I think Florida served several purposes. Ultimately, it was a visit to Aunt Kaye, mom's sister. Underlying, I think it was return to part of mother's past, a place she didn't go very often. As part of the journey, we stopped at Bay High School in Panama City. The fact that mom finished high school in Florida and not Alabama is involved in a tale of family sorrow, involving the untimely death of my grandmother. The family scattered, and that's all I know about this period in her life, really. The worse things were, the less she talked about them. But that was common in those days.
As for the Gulf... It might as well have been the ocean in relation to my size! I still remember the white granules of sand glistening along the sides of my feet, the prick of burrs, and the expanse of blue ~ blue sky, blue water, blue air.
Dane was the quintessential big brother and showed me stars outside of the sky.
Most of all I remember the rush of the water ~ the thrill of it's approach and the sudsy, tickling bubbles around my feet. At that age I felt I could command the water, and I shouted, "Wait a minute!" to the waves when they began to recede. It was a lesson, I suppose, but at that time there was nothing better than to be alive and shout with abandon at infinity.
State Nickname: The Sunshine State
State Flower: Orange Blossom
State Wildflower: Coreopsis
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Animal: Florida Panther
State Tree: Palm
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