Popular Sanibel writer returns with a new Doc Ford novel
CRAIG GARRETT
Sanibel’s Randy Wayne White at a book signing at the Doc Ford’s where
he often writes on a laptop.
By CRAIG GARRETT
c g a rre it@ b re e ze n e w sp a p e rs.co m
Sanibel writer Randy Wayne White is
back. This time he’s writing about Cuba,
baseball, intrigue, the fictional characters
and fun writing style his readers have
embraced for- decades. His book signings
typically attract big crowds, many punctuat
ed with reverential fans pausing to praise, to
shout questions during his opening remarks.
There’s no question a celebrity has entered
the building when White shows for his sign
ing events.
His new book “Cuba Straits” was offi-
PH O TO PRO V ID ED
Randy Wayne White has release
“Cuba Straits.”
dally released last week with a promotional
tour that started in Sanibel March 22, It is
the 22nd book in the Doc Ford series that
dates to 1990 with the release of “Sanibel
Flats.” He was first published as a novelist in
the 1980s under the pen name of Carl
Ramm. He has written million of words for
trade publications, fiction, non-fiction and
newspapers, covering travel and politics, the
world’s history and archaeology. He also
lectures. He’s packed an awful lot of living
into 64 years.
White in his annual spring tour will range
the country through late April, allowing a
rare break from his seven-day-per week
writing schedule, he said. White will have
been in Sanibel for a couple of signings, but
returns to the area April 17 at the Ft. Myers
Beach Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, and in
Captiva April 22 at the new Doc Ford’s.
In his newest novel, according to a press
release: Doc Ford’s old friend, General Juan
Garcia, has gone into the lucrative business
of smuggling Cuban baseball players into
the U.S. He is also feasting on profits made
by buying historical treasures for pennies on
the dollar. He prefers what dealers call HPC
items — high-profile collectibles — but when
he manages to obtain a collection of letters
written by Fidel Castro between 1960-62 to
a secret girlfriend, it’s not a matter of money
anymore. Garcia has stumbled way out of
his depth. First Garcia disappears, and then
the man to whom he sold the letters. When
Doc Ford begins to investigate, he soon
becomes convinced that those letters contain
a secret that someone, or some powerful
agency, cannot allow to be made public. A
lot happened between Cuba and the United
States from 1960-62. Many men died. A
few more will hardly be noticed.
While these details are courtesy of his
publisher, White did share his writing that
appears so effortless is really the byproduct
of hard work, of sitting at his laptop starting
at 6 a.m. and pounding away for months,
often agonizing “over every single word,”
he said.
He tucks himself into a booth at one of
the Doc Ford’s restaurants named in honor
of his chief fictional character, “Doc”
Marion Ford, during the writing process. He
shuffles off when the stores begin readying
for the day. He reads profusely to back
ground and fill the well, mostly nonfiction
stuff, he said.
Interestingly, White shared that higher
education isn't necessarily the answer for
everyone, certainly not for those in the arts.
“One does not have to go to college if one
is an excellent reader,” he said.
White also shared that “Cuba Straits”
was important because of his admiration for
Cubans. He has several times visited the
island nation just off Florida’s coast. He
quelled the rumor that he had met with
Cuban president Fidel Castro.
“We know so little about these people
just 210 miles away from Sanibel,” he said.
Details on Mr. White’s work and life are
at randywaynewhite.com.
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‘Ding’ announces contest winners
At a special ceremony on
March 14, the “Ding" Darling
Wildlife Society-Friends of the
Refuge (DDW S) announced
finalists and winners in the sec
ond annual “ Ding” Darling-
Theodore Cross High School
photography contest at the J.N.
“D ing”
Darling
National
Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel.
Sponsored by the Theodore
Cross
Family
Charitable
Foundation, the competition
invited high school students
from Lee, Collier, Charlotte,
Glades, and Hendry counties to
compete for prizes that included
a Canon digital SLR camera
package, chartered class trips to
the
refuge,
Tarpon
Bay
Explorers excursions, and copies
o f W aterbirds: Portraits and
Anecdotes
from
Birding
Adventures by contest name
sake, the late Theodore Cross.
