Good Morning from Florida
Its been nearly a year since I’ve been here. Its been too long for a rambling soul like mine. St. Augustine is my home for a few days.
Spending summers in the oldest city in the US during my formative years gave me a nice palate for beach going, one part Floridian, one part Southern. Sounds like a bad t shirt - Floridian by birth, Southern by the grace of God.
The spanish moss hangs on the Oak trees like hair hangs on a wet hippie. Kudzu battles the ground dwelling palmetto brush as it does the oaks and palm trees: with an unrelenting desire to cover every inch of earth with its average appearance and offputting odor.
There’s a large Southern population that beaches in St Augustine. Its a different set from the ones that go to the panhandle of Florida. More folks from the Carolinas and Georgia, than Alabama, Mississippi etc. Either way its what I know.
Its been nearly two years since visiting here, my Grandparents and younger brother reside here. As we make our way to the hospital, landmarks and monuments trigger memories in my mind like signposts in a great civil rights speech. The canons intensify with each passage by not through theatrics - rather by design and message.
I’m here through the holidays.
I’m here to say goodbye.
I’m in my home state through the New Year.
Its good to be home.
