Hidden Corners of History
Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth
By: Jarrod E. Stephens
Well my friends, I did it! What is “it” you may ask? I went to the fountain of youth and did a cannonball. Just before our recent vacation to the sunshine state I did the old-fashioned search on a real paper map to trace our would-be route. As my index finger traced our route across the Florida state line, I was delighted to see the little green words, “Ponce de Leon Springs State Park.”
It is no secret that I have always loved studying and reading about Spanish conquistadors and their exploits. The name that always stood out to me was Ponce de Leon. Not only is his name fun to say, that man was in search of something that we all desire, youthfulness. According to legend, Ponce de Leon traversed many areas in Florida in search of a fabled fountain of youth.
The young de Leon made his first journey to the New World on Christopher Columbus’ second journey in 1493. As years passed, he became a military official and was given permission by the king to explore the nearby island of Puerto Rico. The struggle for wealth and power amongst the earliest European settlers led Ponce de Leon to own plantations on the island and become wealthy. He became the first governor of Puerto Rico, but power struggles caused him to be replaced by Christopher Columbus’ son. Again, he began to explore.
In 1513 Ponce de Leon led his first expedition to what he named La Florida. He and his group traveled along the east coast of Florida and eventually to the western gulf side. While some call it a myth or legend, others claim that Ponce de Leon was searching for the fountain of youth.
I first heard about this mighty conquistador in early elementary school. From the first time I heard of the hardships faced by the explorers, I was amazed by their tenacity and spirit to explore. Most of all, I envisioned the fountain of youth as a pristine body of water that would grant folks a return to youthfulness.
The waters at the state park are a constant 68 degrees year-round and it generates 14 million gallons of water per day. Upon our arrival to the spring the thermometer was reading a mere 96 degrees. Folks of all ages were splashing in the spring so I knew that my transformation would not be instant. I watched only for a moment before I mustered the courage to plunge into the spring. Its beautiful clear waters were tantalizing.
Not be outdone by my sons, I ran to the edge, took flight, transformed into a beautiful cannonball, took a deep breath, and crashed into the water. If you’ve ever seen a movie that goes into a slow-motion scene to give the audience time to have an emotional connection to the characters and story, as soon as I broke the surface of the water, my life entered a period of slow motion. The breath that I took in was trapped inside me and I truly could not exhale. Was I being transformed? Is this what it feels like to un-age? Or, was I dying?
I came back to the surface realizing that I had not died, and I still could not get my breath out. Exhilarating probably isn’t the right term to use but when my 98.6 degrees body met the 68 degrees water on a 96 degrees day, I felt like a frozen fish stick. Much like after a baby is born, my first breath after coming to the surface was followed by a scream. Whenever the initial shock wore off, I gained my composure and swim around the spring with my sons. It was awesome.
It is so strange that upon my return home, nearly everyone that I told about my excursion said something along the lines of, “I don’t see any difference.” What a letdown. However, it’s not what others think about whether it helped or worked. I have two small pieces of evidence that I could indeed be a bit more youthful than I was before my plunge.
Piece of evidence number 1: My dad came to our house and drove around the barnyard looking for me. Whenever I flagged him down, he told me he didn’t think it was me but instead he thought I was one of my boys. Piece of evidence number 2: I have had a strong urge to backtalk my mom like I did whenever I was a teenager. (I didn’t because I recalled the strong taste of soap in my mouth.)
As far as I’m concerned, the trip and plunge into the crystal-clear waters of the fountain of youth was worth it and added pep to my step. I just hope that my students recognize me whenever we go back to school.
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