One World (but not mine)

I left the cafe and went straight for the One World site- just outside Frostproof, Florida in an ex-orange grove. I met my liaison to the inside- a rather short college dropout named Yvonne. She explained to me that what I was about to see was typical, normal commune life- no special ceremonies or rituals for the sake of a guest. I agreed, and we entered the compound.

It was very simple- most of the people lived in tents or cabins that could have been handmade. The one professional structure was their dining hall, which had both air conditioning and indoor plumbing that linked to Frostproof's sewage system. Apparently they didn't believe in shunning all the comforts of home.

First, Yvonne took me to the dining hall for dinner, and I was introduced to the other members of the settlement. There were too many to name here, but I remember clearly a teen girl resembling Sylvia, and then their founder, the oldest man among them, whose name was Liam. (They all shunned surnames to foster a sense of connection)

We ate dinner, which was fried tofu and homegrown green beans (surprisingly good, considering I'm not a fan of tofu) and Liam explained to me the philosophy behind One World. He told me that they aren't a cult, that if I were to join (there was no pressure to do that at all, surprisingly) I would be allowed to visit family and keep my friends and laptop- even leave, if I wanted to. He said that One World was a "political group" whose only agenda was to "convince people to change the intolerant, too-powerful regime currently ruling." It wasn't just an American group, either (hence the name "One World"), and they reached out to others via their Web site.

It was a very enjoyable evening, spent airing my political views (I wasn't aware I HAD political views until I met these people) and drinking Fresca around a campfire... but there was one problem:

No Gerard.

There wasn't anything I could do about that- though I will say that I wouldn't mind Elaine or Chris ending up with the folks from One World- so it was with great sadness that I had to take my leave. I told Yvonne and Liam about Gerard, Elaine, and Chris, and both offered their sympathy and help. Yvonne goes to a non-governmental church every week, and she offered to put my sister's name into their cult outreach program.

"We get a lot of people who turn up without a home." she said. "They sometimes don't remember who they are, and we have to get them to a hospital and home again. I'll put in Chris's name too."

I thanked her and headed back into Frostproof proper. I slept under a bridge (really uncomfortable, but I'm not spending food & transportation money on a hotel room when the ground is free), and now I'm eating breakfast at McDonald's and plotting where to go next. Hopefully it'll be as nice as One World.

~Stacie