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