Living in Paradise

Dade City rural road

Yesterday I went to see my father. In the winter he lives about 2 or so hours south of here. The drive between here and there can be harrowing, if I travel the interstates. I am finding less and less inclination to do so. Even my drive to work now does not involve the interstate. I don’t mind interstate travel in other places, and I can drive it here if need be; I just am finding the stress of it begins and ends my work days in ways that I prefer not to put myself through. Tampa as a city has grown and expanded, pretty much reaching its maximum capacity, yet it continues to grow; the surrounding areas are expanding and reaching its edges. In 2010, 9 years ago, the Tampa Bay area had a population of around 3 million people – that was nine years ago. That is a lot of cars going to and from all the outlying areas, because only around 500,000 people live in Tampa itself. There’s a lot of energy packed into a relatively small geographic area. If I know a back way to get anywhere, I am finding more and more pleasure in taking it. Even the little city I live in has grown dramatically since I have lived here. When I moved here in 1981 the population was under 20,000. It is now closer to 40,000.

City growth and expansion, to city council members who control a tax base and continually look for ways to increase their revenue see this continual growth as a positive. Some people say it helps create better services for citizens – hospitals, schools, and so on. I cannot deny that it does. But along with that growth are other more disturbing statistics. More people from areas bring their own ideas and beliefs; it’s America, and we are a melting pot. Personal conflicts and ideas can be good and bad. The school situation has become dramatically bad, but I don’t care to think of or discuss that right now. Traffic is a huge concern. Roads have become far too crowded, despite efforts to build more. When cities like Plant City and Tampa were founded, it was during an era of horses, buggies, train travel, and a minimal population. As Don Henley says, call someplace paradise; kiss it goodbye. As cities grew, houses, businesses, and buildings were constructed alongside narrow roads. Now, to alleviate crowded commutes to everywhere, roads are being built around and linking cities and towns, destroying the habitat of the wildlife who have always lived there, along with so much worse. Florida is basically a sand lot and a swamp all mixed together. Surface water is relatively close to the top of the sandy and limestone soil; 20 million people essentially live at, or just below sea level. More and more people mean more and more demand for water and sewage options. It is still a highly agricultural state, despite the best effort of cities to expand and economically develop natural pastures and farmland. Continual demands for water in a state surrounded by water on all sides from the ever increasing population, the need to meet agricultural needs (and the water is being taken from relatively close to the surface of areas being developed) create huge issues – sinkholes, collapsing roads, flooding of low-lying areas – or of areas that are now low-lying because of the ground being built up for development around areas which used to channel water flow. Water just wants to find the lowest point and it heads straight for areas that were never meant to flood. Growing pains. Any place where people continually want to move is going to experience growing pains and living in such an area is a trial. I work in Tampa proper, but I live in an outlying area that used to be rural. Rather than take the harrowing interstate linking Tampa to Daytona, I choose to drive back roads; rural two-lane roads that are bumpy and curvy, a few miles and a few minutes longer a drive each direction. But I arrive at work without the stress of bumper-to-bumper traffic that fluctuates wildly, and that works for me.

When my father and aunts and uncles first started coming here for the winter many years ago my house was the central location; they mostly lived in Lakeland, east of here. Over time, with moves, my aunts and uncles aging and leaving our world, my house is no longer the central location. It makes me equally sad and grateful. Sad that I am not the host pulling our family together, but also grateful that I was blessed to have so many good years with so many of my aunts, uncles, cousins – my father. He now winters a lot farther south, but I have discovered the joy of driving down the center of the state through isolated, lonely places, rather than passing through the edge of Tampa, Brandon, Sarasota, Port Charlotte and into N. Ft. Myers; those cities which are so close to the allure of coastal living (or, in Brandon’s case, far too close to an expanding Tampa). Taking the rural route, I pass miles and miles of farm and scrubland; most of it owned by Mosaic for mining (and hopefully rejuvenating) purposes. There are absolutely no cities or major towns once I am south of Plant City. That area of Florida is not in so much danger of being developed in the next few years, I don’t believe. It is flat and dry, scrubby, far from any major metropolis so a housing development, right now, is not an appealing prospect for those seeking more housing.

