Contrary to the myths we Floridians love to relate about our
history, it is not certain that Juan Ponce de Leon was the first European to
sight Florida. Earlier maps from both Spanish and British sources suggest that
at least parts of the peninsula were known to Europeans prior to Ponce de Leon’s
arrival.
A better candidate might actually be the Italian explorer, John
Cabot, sailing under the auspices of England’s King Henry VII. Cabot journeyed far
enough south from Canada along the North American coast that he could see Cuba
to the east according to an account by his son.
What is known is that Ponce de Leon first spotted what he thought
was an island on Easter Day, 1513 probably off the coast of today’s Melbourne
Beach, just south of Cape Canaveral. He saw a land ablaze with flowers and he
named the place Pascua Florida, flowery feast day. Pascua was alternatively
used as Easter and Passover in Spanish. From that sighting came the name of our
state, Florida, and one of our counties, Pasco.
On this Easter Sunday we Floridians celebrate that sighting
and naming. And it is a beautiful, flowery feast here in the heart of Orlando. The
New Coverleigh Jungle is ablaze with flowers on this beautiful, sunny Spring morning.
As Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins put it, “The world is ablaze with the
glory of God.”
Easter Blessings to all from the heart of Orlando.
Harry Scott Coverston
Orlando, Florida
If the unexamined life is not worth living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is not worth holding. Most things worth considering do not come in sound bites.
Those who believe religion and politics aren't connected don't understand either. – Mahatma Gandhi
For what does G-d require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d? - Micah 6:8, Hebrew Scriptures
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. - Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Wisdom of the Jewish Sages (1993)
© Harry Coverston, 2025
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