The Publisher | Jimmy Dean

Dear Readers:

There’s a certain soul to the summer in Florida. People say Florida has no change of
seasons. I will argue that all day long. We do have seasons; they’re just not as pronounced
as in other climes. To start with, summer is particularly…sticky.

Yes, it’s the humidity, not the heat. The humidity can almost make you scream, but
that’s why God gave us swimming pools. When my kids decide to whine about the heat, I remind them to consider what the children of our ancestors’ did before air-conditioning and electricity. Before swimming pools.

Water. They had the water. Just as we do. Imagine how many care-free, lazy summer afternoons have been enjoyed by the swimming hole, in the river or at the beaches over the centuries. The liquid manages to stay fairly cool, except maybe in the shallowest parts of the Gulf along the beaches. Around about August, a dip in the Gulf may feel like a warm tub-bath. Swimming and summer. They both have two syllables and both start with “S.” Must mean something.

Shade. Here in Florida we have many species of trees that create a great canopy of shade. Even the palm and all her varieties provide a unique type of shade, one that lets you remain cool yet still feel direct sun every 5–10 seconds as the fronds slowly drift around in the afternoon breeze. Here’s a great summer project for you and the family: look around your place and decide where a great shady spot should be. Then find one — or a few — well-bred live oak saplings and plant them there. In about 4 to 5 years, you’ll have great shade! They grow very fast, and if you plant a cluster of them, you’ll have the shadiest spot in the neighborhood in no time. Make sure you plant two of them about 12 feet apart. Then invest in a good hammock to go between them. Then wait for…

Wind. The breeze that flows in from across the Gulf of Mexico is like poetry itself. Even inland residents get the benefit since upper level breezes usually steer the wind so well that development does not impede it’s progress eastward in the afternoon, when it’s most appreciated. Imagine where that breeze has traveled from. Perhaps it’s been traveling days to find you so it could cool you at that instant. Sometimes I swear I’ve detected the fragrance of jasmine that the breeze has brought with her from some faraway place with a strange sounding name. Or maybe that sweet scent is from my own back yard.

Take advantage of the water, shade and wind this Florida summer, and please stay safe…remember the sunscreen, and enjoy the issue.

Sincerely,

Jimmy Dean, Publisher