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What Gator Head Windchimes Can Teach Us About a Healthy Advocacy Practice
My husband and I moved 14 months ago to Florida. Since then, each time I’ve been on the highway, I’ve seen billboards which have fascinated me. They advertise the Florida Citrus Centers which are roadside tourist stops where you can buy (yes, you guessed it) – oranges, grapefruit, limes and other fruit, plus other Florida-related souvenirs. But until last week, I had never stopped at one of the Citrus Centers, despite a 14 month curiosity… The curiosity is right there on that billboard photo above: Gator Head Wind Chimes. What on earth would an alligator head wind chime look like? Would it be one alligator head with wind chimes hanging off it? Or would it be a big circle with alligator heads hanging from it, knocking against each other to create the “chime”? (clunk, clunk, clunk) Then, of course, because my family members are all a little whacky, with great senses of humor, I pictured my brother-in-law opening one of these monstrosities for Christmas… Just thinking about it made me laugh out loud! I had to get one! Last week my husband and I left for our vacation, driving north to visit family and friends. As soon as we hit the highway, we saw the first of those billboards…. It was my golden opportunity! I would be able to satisfy my curiosity – and do some Christmas shopping too! So yes, I talked him into stopping. (“What? We’ve only been on the road for 10 minutes! Are you kidding me?”) Outside the store were tables upon tables of citrus fruit and small citrus trees for planting. We walked into the store and found t-shirts, bumper stickers, orange marmalade, and saltwater taffy. We also saw hundreds of alligator heads (yes, just the heads, chopped off – you can see them below). And we saw dozens of wind chimes made of seashells. But nowhere could I find the gator head wind chimes. So I asked the cashier. “Oh, people ask for them all the time, 3-4 times a day!” she told me. “But we don’t have anything like that. We have alligator…