7th grade art class. My teacher, Bessie Fredericks, asked us to create our own nametags using picture symbols to tell our names. I drew an outhouse (John), a robin (robin) and the sun (son). Bessie was fearsome even when calm. … Read More
Run Aground
Nearing the end of a grueling day at sea, I crawled into a lifeboat to rest, and must’ve lost consciousness, fell asleep near some treacherous shoals. When I awoke, the ocean had flung the boat onto shore. Oh well, they … Read More
Our Neighbors
We docked near an ocean beach doubling as a nursery. The eggs hatch at night and the turtlings crawl to the sea under cover of darkness. Our guests saw three turtlings early one sunrise, making a daylight run for the … Read More
Storm Front
A violent squall closed in fast, racing us to Everglades Cut. This was three weeks before the two young men were lost at sea. But it was a similar storm, intense, thrashing. We donned our Mae West life jackets in … Read More
Deep Sixed
Danger lurks everywhere in Paradise. If the ocean doesn’t surprise you, your vessel might.
12,000 Poles Down: Bootheel Disaster
Long before The Weather Channel began naming continental storms, this one will be remembered as The Ice Storm of ’09. Its widespread devastation covered Missouri’s Bootheel like a glacier. In the two counties that form the heel of the boot, … Read More
Hungry Shoppers
From what I hear, folks enjoy watching Shark Week. I lived it. Snorkeled within pole vault distance of a seven footer as she patrolled the edge of a reef off Fiddle Cay. Photographed a dozen others along the journey. Sand … Read More