KB Poetry Share | Children's Books | Road Safety w Debbie Wanninkhof
Alright. Welcome to another episode of Key Biscayne Stories where neighbors meet neighbors. Today, have Debbie Wanninkhof. She has been a Key Biscayne resident for over thirty five years. She's also the head inspirer behind the Key Biscayne Poetry Share.
Alejandro:How are you doing, Debbie?
Debbie:I'm fine.
Alejandro:Welcome on the show.
Debbie:Thank you. Thank you so much for having me here today. And I'm really happy to share some creative and important work that I do. And I'll begin with poetry and move on to children's books and end with road safety. So my passions.
Alejandro:Doctor. Biscayne has been in practice as an orthodontist for over a decade, positive difference in the life of her patients. She built her career as an orthodontist on a foundation of quality education. She received her certificate of orthodontics and a master's degree in medical science from Harvard University. Doctor.
Alejandro:Bocash is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Association of Orthodontics, and the Harvard Society for Advancements of Orthodontics, and is also a certified Invisalign provider. At Bocash Orthodontics, we provide the highest quality orthodontics treatment and Invisaligning for children and adults. We are conveniently located in the heart of Key Biscayne at 240 Crennan Boulevard, Suite 106. Have you always been doing poetry?
Debbie:No. I would say sporadically. Sporadically, I got turned on to poetry in college. One of my poetry roommates I call her poetry roommate because she published poetry, and, she just really got me excited about words, and I thank my friend Sue for that. And then, after college, I was teaching in Upstate New York, and whenever we had a celebration, I would take a song and change the lyrics to celebrate who was retiring or who was having a baby or yeah.
Debbie:And so it became a thing where I would do some fun lyrics for my friends. And, yeah, then I wrote poetry over the years, sporadically, as I said. So it really wasn't until April 2023 that I got super excited. I entered the Oh Miami Zippodes contest. And if you're familiar with Oh Miami or not, it is the biggest poetry platform in the city, and they do amazing things, including their Zippodes contest every April.
Debbie:What that involves is using your ZIP code, ours is 33149, and writing a poem. Doesn't have to rhyme. It could be free verse, which is the way I write poetry most of the time. Here's the one I wrote that I really enjoy. Where?
Debbie:Key Biscayne. When? Right now. Now. The seagulls are calling.
Debbie:The ocean is waiting for you to dive in. So I entered the ZIP codes contest 11 times. I didn't win, but I had fun. Yeah. So because of this ZIP codes contest, I got even more excited about poetry.
Debbie:And I called Justo Rey of the Islander News and Andrew Britton of the Key Biscayne Community Foundation and said, hey. How about a poetry contest? And they said, let's have coffee. So we did, and they were very excited. So we were gonna have this little poetry contest.
Debbie:But then Andrew got even more excited. He had grander ideas. Debbie, apply for a grant with O Miami. Apply for a grant with us, with the Key Biscayne Community Foundation. Apply for a grant with the village of Key Biscayne.
Debbie:So we were on a roll. We were growing. And by the way, the contest became the share because it just seemed like a more friendly thing instead of a poetry contest, a poetry share, and that's how we got our name. So, oh gosh, I really got excited that same year. In October, a poetry workshop was offered online through Authors Publish, and it was a thirty day poetry workshop.
Debbie:Every day we were prompted to write a poem, and I just got some really I feel, moving and inspiring ideas, and I'd like to share one of the poems that I wrote, during this workshop. The prompt was to write a poem that is one sentence long, but at least 10 lines and comes from your heart. So my poem is titled, miracle life. Every morning, as I awaken, I ask myself what this life is really about. But today, I decided to talk to Albert, Einstein that is, who says either nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle.
Debbie:And I tell him, I believe the everything part and ask for some advice so I can make the most of the miracle because I think he might know a thing or two. And then the sun comes up, and I am awestruck by its beauty, and the answer to my question is illuminated. And I thank Albert for pointing out the miracle thing, period. That was my run on sentence.
Alejandro:That's great.
Debbie:Thank you. Thank you. So got more and more excited. Getting people behind me, formed a committee, and then the poetry share happened. Season one season one, how can we get island residents to write poems, especially if they're kind of afraid to do so, if they're reticent if they don't think they can.
