Introducing the FMB Islander

I'm in the process of starting a new venture -- an online, independent news site specific to Fort Myers Beach. I previously worked for the Island Sand Paper when I lived here before. It has since gone out of publication, sold by it's local owners. I loved writing for them and diving into human interest stories about all the characters here on FMB. I want to do that again.

Currently, the island is served by Breeze Newspapers a media group who publishes the Beach Observer. I want to do something unique that meets today's audience where they are--online. A truly local, grassroots outlet with stories that interest the beach's residents and visitors.

There's a rebirth happening here on Fort Myers Beach and I moved back specifically to be a part of that new growth and development. Recovery from Hurricane Ian is slow, but progress is being made. That's the focus of my very first article.

Come leave a comment or become a regular visitor to FMB Islander:

https://fmbislander.wordpress.com/

Ian's Scars Slow to Heal

HURRICANE IAN: 6 Months Ago Today

It was 6 months ago today that my ISLAND HOME was decimated by Hurricane Ian. I watched all the coverage I could the morning of September 28th as the monster storm blew ashore. It started with young adults playing in the roaring surf under the Fort Myers Beach Pier around 11. By the time the water receded later that day, the pier was GONE! So too was the beach plaza known as Times Square...and much of the rest of the 7-mile barrier island.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hurricane-ian-relief-6month-post-disaster

The videos of the immediate aftermath were both shocking and horrifying. Homes that were 10-feet off the ground were ripped from their pilings. Long-loved beach establishments were wiped from their foundations, like Junkanoo and The Beach Pub. My "family" ran the Beach Baptist Church (blue roof, above). It, too, sat well above the ground, but the facade was ripped away and storm surge ravaged the entire property, coming right up to the front door of their elevated residence. Thank God they all survived!
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hurricane-ian-relief-6month-post-disaster

Sections of the island were unrecognizable. Media outlets around the world kept zooming in on Red Coconut RV park and the massive pile of debris that were once people's retirement homes or beach getaways. That image, alone was shocking enough, but the storm surge, as it rose above 8-foot live stream cameras, just carried away everything in it's path. I watched the beach Hooters go floating down Estero Blvd before falling apart. Not two blocks from where I once lived, beachside cottages were picked up and slammed against homes on the other side of the street (photos above). Whole blocks were wiped clean to the grayish sand. It was unbelievable devastation.

I'm starting a GoFundMe Campaign to help in this time, six months post-storm, when nobody is paying attention to Fort Myers Beach. Funds will go directly to help those in need. I'll be working hand-in-hand with my family at Beach Baptist, where we used to run a food pantry every other week, the only one on the island. They know where the greatest need is and your donations will help target that need. I will personally be delivering the funds raised here to the island community.

Thank you so much for every dollar or penny you can spare! #FMBStrong

HELL 2.0

That was the theme of my morning journal entry today, 12 Oct 2022.

Two-point-O, you ask?

Well, let me take you back to my blog post on the very last day of 2016, "Worst Year, EVER!" I'd call 2016 (technically the end of Nov 2015 through Oct 2016) "HELL 1.0!"

I lost my car and my license that year. I lost my job, then after a summer with my grieving father, it took me until the end of September 2016 to regain employment. That's when things finally began leveling off, but then I had to face the first anniversary of Mom's death over Thanksgiving Weekend. Needless to say, Thanksgiving is no longer a holiday for me. I could live without the reminder.

I don't remember 2017 being a whole lot better, then 2018 kinda sucked, until I moved back in with my girls post-Hurricane Michael in mid-October '18. Christmas was ok, though I think the girls spent the full two weeks out of school with their Mom in PCB. As I recall, 2019 was a blur with patches of homelessness, where I slept out on the street. That year ended with several of my friends struggling to kick flu-like symptoms FOR WEEKS (HELLO, COVID-19!!!), which our government tried to cover-up until the following Spring when the outbreak COULDN'T be ignored! So 2020 began with COVID, then George Floyd and racial unrest, but I was quarantined with my girls so the first half of that year sucked LESS than the previous four.

