OUR ISLAND - "WE LOVE THIS ISLAND"

We had vacationed in the Charlotte Harbor/Gulf of Mexico area for over twenty years, mostly on Sanibel and Captiva, and in the early 1990's we travelled to Pine Island to meet with my wife's fly-fishing brother. He had discovered the flats of Charlotte Harbor and heaven.

After crossing the causeway onto Bocilla Island we were spirited away to the old South, the Tropics, and calm. Balmy weather, soft breezes, blue skies with large white clouds, coconut palms and sea grape, rustic fishing piers, and blue-green waters. Even "in-season" the calm remained unshattered.

My wife and I sat on a seawall shaded by an old Australian Pine and watched as her brother waded out into Charlotte Harbor. A flight of pelicans skimmed inches above the water with no regard for the intruder. We lazed in the shade listening to the pine whisper with the breeze. White clouds floated across the dark blues skies while two Osprey screeched to coax their young from the nest to learn to fly and hunt. As my brother-in-law cast toward the Harbor several Mullet jumped behind him, keeping one fling away from becoming something's supper.

Great White Egrets worked the shoreline while their smaller cousins pecked away on a newly mown lawn. Seagulls and terns met on the rail of several fishing piers, looking, talking and waiting for something better to do. Nobody hurried.

That evening we walked to the end of the fishing pier to watch the sun leave through Boca Grande Pass. All the traditional colors of a Gulf Coast sunset were there -- reds, yellows, hues of blues, greens and purples; and some extra shades not seen before. We sat watching until the sun dropped into the water, and dusk turned to dark. In that quiet we were joined by three dolphins peacefully swimming nearby. They broke the surface with a soft "woosh", then dove, only to returned minutes later; a happening not to watch, but to be a part of. All cares and worries were gone and only a calm peace remained.

I have lived in many places, worldwide, and enjoyed most of them, but this is the only place where I knew I had to live.