Shell Shocked: The snowbird who came in from the cold
This is the first winter in many years that I wasn’t a snowbird.
Blame it on Hurricane Ian. Ian screwed up my winter. I typically spend half the year on Sanibel and the other half in New Jersey. I love Sanibel. I’ve been a regular on Sanibel since the last century. No, not the one with George Washington, the one with Elvis Presley.
Like everyone else who lives or works on Sanibel, I was glued to the weather reports on September 27th which predicted a massive weather assault on the Florida Gulf coast. And like everyone else I took the predictions with a grain of sale.
I could count the many times weather predictions spelled dire circumstances for Sanibel. But like the great Harry Houdini, Sanibel always seemed to dodge the bullet.
Not this time.
This time more than made up for all the earlier bullets that were dodged. And then some. It was like a nuclear bomb had exploded over Sanibel and destroyed much of it. Had the Russians called upon Sanibel to surrender, I suspect we might have.
Might have but wouldn’t it. We who breathe in Sanibel air periodically would have stood up against the invaders and fought back, which we are doing in the rebuilding efforts.
My house was badly damaged as were so many others. And I wound up spending the winter in New Jersey — the first winter spent up north in many years. But I managed to visit Sanibel for a few days last month and was taken by what I saw. Yes, there was still a lot of destruction, but I also marveled at how much had been done since the nuclear bomb.
My house consists of two levels. The ground level was totally destroyed but the structure of the house itself remained intact. The upper level, which is where I live, was mostly undamaged and I will be able to stay in it in August when I will return to Sanibel for several weeks.
The lower level was completely gutted and is being repaired. A few friends urged me to sell the house and move to another part of Florida. I made it clear to them that Sanibel is my home and that I would never abandon it. And I mean that.
I’ve had a wonderful life on Sanibel, made many friends and exulted in the lifestyle. I can hardly wait to resume my normal snowbird schedule as Sanibel fully recovers from the nuclear bomb.
Art Stevens is a long-time columnist for the Sanibel-Captiva Islander. His tongue-in-cheek humor is always offered with a smile.