Sanibel Journal

I was a very shy little girl.  I was so shy that I shuffled my feet when I entered a room full of people.  I lacked self-confidence.  Because I was a year younger than many of my classmates (due to my passing an early entry kindergarten test), I thought I was inferior.  The teachers that I had for kindergarten through third grade did little to help me come out of my shell. Then came the reading test and Mrs. Hardesty.   I took the reading test, convinced that I would be placed in the remedial group.   Instead, I was placed in the small group of kids who read exceptionally well.   I was incredulous, but then I had to admit, I loved to read books – real books, the kind that serious adults read.   And then there was fifth-grade teacher Mrs. Hardesty. She was a lovely, energetic, and whip-smart lady who loved to teach kids.   She brought out the best in each and every one of us.   My self-confidence grew enormously.   I felt happy a...

One day, before The Isolation, I was wandering through the MacIntosh Books & Paper shop, and I noticed an attractive, large tome written by Jack E. Davis, The Gulf:  The Making of an American Sea .  MacIntosh owner Rebecca Binkowski had displayed the book prominently on a wall, so it was easy to notice.  I opened the book to a random spot and began to read.  The writing was beautiful!  I tested a few other random pages, and declared out loud, “This is a great book!”  Rebecca responded by telling me that it had won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018, and that the author had made a few appearances on Sanibel in recent years. I don’t buy books often because the Cooley household already is home to thousands of books.   But I knew this one deserved a place of honor on my shelves that store books about Florida – after I read it, that is.   As I read it, I kept telling my husband Tom about it.   By the time I was finished, he said he just ha...

April 21, 2015 -- For the first time in ten years, I missed an Island Jazz performance.  On Sunday afternoon, I opted instead to attend the Fort Myers Mastersingers performance on Sanibel, at the Community Church. The music was thrilling and beautiful.  It was performed by the full Mastersingers chorus, including its chamber chorus and the regular chorus.  A chamber orchestra from the Naples Philharmonic accompanied them; this group consisted of two flutes, two violins, a viola, a cello and a bass.  The program included Shubert’s Mass in G, Lewandowski’s Hallelujah (Psalm 150), the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah, the Kyrie from Verdi’s Requiem, Bach’s Gloria in Excelsis, a spiritual called Ride On, King Jesus, and a modern piece called Gloria that was written by a chorus member, Jason Bahr. Jason wasn’t present because he was in New York City, where another one of his works was being performed.  He is a professor of music at Florida Gulf Coast ...

April 14, 2015 -- Say the word “writer,” and most people think of an author of fiction.  But there are many kinds of writers, aren’t there?  Authors of fiction and nonfiction, poets, lyricists, composers, science writers, journalists, academic writers, literary critics, theater critics, art critics, textbook writers, screenwriters, playwrights, essayists, technical writers – I could go on and on. As a blogger, I’m keenly sensitive to others’ rights to privacy, and that sensitivity severely restricts what I write about when blogging.  For my husband and me, the main events in our lives this past winter and early spring have involved important events for others, and so I just could not very well blog about those events without violating others’ privacy – hence the big gap in this blog.   Now I will say this.  My husband (who is a writer of textbooks and academic books) and I (a science writer and blogger) are buying a house from a woman (an academic write...

October 21, 2014 – My friend Phyllis conducts tours of the grounds at the Sanibel city hall, where numerous native plants grow.  The tours are not about city government; they are about what grows well on this fragile barrier island – plants that do not need fertilizer and that can survive droughts. The tours are free and no reservations are needed.  For property owners, it is a bargain and a joy to listen to the information that Phyllis provides.  In her sweet voice, she tells little stories about each plant.  She needs no notes; she knows it all by heart. Phyllis is the chair of the city’s vegetation committee.  She devotes much time to this volunteer job.  The committee's members inspect properties that are being developed; they help to ensure that native plants are protected and replaced when necessary. A firebush bloom. That committee also does much to educate new property owners as well as longtime residents like me, who have forgotten what ...

I started my Paris Journal 15 summers ago, before the word "blog" had been invented.  From time to time, my readers have asked, "Why don't you write a Sanibel blog?" Today is the day.  Barbara Joy Cooley's Sanibel Journal has begun. My husband (Tom Cooley) and I live in Sanibel.  It is our only home.  But we do go to Paris every summer for three months.  We don't have a home of our own in Paris; we simply rent an apartment from friends. The Paris Journal is not a travel journal; we live in Paris in the summer, but we are not tourists.  My husband and I are writers.  We work at our computers until about 3 or 4PM every day when we're in Paris. Likewise, the Sanibel Journal is not going to be a travel journal.  It is not meant for tourists, but tourists might enjoy it, especially if they're interested in the perspective of the locals. I'm a community activist by nature, and a science writer by education and work experience.  I firs...