Cross, who lived part-time in
Sanibel and has family still liv
ing here, marched with Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.; advised
the Johnson and Nixon adminis
trations on anti-poverty pro
grams; wrote the influential book
“Black Capitalism,” among oth
ers; played a prominent role in
President Obama’s election; and
created Birders United — a bird
ing website that ranked legisla
tors according to their record of
bird protection support.
Cross decided later in life to
indulge his love for birds and
photography and traveled the
world to collect stunning por
traits and stories to chronicle his
adventures. He photographed
often at “Ding” Darling, and a
number of the images in his book
reflect his love for the refuge.
Cross published “Waterbirds” in
2009 at age 85; he passed away
shortly after that in February
2010.
NPR’s All Things Considered
called Cross’s collection of 179
images and countless anecdotes
“spectacular.” The New York
Times described it as “part visu
al encyclopedia, part memoir.”
World-renowned New York
photographer Arne Svenson,
refuge biologist Jeremy Conrad,
and celebrity bird photographer
Lillian Stokes judged the contest
curated by Sarah Lathrop and
Terry Baldwin. First place went
to
a
snook
close-up
titled “Linesiders" by Matthew
Boutelle of Fort Myers High
School.
“The composition of the fish
photo is beautifully organized
with just the right balance of
light and shadow, action and
stillness to create a mood, a nar
rative,” wrote Svenson upon his
return to New York. “The point
of focus on just the glistening
scales, and the fact that the fish
fills the frame, makes it look
enormous and somewhat threat
ening. And the black line run
ning the length of the fish, and
then disappearing into the water,
adds a mysterious, almost ghost-
Amanda
Cross and
DDWS board
member
John McCabe
congratulate
top contest
winners.
PH OTOS
PRO V ID ED
ly element to the image.”
Emily Huffman from Dunbar
High took second place with her
ground-level urban landscape
perspective. In third place,
Savannah Crowe from Estero
High captured a pelican taking
flight.
“Congratulations to all the
contestants — as I freeze here in
New York City, I think of all the
wonderful Florida nature photos
you produced and it sends a sliv
er of warmth my way,” wrote
Svenson, who has published sev
eral books of photography and
exhibited around the country.
“Theodore C ross’s family
made this contest possible, and it
has become a quick success
story,”
said
Birgie
M iller,
DDWS executive director. “We
couldn’t be more thrilled that the
family wanted their donation
used in this way - to reach an
age group that often falls through
the cracks of conservation edu
cation. Kudos to our associate
director Sarah Lathrop for a fab
ulous job of running the show.”
“We were surprised and
delighted that we had more than
430 amazing photo entries from
20 different schools,” said
Lathrop. “Teachers, advisors,
and volunteers worked hard at
helping to encourage students to
enter, with nearly 200 entries
from 102 Lehigh Acres High
School students alone.”
“We are so happy to be sup
porting a contest in my father’s
name, a contest that will get our
youth involved with nature by
looking at it - as my father so
loved doing - through a camera
lens,” said daughter Amanda
Cross.
Students were able to submit
up to two photographs. Winning
and honorable mention images
are on display at the free “Ding”
Darling Education & Visitor
Center and will be available to
view by Facebook album on
D D W S’
page
www.facebook.com/dingdarling.
W inners
■
1st
Place:
Matthew
Boutelle, Fort
Myers High
Top: Matthew
Boutelle’s
“Linesiders” won
first place.
Above: Emily
Huffman took
second place
with her fresh
perspective. Left:
Third place went
to Savannah
Crowe for her
“Taking Off.”
