“I want to tell entertaining stories, while sharing a bit about the history that makes this land I have always called home special.”
Sarah Mankowski
Grapefruit Grove is meant to be a microcosm of Central Florida—at least one version that might have been. I wanted to include some sense of the diversity of people that built this state. Minh talks about her grandmother coming to Orlando after the fall of Saigon. Antonia takes great pride in her Minorcan heritage. Before building her native plant nursery, Miss Ana came from Jamaica to work in the citrus groves.
Professor Foley is always ready to share tidbits about Florida history. For example, when Natalie is trying to make sense of the apocalyptic version of the town that she keeps witnessing, she turns to the professor. He remembers the Cuban Missile Crisis: “When worries grew about what was going on in Cuba, there were bomb drills right here in downtown Grapefruit Grove. The drinking fountains were still segregated in Founders’ Park, even though those sirens reminded us that we were all facing the same dangers.”
Environmental Concerns
Maybe I write about the environment in hopes that readers will glimpse something worth loving in this land I have always called home. The real Florida may be hard to notice—what little is left of it, that is—beyond perpetually choked highways, theme parks, and endless miles of suburbia.
So many people move to Florida late in life, arriving without knowledge of the ecological damage that has been inflicted during the shaping of current-day Florida. We came very close to losing so many magnificent bird species during the plum trade of the late 19th century, and in the destruction of native habitats. Many invasive species have escaped into to the wild, where they out-compete our natives. My story “Soulmates Ever After” may be a simple ghost story, but when Destiny finds a lost key that opens a cedar closet, she discovers a treasure trove of vantage clothing.
“I couldn’t resist opening at least one hatbox. Inside, carefully wrapped in muslin, a hat created a generation before the farmhouse was built. It was adorned with the feathers of a Snowy Egret. I felt revulsion at what I held. Such birds had been hunted almost to extinction in Florida for their beautiful feathers. Flamingos and Roseate Spoonbills met a similar fate, as vast numbers were slaughtered for their uniquely pink feathers. Others too. …Blue Herons. …Great Egrets. …So much brutality to birds in the name of fashion.”
In “Incident at the Waffle House” Morgan is frustrated with the strange lizard-like alien creatures that are constantly demanding more food.
“What are they, you ask? They are not from Earth, obviously, but I recognize them all the same. They are the Burmese python, the Cuban tree frog, and the cane toad. They are the wild boar, brown rat, walking catfish and lionfish. Call them fire ant, African giant land snail, Brazilian pepper-tree or Melaleuca. I would recognize them in any guise. They are just one more invasive species waiting to build their numbers sufficiently to reshape Florida.”
In the final story, “Touching Grass,” Ella Everly is trying to keep her family’s land from being sold to developers. The young women from the previous stories are eager to help. Cherry, Morgan and Natalie accompany Ella into a small marsh on Everly land. This area has been left pristine, being unsuitable for growing citrus.
“As we approach a pool still swollen from Hurricane Milton—cypress knees almost submerged—we discover that a heavy fog still lingers over the saturated ground. The scream of a Limpkin greets our arrival. Through the hazy morning light we find the water crowded with White Ibis and Glossy Ibis, dipping their beaks in search of breakfast. We photograph everything, the birds looking otherworldly through the strange misty light. We watch an Anhinga dive deep into the water. She emerges almost immediately with a large fish speared with her bill. She brings it back to the shore, and devours her catch headfirst.”
I wanted to tell entertaining stories, while sharing a few of the things that make this land I call home so special.
