Fort Myers 'In Season'

There are so many examples of the economy-gone-bust in Fort Myers, it’s hard to know where to start. Here are some photos I took on Wednesday of an unfinished sales building with the shingles sitting in wrapped bundles on top of the roof. This testimony to ‘days gone by’ is on Three Oaks just south of Alico.




A sign at the road says “Future Home of Luxury Apartments.” I can’t even begin to describe the pool of water that sits in the middle of five acres of dirt. The land looks like the surface of some distant planet and the unfinished; cement building reminds me of one of the fake dwellings in the movie ‘Westworld’. Eerie sense of desolation as I stood in the sand and took these photos.


There has been scarcely a drop of rain in the two months I’ve lived in Florida. The people are here though . . . they live here and they struggle here. The traffic is intense. There has been an accident on the corner of Daniels and Tamiami (Route 41) every day for the past 13 days.

I’m averaging 5 to 6 patients a day and traveling about 80 miles a day, all within southern Lee County. Eighty-two degree high today, and it’s late February . . . mid-winter for me. I’m in climatic shock, psychological shock, not – physically, the weather is perfect. Beautiful room- temperature days that allow people to play golf or tennis in relative comfort. But the wind, always a breeze. In general, the wind is a welcome comfort. However, this winter has seen some near-record cold so the wind has forced me to wear a stout jacket at times. I welcome the cold. Although I have begun to appreciate living in southwest Florida, the cold helps remind me of home. That’s a good thing. Never wanna forget home.


Here is a bird after a minnow in one of the 'lakes' (we call them ponds) at Lexington Country Club across from HealthPark Hospital. Several small alligators were sunning themselves but it made lousy video . . . they don't move.


Floridians have a love/hate relationship with alligators. I have a 92 year old patient that told me the story of a young woman who was eaten by an alligator when she came to visit her grandmother at Cypress Cove in the Health Park complex. The young girl was told not to swim in the lake, she snuck out at midnight for a quick dip. The alligator was on the prowl that night. 'Ya gotta love Fort Myers.

Okay. An alligator.


Jerry

Super Bowl hangover

What a great game, maybe the best ever. In the end, Pittsburgh was just too much for the Cardinals. I didn't have a dog in the hunt, my wife and I are big-time Carolina Panther fans. That means we suffer most of the time with occasional outbursts of hope. The worst part for me is that the Super Bowl represents the end of football for another year. I miss it already.

Below is a video of winter wheat blowing in the wind while Charlotte sports radio rambles in the background. I'm having trouble laying the page out like I want.

I'm trying to figure out how to arrange video, text and photos. I want each to compliment the other for the most effective presentation. Obviously, that is not happening yet! The video will be therapists working with a variety of patients. The text will explain theoretical principles, practical applications, and other resources for more information. Well-selected and well-placed photos should compliment both video and text. Here is a another brand new, empty retail space in southwest Florida between Fort Myers and Bonita Springs off Route 41 (Tamiami Highway). Lee County has the second highest foreclosure rate in the state of Florida. We have 20,000 empty homes, most of them never lived in.

I really need a high definition camcorder, the quality of my video currently sucks. The wheat field was taken with my old Canon camera (avi) that I have since given to my wife. I now have a decent digital camera (Nikon D40) but it doesn't take video. I always seem to battle with technology. Always a step behind. I bought my Sony CDC about a year ago, just when HD started getting cheaper. Put it on my wish list. I realize what's wrong, the blog borders are too thin. I don't have the room I need for the photos and video. There must be a way to fix this . . . .

Jerry

Super Bowl musings

The Super Bowl has started, Pittsburgh drove the field and just missed taking it to the house. Great challange by the Cardinals. The Steelers are forced to kick a field goal. I watched some educational video on YouTube regarding 'best business practices' for blogging. Good stuff. I have to write what I know. I guess this is a blog that will become a source of knowledge in the area of physical rehabilitation. I want to include video of physical, occupational and speech therapists working with actual patients. Not enough of this is being done, in fact, you can attend a hundred educational seminars in rehab and not see any video of therapists performing their crafts on patients with balance disorders, patients who have sufferred a stroke or patients with debilitating illness's including diabetes and heart disease. The video takes forever to finish uploading. I guess its worth it. Here is a video I took while passing a train on Rt 211 in North Carolina. I'm driving through Oakboro in southern Stanly County when I filmed this train rumbling along. I don't know whether to link with my YouTube channel, or import the video directly into Blogger like I'm presently doing.

I wanted to move my text to the upper right corner of the video, couldn't figure how. Pittsburgh just scored a touchdown, Roethlisberger is looking like he wants to make amends for his performance three years ago. Well, gotta run. Arizona has scored and it's 10-7 with six minutes left in the half. Sometimes the game lives up to the hype (but usually not). One can hope.

Jerry

Super Bowl Surfers

This is my first blog so it may be a bit choppy to start. It will have commentary with photos and video. Should be fun. My first thought is why doesn't Blogger have Medical or Healthcare in the choices for your profession? I'm a physical therapist in the medical field, I had to put 'other' for my 'industry'. I want to show you a photo I took of a kite surfer in Tampa Bay yesterday (Fri, 1/30). The wind was brisk and there were 15 or so surfers, they all had wet suits on. They all seemed to know each other, I could tell they were having a blast on Super Bowl Friday. My wife and son are in North Carolina while I help my aging parents here in Fort Myers, Florida. I went to a balance seminar in Tampa on Thursday and Friday, I saw plenty of Steeler garb but not much Cardinal. What's up Arizona? Here is a photo of a kite surfer with the city behind him.

The seminar taught us how to treat patients with vestibular balance problems. Bringing photos in wasn't too bad, I guess it will get better with experience. The traffic in Tampa was incredible Friday afternoon. I hope it wont be too hard to import video. Let's give it a try. I want to show you 'Light at the end of a tunnel', a video I shot while driving to West Virgina last year. Here it is . . .

I believe we all have that notion of a "light" at the end of our tunnel. A blinding light. Purity. Perfection. We humans are romantic to a fault. Men and woman. I've got lots of great video, photographs, and things to say. Bye for now.

Jerry