Floridaze

For those who read my blog from time to time, it's apparent that I've been absent for quite some time. I have lots of excuses, including computer and server problems, ice storms, thunderstorms, raging floods and just plain procrastination. Yes, all those things really happened.


I live on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Panhandle and this year we've faced more storms than in years past. A few months back an ice storm brought my part of Florida to a standstill for several days. Roads and bridges were shut down and only those with 4-wheel-drive managed to get from one end of town to another without slip-sliding all over the place. My two dogs, Shani and Dude, thoroughly enjoyed playing in the ice topped with a tiny bit of snow.


Florida normally gets thunderstorms year around, but this year we've had some really wild ones that lasted for hours and hours. Dude is afraid of thunder, so he had a lot of bad, sleepless nights. I don't much care for thunderstorms, but if I'm really exhausted I can manage to sleep through a storm now and then.


A couple weeks ago we were hit with 'The Mother of All Storms' which dropped between 17 and 30 inches of rain here on the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf Coast of Alabama. Thousands of homes were flooded, including over 350 homes near where I live. No, my house didn't flood, but houses less than a block away did flood under several feet of water. According to the latest reports, approximately 30 inches of rain fell in my neighborhood in less than 10 hours. It's being reported as a "500 Year Flood." I hope that means there won't be another deluge of this magnitude here during my lifetime. But then, you never know.


To sum things up, I'm "The Queen of Procrastination." I needed a break from writing and blogging. Though I never intended to take this long of a break. But now I'm ready to jump back in and write, write and write. Oh yeah, unless I decide to procrastinate some more.


For the record, I've been reading lots of books over the last few months. So in my next post I'll list some of those books I read and loved.

A Turbulent Summer

A turbulent summer day on Pensacola Beach.

Some summers are laid-back, tranquil, peaceful, but not this one. This is a summer of political battles as we in the U.S. face an upcoming presidential election. It is also a summer of turbulence around the world, in Europe, the Middle East, pretty much wherever people are seeking justice and freedom. I am not going to get into the individual battles, or even dare to say who is right or wrong, just that this is truly a summer of the winds of change.

Here on the Gulf Coast we had sunshiny days interspersed with mighty storms. Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Isaac wrecked havoc along our coast. It was an awesome beauty and yet terribly destructive.

Today I wanted to write a blog about the end of summer. I thought about the sugar-white sand of Pensacola Beach, the turquoise water, the gentle gulf breeze. I thought perhaps I could write something light-hearted and fun. But the words wouldn't come. I didn't feel that way about this particular summer.

I selected the above photo, taken on August 27th at Pensacola Beach, which depicts the turmoil of this summer. The sky shows a hint of blue, a possible promise of better days to come. The turbulent surf represents the turmoil, unrest, strife that has occurred around the world all season long.

The books I'm reading lately reflect this sense of turmoil and unrest. This morning I finished Tim Vicary's The Monmouth Summer, which I have to say is an awesome read. It's a novel about the summer of 1685 when the protestant Duke of Monmouth and his followers attempted to depose the papist King James II of England. Frankly, I can't think of a better book to read at this time.

This afternoon I started reading Tim Vicary's The Blood Upon the Rose about Sinn Fein and the IRA in 1919 Ireland. Again, this is a perfect read for these turbulent times.

I'm also reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged (the centennial, hardback, library edition of this novel, all 1168 pages, which will take some time). I read this previously, back in my college days, during the tumultuous Vietnam War era. Reading it now, I find different messages in this book. I won't say that I agree or disagree with Ayn Rand's philosophy, only that I find it an essential read for these times.

As usual, I've put together more lists of books. I selected ones that depict the turbulent times of the past and present -- war, strife, a struggle for survival and freedom. The first list is books I've read recently or in the past that I highly recommend. The second list is books of similar themes that I hope to read. Many of the books on the second list grace my bookshelves or Kindles (my old Kindle Keyboard and my new awesome Kindle Fire). When you peruse these lists, I hope that you find some books that you'd like to read. These are listed in no particular order. Most of the books listed are available in eBook format.

