When young most of us were eager to do something with our lives, to prove ourselves to others, to become something, perhaps famous. Often we had our sights on someone or something we wished to emulate or follow. Occasionally one’s personal zeal was overtaken by parents who wanted their child to join the family business or to continue in the same historic line of professionals. Even after retirement there are those who persist to seek accomplishment which can for example include returning to university to get another degree; or transitioning to a new occupation often strikingly different from the first. Whatever the projected success may have been there comes a point in one’s life when it no longer matters. I do not view this as lacking in ambition or purpose. And certainly continuing to read is not so much a goal as a prerequisite. The same applies to an openness to learning whatever the vernacular.

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Last evening the air conditioner stopped working.  Again.  This is the second time in as many weeks. The report from the office of the estate agent today is that the problem (similarly affecting several other units) is the result of antiquated faulty wiring provoked by the recent replacement of the roofs of the townhouses. We are told that the A/C mechanic will not be able to address the matter for two days but that we shall have priority because our unit is occupied.  The good news is that for the foreseeable future the skies are forecast to be clear and cool; with a northern breeze. To be frank it is comfortable with the windows ajar and the crosswind from front to back of the unit.

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I by-passed the sea this morning. Instead I continued my tricycle ride to the island swimming pool. For two reasons. One, it was too early to swim in the sea. It was only 10:30 am. I shall preserve the early morning swims in the sea for those occasions in March or April when I anticipate the heat will warrant the eclipse. Two, although I hadn’t laid my head on the Nautica pillows until late last evening approaching 11:30 pm, I slept soundly until 3:00 am when I got up and took another round of analgesics which put me under until 7:30 am. I then languished in bed until shortly after eight o’clock when I succumbed to the conscientious urge (or should I say purge) to greet the day.  I saw behind the bedroom window blinds that it was another sunny day. So I got up. But only reluctantly. I was still feeling tired.

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While I doubt the Puritans can take credit for that strata of modesty (or what in general is called limitation; that is, constraint and avoidance of extravagance) that runs like a bedrock seam through the best of human society, there is unquestionably a moral element attached to the principle. Having preoccupied myself for the majority of my life with excess of one description or another, I can ardently speak to the repentant feeling adduced by limitless behaviour. Usually, as with over-eating for example, it was followed by an anguish which cleansed the guilt and left room for self-serving rationality. In my later life the archway to extreme has given way to one of moderation though bear in mind that to dissemble was not the product of control but rather cosmetics. I found things just looked and worked more fittingly without the recklessness (sort of the way pearls look better on an older woman).

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As I serenely lounged by the pool mid-afternoon today with my eyes closed, my ruddy face directed to the sky, I suddenly became aware that the dazzling sunshine was fleetingly blocked not by a cloud but by the frenzied tops of a distant tree. The hindrance was not the usual grey patch of a passing cloud; rather it was the shimmering light streaming through tree branches tossed about in a high wind. This has not been the pattern for the past month. I know this because I have always positioned myself on or about the same lounge chair each time I have visited the pool. The change today was evidence that we’re approaching the Winter Solstice and I will have to accommodate my sunbathing ritual accordingly.

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While things may indeed be sent to try us, that at first appears rude reward for having to take the test.  Which is not to say a life without challenge is to be wished for, but it makes one wonder.  A moment’s reflection however clears the air. The alternative, though imaginable, is so dubious and of questionable sustainability as to be something only Jonathan Swift might have penned.

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When thinking about Florida, what is the elephant in the room? What is the one thing that really matters that everyone forgets to mention?  Is it the charming hotel room? The palm trees? The alligators? Or is it the pretty pool! Or the marvellous beach?  Or the food or the shopping?  No, it’s the sun. The sun is the sine qua non for existence in general and definitely for Florida in particular. It’s the one element which is so beyond our reach as to be totally out of touch but which is always within our sight. It diffuses its rays with such intensity and effect that its proximity is undeniable. Even when sheltered behind the towering mass of cumulonimbus its allure is hypnotic and prepossessing.

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The island of Key Largo is an exposed, fossilized remnant of a coral reef formed during a period of higher sea level and then uncovered and eroded during a subsequent ice age. The highest elevation is a slight ridge forming the spine of the island, which rises to about 15 feet (4.6 m).

The island’s substrate is called Key Largo limestone; in many places, fossilized corals and smooth, eroded limestone “caprock” are visible at the surface. Solution holes, which are pockets dissolved in the limestone by acidic rainwater, form shallow depressions in the land. The natural shoreline of the island is generally rocky. A slippery, gray, limestone-based clay called “marl” is the shoreline and near-shore soil. No natural sand beaches occur on the island. Inland, decomposed vegetation forms a rich, acidic humus soil up to about 6 in (15 cm) thick, topped by “leaf litter”. The soil supports a diverse flora of herbaceous plants, woody shrubs. and hardwood trees.

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The Genesis flood narrative is encompassed within chapters 6–9 in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. The narrative indicates that God intended to return the Earth to its pre-Creation state of watery chaos by flooding the Earth because of humanity’s misdeeds and then remake it using the microcosm of Noah’s ark. Thus, the flood was no ordinary overflow but a reversal of Creation. The narrative discusses the evil of mankind that moved God to destroy the world by way of the flood, the preparation of the ark for certain animals, Noah, and his family, and God’s guarantee (the Noahic Covenant) for the continued existence of life under the promise that he would never send another flood.

In the story of the Deluge (Genesis 6:11–9:19), Noah is represented as the patriarch who, because of his blameless piety, was chosen by God to perpetuate the human race after his wicked contemporaries had perished in the Flood. A righteous man, Noah “found favour in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8).

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It is inevitable that one should compare places where one has been. Limiting my scope to where we have wintered (as opposed to casual short-term visits) this buffet of venues includes Hilton Head Island, Daytona Beach Shores, Longboat Key and Key Largo. Happily Key Largo is proving to be our favourite. Indeed we have already committed ourselves to return next winter.

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