So why HELL 2.0 for the current year?

Well, let's back up to October 2021.

I get a call from my sister the morning of 4 Oct 21 that Dad's COVID-induced pneumonia seems to be letting up, he's breathing better than ever and seems to have turned a corner. He'd been hospitalized a few days with breathing difficulty. BUT by later that day, he nosedived and his condition was worse than before. That night, around 8:30, he was dead. "Turned the corner???"

Through the great kindness of a wonderful, new friend in Boulder, CO, I was able to fly home the following afternoon. Officially, the year of hell had begun.

We memorialized Dad, but not without major drama from some former siblings, one of whom I had to take to court to send a message. I'd rather not elaborate for fear I might throw this laptop out this second-story window!

By the time Christmas 2021 rolled around, I'd had enough. I was preparing my return to either Boulder or the beach. Then, in a state of unwellness, I did the opposite and stayed in Indiana, rekindling what I believed to be an old flame. Turns out, I was just horny.

That misstep led to FIVE MONTHS of misery. THAT's how my year, 2022, started. I was living in the trash heap of Evansville, IN, trying to make the best of it, pouring myself into genealogical research and visiting nearby family--that was the lone bright spot of the Winter/Spring 2022. But in that time, I burnt through most of my meager inheritance from Dad. I, again, had nothing--no car, no home...

I had to escape that frying pan for the fire at my sister's house. ABSOLUTE CHAOS!

I knew this about my sister's living situation, but what was I to do? Go immediately back to Boulder?

My relationship with my girls was already on life support...I don't know why, honestly. That left me no real reason to go back to Boulder...so BEACH it was!

Only my sister needed me...and begged me to come back and make some semblance of order out of her chaotic existence. It was above my paygrade. I failed. That's not a word that's been part of my lexicon much since 2001. I don't like it. I like even less to have to admit failure. But that's what 2022 has been--one after the other!

I was looking to escape to Fort Myers Beach as early as June of this year. I floundered, began struggling again with depression, barely able to grieve my father's death for MONTHS! I was miserable.

It's worth noting here that being ORPHANED, no matter your age, is no easy thing to wrestle or come to grips with. I turned 54 in September. I hate being an orphan!! I lost the parents who not only raised me, but we GREW UP TOGETHER! And to make matters worse, I have no reliable siblings now, either. I'm a man without a family. And since my girls have ghosted me--at 18 and 21--I really feel like a ship without a home and without a rudder.

I'm adrift...

Adding to that helpless feeling, my beach, the one I was to go back to in June, then August, then September? IT WAS DECIMATED BY HURRICANE IAN ON SEPT. 28TH!!! How's that for a kicker???

I was literally looking at transportation costs on the day of my birthday, exactly two weeks earlier, then Ian hit...OF ALL PLACES!!! FMB took the brunt of 12-15 feet of storm surge and brutal 100mph+ winds, sustained. The beach now lies in ruins. I had my best friends down there ride it out in their stilted home. It barely escaped destruction. Their business was not so lucky.

I still plan to go back there, but there is no water, no power and parts of the island are inaccessible due to massive piles of debris, downed trees and power lines. It could be a month before power is restored.

Yeah, this year (Oct 2021 - Present) has sucked JUST AS BAD as 2016!!!
I cannot imagine Hell being much worse.

Signed,
Rudderless in 2022

The Human Toll of our Stupidity

The two words which came to mind in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian a week and one half ago. We can blame these Great American "values" for the massive human toll, which at this point ranks second ONLY to the 1935 Hurricane. That hurricane claimed 485 lives. The death toll from Ian is still being tabulated.

WE WANTED IT. WE TOOK IT!

In the news segment here, you'll hear from a scientist how the removal of natural dunes in the name of progress created the effects we saw of massive storm surge. These natural barriers between sea and civilization were bulldozed many decades ago.

The images, alone, provided by NASA are alarming...but more alarming are the harmful effects of unfettered capitalism, greed and growth that allowed the building of so many unsafe structures RIGHT ALONG the coastline...and this happens ALL OVER Florida!