Debbie:So I came up with a poetry form called a gem, a short form with, seven lines, 16 words, and it's in a diamond shape. So I went out to school groups, community groups, clubs, businesses, and I said, hey, give it a try. Write a poem about your island home or something that's inspiring in your life. So behind me is a gem, and you can see the seven lines, 16 words in the diamond shape. Connecting our community with poetry sharing, spending time with neighbors, listening, reading, picnicking, new friendships begin.
Debbie:And that was by Nate Moyer, who's with the Key Biscayne Community Foundation. Yeah. So we had over 200 submissions.
Alejandro:Amazing. Yes.
Debbie:Thank you. And we celebrated. We had a Poetry Share sunset picnic at Paradise Park. It was in April 2024 to celebrate National Poetry Month to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday. We had poetry, music, art, food, drinks, and community connection, and it filled the park.
Debbie:So that was our season one, writing those gems and celebrating them at our sunset picnic. Season two, more funding rolling in, getting people more excited. Andrew. Andrew Britton, his idea. Debbie, let's celebrate our parks.
Debbie:Let's have poetry in our parks, relaxing, enjoying the beauty of the parks. So our series was titled Poets in Our Parks, and we hired Miami poets from the Mainland to come in and to wow us with their words. Yeah? So we started with some locals at the Fall Fest that year. Joan Gill Blank, our local historian, read some of her poetry, Frank Kaplan and Marilyn Miles, and that was very well received.
Debbie:Then we, went on to our first, Miami Poets in the Parks with Oscar Fuentes and his Latin jazz trio. It was quite the success. It was a full moon, and we had poetry and popcorn and just a real Latin vibe. And we're hoping to bring him back this year. Then we had, Scott Raven and Arsimer McCoy.
Debbie:They did an event called Poetry Under the Kapok Tree. And we made the front of the Islander News. This is our large tree at the Village Green. Over, oh, it's over a 109 going on a 110 years old. And our whole poetry event centered around the trees in the Village Green.
Debbie:We even had a tree tour. Scott and I also went into the fourth grade classrooms, I should say, classrooms, and also the Village Green. We split up the kids. Over 200 kids were presented with poetry and trees. Yeah.
Debbie:So that was really a fun thing. And I played my guitar. We had music. It was really, lovely. The kids the kids enjoyed.
Debbie:Yeah. And our season, two end ended last year with poetry, pizza, and preservation, and that was with Sten Garcia and Micah Marie Johnson from the Miami Poetry Club. We had all ages reading from nine year olds to 90 year olds, and it was very heartwarming. Yes. Very heartwarming.
Debbie:Yeah. So now we're on to season three. Yes.
Alejandro:I have a question. Yes. I didn't wanna interrupt you, so I sometimes raise my hand. Okay. But you say you play guitar.
Alejandro:Yes. Do you do portrait and play guitar at the same time sometimes?
Debbie:No. I just separate them. Actually, my instrument is violin. Was a music major in my first career. Yeah.
Debbie:I'm a music teacher from being a music major. I incorporate music into things that I do, but I don't do music and poetry. But that's an idea.
Alejandro:Okay. Okay. Just asking. Is this something that popped into an but on to season three.
Debbie:Okay. Season three. We participated. That's this year, season three, twenty twenty five to '26. We participated in Centenarians Day.
Debbie:We brought the Girl Scouts in, and they sang this little light of mine to the centenarians. I did a poem for them. I had talked to Roxy ahead of time to find out their interests. Yeah. So we celebrated the centenarians.
Debbie:Then we had a little con contest with Thanksgiving acrostic poems, had quite a few submissions. So we read those at the Thanksgiving luncheon at the center. We were highlighted at the lighthouse. Yes. Our name was put up in lights.
Debbie:Also, our poetry was projected onto the lighthouse. And, one of the poems is a gem. It's also a gem. Tower of light, pillar of hope, spire of steadfast strength, piercing the night, showing the way. Yeah.
Alejandro:That was that was at the two hundred year anniversary
Debbie:Of the lighthouse. The lighthouse. Yes. December 17, it was the birthday, and we're celebrating lots. Christina Bracken does such an amazing job with the Friends of Cape Florida and lighthouse events, and she's and we walked around with clipboards, and we had people writing gems.