My Recommended Reads:

The Monmouth Summer by Tim Vicary
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
The Desert Crucible by Zane Grey
Exodus by Leon Uris
Trinity by Leon Uris
The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West
The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Through a Dark Mist (Robin Hood Trilogy, Bk1) by Marsha Canham
In the Shadow of Midnight (Robin Hood Trilogy, Bk2) by Marsha Canham
The Last Arrow (Robin Hood Trilogy, Bk3) by Marsha Canham
Sons of Liberty by Marie Jakober
Only Call Us Faithful by Marie Jakober
Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen
The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Pretty Birds by Scott Simon
The White by Deborah Larsen
Hawaii by James Michener
Shogun by James Clavell
The Fort by Bernard Cornwell
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

Some books on My To-Be-Read List:

The Blood Upon the Rose by Tim Vicary
Cat and Mouse by Tim Vicary
Shades of Gray by Jessica James
Stone Mountain: The Granite Sentinel by George D. N. Coletti
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
A Town Called Alice by Nevil Shute
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Where the Mockingbird Sang by David Wilson Atwood
War Brides by Helen Bryan
Far Away Home by Susan Denning
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
The Hope (Bk1) by Herman Wouk
The Glory (Bk2) by Herman Wouk
Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo
The Unknown Soldier by Gerald Seymour
Le Miserables by Victor Hugo
Armageddon by Leon Uris
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna

I've left a lot of books off these lists, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. Once again, please feel free to add suggested reads in the comments below. List books you've read and recommend, ones to be read and even ones you've written yourself. Thank you all in advance for adding to these lists of great reads.

A Tale of Trees and Crazy Storms

My mom's White Oak Tree downed by a tornado last night.

Last night one of those crazy storm cells went through the Atlanta area of Stone Mountain. My mom and brother witnessed the storm first hand when a "small" tornado pogo-sticked down into their cul-de-sac and wrecked havoc in seconds time.

My brother said he was sitting in a chair next to the window in their door. A perfect spot to sit and watch the lightning striking Stone Mountain. He said all of a sudden a black swirling mass dropped down and the next thing he knew their giant White Oak Tree (a good hundred feet in height) was torn apart and catapulted directly at the front door. He said it happened so fast that all he could do was sit there and watch as the tree flew sideways through the air and then was jerked backwards like on a bungee-cord and then dropped across the whole front yard. The top of the tree was wedged up onto the front porch, but didn't damage a thing.

I've always told my brother that he must be part cat. Once again this holds true as he just lost another of his nine lives. He came a hairsbreadth away from destruction.

My mom had just taken their two Basset Hounds down to the basement to ride out the storm. Their three cats, Chester included, were probably upstairs hiding under a bed.

The tornado did a pogo-stick thing through their neighborhood, taking out trees and downing power lines along its way. The power lines are underground at my mom's house, so they were lucky in that respect. However, the area was without power for a few hours while Georgia Power reconnected downed lines.

I talked to my mom and brother close to midnight last night as they wanted me to know what had happened. They'd tried to call me earlier, but our house phone (a Magic Jack number via our PC) and cell phone were both turned off. How we ended up with both phones accidentally turned off is beyond me. So I didn't get the story until a few hours after it happened.

Wisteria Vine wrapped around the tree.

This morning I talked to my mom and brother again. They already had a tree service there to cut and chop up the downed tree. They reported that the tree was over 100 feet tall. The tree was twisted off at about ten feet up from the ground. It turns out the old tree was hollow inside, which made it easy to take down. But the amazing thing is the Wisteria Vine that was wrapped around the base of the tree and which wound its way to the top. The vine is what tethered the tree to the ground and kept it from catapulting through the front door and into the house. So the vine pretty much acted as a bungee-cord and saved the day.

The old White Oak tree was filled with squirrel nests. Where did the squirrels go when the tornado struck? My husband tells me the little critters probably landed miles down the road. I hope they made safe landings, but I have my doubts about that. Very sad.

The old oak was hollowed out.

This brings to mind the fact that our country is being plagued with an assortment of crazy storms lately. Hundreds of thousands, or maybe it's millions now, of trees have been felled by these storms.  Power lines have been downed across the country, houses and cars crushed, lives lost. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

My mom says God is angry about the way we're physically destroying our country, our earth. That could be. Who am I to question the way of things? I do know we strip mine, frack, raze and pollute our land from one end to another. It's a very sad state of affairs. I hope we all wake up and do something about it before it's too late.

This brings to mind Shel Silverstein's book, The Giving Tree, where the boy/man uses the tree until there's nothing left but the stump. One of my twin granddaughters, only three years old, loves that book. She says, "And the tree was happy." I'm not so sure. How can the tree be happy about being destroyed?

For me,  this is a day of introspection. The day is cloudy with intermittent lightning, booming thunder and rain. A good time to sit inside and think. Where do we go from here? What is my direction in life? It's a time to be thankful for family and friends and staying safe. It is a time to think about God.