School
■ 2nd Place: Emily Huffman,
Dunbar High School
■
3rd
Place:
Savannah
Crowe, Estero High School
Honorable
Mentions
(in
alphabetical order)
■ Emily Carter, Estero High
School
■ Janet Del-Valle, Golden
Gate High School
■ James Drake, Golden Gate
High School
■ Francisco Franco, North
Fort Myers High School
■ Michelle Martinez, Lehigh
Senior High School
■ Jean M artinez, Lehigh
Senior High School
■ Eric McElroy, Fort Myers
High School
■ John Miller, Estero High
School
■ Yomari Padilla, Estero
High School
■
Daphnie
PetitCharles,
Lehigh Senior High School
■ Maxx Pollack, Canterbury
School
■
Elizabeth
Rodriguez,
Lehigh Senior High School
Finalists
(in
alphabetical
order)
■ Christopher Bine, Bishop
Verot Catholic High School
■ M atthew Boutelle, Fort
Myers High School
■ Madison Brewer, Cypress
Lake High School
■
M ichael
Burton,
C a n t e
r
b u r
y
School
■ Sadi Calvert, Riverdale
High School
■ Isabelle Foy, Mariner High
School
■ John Francois, Lehigh
Senior High School
■ Hannah Holmes, Riverdale
High School
■ Leeanne Loewer, Lehigh
Senior High School
■ Jean M artinez, Lehigh
Senior High School
■ Maya Miller, Cypress Lake
High School
■ Tyler Millis, Dunbar High
School
■ Janie Caley Mohl, Island
Coast High School
■
Karla
Moreno-Perez,
Golden Gate High School
■ John Wilander, Canterbury
School
About DDWS
As a non-profit 501(c)3
organization, DDWS works to
support J.N. “D ing” Darling
National Wildlife Refuge’s mis
sion of conservation, wildlife
and habitat protection, research,
and public education through
charitable donations and Refuge
Nature Shop proceeds.
To support DDWS and the
refuge with a tax-deductible gift,
v
i
s
i
t
www.dingdarlingsociety.org or
contact Birgie Miller at (239)
292-0566 or director@dingdar-
lingsociety.org.
Plant subject: Gardenia
(Gardenia jasminoides)
First impression: Ahhh, there is no mistaking this fra
grance. I see bouquets of white and cameo in rose-shaped
flowers blanketing this gorgeous shrub.
The dark green shiny leaves are the perfect contrast to
the whitest of white and the creamiest of cream hued
blossoms. Our shrub has a
natural shape that invites
you to take in a second
deep breath. The fragrance
is overpowering and addic
tive. W ow .. .what an olfac
tory stopper! You can fol
low your nose to this aro
matic display in full bloom
at the Botanical Gardens of
the Sanibel Moorings.
Upon further investiga
tion: Gardenia boasts 60-
plus species of shrubs and
trees
originating
from
ancient China. Years ago
our grandmothers prized
this plant and it was found
in many cottage gardens. I
rem em ber the fragrance
outside and inside of my grandmother’s home in Cocoa,
Florida. She loving would place her prized blooms float
ing in shallow carnival glass bowls strategically in every
room. I was taught early on that a compliment about her
gardenias would guarantee a garden tour, which ended in
her orange grove eating sweet fresh citrus.
A gardenia’s appeal is timeless, and we are fortunate
to be able to grow them here in our back yards. Many
varieties mature and thrive in our tropical temperatures
and reward us with their fragrance. Our star, jasminoides,
is the most widely used variety. The soft, velvety white
petals are flat and rose shaped, with double tiers. They
are numerous and dense and are the stars of our garden
when blooming. The fragrance is memorable and exqui-
PHOTO BY ANITA FORCE MARSHALL
Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides).
site, so much so it’s found in oodles of candles, healing
oils, and perfumes. The evergreen leaves are shiny and
dark green, which make our shrub attractive even when
not blooming.
It can be planted alone or grouped together. Mature
height is 5-12 feet. It is multi-trunked, and has a natural
upright shape. Easy to care for, I shape and prune after
the blooming period. This sun to partial-shade lover
needs good drainage and regular watering to do well.
When introducing new gardenias in your garden, they
should be planted at the same level or higher from the
container, never deeper. Many plants will die months
even years later if planted lower than they were in their
original container. Gardenias do not require fertilizer, hut
have to be fed iron at least twice year. Sometimes lack of
iron will show with your gardenia turning a chloritic
shade of yellow.
Gardenias are prone to a sucking insect that will leave
a black sticky residue called sooty mold, an indicator that
your gardenia has non-beneficial insects invading it. 1
encourage you to inspect leaves and clean up spent
flower buds on a weekly basis. Pests when unchecked
can really destroy your plants. When 1 observe an un
invited nibbling insect, 1 bring out a systemic pesticide
product that is applied to the roots of the plant. This is
absorbed by the plant and only kills the chewing insect
and no other beneficial insects. At any stage of growth
of your gardenia, you can expect pollinators and people
to flock to its blooms!
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