The arrogance of planners and developers to think that we (mere mortals) can somehow stop the rising seas, we can resist the natural flow of water (see the Everglades) or in any other way FUCK WITH Mother Nature is pure insanity. Yet, we do it everyday. We restrict or impact in some way the flow of waterways, we introduce foreign objects, substances and species (plant and animal) and otherwise screw up the natural state of our planet, and expect the Universe to comply with OUR wishes. It just does not work that way. The Universe DOES NOT revolve around humankind!

The Army Corps of Engineers and the planners in Lee County believed they could manufacture islands to build a causeway that would withstand the terrific force of the Gulf of Mexico. Likewise, they filled in a swamp, then drained the neighborhoods they manufactured with endless canals and sold it to retirees as "Cape Coral." It was swampy marshland just inside Pine Island and should have been left to the manatee, the blue herron and the gator. But just like the concrete jungle in South Florida, we created a veritable paradise for mostly white people.

Why? Because we could...and developers profited greatly.

Time is about to show how much Mother Nature and the rising seas, due to a global crisis, care about humankind's plans--their avarice and hubris mean nothing to Her. Miami will one day be swallowed by the Atlantic, becoming my great-great descendants New Atlantis.

And as Hurricane Ian showed, we cannot sustain this type of growth along the barrier islands on the Gulf side, either. You can't resculpt islands, removing the barriers nature put in place, then put unsafe structures on the new landscape and expect Mother Nature to respect that. She won't. She doesn't.

And yet, in SWFL, just like in post-Andrew Miami, we'll see the tightening (in this case, enforcing, FINALLY) of building codes from the early 2000's. They'll ignore the lessons of history and rebuild on the exact same duneless beaches, just stronger, more fortified houses and condos. Hell, Fort Myers Beach was in the process of building the mega-structure Margaritaville when Ian struck!

But who will be able to afford to live in this new paradise? Only the mega-wealthy!

All that money and "sustainable" growth is still no match for the power of nature. Those islands WILL one day be claimed by the rising seas! Just as the above video shows us, nature already took a little of it back with her after Ian.

Fort Myers Beach is Forever Changed

This video taken of the Times Square/Pier area and north end of Fort Myers Beach gives you the grim picture of the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. This monster storm seems to have unleashed it's fury on the seven-mile strip of beach. A good portion, I can't even venture a guess percentage wise, of the structures have been totally demolished.

This recovery effort is going to take MONTHS! I remember the truckloads of debris taken from the central panhandle after 2018's Hurricane Michael. That storm leveled Mexico Beach. Ian nearly leveled Fort Myers Beach. The removal of debris alone is a MASSIVE undertaking that will not happen overnight. Debris has to be cleared from roadways, so that inches to feet of sand can then be scooped away. Then structures will have to be secured or demolished, depending on the level of damage. Infrastructure will have to be repaired or rebuilt, and all of this will happen simultaneously over the coming months. It will not happen overnight.

That's months just to gain some modicum of normalcy. Businesses may or may not decide to rebuild. The impact on small businesses is HUGE, as is the impact on the shrimping and tourism industries. It could take years to rebound.

I don't know what the future holds for me and my family. I have friends, like family, who run the Baptist church and retreat center on the beach. They've suffered a near total loss. Will they stay and rebuild? That's the question facing so many people, businesses and organizations.

Fort Myers Beach will never be the same.

I'm not sure if I'm going back there. This storm just altered my future.

Fort Myers Beach Decimated

'Absolute devastation' about sums up the aftermath of Hurricane Ian to my island paradise, Fort Myers Beach (FMB). I posted yesterday about the threat posed to the 7-mile island. Well, it became a worst case scenario. As Ian gained strength over the warm waters of the Gulf, he curved northeastward, nearly imitating the track of 2004's Hurricane Charley. He went right up Charlotte Harbor after decimating Lee County's barrier islands.