When I moved here in 1981 it was not for the weather. It was never my intention to live in Florida, but here I still am. I wanted to move to Colorado and be a poet. My first summer after graduation I came to Florida to stay with my aunt for the summer, and I met my husband four days after I got here. I did go home for a while but ended up back here within a month. Love is like that. My father-in-law bought this land; the land I still own, back in 1962 for $2500. We bought it in 1987, and he passed away in 1990. In 1997 we built this house, and it became mine in 2004 when Steve decided he did not want to be here anymore. But he also told me he knew I would care for it, and I have. We were the third owners of this property, and I am proud of the fact that it has “stayed in the family”, because it has been for 57 years. I’ve tried to keep my own footprint in the world minimal. I allow the yard to stay mostly natural. I don’t use Round-up or poisons. I don’t waste water with irrigation or landscaping. I don’t personally create a whole lot of waste that goes into our landfills nearby. I recycle everything I can possibly recycle. I am so aware of the waste and expansion because I try hard to do my own personal part. I don’t know the answer to growth and development; to the destruction of natural resources and wildlife. I don’t love Florida like so many others do; I miss the seasons, I miss my family, the friends I grew up with, and I believe one day soon I will not live here anymore. But for now, I do. It breaks my heart to see what is happening in this state, what politicians and government allow to happen. I know people need to live somewhere, and I don’t know the solution to the population boom.

Volunteer sunflower in my yard

There is more to Florida than coastal areas, which were once a true paradise. Everyone wants to live in paradise, and people will continue to move here and believe it is so. There is tremendous growth and growing pains occurring, and it is painful to watch for those who have been here a long time. When I can drive through quiet, undeveloped places as I did yesterday, it is a balm for the soul, and I was grateful for each mile, and each moment.

Dew drops in my yard

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a drive. It was overcast, breezy, and blessedly cool. A little rain spluttered now and then, but minor drops barely causing me to even use the windshield wipers. Florida winters are short and very mild, but we do have a season where the trees and grass are less green, which added to the desolate feel of the drive, but I personally love that quiet surrender of nature. It feels like the earth is sleeping, waiting; holding its breath, and that is one of my favorite feelings of fall and early spring in northern climates. It’s a process important to the earth and it is taking care of itself. One of my least favorite things about living here in Florida is the lack of complete seasons. Obviously, I am in the minority in this feeling, as so many people escape here from cold climates with full seasons. I just think, as a native New Yorker, that my body recognizes when a season should be taking place and it causes me to feel off kilter when changes don’t occur.

Driving always makes my mind wander, and it inspires me to write or to create. I think of stories I have read or storylines I would like to write, photographs I’d like to take, or paintings I’d like to paint. Poetry comes to mind, mile after mile; nature is poetry to me. I watch the flat land pass by, watch for nature and other cars (and motorcycles, because I pass a popular biker destination out in the middle of nowhere; Limestone Country Club – what a great name! It’s at a sweet little crossroads known as Ona). There was an abundance of vultures yesterday in many areas; doing their clean-up work on small creatures hit by passing cars, maybe, but I think probably just due to the cycle of life, too. There were ospreys perched in their treetop or power pole nests. I saw hawks in flight and sitting in the tops of tall trees. There was an eagle swooping down for some unseen-by-me prey. An otter crossed the road in front of me, and his funny little hump-back slither made me smile. A plethora of cows stood patiently in fields, cropping the grass, placidly seeking the next green patch. It is the beginning of calf season and I saw more than a few newly born little sweet faces out in the pastures.

View from my porch overlooking protected land

These are the things that make me smile; the things that make my heart and soul happy. It was a good day for a drive, a good day to spend a few hours with my father, and a good day to be at peace with myself, nature, and the world.

Multicultural Children's Book Day

I was recently given an opportunity to review a book for Multicultural Children’s Book Day. More information on this special day is found below, including sponsor information and the mission of MCBD.