Debbie:We have a collection of gems that we might put on to the Cape Chronicles. We're we're working on that. So that that was exciting. Yeah. And in February, Scott Raffin, who was our featured poet along with Arsimer McCoy at the poetry under the kapok tree.
Debbie:He and his mayhem poets who have been together for twenty years traveling the country, inspiring kids with poetry are going to be at Mast Academy talking about issues that are pertinent to them, social media, technology, lifestyle, bullying, anything that might resonate with them and, you know, inspire them. So that's coming up. And then in April, we are joining forces with the Biscayne Nature Center for Earth Day. So that's really a neat thing. And then our final event has to do with Zip Odes because O Miami is celebrating ten years of doing Zip Odes.
Debbie:And so we're gonna join in in April with the Zip Odes Fest. Here's another Zip Ode, the thirty three thousand one hundred forty nine. Sea turtles sailing, palm trees parading, amazing. Dolphins dancing, beachgoers prancing, sand and sun, salty breeze fun, Key Biscayne, paradise. Elephants.
Debbie:Are gonna reach out to the community, and we're gonna ask everyone to write a ZIP code about their ZIP code and what inspires them about nature and their lives here on Key Biscayne. So, yeah, I would like to just say a couple of words about poetry in general. Is that okay?
Alejandro:Of course. Yes. Is this is your
Debbie:So, yes, as I mentioned, I'm the head inspirer of the Key Biscayne Poetry Share. And the Key Biscayne Poetry Share energizes island residents and visitors to express their vital and creative voices through poetry and to foster meaningful connections through shared poetic experiences. And I, again, want to express my gratitude for the foundation, the village, the Islander News who are behind all of this. So poetry can say so much in a small amount of words. Poetry can speak of nature, love, angst, of life, and the human condition.
Debbie:Words have wings. And I would like to quote Joy Harjo. Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the twenty third poet laureate of The United States. She is the first native American to hold that honor.
Debbie:Joy Harjo says, when I began to listen to poetry, it's when I began to listen to the stones. And I began to listen to what the clouds had to say. And I began to listen to others. And I think, most importantly, for all of us, that you begin to learn to listen to the soul, the soul of yourself in here, which is also the soul of everyone else. Makes me melt.
Debbie:Yes.
Alejandro:That was amazing.
Debbie:Yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful. So, I am a very grateful person. I would say that's my MO.
Debbie:Okay? It really is. I appreciate everything. And, I wrote this poem, which, it's a little bit light and silly, but it brings out gratitude. And it's called green grape gratitude.
Debbie:Ah, green grapes. I love juicy, delicious green grapes. Crispy, sweet, flavor bursting ones. Funny how last night, they got me thinking about gratitude. So as I popped them in my mouth, I made a list.
Debbie:Things I'm grateful for. My cozy home, my quirky family, my coffee hour friends, and mouthwatering mangoes. Squirrels frolicking, my cat couch curling, birds story trilling, and luscious buttery pears, clouds caressing, stars shouting, the moon mesmerizing, and chin dripping watermelon, laughing flowers, wise old trees, sunrise surprises, green grape gratitude.
Alejandro:It's great.
Debbie:Thank you. So any other questions about poetry? Or should Yeah.
Alejandro:How how can we get involved?
Debbie:Well, we have, an Instagram account. We have the Islander News. We have the foundation. We have the village all putting it on their newsletters. So the big thing this year of getting involved will be the Zippodes Fest.
Debbie:Yes. And that's in April. So you'll see postings, and I put flyers up to at Winn Dixie and the Golden Hog. I think it would be wonderful for every island resident and visitor to write a ZIP code. And I'm trying to figure out how to reach people.
Debbie:That's I mean, I know I can do that through organizations, through clubs, through businesses, but I'm trying to get to the condos in various places. So working on those tactics. But riding a Zippo and coming to our Zippo Fest would be incredible. Coming to the Earth Day Fest on April 25 that Theodora Long is leading from the Biscayne Nature Center and will be a part of those two April events. And we're hoping to bring Oscar Fuentes back also.
Debbie:We're not sure of the details, but he and his Latin jazz trio were a really good way to unite the community. We we seek to unite speakers of all languages and all backgrounds, and our we have worked with the It Takes a Village group for our challenged residents. And so we're we're just gonna get it out there, get the word hopefully, this gets the word out there. It'll help. Yes.
Debbie:Yes.
