Karen Nichols

If there's a wedding taking place at sunset along the Fort Myers Beach coastline of Florida, it must be springtime. I performed a wedding ceremony this past weekend. The sunset was kaleidoscopic; the bride was nervous; the weather was perfect. In moments such as these standing there witnessing my world, as those miraculous sunset colors in the sky fade and darkness descends, I most appreciate my life on this intimate little island.

Below, I sign and notarize the Wedding License on a boat anchored on the sand:

To book a wedding with me or if you just would like to stay at a romantic place for a week or weekend, contact me at 239-849-3064 or email me at: bythesearentals@aol.com

They say that she is lying unconscious in a hospital bed, dying of cancer. How can they possibly be? I remember this young child, a little girl, watching her every week in this silly TV show, you know the one, the one about three female detectives, all beautiful, sophisticated and caring. The remake movies were a sham. Those remade angels were played without heart or soul.

Of course, that young child was me. And just now, the musical theme from that silly TV show is running through my mind . . . and so, this blog.

They say that Farah deeply regretted quitting the show after that one season. But, when she dies, they will call her an Angel one more time.

Come April, if you are walking or running along Fort Myers Beach, Florida, you'll most likely see a wedding taking place somewhere on our seven mile stretch of white sand. The white sands just outside of the Pink Shell and Diamonhead are popular spots for beach weddings, but you don't need the sponsorship of a resort. All you need is a license, a Justice of the Peace and a couple of witnesses. Then, choose a select piece of white sand and take your vows. Sunset is the most popular time of day for beach weddings.

As a Notary Public, I perform weddings on the beach. I perform a "poetic" ceremony. The couple may speak their own vows or the traditional ones. To book my services, call 239-849-3064 or email: KarenEnichols@aol.com

My wedding ceremony opening poem:

Light the first light of evening
In which we rest and, for small reason, think
The world imagined is the ultimate good.

This is, therefore, the intensest rendezvous.
It is in that thought that we collect ourselves,
Out of all the indifferences, into one thing:

Within a single thing, a single shawl
Wrapped tightly round us, since we are poor, a warmth,
A light, a power, the miraculous influence.

Here, now, we forget each other and ourselves.
We feel the obscurity of an order, a whole,
A knowledge, that which arranged the rendezvous.

For romantic places to stay on Ft. Myers Beach after the ceremony, visit: www.bythesearental.com

November Novel Writing Month has been taking place for years. Run by www.nanowrimo.org, you may go to that website for more information. It's a little late to sign up now, but there's always next year. The point is to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I decided to try it this year. I write in different places, at home, at the library, at a coffee place on Estero Blvd., here on Fort Myers Beach, but write I must if I hope to complete this project. The first week ends tonight. I am up nearly 11,000 words. Three weeks and another 39,000 words to go.

An Exerpt from my novel: (Did I mention that my main characater is a Realtor and that the setting is Fort Myers Beach, Florida)

When introduced to Patti Harrison at the first Happy Hour convention by their broker, Sal, Patti shook Jan's hand warmly. Her bouncy brown eyes indicated a lighthearted, unreserved nature. By the way, I never slept with Eric, though I am married to George. Jan got the joke but didn't know quite how to react.

Too bad about Eric, she finally blurted out and the office crowd cracked up, as did the bartender who hovered over them as if he was one of them. In fact, Sal was so amused that he bought everyone another round of beers. Jan, who didn't think her response particularly clever, would have preferred a glass of wine, but kept quiet about it in an effort to fit in with these crazy Florida Realtors.

As it happened, Patti Harrison had been born Patti DelMarco. She married a young real estate lawyer named George Harrison. She was, indeed, Patti Harrison. The next week, just three days before her real state license exam, Jan received a call from Patti and an invitation to lunch. They met upstairs at the Beached Whale. Their table overlooked Estero Boulevard and beyond, the greenish waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Sylvia Plath

This poem was inspired by the fact that I no longer know or care that I don't know the latest music.

The Last Rock Stars

Firstly, there was Bob

a folk artist going astray

Neil from the north country

strumming and strunged out

Eric making love to his guitar

and George's alluring wife

Jethro hypnotizing his flute

no longer too young to die

Brazen belting Bruce

and his Jersey beach town

Freddie being positive

Kurt taking his own life

due to Georgia's son, Michael

Lars riding that freight train.

Lastly, Steven Patrick Smiths

And Paul David Hewson

The voices of these two

Remaining with me in tune,

No other appears

Over these many years.

- written by Karen Nichols, Fort Myers Beach, Florida