The problem for Fort Myers Beach is that they escaped the eye. There was no respite from the winds and waves churned by Hurricane Ian. It was a constant barrage from the approaching eyewall, which first inundated Sanibel to the north. But as the cyclone scooted east, it brought the southeast quadrant of the eyewall over FMB. And once hurricane-force winds were onshore, it never let up. FMB remained in the eyewall even after the storm made landfall. While other areas, like Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte got the reprieve of the eye, FMB did not. It was a constant barrage.

The reported 16-foot storm surge did most of the damage. High winds took care of the rest. It really was absolute devastation. The aerial footage that has come in all day, from drones and helicopters, has shown the breadth of the damage. It's breathtaking. It took me half the day to wrap my brain around it.

The pier is gone (left). Yesterday morning I was watching foolish beachgoers navigate the rough surf under that pier. The downtown area known as "Times Square" along the shoreline at the pier is also gone. The area I frequented, the outdoor plaza where my band played several "sunset festivals," is a mass of debris and empty foundations.

One of the town's councilmen, interviewed on CNN, said, "There's nothing to come back to."

But back is where I was headed. Back to my beach, my happy place, my home.

Now?

Will they rebuild? Will corporate resorts take over the town now?

It's lost all of it's character and small town charm. My favorite beach bars are gone. The locals who staffed them will go elsewhere.

Coast Guard helicopters have hovered over FMB all day looking for those needing airlifted to safety. Everyone's car is flooded, damaged or gone. And even if residents DID have transportation, the roads are impassable. The island is a literal dump heap of debris...and boats...lots of boats.

On the approach to Matanzas Pass Bridge, aerial coverage shows the Shrimp Fleet all piled up on the east edge of the bay. Like toy boats, these large vessels are stacked haphazardly. Besides tourism, the shrimping industry was the other piece of the beach's economic puzzle. Now that's gone, as are all the locally owned businesses.

I'm beginning to believe the councilman is right. There really is nothing to go back to.

 

HURRICANE WARNING: Fort Myers Beach

There's a reason for everything, so I've learned to just go with it.

After getting waylaid in the Hoosier State, and opining for life in coastal Belize, I found myself spending another month up here spinning my wheels. I wasn't sure why. I wanted to be in Florida.

My plan since leaving for Boulder in late 2020 was to return to "my beach," Fort Myers Beach (FMB), where I'd transitioned from a married man to a divorcee back in 2012-13. I fell in love with that place. I FOUND MYSELF on that beach!

I couldn't figure out if I wanted to go back there anymore or head straight for Belize. Well, Mother Nature may make the decision for me. Over the next 48 hours, my beach may take the brunt and brute force of a Category 3 or 4 hurricane.

Hurricane Ian, ripped across the Western end of Cuba overnight, and set it's sights on Southwest Florida, a little south of it's forecasted trajectory. That's where I would have been the last couple weeks had I gotten my way. But for this reason, I was held at bay. How much would it have sucked getting down there, just getting my bearings again and having to evacuate mandatorily. That call came from local government at 7:50 a.m.

Now my island--that seven-mile stretch of postcard paradise dressed in ivory sand--is in the crosshairs of this dangerous storm. What will be left after 10-plus feet of storm surge?? The elevation there is all of THREE FEET! They'll be underwater.

We saw what Hurricane Charley did in 2004. That Cat 4 storm entered the States at Charlotte Harbor, well north of FMB. It cut Captiva Island into three sections, three smaller islands now connected by bridges. That was an indirect hit. FMB is similar in contour and just south of Captiva and Sanibel islands. I doubt it'll fare much better than did Captiva in '04.

I'm worried about my friends down there. I'm also worried I won't have a beach to enjoy anymore. But I am thankful I didn't head down there prematurely.

Maybe Belize IS in my short-term future. Who knows? Time will tell.

I guess the point of all this rambling is "just relax, live in the moment, don't resist." That's a lesson the Universe/Life has been trying to teach me of late. I was resistant to staying here in Indiana. I was eager to get back to my happy place! ALL IN GOOD TIME...and now is not a good time to be on Fort Myers Beach.