Author's Note

 

 

 

        Loop Road is an actual byway, found deep in the heart of the Big Cypress swamp along US Highway 41 in Monroe County – “Tamiami Trail” to the locals.  Monroe Station, Chokoloskee and Plot N of the Rosemary Cemetary are also real places in south Florida.

        Billy Bowlegs was a true-to-life Seminole Indian.

        Ted Smallwood’s store still stands.

        And people still speak in hushed tones about the exploits of Ed Watson, one of the most colorful criminals Florida has ever known.

        Events like the Seminole Wars, the devastating hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 and the demise of the town of Pinecrest are all recorded in the annals of this state.

        The existence of Mama Root is a point of some conjecture; never having met the woman I can only pass along what I have been told.  Some who live in that region say they’ve traveled the length of Loop Road countless times and know every side path, yet have never seen a trail even remotely like the one described in the preceding pages.  Others claim they’ve been down the overgrown cowpath to her place, but have found only the rotting remains of an ancient frame structure and little else.

        Then there are those who swear by all that is holy that not only have they found the road to Mama Root’s place, but have been in her store and spoken to the proprietress on multiple occasions.  It is from their very similar descriptions I have compiled the rather unsettling details of the old woman.

        I leave the decision as to whether or not she actually exists to you, the reader.  I will, however, tell you this:

Should you ever find yourself traveling down Tamiami Trail and see a place called Loop Road, traverse its length and witness its incredible beauty, by all means.  But if you go about six miles and, against your better judgment, turn down an eerie-looking trail and end up in a general store that is frozen in time, face-to-face with a woman whose very appearance scares you out of year’s growth, then I can offer only one bit of advice:

       

        You’d best be respectful.