spacecoastweb: blog

Unofficial Titusville, FL Tourism Video

Fri, 21 May 2010 - Titusville, FL

A resident of Titusville caused a local stir when he uploaded a short video to Youtube, featuring some of the dismal, limited, and drab choices that the town offers for dining, shopping, and entertainment. Twenty-one year-old Ryan Williams entertained many of us here on the Spacecoast with his acerbic take on our hometown, but some folk were not amused.

I first learned of the video from some of its detractors, while dining out last week. I had intended to check it out for myself, but it slipped my mind. As viral videos are wont to do, it again thrust itself into my attention stream. During a phone conversation, another of my friends asked if I had seen it yet. He told me it was hilarious. I was sitting next to my computer, so I surfed to Youtube and watched. I got a laugh or two out of it.

The video captured much of what saddens me about my hometown. The empty malls, the empty storefronts, the empty parking lots, the empty sidewalks... All these are a symptom of a town in decay, slipping deeper into an ultimate stagnation. Titusville is a living fossil: It cannot compete in the modern world it has found itself in. The parasitic big-box stores and fast-food joints are leaching away the life-blood of the town. A once-thriving community has lost all hope of a brighter future.

When KSC completes its layoffs at the end of the Space Shuttle program, the situation for Titusville will only deteriorate. This will likely be the final death-blow to the small businesses that survived the onslaught of the mega-stores and later managed to keep their doors open through the great recession.

The Space Age is behind us. Titusville is an anachronism. Our future is the mega-store and the fast-food restaurant, serving a defeated and despairing populace. Our children won’t have jobs which help America reach for the stars, instead they will be reaching over a counter to hand someone a value meal.

I understand why this video has angered so many locals. They say it misrepresents the town and that scenes like this can be found anywhere in America. But Titusville isn’t just any town: It is our hometown and it is dying a slow and painful death. The older generation looks at our town through the lens of nostalgia and forgives much. The young people see the harsh reality of their future if they remain here.

I laughed while watching the video. It’s funny because it’s true. We have to laugh, or else we’d have to cry.

» Geocode: lat/lon = 28.609624,-80.807477
» Geomap: Titusville, FL - Google Maps
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