Once upon a time I stood upon the southern strand of St George Island, Franklin County, Florida. I looked seawards as a pair of pelicans flapped by, low and languid. Beyond them, The Gulf of Mexico sparkled fabulously in that midday sunshine.
I thought of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci and of the wooden Spanish ships that followed in later years - sails taut, easing between The Florida Keys and Cuba till they entered a vast gulf that was at first called The Spanish Sea. It would soon be renamed The Gulf of Mexico following contact with native inhabitants on the far shores - whose very lifeblood was connected with the wondrous Aztec civilisation.
Back in England I began to read everything I could find about The Gulf of Mexico. It became something of an obsession and here are just a few of the books that are now in my Gulf of Mexico collection:-
Maybe it will endure or maybe it won't. Thanks to plate tectonics, the continents are still drifting. Of course our sun might have already swallowed up the earth in its red giant phase by then, before dying as a white dwarf. Doesn't that sound jolly?!
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy thought to wake up to non a Sunday morning! Thank you Kelly.
DeleteI didn't know that you had such an interest in the gulf of Mexico. I can't believe that one deluded person could just rename a prominent world location '
ReplyDeleteI have signed a decree that Red Deer will henceforth be known as Keithville!
DeleteLong after that blob of ignorant orange flesh has passed through the Gates of Hell, the Gulf of Mexico will still be here.
ReplyDeleteIt could be a simple but effective rallying point. Just by wearing a Gulf of Mexico T-shirt sane Americans will be giving The Fake President the middle finger.
DeleteAnd we will never think of it as anything else but the Gulf of Mexico.
ReplyDeleteI have signed a decree that Melbourne will henceforth be known as Andrewville.
DeletePS It is now showing here on Google Maps as "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)". What is it on your Google Maps?
ReplyDeleteIt's just the same.
DeleteI love the mug and might look at getting one. The books look interesting too, though I probably won't buy any of them. My local library might have one or two. Was it peaceful standing on the island looking out over the gulf? I'd be imagining the great wooden ships too, galleons and pirate ships...
ReplyDeleteThat Easter when we were on St George Island, the long beach was almost deserted. Such a peaceful place but deceptive too as angry hurricanes have often hit the island.
DeleteIt would seem that whatever we may call it, the place is still the same....for now anyway.
ReplyDeleteRenaming it seems so silly and rather petty but a very good symbol of what Trump is.
Deletesurely a rose by any other name would smell like grandma's underwear drawer? Oh, wait..... that's lavender, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI have decided that Huddersfield will be renamed Happytown-on-Sea.
Deleteok i could see that...... it sounds like a great candidate for the yorkshire live website
DeleteGulf of Mexico it should remain - I shall ignore Google's re-naming. I've swum in it's warm waters.
ReplyDeleteYour new mug doesn't look real to me!
The renaming of The Gulf of Mexico is what is truly unreal.
DeleteYes the mug looks slightly AI have you been at that font of untruthfulness again? Trump's egotism is only a temporary glitch in life, he will sail on to meet his maker in good time and then the Gulf can be renamed.
ReplyDeleteIf my mug is an AI one, how come my tea stays in it?
DeleteAs for Trump, perhaps the stress of government, spreading lies and division and fighting "The Swamp" will hasten his death. But then we would have President Vance to look forward to! Urrgh!
I'm pleased to see that you didn't refer to it as The Gulf of Amexico. I think its proper name will always survive.
ReplyDeleteI wish Satan had decided to rename it The Gulf of Yorkshire.
DeleteWell, I suppose that explains your personal interest in the place and its name, anyway. I have to say I've never had reason to give it any thought until MrT's recent renaming frenzy; but just now I checked the Wikipedia article and find that before it was called the Gulf of Mexico, in the Aztek religion, it was called "Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl". Now there's a proper challenge to both of the later alternatives... ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes. Maybe they should bring back the name Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl. It is very catchy and would be easy to remember. However, I prefer The Gulf of Mexico.
DeleteI sent Google a message telling them that their map is misidentifying the Gulf of Mexico (at least here in the USA it is.)
ReplyDeleteGoogle appear to be within Trump's orbit.
DeleteOh it's hard to say "Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl"
ReplyDeleteBut in Tonga/Mexico that means "No."
....[changing tack]
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken
Or like stout [sorry; true] YP
When with eagle eyes
He stared at the Gulf of Mexico
And all his class*
looked at each other in a wild surmise
Silent...
....on the Southern strand of St George Island.
* [notionally present - a lifelong teacher is never without one].
Even Google maps has renamed it the Gulf of America. I can't believe it. I think that orange idiot is going to cause a lot of trouble over the next four years. God help us all
DeleteI hear that Mexico has also renamed it -- Golfo del Gringo Loco
ReplyDeleteI wish the name Trump could be wiped away from human memory.
DeleteI like your tea mug. And the republican magat machine continues to roll on.....
ReplyDeleteBut where is it rolling to?
DeleteI was surprised to hear of your interest in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm starting to use Duck, Duck, Go as my search engine instead of google. It's ridiculous that the name was changed to appeal to the current president. It's like that old story of the Emperor's New Clothes where the idiots who support the vain emperor won't tell him that he's naked.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great analogy Ellen.
DeleteIf you waded through Volume 3 of "Gulf of Mexico: Origin, Waters and Biota," then you're taking the Gulf much more seriously than I ever did. But I'll still never call it the Gulf of America.
ReplyDeleteThe Gulf of America could be the insignificant little sea channel west of Mar-A-Lago.
DeleteI was raised on the Atlantic coast and only moved here, close to the Gulf coast when I was nineteen. It took me a long time to adjust to the calmer waters, the lower salinity,
ReplyDeletethe different sorts of shore flora. But over the years I have come to love it so much and my travels to an island in the Gulf down near the Yucatan, have only deepened that love.
You have a good selection of books there. I would recommend that you do a search for Jack Rudloe, who is described as a naturalist, writer, and public activist. He knows more about the Gulf of Mexico and its coast near here than anyone in the world, I think. He has written some beautiful books. His Gulf Specimen Marine Lab facility in Panacea, his home, is a wonderful place to for both children and adults to learn about the life of the Gulf.
Thanks for the direction.
DeleteWhy don't you retaliate and call him President Farty Pants?
ReplyDeleteI prefer to call him Satan Debbie.
DeleteThat's an insult to Satan 😒
Delete