First, though, is the book I was gifted by the author, Lin Thomas. Her book, Every Sparrow was Made to Fly is the story of Sammy, a young Indian girl content with her life in her home city of Goa. She and her brother spend vacations at her uncle’s home on the beach, and it is her favorite spot in the world. Her world is happy; she loves her family, her home, her BFF, and her school. Her world turns upside down when she learns that her uncle will be selling his beach house and she and her family are moving to America.

Sammy is afraid of all the changes she is facing and convinces herself that she will not be successful at anything; her new school, finding friends, dancing, doing math correctly, or riding a bicycle. Her uncle gifted her a painting of his beach house, and there is a mystery surrounding it. As Sammy struggles to resolve her fears, the mystery of the painting begins to unravel step-by-step. As it does, Sammy learns to slowly trust herself, to face her fears and fly with her own wings, not those of self-doubt.

From the very first page, Sammy’s story was sweetly captivating. Her sweet, shy, innocent awkwardness is endearing, and her love of mystery stories reminded me of my own fascination with such stories at the same age as she. When I was young I loved Trixie Belden mysteries, and this story reminds me, just a little, of the first book in that series – a young girl loves to solve intriguing puzzles, and wants a best friend more than anything in the world. In the story Every Sparrow Was Made to Fly there is the added level of Sammy’s belief that she is the wrong shape and size, that she will never fit in with her new American classmates, or that her accent might be too much for her new American life. She fears that she is too old to learn how to ride a bike and that her love of Bollywood will be unacceptable in her new world.

There is a beautiful conclusion, glossary of unfamiliar terms, and an afterward to the story, as Sammy and her new friends finally solve the mystery of the painting. This is a beautifully written story that can teach several valuable lessons to willing learners, but it also gives wonderful insights on what it is like to be a newcomer in a strange, new world. We learn small details of what it is like growing up in India, and also what it is like to transition to America. Sammy learns that fears are fears, no matter who we are, or what we look like on the outside, and it does not matter which side of the ocean we are born on. Finding one’s own wings and flying on our own takes courage, trust, faith, and friendship.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board!
*View our 2019 Medallion Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-
*View our 2019 MCBD Author Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-2eN
Medallion Level Sponsors
Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.
Super Platinum: Make A Way Media
GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV,  Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,
SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,
BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift,  T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,
MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board
Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,
Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Lori DeMonia, Claudia Schwam, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts
A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it,  Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup,Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground
TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual @McChildsBookDay Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party ( a prize every 5 minutes!). GO HERE for more details.

FREE RESOURCES From MCBD
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Book Review - Montauk by Nicola Harrison

This is the story of Montauk, known to Long Islanders, as the end of the world. Land developer Carl fisher - known for his development of Miami, began developing the land in the 1920s, but the stock market crash halted his vision for the area. In the 1930s other investors began sinking money into developing the area known previously as the site for Long Island Cattle drives. The families of these rich men began summering in the area, and their families joined them. These summer visitors created jobs in the sleepy fishing village, but there was also a definite line between the summer folk and the local residents. The book Montauk tells of Bea and her rich investor husband Harry and their summer spent on Montauk.

Bea was not born wealthy and has a hard time fitting in with the other summer wives. She wants a child, but her husband's attention is divided with his work back in the city and in "keeping company" with other women. Bea befriends Elizabeth, who is a villager with four children, and a job doing the laundry for the wealthy summer guests. As their friendship blooms, so does her interest in the local lighthouse keeper. She beings to realize, as time passes, that the life she wants is not with her husband, but a quieter life at Montauk full time. A violent end-of-summer storm tears down the barricades between the wealthy and the locals, and one final senseless act of violence makes Bea's decision for her.

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for a review. I enjoyed reading it, and the story was interesting, although I did not always enjoy the choices Bea made or her reasoning for making them. Many of the wealthy characters were easy to dislike; their shallowness and disregard of the working class made it even easier. I wanted to like Harry, but as the novel progressed I found him more and more unstable and privileged, which I think was the point. The ending surprised me, but it also left me feeling satisfied. I think any other choice would have been too pat of an ending.