Publisher Information for TropicalEmbrace.com
In the Beginning
It all started in Houston Texas back in 1977. While visiting Houston that summer, I heard my first album by a young artist named Jimmy Buffett. The album was called Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. Since I grew up in the frozen north of Ohio, not all that many miles from the shores of Buckeye Lake, it all seemed to be very applicable to my situation. Houston is considerably south of Buckeye Lake. The album has party songs, and I liked to party. I was involved in a roller coaster thrill ride of a romance. The album has ballads and we all know that any romance worth your time, must center around a ballad or two. The torrid romance ended badly some months later. After twenty years or so, I came to the realization that it really was my fault.
Enough about Ancient History
More recently, after having traveled a good bit, and spending a decade on the left coast, I found myself living in the Gulf coastal state of Mississippi, an area near and dear to the heart of the aforementioned artist named Jimmy Buffett.
Late in August of 2005, we had a storm called Hurricane Katrina. While I live about 180 miles north of the coast, I still had a few moments where I wondered if I would survive the tornadoes she might spawn and the winds she was packing. After several hours of contemplating my future, I grew weary and fell asleep. When I woke up I was still alive but had no power nor would I have any gasoline for the next three days. I fared better than a whole lot of other people.
These events became a turning point in my thinking and my life in general. I began to question more and trust less. I moved decidedly left in my views and decided that maybe it really is not that long a stay. It is time to live a little. Will somebody please turn up the Calypso Control?
So welcome to this little tribute I have put together to love, life and the pursuit of a good time. The picture in the header was taken in Costa Maya, Mexico in March of 2007. If you have taken a cruise to the area, this is what Norwegian Cruise Lines called the Jungle Beach Break. I was laying on the beach looking at the ocean when it occurred to me that I really could not remember what day it was. That is a sure sign that your vacation is a success. Unfortunately, this area was hit by a category 5 hurricane in the summer of 2007 and is off the western Caribbean itinerary until they rebuild.