Alejandro:It'll help.
Debbie:Yes. Yes.
Alejandro:Doctor. Biscayne has been in practice as an orthodontist for over a decade, helping to create beautiful smiles in the Key Biscayne community. She's inspired by her patients to do her job better every day and to continually learn new methods of treatment to improve the care she gives. Doctor. Biscayne enjoys using her knowledge of science and engineering to make positive difference in the life of her patients.
Alejandro:She built her career as an orthodontist on a foundation of quality education. She received her certificate of orthodontics and a master's degree in medical science from Harvard University. Doctor. Bocash is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Association of Orthodontics, and the Harvard Society for Advancements of Orthodontics, and is also a certified Invisalign provider. At Bocash Orthodontics, we provide the highest quality orthodontics treatment and Invisaligning for children and adults.
Alejandro:We are conveniently located in the heart of Key Biscayne at 240 Cronin Boulevard, Suite 106. You wrote a book.
Debbie:I did. Yeah, I've been writing children's books since 2014 and finally got one published. Wow. And keep submitting my others so that, hopefully, I have more published. This is my my book.
Debbie:It's called If I Could, Magical Wishes for a Child. And on the back, it says, If I Could expresses the magical wishes of a loving adult for a precious child. This Quiet Time story captures a child's sense of wonder and delight. And, although I didn't have it in mind when I, wrote this book, it really is a poem. So it's not a typical children's book with a plot and story.
Debbie:It is a poem. And I dedicate this book to my children, Patrick and Suzette, and to my husband, Rick. A friend of mine sent me a text, and she knew, my kids loved sunflowers, and I, love sunflowers. And she sent me a text that said, if I could, I would send you a field of sunflowers. So I actually typed that up and put it on my refrigerator, and six months later, at 02:00 in the morning, I jumped out of bed, and I wrote this book.
Debbie:Wow. And it's very short, so is it possible for me to read it to you?
Alejandro:110%.
Debbie:Okay. So shall I move this way so that I can Yeah. Okay. If I Could, Magical Wishes for a Child, by Debbie Wanninkhof. Illustrations by Mauro Magellan.
Debbie:My special thanks and dedications, and here's the story. If I could, I would give you a field of sparkling sunflowers to smile on you all day. If I could, I would give you a flock of silver skylarks to sing your favorite song. If I could, I would give you a radiant rainbow to ride toward your dreams. If I could, I would give you a dazzling dolphin to dance with you on waves.
Debbie:If I could, I would give you a whispering waterfall to wash away your worries. If I could, I would give you a shimmering star to shine on you all night. If I could, I would give you wondrous wings to whisk you to adventure. If I could, I would give you a magical moonbeam to light your way back home. Right now, I give you a smile as bright as a sunbeam, a hug as huge as an ocean.
Debbie:A kiss as soft as a butterfly, a song as beautiful as spring, because I love you always. Thank
Alejandro:you. Beautiful.
Debbie:Thank you so much.
Alejandro:Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you for reading. Where can we find the book?
Debbie:You can find the book on Amazon.
Alejandro:Okay.
Debbie:Or you can contact me at Debbie W. Kiss Books. I have hardcover copies if you prefer that. They sell a softcover copy on Amazon. Awesome.
Debbie:Yeah. But I'm right here on the key, so you can find me.
Alejandro:And you you you woke up and you wrote it?
Debbie:Yes. I just wrote it. In one shot? Just in one shot. But I went to my critique group here in Miami many times to get it just right.
Debbie:But I basically had it down at the first shot. You know, when something lights up your brain, sometimes it just pours out.
Alejandro:I love it. I love it. Very the illustrations look great. Yeah. The story is Thank
Debbie:you so much. Thank you.
Alejandro:One of the one of the other things we wanted to talk about was distracted driving, and I think that's also how we met, kind of. I knew about your poetry. We had connected, I think, lightly in the past. Yes. But we actually sat down for the first time one on one to talk about distracted driving, and and you wanna talk about that.
Alejandro:And I think you're doing amazing advocacy work on that. So tell tell us a little bit about it.
Debbie:Thank you, Alejandro. Yes. Many of you know that I lost my son. We lost our son in 2015 at the hands of a distracted driver, a cell phone distracted driver, someone who was engaged with their phone while driving. Since that time, I have become a road safety advocate because I want to save other lives, and I want to prevent other tragedies.
