Pay For It

Special Thanks http://www.youtube.com/user/ApesMovies to the film, https://twitter.com/ApesMovies and to: @Celazul1 @LWolf14 @A_Fieldhouse @juanma_lz @kristenpurcell 

Go see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Skip Universal Studios Orlando. For the same reason.

It had begun to rain, spitting singular large drops; the Central Florida, mid-July thunderstorm was about to begin. And we were at Universal Studios Orlando, in Seuss Land. We could see a cups and saucers knock off ride, and the line was short. There was a roof. My sister, her four kids, and me trooped through oversized, brightly painted, fiberglass character statues, long skinny palm tree legs, bushes shaped like green eggs and ham and increasingly faster rain pellets to the line for the Seuss-a-whirl.

This place where we were guided to wait in line was open air. Unlike the claustrophobic closed split rail halls for Harry Potter mountain, these aisles were just steel pipes and shiny, silver chain link. We could see everyone, and everywhere, and even the ride from where we waited. The family just in front of us was speaking spanish. They stood, a grandfather, mom, grandkids, and one almost-bored preteen. But, even she was laughing every now and again, temporarily distracted from fixing her hair. They were happy, under the ride roof, hidden from the rain, and enjoying one another. They mirrored my family’s own mood. “SMACK” the clap of thunder struck. We laughed and joked, something about angels bowling, and the line lurched forward. Lurched, but there are so few people in line before us, “Why such a little move forward?” I wondered this aloud. Then I noticed. Six ride cars were filled first. Twelve express pass riders had just jumped in front of the line in which we waited. My sister, Cindy, shook her head.

“It’s not Disney,” she lamented. I thought about what she had said earlier.

Universal sells an add-on to the exorbitant $92 ticket price, for an additional 76 dollars you can get the fast track ticket, or express line wait, whatever it’s called. And, not have to stand in line nearly as long as the regular $92 ticket holders. Regular. Ninety two dollars. Prior to this ride, the express line riders were kept better hidden from the regular ticket holder lines. But, here, completely exposed, the difference was plainly visible. I pointed to the line and my sister nodded. “Yes,” she spoke, “I like Disney better, they have express lines also, but every park ticket gets to access the lesser wait times. Each ticket has a code, and every hour it permits a holder to utilize the express lane. You can essentially go on every ride, with that express pass if you plan it right.” She smiled. Then, her face grew sad, “But, I heard that Disney may be following this trend at their parks now, too.”

“That sucks,” I blurted, then, “I mean stinks, that stinks. It makes me really angry. Watch how the kids look at the express pass holders. For that matter, look at my own anger, and envy, for those people. It certainly says a lot about disparate income.” Cindy agreed, while her daughter, Karen, who had appeared to not be listening to us, wrinkled her nose.

“It is lousy,” Karen spoke up determinedly. “If we’ve also paid to be here, then why can’t we all use the express pass?” I looked at Cindy, who I know keeps most household financial matters discreet, but before either of us could respond, Karen spoke again. “It’s not very fair.”

And that is the answer, isn’t it. It’s not very fair. This leads to why I have also included the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes endorsement. In that film, in the first six minutes, a narrator, or perhaps a news feed overlay, someone is talking, and they speak about the resources running out for humans. And how, at first, those with money got to use the resources, but then fighting ensued, and as the resources diminished, eventually, most people had killed one another off. Even the money holders. There are a few different moments in the film when peace could be reached, but greed and hate and power and breach of trust, and murder, they keep us and the apes from that peace pinnacle.

I don’t think I have it in me to go postal, but, if I did, it might be while watching express pass holders jump in front of me for resources. Or, more, watching my niece and nephews watch people jump in from of them for resources. Oh wait, I watch that, already, all the time, just about most everywhere. Oh, money.

#money #resources #family #restorative #practice #disparate #income #growingexamples