patrickjegan

December 4, 2015

The Scent Of Christmas Caught Me By Surprise

There is a chain of markets in Florida called Publix. It’s employee-owned and from what I read in the local paper, Wal-Mart hates them. But that’s another story. I was browsing the aisles in my local Publix for some fruit to put in my cereal. I found blueberries but they’re from Peru. Don’t they grow…

December 3, 2015

Crossing Whiskey Creek To The Banyan Tree

I had my plastic cup of iced coffee from the Java Cafe nestled nicely in the container holder next to the gear shift knob on the red Ford Escape. This time I was going to try something different. I was going to locate and take the rear entrance (or is an exit when you’re leaving?)…

November 30, 2015

I’d Really Rather Not See It, If You Don’t Mind

[Source:Wikipedia] As I grow older and wiser (?), the number of situations I do not wish to take part in, is growing. For example, I’d rather avoid any conversation with global warming deniers, Holocaust deniers, evolution deniers and anyone, man or woman, who believe it’s the will of God to kill innocent people. In addition,…

November 29, 2015

The Tree Of Death

The little apple of death hangs from the branches of the tree of death. On a hot July day in 1521, Ponce de Leon, his body ravaged by agony, rolled his eyes toward heaven and, most likely, screamed his way into the hands of his God. The man who searched for the Fountain of…

November 27, 2015

After Dinner/Up In The Sky

When we were kids we called them vaportrails. Now, I call them contrails. Those streaks across the sky made from the jet engines of jet planes. Either term is okay. It’s simply the condensation of the water from the exhaust of the plane, turning into visible water vapor. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say…

November 25, 2015

A Stroll On Estero: Encountering Sand Sculptures One Grain At A Time

We decided that we would give Sanibel Island a rest for a day. Besides, we’d save $6.00 for not taking the Causeway Bridge. No, it was time we crossed another bridge (free) from Fort Myers to Fort Myers Beach. When we did, we found ourselves in another world. This wasn’t Wal-Mart country. This was the…

November 20, 2015

The Albatross And The Vulture

What’s it like to float upon misty air? Way up there upon winds of turbulence, where your wings tame them, as a cowboy does the wild Stallion. –Dara Reidyr from “On Flying“ Four hours ago, I was finishing my iced coffee at the Java Cafe in the Outlet Mall. Even with the AC, the plastic…

November 17, 2015

Holiday Time In Fort Myers/Mais ou sont les neiges d’antan?*

“I don’t know Doc, I just seem a little disoriented lately. Maybe it’s the time of year? Maybe I should stay away from the egg nog…” –Notation in the files of Dr. Hugh Roebottom, Psychiatrist, on the recent session with Patrick Egan. It’s a pretty Christmas wreath. I’m looking a one of the prettiest plastic…

November 12, 2015

Listless In Fort Myers: The Harsh Realities Of Wintering In Paradise

I’m sitting on the wooden walkway, on a green metal bench, sipping an iced coffee. I’m watching a Cessna single-engine plane pull an advertising banner across the slightly blue hazy sky. The banner is telling us to shop at the Tanger Outlet Mall. I look around and realize that this is the mall I’m in…

November 9, 2015

Farther Along The Beach, Among The Periwinkles, There Are Things Unseen

I’ve finally arrived at the island that is known around the world for its seashells. I’m unloading the car in the parking lot of Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel Island. The sun is beating against my back and seems intense enough to melt the polyester fibers in my shoulder seams. I enter the Men’s restroom to…