Debbie:So, in the past, I've gone to high schools and community groups, to colleges, to wherever I could go and speak about distracted driving, and tell Patrick's story, and, you know, implore people just to not pick their phones up. You know, the the thing you see is put it down, but I say don't even pick it up because if you have to put it down, you're holding it. Right? So don't don't pick it up because this distraction can be deadly. It's very risky behavior, and we see it all the time.
Debbie:It's an epidemic, you know. And if you are a pedestrian or a cyclist my husband my my son was on his bicycle, and you have no chance against a £2,000 or more ton, you know, vehicle. So, we're just asking, everyone to drive safely. Drive safely. You may have seen, this banner.
Debbie:This is a small version of it at the community center. We put this up every year at the community center and on the village hall in honor of Patrick. It says, Join PAT people against texting while driving. Also, when you're leaving the village, you see often do not text and drive, and that's been put on the lighted sign since Patrick's death, and we really thank the village for supporting us and caring and just doing what they can to make our roads safer. So when you see this sign, you'll know it's for Patrick Wanninkhof, and it goes up usually at the July through the beginning of the school year.
Debbie:It's up for a couple of months, and then we put it up the following year. So don't text and drive. That's my Do call to
Alejandro:you wanna talk a little bit about the latest work or how far you got getting up into Tallahassee and I'm still waiting for?
Debbie:Well, I have spent two legislative sessions up in Tallahassee to tell Patrick's story, to testify in front of the Senate and the House to the dangers of what's going on. So we went from texting while driving as a secondary offense to texting while driving as a primary offense, but this is not enough. We need to go to the legislation of becoming a hands free state. We have over 30 states in our country who forbid you to have the phone in your hand, And this is the safe way. This is the way that we're going to save lives, prevent injuries.
Debbie:And, so I will be in Tallahassee for the next round of distracted driving legislation, and we're hoping to move to hands free for our state.
Alejandro:Awesome. Well, if there's anything we can do to help as a community, let us
Debbie:know. Thank you so much.
Alejandro:We're happy to, you know, just like anybody else here in The Key, I'm sure, will help spread the word when it comes to poetry, when it comes to your book, and any advocacy work you want to share with us, more than happy to spread the word.
Debbie:Thank you so much. Thank you.
Alejandro:Debbie, it's been great to get to know you about your poetry and the work that you're doing. We do have a last question that we like to ask here in Key Biscayne Stories, is what is a perfect weekend for you in the key?
Debbie:A perfect weekend. Gosh. So much beauty here. Perfect weekend. Waking up late, having coffee, taking a walk to the beach park, and just sitting in the Adirondacks, looking out at the water, chatting with my husband.
Debbie:Later in the day, going down to Bill Bags Park, We have a bench, a coral rock bench for our son, Patrick, at Pier 3 that looks out onto the bay, so we like to sit there and look out at the water. And when an egret comes along, I get so excited. Yeah. I I love egrets, the bird egret. And then, you know, going to the cleat to see the sunset.
Debbie:Yeah.
Alejandro:Beautiful.
Debbie:Yeah. Beautiful.
Alejandro:Debbie, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your story. You I think Poetry Share is doing amazing work. I loved all the story the poems you have shared. I think you do shine gratitude. So thank you for your contribution to our beautiful island.
Alejandro:Yeah. Your book is amazing and the advocacy work you're doing is great as well. So thank you for coming on the show.
Debbie:Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
Alejandro:Doctor. Bocash has been in practice as an orthodontist for over a decade, helping to create beautiful smiles in the Key Biscayne community. She's inspired by her patients to do her job better every day and to continually learn new methods of treatment to improve the care she gives. Doctor. Biscayne enjoys using her knowledge of science and engineering to make a positive difference in the life of her patients.
Alejandro:She built her career as an orthodontist on a foundation of quality education. She received her certificate of orthodontics and a master's degree in medical science from Harvard University. Doctor. Prakash is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Association of Orthodontics, and the Harvard Society for Advancements of Orthodontics, and is also a certified Invisalign provider. At Bocash Orthodontics, we provide the highest quality orthodontics treatment and Invisaligning for children and adults.
Alejandro:We are conveniently located in the heart of Key Biscayne at 240 Crendon Boulevard, Suite 106.
