Full Moon over the Water

Every time I look out the window of an airplane, I feel like a kid. Flashbacks of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” come to mind as I see the cars and buildings pass below me. To those around me, I must look like a newbie to the flying scene, staring intently as we make the final descent. This time it was dark outside and Tallahassee and the outlying towns were just clusters of light broken up by marshland reflecting the most romantic full moon I have ever witnessed.

There is something quiet and small-town about Tallahassee even though it is the capital city. As I was driving from the airport into the downtown area, I began to expect familiar sights, a strange sensation, feeling like I had come home but not recognizing any neighborhoods or buildings. My mind was registering that this was North Carolina and that I should be seeing the Beltroute if I would just drive a bit farther.

But it wasn’t home. I checked into my hotel, had some dinner and went to sleep.

Today I ate lunch in what is labeled “Old City Cemetery” on the map. It sits behind a Baptist church and is full of wrought iron gates, palm trees and squirrels. I walked past the graves of a husband and wife. One inscription read, “Forever with the Wind and the Sea,” and the other, “She made the Earth more Beautiful.”

I passed by the graves of children and then that of Thomas Baltzell, Jr. An obelisk sitting alone surrounded by a rusting gate was carved with, “Born March 19th, 1832. Died Oct. 30th 1858. He was drowned in the Harbor of Apalachicola in the endeavour to rescue a child. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” I don’t recall wild daisies growing anywhere else in the cemetery but on his grave. Maybe it was Nature’s subtle way of honoring this young man on his birthday.

I munched on my gyro and looked at the marker then I drove to the beach, stuck my foot in the harbor of Apalachicola, climbed to the top of an adjacent lighthouse and looked over the water lit again by the fullest moon I have ever seen and drove home.