In all this Irma aftermath, the Tampa Bay area was once again spared by major hurricane destruction and some Floridians believe the sacred Tocobaga Indians had something to do with it!
Nooo! Philippe Park was closed on Monday. A sign outside read, "PARK CLOSED DUE TO STORM."
WTSP saw maybe one or two trees down from the front entrance.
Laughing, Laura Dent says, "That really doesn't surprise me."
"Is it real?," we asked her.
"I feel it's very much real," Dent said, "and here's our testimony. If you drive around, you'll see that a lot of trees did come down, but missed the houses."
That's Tampa Bay blessed by the Tocobaga Indians once again, according to Dent.
The Florida tribe's capital village sat were Safety Harbor is today. Since the park was closed Monday, we went online to view steps leading-up to a sacred 20-30 foot burial mound. WTSP's media partner, the Tampa Bay Times, says these were found from the Gandy Bridge along the peninsula to the Gulf Coast.
But good luck ... from a cemetery?
"People go to the cemeteries to talk to their relatives, you know, even though our loved ones have passed. There's still, I feel, a connection," said Dent.
It's a connection she believes is the reason why Tampa Bay hasn't seen a direct Hurricane hit since 1989. Why here? Why them?
"The Spaniards called them gentle giants and said they were gentle because they hated warfare," Dent added.
"I've never bee hit by lighting either. How do you explain that? The same statistic - there's no explanation for what mother nature does," said Howard Latham, another Safety Harbor resident.
Not everyone believes it!
"Safety harbor -- safe harbor," said Dent, "even the pirates came here because it was a safe harbor."
What do you believe?
