Katie McEntire

Actual Privilege

I lived in Florida in 2007. Improbable for my age and socioeconomic status, I lived in an oceanfront condo, rented from a nice gentleman with a severe drug addiction. He used to be a surfer and a lifeguard, but he broke his back in an accident. He lost a lot of his mobility (and I suspect a large sense of his identity) from the injury, and half of his mind to the opiates his doctor prescribed. Being in his presence made my whole body heavy with sadness.