Pensacola Beach and Tropical Storm Debby

Tropical Storm Debby, Pensacola Beach, June 24th

Most of my posts have to do with books, but this one is all about Pensacola Beach and Tropical Storm Debby. For several days now we've been watching Debby forming in the Gulf of Mexico. Would the storm actually reach tropical storm force? Well, yesterday it finally became the named Tropical Storm Debby. Now we're all waiting to see if it becomes Hurricane Debby.

Like many others living along the Gulf Coast, my TV is tuned to The Weather Channel. Those spaghetti lines, or spider lines, depicting the possible path of Debby holds us enthrall.

It's a love/hate thing. Storms are exciting and awesome, but also destructive. So on the one hand we'd love to see the mighty power of a hurricane and yet we want to avoid all the bad, dangerous things that come with a storm of that magnitude.

I woke up this morning to a phone call from my mother, who lives in the Atlanta area of Georgia. She wanted to make sure I knew that The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore was at Pensacola Beach this morning. Well, I'd heard last night that Jim had arrived and was already reporting on the storm. For those in "the know" about bad weather, Jim Cantore gravitates to the bad stuff to report on the worst of the weather. So having Jim arrive on our beach, Pensacola Beach, with a tropical storm and possible hurricane heading our way, well, that's not a good sign.


Let me back up to yesterday. It was a sunny, hot, humid 90 degrees. At midnight it was still 90 degrees. When I went outside with my dogs, Shani and Dude, at close to midnight, the air was fragrant with the smell of salt spray and flowers. The air was beginning to stir and there was the prickly feel of an impending storm.

Watching Tropical Storm Debby from the Dock

Now flash forward to this morning. The sky was painted in various shades of gray depending on whether you gazed north, south, east or west. Clouds raced past at breakneck speed, some clouds heading NW and others SW. These are the feeder bands for Debby which is slowly building out in the Gulf.

After a late breakfast, my husband and I drove to the beach, only a couple miles from our house. Just a hop, skip and a jump over the bridge and we were there facing the building force of this Hurricane Season's first Gulf storm.

I must say the waves were awesome. Now by southern California standards, where I grew up and learned to surf, these waves are nothing. But considering Pensacola Beach rarely has waves more than a couple feet in height, these are awesome waves for this beach.

Now, my surfing days ended decades ago, but I still love watching the waves. There should have been surfers out there, but a Red Flag Warning was posted and no one, not even surfers, were allowed out there. I guess the lifeguards didn't want to be forced to make any rescues today.

There were a fair number of lookiloos out on the beach. Some, like me, ventured to the edge of the surf. Most stood way back and just watched. This being a Sunday and all, it was obvious that many locals left church and drove straight to the beach. Even for people who have lived here all their lives, and seen many a tropical storm and hurricane, seeing the beach under storm conditions is a big draw.

We looked for Jim Cantore, but didn't find him anywhere. I imagine he was taking a break when we were walking the beach. Too bad, because I would have liked to meet him. Maybe tomorrow if he's still here? On the other hand, if Jim stays at our beach then that may not be a good omen.

I took a few dozen photos of the beach. In person, the surf was choppy and awesome. Unfortunately, the pictures I took don't do it justice. My husband took some clips with his movie camera, so I'm hoping he got some good footage to post on youtube.



Tropical Storm Debby, west end of Pensacola Beach.

We'll probably venture back to the beach tomorrow to take some more pictures, assuming Debby increases in force and is still close by. She'll most likely be a hurricane by then. Like I said, I'm awed by the power of a hurricane, but don't really want it to make landfall anywhere. I'm sure we can use the rain all around the Gulf Coast, well, maybe not in Pensacola, but so far no rain for our part of the Florida Panhandle. 

Stormy greetings from Pensacola Beach.

In reality, it's too bad we can't send the tropical rains to Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico to put out their fires. But nature doesn't work that way. One part of our country burns while another part get deluged with rains and another part gets torn apart by winds. Go figure.

As I'm writing this, The Weather Channel just reported that the projected landfall is Apalachicola, Florida, to the east of us. Debby is supposedly only moving at 6 mph, so still a long way out.



Hurricane Season and Hurricane Fiction

A stormy day at Pensacola Beach.

June 1st is the start of Hurricane Season. Here on the Gulf Coast we take this time of year seriously. Hurricanes are no laughing matter when they reach our coast. Nature's might is horrifying and awesome at the same time.

I have a love/hate relationship with hurricanes. I'm overwhelmed by their beauty, yet hate their destructive power. As a writer and artist I'm transfixed in the face of a storm, any storm, even a hurricane. I find myself searching for words and colors that describe the magnificent demon that dares to destroy all in its violent path.

