INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL OCTOBER 1960!!!!

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL      OCTOBER 1960!!!!

 YES-OCTOBER!!!!!

You may have sensed a change in the tone of the Blog--then again, with all the technical problems: and decreasing readership across ALL blogdom, maybe not.

There is a reason for that and maybe one day I'll share them. But they are so new and raw, that I couldn't share them any other way than I am now even if I wanted too. 

Thankfully, it has not been another death, at least not in the physical sense. I, myself, am also doing fairly well. 

A Loved one: Not So Much. But it will be OK!

anyhoo---- OCTOBER--at the BEACH- How Cool-ar ar is that?

BTW- My Brother made it. We don't know how he dug his way out of the sand and made his way 23 miles home, but he did. I think it was like one of those weird pet things, were a Pelican tried to eat him, gagged, and low on oxygen flew from Tampa to Plant City before passing out, dropped him, he landed on the back of a Hay truck, found his way to the farmers market...and -well you get it.

Since this was considered "BEACH FUN", and way before DSS was even thought of, we thought we could get away with it. But NOOOOO--Friggin' Marley and Me had to find his way home.

I was just past four years old Steve was born July  '58, making him what; 2 years and some change? My Sister was being stored in that "Bag", Dad had that Mom said he kept Kids in. To be born September, --4 years later. 
There is a pattern here: every 4 years, hmmmm, must have been 4 cold winters every 4 years!...... ahem..... Dad was 26 and my beautiful Mom was 22! She had me at 18--getting pregnant that Christmas in High School.

They were married after that school year, right before I was born. Dad and Mom did the right thing back then- ACCORDING TO ME!!!!!! Today--I doubt very seriously I would have been here. Or maybe I would and Angelina Jolie would be my Mom! DAMN MY LUCK! I could STILL be breast feeding!

But enough silliness: The quint--quentttt--quinsent- REGULAR Nuclear Family, before Dad left when I was 14, my Brother was 10, and my sister- (NOT PICTURED!) ha ha--I crack my own self up- was 6, at that time. No really John--I thought it would be another time you were referring too---Here's your sign!  (She hadn't been born when the pic was taken Heff- sorry folks--he is an Auburn fan!)

BEGIN DYSFUNCTION--can you look to the future and say "Prozac". But Dammit, we all turned out OK, and are doing great, and not one of us is using any of that as an excuse for ANYTHING-nor taking Prozac! Just (Abilify, Chantix, Lithium, Haldol, Geodon, Heroin and Fish oil!)

Indian Rocks Beach boasted the World's Longest Fishing pier of which I dove off , doing beautiful 1  1/2 somersaults with toes pointed and not even a splash. We had been dropped off early that morning to fish all day and night and be picked up the next day! CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT??? Two 14 year old boys with no parental supervision? But It was the NORM!!!! Other people would take care of us if we needed it be back then. The Pier dude had Mom's phone number! People got involved!

My last dive I hit the bottom. You see, the tide had been slowly but steadily going out as it was designed to do. 

The railing of this pier was easily 30-40 feet above the water at low tide. After getting hot I would walk 1/2 way down the pier and do my dive--cool off, swim to shore, meet Russell who had the ticket stubs to get us back on the pier and all was right with the world. 

WITH ME, this time: NOT SO MUCH!

I must've hit a little at a slight angle and almost blacked out. I stood up and the water was waist deep! This slight angle saved my life.
 

I severely scraped my forehead and knocked out a front tooth and should have died. But I DIDN'T. GOD, OR DUMB LUCK SPARED ME THAT DAY. I stumbled in blindly towards the shore. Russell kept calling me and wading out against the waves leading me in with mostly his voice, as the blood kept filling up my eyes..

"Damn"- He let out with a yelp- "What is it",  I muttered, still trying to orient myself, and starting to wonder just how badly I was hurt, and a little about how bad I looked, what with his yell!

"THE TICKET STUBS GOT WET!" I swear to you he said that!

WT.......?????  The ticket stubs--really Russell  !!!!??????

I STUMBLED BACK ONTO THE PIER WALKING BY A LADY FISHING CLOSE IN TO SHORE that I had assisted earlier that day. 
SHE ASKED, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

IN TYPICAL ADOLESCENT before I could even stop the words I STATED, 

"YES, MA'AM, I ALWAYS BLEED FROM THE HEAD AND MOUTH LIKE THIS"!   

HEY--I AT LEAST SAID MA'AM!!

I swear to you, this was the same lady who hours before the crash and burn- had caught a sea type bird- (not a Seagull, but a Black small Cormorant type bird) that had taken her live bait from near the surface and hooked itself. After we landed it as gently as we could and winched it by it's beak up to the pier.... She said, "What is it"? 

AGAIN: BEFORE I COULD STOP THE WORDS: I SAID: 

"A PARROT FISH".  
I responded with the Dead-Pan comedic delivery of a Pro! People were howling!

Gypsy BITCH must've put a curse on me because I had to wear a Silver Tooth until I turned 18 and stopped growing until they could put a permanent one in! We couldn't afford the Gold one with the Star Shape. The tooth was broken off at a 45 degree angle from one side of the tooth to the gum line on the other.

Did we call my Mom? Hell No. We did what any self respecting kids would do. I put the tooth- (I found it still in my mouth whilst wobbling in with the small breakers), in my Tackle box, and we fished all night until she picked us up the next day. 

My head looked like Evil Knievel, after a bad day of practice, and when I smiled triumphantly and held up my tooth- my mother, simply shook her head. That's how cool she was!  That's what you did back then. 

You took your lumps and dealt with it. I could've and probably should've died. I have seen total paralysis and death from just that type of diving injury from a much lower platform than I was on. We didn't even consider going to the ER!

This is such a typical disjointed rambling piece of crap, that I didn't even keep it simple enough to describe what I really meant to say about this beach:

the Shell Beds were LOADED with PERFECT specimens of any type shell you wanted to find. You could sit in one area and never exhaust all the Nautilus's, Coolie Hats, Screws, Tiger Paws, Conchs, and the PURE Crystal Clear Waters that were Paul Newman's eyes Blue.

SANDS so White and Powdery, that GOD even added SOUND TO IT!

YES HE DID !!!!

It "squeaked" when you walked on it. Just an added bonus He added so you could carry that memory forever. Like the pristine beauty, and run like hell lava hotness of it was not enough!

It sounded like a Basketball game with sneakers squeaking on the court! ON A BEACH!!!

HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!

Anyway, as I progress down this new path,  I'LL BEDAZZLE---you ( please Visit LL Cool Joe for me- you'll see the connection.....)

with disjointed stories that are almost impossible to follow- and mostly make no sense,  

BUT LIKE A BAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT OR A 400 LB WOMAN AND A MIDGET DOING PORN- YOU JUST CAN'T LOOK AWAY!

 

WHAT? 

No--I'm not going to be PC!!! The whole Nation needs to go on a diet, get off Meds, unless they are really needed and get back to toughing out things again and LIVING, instead of DEALING with the slightest pain or trial that comes our way. INSTEAD WE DEMAND AN INSTANT QUICK DRIVE THROUGH SO YOUR LAZY BUTT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AND WALK FIX.

THAT'S WHAT I'M WORKING ON with me NOW!

ARE YOU WORKING ON OR HAVING TO WORK ON ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE? 

I HOPE WE ARE ALL STILL WORKING TO BE BETTER TO EACH OTHER, AND MORE TOLERANT OF ALL PEOPLE. (EXCEPT FAT LADIES WHO DO PORN.)

LOVE YOU ALL,

JMc 

PS: I'm too lazy to check for grammar or spelling errors!