. I’ve listened to it multiple times.
Also, Spotify tells me my EO Vibes playlist is “about 13 hours long” which feels like an accomplishment.
Find Me
This weekend, I am heading into NYC to catch the end of the Tribeca Film Festival. Friday evening is a screening of My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay at Carnegie Hall, followed by a conversation with Mariska. And Saturday evening is the Strange New Worlds third season premiere, followed by a conversation with Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Celia Rose Gooding, Babs Olusanmokun, Carol Kane, and Executive Producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers.
In between the two, I intend to go to New York City’s NO KINGS Protest. Find one near you.
Upcoming
My Let’s Talk Television season scorecard with final thoughts and ratings on the past season of terrible television is on deck. Looking ahead, I’m planning a few themed series (i.e. 3-4 posts in a row) on the topics of grief, post-traumatic stress, hysteria, and magical thinking. These will include 101 explainers, movie/TV analyses, and essays.