Paradise

Like any city, mine contains seemingly tranquil areas such as Sunshine Village, Holiday Park, and Canterbury Woods. Perfect places in which to put down roots. Housing developments that promise years of unbridled joy and tranquility.

Though when driving through these communities, you quickly realize that life in Holiday Park is really no holiday. And there is no more sunshine in Sunshine Village than there is anywhere else in the city. As for Canterbury Forest, I question whether a mere twenty trees that line the street can truly constitute a ‘forest’.

Of all the wondrous sounding community names, though, the most flagrant offender of false advertising has to be Paradise Estates. Located on the outskirts of the city, Paradise Estates houses identical rows of box-like, split level homes.

Granted, when I think of ‘paradise’ split level subdivisions aren’t the first thing that pop into my mind…but who am I to define what constitutes paradise? Perhaps in years past people had a more relaxed definition of the term, grading paradise on a curve. So that instead of sunsets over the bay and the sound of the waves crashing upon the beach, identical plots of miniature lawns passed for ‘paradise’.

Far be it from me to tell anybody that their version of paradise is suckier than mine. However, fast forwarding years into the future, Paradise Estates has fallen victim to neglect. Paradise is actually quite an overstatement at this point in time. Low-Expectation Estates would be a much more accurate term…though, I’m quite certain, most Realtors would disagree.

So Paradise remains where it has always been, bookended by the Dairy Queen on Route 286 and the vacant lot that used to be home to a K-Mart store.

The once finely manicured lawns are now overgrown with weeds. The squat split-level houses are still squat and split, but now sit with peeling paint, missing shutters, and sagging roofs.

And one can’t help but feel that life in paradise just isn’t what it used to be.