October 4, 2022 — This card is in our condolence section, but it also feels very right to send as support & encouragement to those who must now stand strong and proud through the challenges and pain in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, and beautiful, beautiful Sanibel.
Back in the ’50s, Fort Myers was known as the Gladiolus Capital of the world, shipping 45 million dozen gladioli each year. My late father would have loved knowing that; Dad farmed corn and beans in central Illinois until, like a lot of Midwest snowbirds, he ultimately retired just south of Fort Myers, in Bonita Springs.
I lived in Chicago during his retirement years and remember oh how he loved to call during our coldest months. He’d blow right past my hello and in his baritone bellow, “Howww’s the weather up there?!” We’d both laugh as I admonished, “You know damn well that it’s miserable. Furthermore, I know that rubbing it in is the very reason for your call!” 😉
I loved how much Dad loved it there in what are now among the hardest hit areas. He took such pleasure in rarely having to face a gray day and being able to pull lemons and avocados “right off my backyard trees!” Something he had never even seen before his late 60s. As with a lot of us transplants, it took years for it to sink in that he would never ever have to shovel snow again, and that it’s not called the Sunshine State for nothing. Dad never tired of telling us that his bougainvillea was always in bloom and that, throughout the town, neighbors like his “Michiganers Skip and Edith” and the local businesses all took such great pride in maintaining meticulous lawns and gardens. “It’s just beautiful here, Jo.”
In my Dad’s memory, I’ve ordered this card to send to the owners and staff of the wonderful shops that carry our cards throughout the area. And for the benefit of all the people struggling to stand proud and strong now, we’ll include this card FREE with every order placed through this weekend. Then you’ll have it to send to someone you know who could use it to get through this. If you know no one there personally, you could always mail it with your love and support to one of the three American Red Cross post-storm shelters where volunteers and employees are providing food, a safe place to sleep, as well as health and emotional support for those forced from their homes:
Estero Recreation Center
9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero, FL 33928
Fort Myers High School
2635 Cortez Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33901
Alan Jay Arena – Highlands County Fairgrounds
781 Magnolia Ave, Sebring, FL 33870
In last Friday’s Cardie Newsletter, we noted that “Through October 7th, your purchase of magnets will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief,” so you can imagine how good it felt to read the message that Cardie Jane Wilks noted in her order of, yep, all magnets. “Dear Fairy Cardmother. You do the right things for the right reasons. Bless you! Jane”
We thank you, Jane, and every other member of this community who joins us in doing what they can with what they have. We admire and appreciate you.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
October 4, 2022 — This card is in our condolence section, but it also feels very right to send as support & encouragement to those who must now stand strong and proud through the challenges and pain in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, and beautiful, beautiful Sanibel.
Back in the ’50s, Fort Myers was known as the Gladiolus Capital of the world, shipping 45 million dozen gladioli each year. My late father would have loved knowing that; Dad farmed corn and beans in central Illinois until, like a lot of Midwest snowbirds, he ultimately retired just south of Fort Myers, in Bonita Springs.
I lived in Chicago during his retirement years and remember oh how he loved to call during our coldest months. He’d blow right past my hello and in his baritone bellow, “Howww’s the weather up there?!” We’d both laugh as I admonished, “You know damn well that it’s miserable. Furthermore, I know that rubbing it in is the very reason for your call!” 😉
I loved how much Dad loved it there in what are now among the hardest hit areas. He took such pleasure in rarely having to face a gray day and being able to pull lemons and avocados “right off my backyard trees!” Something he had never even seen before his late 60s. As with a lot of us transplants, it took years for it to sink in that he would never ever have to shovel snow again, and that it’s not called the Sunshine State for nothing. Dad never tired of telling us that his bougainvillea was always in bloom and that, throughout the town, neighbors like his “Michiganers Skip and Edith” and the local businesses all took such great pride in maintaining meticulous lawns and gardens. “It’s just beautiful here, Jo.”
In my Dad’s memory, I’ve ordered this card to send to the owners and staff of the wonderful shops that carry our cards throughout the area. And for the benefit of all the people struggling to stand proud and strong now, we’ll include this card FREE with every order placed through this weekend. Then you’ll have it to send to someone you know who could use it to get through this. If you know no one there personally, you could always mail it with your love and support to one of the three American Red Cross post-storm shelters where volunteers and employees are providing food, a safe place to sleep, as well as health and emotional support for those forced from their homes:
Estero Recreation Center
9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero, FL 33928
Fort Myers High School
2635 Cortez Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33901
Alan Jay Arena – Highlands County Fairgrounds
781 Magnolia Ave, Sebring, FL 33870
In last Friday’s Cardie Newsletter, we noted that “Through October 7th, your purchase of magnets will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief,” so you can imagine how good it felt to read the message that Cardie Jane Wilks noted in her order of, yep, all magnets. “Dear Fairy Cardmother. You do the right things for the right reasons. Bless you! Jane”
We thank you, Jane, and every other member of this community who joins us in doing what they can with what they have. We admire and appreciate you.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
So sorry for the loss of those who loved the Sunshine State.
People wonder why people live with the risk of hurricanes simply to be close to sun and water.
The answer is easy for me. The normally bright and beautiful days warms my soul.
God bless those we lost and those who lost so much.
I have always wanted to go to Sanibel Island, to look for beautiful seashells, something we don’t have in Alabama. Not even on the Gulf Shore beaches. iIt was heartbreaking to learn on the news that even the causeway to drive to Sanibel was washed away by Hurricane Ian. We have a cousin who grew up on Long Island but now has a retirement home in Northport (very close to Naples) to whom I will send the gladilolous card. Like us, he and his wife are in their 80s. Thank you for writing about it in the Cardthartic newsletter.