Florida was named “Pascua Florida” by explorer Ponce de Leon on Easter in 1513. Translation: means “Flowery Easter” or “Flowering Easter” (after Spain’s “Feast of the Flowers” Easter celebration)
With the approach of Easter, I am reminded of how lucky I am, and how in spite of the crushing blows of our physical existence and our difficult world, we are always able to heal, to “overcome.”
This applies to our lives as well as to our fight for the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon…
In 2001, in a “previous life,” the day before Easter, I fell from the balcony of a home under construction and broke my neck. It happened in one second. And in that second, when what I thought was solid ground under my feet collapsed, and I was falling, watching the world turning, the shining St Lucie River and blue sky before me, I clearly remember saying to myself: “I can’t believe it; this is how I am going to die.” And then, “crash.” My thigh struck a metal stool, and my shoulder hit the ground. Silence. Excruciating pain. My dog, Dash, barking like crazy running around me while I lie flat unable to move…
A neighbor, hearing the crash, called the police, the Life Flight helicopter came, my fiancée at the time looked on in horror, while Bennett Richardson of the Martin County Fire Rescue Team yelled: “Do not move!” “Do not try to get up!”
The team fastened me into a stretcher in a full body brace. I was numb, in shock, and afraid.
I recall the helicopter ride: on my back, wind blowing, looking up, hearing the sound of the blades whipping through the air….it was like a movie….I kept wondering if I would be paralyzed. Wondering how my life would change. But somehow during that helicopter ride to St Mary’s Hospital, I came to know that even if I couldn’t move my body, I wasn’t my body anyway. I was something much larger, something connected to everything greater than myself; I was spirit….such are we all…
The next day, on Easter morning 2001, I lie by myself and knew my life would never be the same. I spent that Easter Day mostly alone. For me, Easter has become a “homecoming” of sorts….a reminder…..of life’s spirit.
Happy Easter. Happy Passover. Happy whatever makes you inspired.
Jacqui, Inspiration comes from unexpected places and somehow – you always seem to manage and write about the things that are so personal and important to you – no matter how close to your heart, no matter how difficult they appear to us, your readers. Thank you for sharing this very intimate story and yes, to the continued celebration of life!
🙂
Dear Jacqui,
I had no idea of this in your past.
Blessed and Happy Easter.
Joe Gilio
You too Joe.
So beautifully written and a reminder to all. Thanks!
Thank you Susan!
That is an incredible story. Thanks for sharing your encounter with the Spirit of Life.
It is all around us every day.
Enjoy the holiday and celebrate.
Thank you shrub queen! The spirit is all around us!
I’m all choked up. Love you sister! Happy Easter .
Love you Jen.
I believe god has placed you at ground zero of a very inportant issue. I am going to come out of the river and clean myself up and go church this Sunday.John–3–16 is one of my favorite verses in the bible.
It is a beautiful verse Brent. I think there is a reason we have met. Happy Easter. 🙂
Brent, hello, I did get your comments on my other blog posts over the past days…Things are very busy and I could not respond to all. Why don’t you call Boyd Gunsales at 772) 678-9303 he is with the SFWMD.
Tell him we are friends and tell him your theory. See what he says and let me know what he says. He is very nice. Good luck. JTL 4-7-15
Jacqui, Your blog post today made me cry. So glad how things turned out. You had things to do: a special man to marry, a town to run and a lagoon to save! Enjoy every minute. Fondly, Shelly
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Shelly—-:) happy Easter to you and you beautiful family. We go so far back….Yes every minute!
You”re standing in MY grass. 4 manitees were looking at me .They were on sand and I was in THEIR grass. Sea grass is coming back big time where I put sand last year. Would it not be much better documenting the recovery of the lagoon .
Yes… Is it possible you could take photos and post them to show me? And a small write up. Very cool about the manatees!
This particular ares is just south od Sebastion inlet . It started out 3 years ago with me trying to bring the calms back.30 years ago people would all be out in this area clamming .They would have their little inner tubes and rakes and at the end of the day they would have their clam bakes. The next year I noticed the grass coming back. A little farther north the bottom had about 4 to 6 inchs of muck so I spread ot coarse sand (like is on your beach. It worked .The acid that was keeping the muck from becommeing fish food was neutralized. I have a camera and will take pictures. I am not sure how to send them so I will see if my mom can send them. In a couple of weeks grass should grow much thicker. The sand I put out for clams was much finer and would immediately desolve and spread out. This area of grass (this year) is going to be very large. It should be easy to see from google earth.I will try to send some pictures of this place.This is not the only place—I have been busy
This weekend there was a science class at sebastion inlet. They had some high dollar equipment and everyone was running around takeing notes on their clipboards. I talked with an older soft spoken gentleman and said I have an exsperament for you.I said if you put viniger on the sand on our beach you will see it foams up. If you put viniger on the sand anywhere in our 150 mile long lagoon you will see there is NO reaction. There is no calcium in our lagoon anymore. I handed him a bottle of white viniger and went on my way.I talked with a fisherman who said many years ago on his first throw with a cast net he caught a 9 inch long sea horse. If you pour viniger on a dead sea horse you will see it foams up. WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO OUR ONCE MAGNIFICANT LAGOON?
that is big
Do you know any chemist to ask if it would be possible to mix food grade hydrogen peroxide with the herbicides they spray in the ditchs and canals. I have a strong suspecian they are lieng dormant in the acid that removes oxygen
please call boyd gunsalus at sfwmd. tell him we are talking and ask him what he thinks.(772) 597-2373
The grass growing back at sebastion inlet is to big an event for me to have done it with my buckets. 2 years ago dumptrucks put sand on our beach for more than a mile south of the inlet. This sand was much finer than the coarse sand that was on the beach and would desolve quickly in water.Last summer I could see its white color in the water on both sides of the inlet. This year LOTS off grass is growing back on both sides of the inlet. I will take pictures of another place away from the inlet. I will also dry some grass out and pour viniger on it to see if it contains calcium.
good to hear. heard it had really crashed in 2011-2013
Right now we have massive schools of mullet and they are eating the grass as fast as it can grow in places. What I am seeing is the algie that covers the grass is actually protecting it from being eaten by mullet.
interesting thought. too much algae is not a positive perhaps some is…
The calcium that came in with the tides at sebastion inlet was of such massive amounts that there is no way the mullet can keep up. I think we are about to see on a big scale what I have been seeing on a small scale.
that would be awesome!