As a school age child I first learned about hurricanes when I read A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes. From that moment on I had this great yearning to be in a hurricane, to experience that mighty destructive force first-hand. Now remember, I was just a kid and kids only think about the excitement, the thrill, and not the fact that hurricanes maim, kill, destroy. All I thought about was the power of the wind.

My interest in hurricanes is what first made me want to move to Florida, years before I actually moved here. Hurricanes and Florida have a long history and I thought that if I moved here I'd most likely experience a hurricane somewhere down the line. That was in my young, invincible days. As an adult I'd like to think that I'm older and wiser now. Well, I'm definitely "older," but still not sure about the "wiser" part. Now, though I still have a fascination with hurricanes, I'd just as soon they stay far away from Florida and the Gulf Coast.

My husband and I first moved to Florida back in 1982. Gee, was it that long ago? Both of our parents had retired to Florida, so it was a logical choice. Plus, my husband was born and raised in southern Alabama, so the Florida Panhandle was close to home for him. Anyway, this area had been ravaged back in 1979 by Hurricane Frederick. Though its landfall was Dauphin Island, Mobile, AL, the Florida Panhandle had a significant amount of damage. (Hurricane Frederick, Sept. 13, 1979)

On our first vacation to New Orleans, my husband drove us through beautiful Biloxi and Pass Christian, Mississippi where Hurricane Camille in 1969 devastated the area. (Hurricane Camille, Cat.5, Aug. 17-19, 1969)

A few years later, in 1985, Hurricanes Elena, Juan and Kate wrecked havoc on the Gulf Coast. (Hurricane Elena, Sept. 2, 1985, landfall near Biloxi, MS) (Hurricane Juan, Cat.1, Oct. 31, 1985, landfall near Pensacola, FL) (Hurricane Kate, late Nov. 1985, landfall near Port St. Joe, FL)

In 1995 Hurricane Opal hit the Florida Panhandle in the area of Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach. In 2004 Hurricane Ivan, which made landfall in Gulf Shores, AL, pretty much destroyed Pensacola Beach. In 2005 Hurricane Dennis made landfall in Pensacola. It was followed by Hurricane Katrina which devastated all of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and flooded New Orleans. (Hurricane Opal, Cat.3, Oct. 4, 1995) (Hurricane Ivan, Cat.3, Sept. 16, 2004) (Hurricane Dennis, Cat.4, July 10, 2005) (Hurricane Katrina, Cat.5, Aug. 29, 2005)

Now once again we're facing another Hurricane Season. Those of us who live in hurricane prone areas diligently watch the weather forecasts. We eye the spaghetti pattern predictions of possible landfalls. We worry about highs and lows and weather patterns. We keep an eye on those tropical depressions birthed from the coast of Africa and watch them cross the Atlantic, heading west. The Caribbean? The Gulf of Mexico? The East Coast? Florida? The Florida Panhandle? No matter where a hurricane makes landfall, it leaves a path of destruction. We pretty much hope and pray the tropical storms and hurricanes do loop-de-loops through the Atlantic and leave the rest of us alone.

Now as I said in the title of this post, this has to do with Hurricane Season and Hurricane Fiction. Where does the fiction part come into play? Like I said, I have a fascination with hurricanes, so over the years I've found myself drawn to hurricane fiction. I'll pretty much read any work of fiction that has a hurricane as a major character.

On the off-chance that some of you out there have this same fascination with hurricanes, I've decided to list some of that great hurricane fiction. I've divided my lists up between Favorite Hurricane Fiction, Hurricane Fiction TBR on my Kindle, Hurricane Fiction on my Amazon Wish List, YA Hurricane Fiction and More Hurricane Fiction. There are some great reads in all these lists, so I hope you'll give some of them a try.

Favorite Hurricane Fiction:

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
Eyewall by H.W. "Buzz" Bernard
Hurricane by Karen Harper
Wading Home: A Novel of New Orleans by Rosalyn Story
Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate
Dungda de Islan' by C.L.R. Dougherty (non-fiction)
Hurricane, A Novel of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane by Janice Thompson
Hurricane, A Short Story by R. Narvaez 

Hurricane Fiction TBR on my Kindle:

Eye of the Storm by Denise Moncrief
Dancing in a Hurricane by Laura Breck
Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth Jones
Anti-requiem: New Orleans Stories by Louis Maistros
Rooftop Diva, A Novel of Triumph After Katrina by D.T. Pollard
The Storm Killer by Mike Jastrzebski

