Another "Novel" Approach to Understanding Florida: A Great Read for Your Sanibel Vacation

In earlier posts I have mentioned books specifically about Sanibel Island or using the Island for its backdrop.

Because having a great read on vacation is de rigueur, I delight in finding just the right book when vacationing on the Island.

One such novel, based on the history of Florida, is A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith. I read this engaging publication several years ago and was so smitten with the story I bought copies for our Sanibel vacation rental properties. Each time we visit, I have to replenish the supply as renters obviously find the story so compelling they often take the book with them.

And I don't blame them. There is nothing more frustrating than reading half a great book on vacation that does not belong to you! And Sanibel is a wonderful place to lose yourself in a wonderful read. It's hard to let go.

In this best-selling novel, the author tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a cattle raising Florida family who battle the hardships of the frontier to rise from a dirt-poor Cracker life to the wealth and standing of real estate tycoons.

The story opens in 1858, when Tobias MacIvey arrives in the Florida wilderness to start a new life with his wife and infant son, and ends two generations later with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that the land has been exploited far beyond human need.

The sweeping story that emerges is a rich, rugged Florida history featuring a memorable cast of crusty, indomitable Crackers battling wild animals, rustlers, Confederate deserters, mosquitoes, starvation, hurricanes, and freezes to carve a kingdom out of a swamp. But their most formidable adversary turns out to be greed, including finally their own. Love and tenderness are here too: the hopes and passions of each new generation, friendships with the persecuted blacks and Indians, and respect for the land and its wildlife.

A Land Remembered was winner of the Florida Historical Society Tebeau Prize as the Most Outstanding Florida Historical Novel.

Buy the book. Take it to the beach. Read it at the pool. Take it home again. It's a terrific story and helps to put Sanibel in a whole new context.

Re-defining "Danger" on Sanibel

With the recent shark bite in the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico off Sanibel Island comes the usual media blitz about the dangers lurking in the waters.

But let's put this recent nip in perspective.

In the period between 1882 and 2007, there were a documented 5 unprovoked shark attacks in the WHOLE of Lee County (the county where Sanibel Island is located). And regarding attacks leading to mortal wounds, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control, 4,406 people drowned in America during 1998. That's about 550 times as many deaths as caused by sharks in an average year.

OK, sharks exist, and once in a great while, one takes a human sample (and more often than not the shark is just looking to see what species the human is before attacking: thankfully most of them are none too keen on the way we taste).

Five bites in all of Lee County in 125 years is hardly worth panicking over. But if you are the panicking type, here are some suggestions for making your Gulf visits as safe as possible:

1. Always swim in a group. Sharks most often attack lone individuals.

2. Don't wander too far from shore. Doing so isolates you and places you away from assistance.

3. Avoid the water at night, dawn, or dusk. Many sharks are most active at these times and are better able to find you than you are to see them.

4. Don't enter the water if bleeding. Sharks can smell and taste blood, and trace it back to its source.

5. Don't wear shiny jewelry which does attract sharks.

But the reality is that it is unlikely that you will ever sight a shark on Sanibel much less be approached by one. And if you are approached, stay cool. Erratic movements will just make the shark curious as to whether you are edible. So be calm in your movements.

All that said, the risk of a shark bite is infinitely smaller than other "dangers" on this beautiful, tropical island. And these can be easily avoided.

Sunburn, heat exhaustion, and sunstroke are much more prevalent than are sharks. So, wear sunscreens, hats, foot protection, sunglasses and extra clothing. Rent an umbrella or sit in the shade as much as possible. Drink plenty of water. Any time you visit the beach, bag up and bring all these items and a first-aid kit down to the beach with you. A day at the beach - or an entire family vacation - can be easily ruined for each and all by bad sunburns, headaches, sunlight sensitivities, heat exhaustion or worse.

Equally prevalent is the lightning storm that can generally be spotted well in advance. Florida is the lightning capital of the USA, but not the world, the international title held by Africa. Lightning storms ares a serious risk for those at the beach. When you see the skies darkening, leave the beach and head home. Why take the risk to see if it will blow by as it often does?

The joys of a Sanibel Island vacation outnumber 1000 to 1 the dangers. And the dangers are largely preventable. So shouldn't you be thinking of making plans to visit paradise now?

The Value of Pace on Sanibel Island

There is great value put on place regarding the Island of Sanibel. It is appreciated for the abundance of nature, the tropicality, the great shell collecting and the wonderful leisure, recreational and cultural amenities it provides.

But the island provides another value that is not so easily defined in naming its pleasures.

Life on Sanibel, if you choose, can be taken at a turtle's pace.

Sanibel will provide you with the opportunity to do those little things that bring you pleasure and help you to enjoy the moment what ever you do. Take your coffee on the lanai and sit and sip. Stretch out in a hammock between two swaying palms and read a book. Take a cooler to the beach with lunch and just sit and watch the pelicans dive for their own meal.

As the humorist Will Rogers once wrote: "Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save." Sanibel will take you from the world of multi tasking, slow your pace, keep you from pushing the river to its banks, and let you enjoy life as it should be.

Elusive Sanibel Bobcat Captured on YouTube

One of the things I love about the new technologies is that one can find just about any "proof" of life with a simple search.

For years I have been hearing of Bobcat sightings on Sanibel, and over the years I have on occasion seen the short tail of one disappearing into the brush.

Or there have been sounds at night that were unmistakably wild feline.

So I know that they are out there.

But getting a good look at these shy creatures has not to date been possible despite my strong desire to see them. And why not, I am a cat lover and these cats are really something remarkable.

Reading that:

"The bobcat, a type of lynx, ranges throughout southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. Smaller than other lynx species, the bobcat averages about 65 cm (26 in) high at the shoulder. Its spotted coat helps it blend in with rocks and brush. Although they are primarily terrestrial, bobcats are good climbers. Solitary and territorial animals, a bobcat will rarely enter another bobcat’s territory, searching out the company of others only to mate."

My interest was more than piqued. So I have wandered around the Island, day and night, in and out of overgrown vegetation searching for this beautiful specimen. No luck thus far.

That is until I stumbled across the video from someone luckier than I and who was able to catch a good (not great, but good) glimpse of one.

Thanks to Youtube, at least I can now say I have seen a Bobcat on Sanibel. And so can you by clicking here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3fpSjk3hpQ