Marjory Stoneman Douglas' "The Everglades: River of Grass"

   When I read the line, "Only one force can conqueror it (the Everglades) completely and that is fire" (Douglas 1988, p. 13), my heart sank. A great sadness flooded over me as I knew how wrong and naive this statement was. The mid to late 1940s must have been a time of great hope and respect for untouched nature and its awes-inspiring force. But now those feelings towards nature are gone as even a child knows the destruction man will bring to land ripe for the slaughter. Fire will destroy a land to the very soil, but eventually that land will grow back. When man destroys land and builds atop it's devastation nothing will grow back but perhaps weeds through the cracks of the pavement.

Photo provided by The U.S. National Archives on Flickr circa 1975

   My spirits were lifted after reading about the Caloosahatchee river. I must see this river daily and have always felt as if this river is just as much apart of Lee County as any courthouse, strip mall, sports team, or summer home. I have known the Caloosahatchee for over 30 years and cannot count on my hands and feet the number of times I have swam in its warm water, created life long memories with my friends driving a small boat through the waves or jumping from boat docks into the brackish water.

Photo provided by Florida Memory on Flickr circa 1955

   I was then brought to a place of hopelessness and insecurity when hurricanes were mentioned. Not much on Earth can bring man to feel small and inconsequential other than natural disasters. Man can conquer and destroy more than fire, but nothing can bring solitary man to his knees faster than the violent forces of nature. Hurricanes were once a way of life for people who lived in Florida during the summer months. Weeks could not go by without at least one hurricane watch in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricanes would either dissipate and never make land, downgrade to a smaller storm, or hit Florida with heavy wind, rain, and lightning often cutting power, flooding the streets, and cause massive structural damage. Regardless of the outcome each summer there would be the same feeling of hopelessness and insecurity from when the next hurricane may hit.

Photo provided by Kakela on Flickr April 17th, 2005

Douglas, M. S. (1988). The Everglades: River of grass. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press.