Question.
The thing about Florida is that it
seems only grudgingly hospitable
to human life.

It doesn't belong to me, you
think, looking at the vines that
cover the trees and the bugs and
the swamps.

You think: Why was it settled?

and then: Why am I here?


Answer.
Because the sand is like sugar.
And the oceans, though full of
jellyfish, are warm. Sunsets are
unusually attractive. The tomatoes
grow sweeter.

In general, things compensate for
their unfriendly origins, or at
least try to be gracious about them.


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