Hurricane Fiction on my Amazon Wish List:

Summer Storms by Rebecca Lyn
The Hurricane by Hugh Howey
The Hurricane Lover by Joni Rodgers
Outcome, A Novel (There's more than a hurricane coming) by Barbara Ebel
Hurricane by Jenna Lynne Duncan
Hurricanes & Hangovers by Dear Miss Mermaid
Eye to Eye with a Hurricane by Audrey Phillips
Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen
Against the Wind by Virginia Kelly
Onslaught by Teri Thackston
When Seagulls Fly Inland by Ann Davis
The Storm is Coming: An Anthology by Various, Ed. by Sarah Holroyd
The Tin Roof Blowdown (Dave Robicheaux Mystery) by James Lee Burke

YA Hurricane Fiction:

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi
Stolen by the Sea by Anna Myers
Back Creek by Leslie Goetsch
A Death on the Wolf  by G.M. Frazier
Oliver's Surprise (A Boy, a Schooner and the Great Hurricane of 1938) by Carol Newman Cronin
Cape Cod Surprise (Oliver Matches Wits with Hurricane Carol) by Carol Newman Cronin

More Hurricane Fiction:

In Hazard by Richard Hughes
Stormy Murder by Marthanne Shubert
Sugar Doll's Hurricane Blues by Kalua Lauber
Carolina Hurricane by Shannon Dauphin
Of Winds and Rage by F. Mark Granato
Down in the Flood by Kenneth Abel
Hurricane Warning by Ginger Simpson

I'm sure I've missed a lot of great hurricane fiction, so please feel free to comment below and mention other hurricane books (fiction and non-fiction) that you'd like to recommend. Also, at the bottom right column of my blog is a list of Hurricane Links for those who want more information about hurricanes.

Updated on 6/5/12 (see below)

Hurricane Non-Fiction (books that look interesting)

Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth by Dr. Bob Sheets & Jack Williams
Isaac's Storm (A Man, A Time & the Deadliest Hurricane in History) by Erik Larson
Infinite Monster (Hurricane Ike 2008, Galveston) by Rhiannon Meyers & Leigh Jones
Hurricane Audrey (The Deadly Storm of 1957) by Cathy C. Post
Island in a Storm (Aug. 10, 1856) by Abby Sallenger
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 by R.A. Scotti
Hurricanes of the Gulf of Mexico by Barry D. Keim & Robert A. Muller
The Great Hurricane 1938 by Cherie Burns
Hurricane Camille: Monster Storm of the Gulf Coast by Philip D. Hearn
A Weekend in September by John Edward Weems
Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford
Black Cloud (The Deadly Hurricane of 1928) by Eliot Kleinberg
The Great Deluge (Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and...) Douglas G. Brinkley
Katrina, A Journey of Hope by Anthony Veltri
Hemingway's Hurricane by Phil Scott

Stormy Nights

Stormy nights are not necessarily conducive to writing. For the last three days and nights we've been whopped by Tropical Storm Lee here on the Florida Panhandle. Lightning strikes, thunder so heavy it sounded like we were under siege, deluged by rain. Though I have to admit we needed all that rain since we've been under drought conditions for ever so long.

Tornado Watches and Tornado Warnings are a bit unnerving, particularly when a tornado or water spout is spotted nearby. Two sleepless nights in a row. The first night I did some writing. The second night I couldn't think clearly. Too tired even to read, which is saying a lot.

Now I'm instantly reminded of why we evacuate in the face of a hurricane. The winds, rain, lightning, thunder, are not particularly fun. I love the clean air after the fact, even love the sight and sound of the rain, but the rest can be a bit much. Tropical storms, being less than hurricanes, we just hunker down and endure.

My dogs, Shani and Dude, finally decided that it is okay to pee and poop in the rain. Dude, the pup, even found that playing in the rain can be fun. But this morning the winds are so strong even a dog might blow away.

I think the storm blew away most of our tourists here on the Panhandle. There's news footage of tourists complaining of not being able to swim in the gulf and having sand blown in their eyes. Ah! Sorry, but we can't schedule perfect weather here for holiday weekends.

I have to get back to my writing. More coffee is what I need to get my brain kicked into gear. Two cups isn't enough, so I'm going for three. At some point the light is going to click on and I'll be back in the game. In the meantime, I'm watching The Weather Channel, CNN and HLN and seeing that we got off easy here on the Florida Panhandle. No real flooding here. Only "baby tornadoes," so very little damage. Lots of leaves and tree limbs to pick up. In a few days we'll be back to wanting more rain. Go figure.