The Beached Mermaid Archives - PensacolaFlorida.com

Lightning in Pensacola

However, there is a downside…the danger of being struck by lightning. Have you ever been enjoying a nice day at the beach, relaxing in your reclining surf chair after a leisurely dip in the refreshing gulf…and just when you’re about to drift off, you hear it? KaBoom! You turn to see an ominous, dark cloud north of you. What should you do?

Most of us can remember those moms who panicked in storms, who had us all come inside, turn off the lights, stop all activity (as if we’d personally draw lightning bolts by moving or speaking), and hunker down. Do you remember that? Or perhaps you had a scientific parent, one who taught you to respect the storm but said it was just “clouds bumping into each other” or some sort of explanation like that. Whichever we’ve experienced, most of us carry those early instructions within our psyche. But, really, what are we supposed to do when caught in a thunderstorm?

What are the facts?

According to accuweather.com, Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S. It has much to do with our tropical climate and the fact that we are surrounded by water on three sides. What should you do if a thunderstorm rolls in while you are relaxing at the beach? Guess what? Your mom was right…you need to get inside. If you are at the beach, head for your car. Storms come up quickly and at the beach, you’ll be the tallest thing around, hence, just what a lightning bolt will find. Get off the beach! If that is impossible, get low. Hunker down between the dunes away from the water. The very best place is to be inside a building. The shelters or tents at a campground are not safe; get in either a car or better yet, into a building.

The plans of mice and men… It would be ideal to plan for the weather. But, we all know that this is tricky at best for a Floridian as storms of this sort come up with tiresome regularity. So we do our best, plan for it and be smart. We’ve all heard of the “dog days” of summer, those sweltering hot months of July and August when even the dogs don’t want to be outside. These are the days in which we enjoy the ole AC, a tall glass of tea while we sit and pet Roxy.

So what do you do if you’re driven indoors? Certainly, there are alternatives to outdoor activities, cool things to do inside. Floridians typically have a cache of candles ready in case the electricity goes out and a flashlight or two handy, even now with our iPhones and iPads. I suggest ditching the electronics and experiencing the storm, from the inside. Make it a joy. If you don’t want to read, you can always just sit quietly and listen to the falling rain. There’s always a board game to play with the kids. A rainy afternoon is perfect for Settlers of Catan, our family’s favorite game. Do you play an instrument? I play the piano and it seems more exciting with a storm raging outside. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is a pause, a rest of some kind. For me, a thunderstorm gives me that pause, permission if you will, to play, create, and rest.

Once

It was always there.

We gathered,

Hunted through bedrooms

Drank glass-bottled Coca-Cola

(That only Grandma allowed)

And listened to our mothers laugh

With stories of remembered this and that

While pots of greens and peas waited

And cornbread heated up the place.

Three stories of questions.

Whose room was this?

The mirrored dressing table,

Missing the once bright maiden.

The son’s old zeppelin tilted

Against the wall,

Oh, that’s Jack’s old thing.

Imagined beasts

Contained

Among dusty ancient

Shadows, Basement

Inventions.

The Pecan tree, bare arms rising,

Giving to welcome us home.

Ring rosey ‘round your trunk

Your leaves, unremitting.

Still.

Sitting, long

Creaking chairs that joined

The everlasting conversations

That enclosed overhead,

Enveloping me long after

The waking hours.

Momma’s practiced hand

At the radiator dismissing the cold

Those mornings.

Porch gliding,

Grow-ups laughing,

Talking big on front lawns.

Same spot pictures

Of all of us in bunches

Marking years.

Perennial as ivy climbing up

Brick steps higher,

Higher.

Years grown,

Departed.

Gone,

Giving to welcome us home.

Now that I’ve settled down in one place, a beached wanderer I’d like to think, I’ve fallen in love hard with Pensacola. I had the pleasure of living on Gonzalez Street in East Hill for a few years when my children were young. Just living there in a house that was built in 1910 stirred my imagination intensely. Back in the day, streetcars ran by very near, conveying folks to downtown shops and shows just minutes away. As I sat there on the porch, creaking in the swing with my two boys, we’d watch people as they’d get off at the corner bus stop. I couldn’t help but imagine the screeching of a streetcar against metal rails and picture ladies in their long sheath dresses alighting, holding their broad-brimmed hats, careful not to trip on the bricked roads as they made their way home. Inside, the gaslight fireplaces stood guard in each room. The old ornamental ceilings reminded us of days, years gone by, at how people cared deeply for craft and art and doing a job well. My personal favorite was the bathroom with the old fixtures, the claw tub, the black and white tile. Some things shouldn’t change, shouldn’t be upgraded. History is made to be admired, researched and pondered, learned from. Living in that house, I’m certain, was the genesis of my interest in writing historical fiction. It’s as if houses themselves have life in them. What we bring but also what we’ve left there.

Now that I’m a grandmother, gathering little ones together in my home, sitting on my own front porch, clutching my favorite coffee mug, watching my curly-headed babes run and play, my thoughts inevitably turn back to my own grandma’s house in Meridian, MS. This is where the Youngbloods would convene, merging forces and easing into their familiar style of story upon interrupted story. I didn’t get to see Grandma much since we lived far away for most of my childhood, but when we did visit it was quite an experience far different from my life on the go. As authentic and pure as her fried okra, Grandma’s beguilingly unhurried manner cast a life-long southern spell upon me. But, what was as equally fascinating to me were my memories of her old house on Sixteenth Avenue. It was a treasure! Days we spent there were filled with discovery, of old, discarded items my mother would remark over, times of gathering pecans for pies out back, going down into scary basements, and simply the wonder of old gadgets that still worked. This was back in the days when parents expected kids to “run and play” and leave them alone in their conversations. It was up to us not to get hurt. So most days we’d be off to hunt things and explore, both inside and out.

I’m sad to say that my Grandma’s house is gone now. It didn’t make the cut for neighborhood renewal. Not long ago, I drove down Sixteenth Avenue and tearfully sat in front of the empty lot, noting that even the porch steps were gone. Perhaps the house couldn’t survive without her, so it quietly died one day after she’d left the earth. Sitting there in my car with weeping eyes, I spied the only remaining recognizable evidence of our gatherings and our life there. It was the old pecan tree, arms still rising, there in the backyard. But it looked utterly sad too.

Drive along in the downtown area of Anytown, USA, you’ll see dozens of old houses, the older the city, the better. Pensacola, being one of the oldest cities in America, dating back to the 1500s, has time-honored homes in several neighborhoods of note, the most famous being the North Hill and East Hill communities. But, hey, don’t stop there! Head for the less celebrated areas. There’s the Navy Point community and the East Pensacola Heights community, both of which are in Pensacola proper. Generations born, lives lived, and now gone from them, these homes have retained their glory, the personalities of their owners. Go discover something new (and old).

Enjoy your wanderings!

~Kate