Category: Real Personal History
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The Fate Of The Ancient Mariner
A dream that has drifting through my brain for four decades has finally come true. I’m learning how to sail! The course I’m taking is for five days. On Friday, the other student (Russell from Canada) and I will be taking the 26′ boat out on our own. That ‘alone’ part means the instructor will…
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My 301st Blog: The Walls Of Fort Myers, The Benches Of Central Park And Fluffy
Remember me? I’m Fluffy. My human is the guy who writes these blogs. I’m here to cover for him because he made a mistake and is unwilling to go public with it. I’m also here to help him segue into two other topics about his recent time in Florida that he wants to “bundle” into…
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The Road Of Tears And Spirits
[Looking north from Route 80 toward Lake “O”] The theme of this post is darker than I would like, given that it’s less than three weeks until the joyful time of Christmas. But, I didn’t have a choice. We just crossed on Route 80 this past weekend when we visited friends in Jupiter, FL. The…
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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…
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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?)…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
patrickjegan 