10am Correction: I have been alerted that this plane is a MacDonald Douglas F-4 Phantom not a Prowler….https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II   (Florida Memory Project note must apply to accompanying aircraft)

This morning I went searching for inspiration so I visited the “Florida Memory Project” and typed in Lake Okeechobee. A variety of historical photos came up.  So interesting. Old photos of an ancient shoreline rimmed with pond apple, cypress trees, white sandy shorelines and loads of fish. Photos of building the dike and dredging around Lake Okeechobee…even some in another section of the St Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. And then this aerial from 1968 of a VMCJ-2 squadron EA-6B Prowler photographed over Lake Okeechobee. I was captivated looking at this photo. The early days of color photography …dreamlike…

And the lake is so large– over 35 miles long and 28 miles across –70% its original size–still enormous!  You can tell the pilot flying next to this airplane took the photograph. Skill. Teamwork. Belief.

1968— This was a time of great social change and struggle in the United States, but also a time of great determination.  Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon, on 20 July 1969, shortly after this photograph was taken. This EA-6B jet is not a space ship,  but it too represents the technological capabilities of the United States. Our ability to achieve when we believe.

When this photograph was taken, I was four years old. I remember this time in spirit if not in memory. Nonetheless, it is ingrained in me, as in all Americans,  that we can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it. This photo is an image that remind us that we CAN fix water in the state of Florida if we take the wide view and the high view of Lake Okeechobee. And if we believe.

VMCJ-2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMAQ-2

Florida Memory Project: https://www.floridamemory.com

Lake Okeechobee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee