Still 1navywoman
A Painful Journey
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
If you do a search for Florida history, you will find a lot of information. Apparently, the history goes further back than 1513 when Juan Ponce de Leon “discovered” it for Spain. I am sure the people living here were unaware they needed to be discovered! However, Ponce de Leon “found” the people and the area during the spring, possibly April, of that year. He called the place “La Florida” in honor of a festival of flowers that was taking place in Spain. I have heard arguments about whether he landed in the St.Augustine area first or in the Melbourne area first. Hmm. Melbourne is further south than St. Augustine on Florida’s east coast, in Brevard County. I am not sure if the dispute has ever been settled.
At any rate, Duval, Flagler, St. John and possibly Volusia Counties on Florida’s East Coast call themselves Florida’s First Coast because they believe he landed in St. Augustine first. Hernando De Soto also stopped by in 1539 looking for gold. He did not find it.
Meanwhile Spain and Great Britain and even France got into the act of trying to own Florida, which of course confused the Native Peoples since they did not know they needed to be owned or ruled. Moreover, I am sure they did not know their home had been named Florida. Those Native Peoples were Seminole, Creek and Miccosukee. I will just bet they had their own name for where they lived but if so I do not know what it was.
Finally, Florida became a state in 1845. I suspect that it has been a tourist attraction from the beginning. Today, in 2012, it is overdeveloped and overpopulated and overly expensive and ruined.
I discovered Florida in 1977 when I came to visit my brother and his new wife. They bought a home in Jacksonville, he got off active duty there and enrolled in Major Appliance repair at Florida Junior College, and she remained on active duty. I think that was a contention in their marriage. She wanted a career and he wanted a wife who would stay home and take care of the house and of him. That simply was not her. So after seven years of marriage they divorced citing irreconcilable differences.
It was August 1983 and my second contract with the Navy was up. I had chosen to process out of the Navy at NAS Jacksonville, Fl, because Sam and Libby lived in Jacksonville; they were all the family I had at the time. I knew that I did not want to go back to Louisiana since there was nothing there for
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This continuing story describes my life after active duty and while in the navy reserves. It’s the story of my struggle to make a normal life for myself, all the while unaware that I was suffering from depression, ADD, and dyslexia.
Despite my family of origin placing me into foster care at age twelve, I attempted on numerous occasions to reach out to them, wanting to be accepted and loved by them. I failed to achieve this, so I’ve quit trying. It only causes me more depression.
Some verses from 2 Corinthians chapter 4 sum up my feelings about that part of my life:
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels … We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
About the Author
On June 6, 1949, Denise loudly announced her arrival in this world. Her single mother took Denise to her parents’ house, where she lived until aged six. At age twenty-three, Denise joined the US Navy and served twenty honorable years.