Reminiscences

[Tom]

Having spent my early childhood in near tropical environments, I have been exposed to some of the most beautiful flowering plants in the world.  Those were memorable years and nostalgia overwhelms me in an instant when one of those buttons is pushed.

Steve, who hails from Hawaii, logged on to the forum at noon today and I happened to see his name on the 'members on-line' section.  All of a sudden my minds eye was filled with images of a great, big, Royal Poinciana tree that graced the back of the lot at Grandmom's and Granddad's place where Charlie and I were raised.

It was a double trunked tree that split at about 4 feet off of the ground.  Each trunk must have been 20" in diameter or greater, and the tree itself was 40 or 50 feet tall and covered a sixteenth of an acre next to the chicken pen.  Beneath the tree was the entrance to the chicken pen and four to six of Granddaddy's bee hives glistening in white sanitary splendor.  On the other side of tree was a small chicken pen and coop that Granddaddy built for Charlie and me to house Bantams.  We spent a lot of time under that tree and I can distinctly remember the summers of absolute orange glory over our heads and winters of two foot long seed pods rustling in the wind like an entire band of Maracas.

Tropical flowers were bursting with color and had no problems with crowding.  Dense undergrowth of various flowering plants growing in the shade of flowering trees was not uncommon and occupants generally relied on trails rather than expanses of lawn to get to the house.  The shade was comforting in the heat of a Florida sun and the humidity, bearable.  Of course we had become accustomed to the humidity and accepted it as normal.  If I had to describe a tropical flower or garden in one word, it would have to be "Happy".

Along the back of the house and under Mom's  and Grandmom's windows were Bougainvillea and Carissa Plum.  They were Grandmomma's favorites.  Hedges of eight foot high Turks Caps bordered the back yard and the separate garage's walls were lined in Spider Lilly.  Beneath much of this were the colorful and sometimes twisted leaves of Crotons with there brilliantly colored, variegations.

A Loquat with branch breaking loads of sweet orange fruits, stood next to the garage, in the corner of the yard.

Florida Cherry hedges surrounded the house and the south side yard contained two large Sea Grape trees with their large plate sized leaves and purple fruits.  The Front yard was bordered with hibiscus and the front of the house with Alamandas and some white flower of which I am ignorant.  There were Melaleucas along the street with their sickening sweet, bottle brush shaped flowers and white paper bark.

A Coconut palm in the front yard fed us boys and many a day would find us sitting on the curb, hammering the husks off of the nuts.  A rock garden next to the driveway entrance was loaded with daisy's and beach sunflower's; a huge water oak shaded the drive (read hose story).  Beside the dining room and back porch on the north side of the house were Cabbage Palms, with the remnants of palm fronds clinging to their trunks.  There was a Coconut palm beside the back door and a view of Water Oak and Pines in the back.  Next to one of the oaks was a Cabbage Palm with Night Blooming Cirrus growing up its trunk.  We would spend evenings sitting around this tree, watching the sweet smelling flowers open.

It's not that this yard was anything special, everybody's yard was like this.  Mangos, Guavas, Oranges, Grapefruit, Kumquats and Calamondins for the taking, kept young boys out of the kitchen during the day.

We roamed in the neighborhood where we pleased, as long as we said where we were going.  Even the families without children were amenable to neighborhood kids and we had the free run of the world with the overseeing eyes of little, old ladies watching through the screens.

We attended school and worked hard at learning but our free time wasn't measured in how well we did at school nor were we made to feel that we had to help support the family.  Yes, we mowed yards on command but never considered getting paid for it.  I was sent many a time to mow a neighbors yard "because it needed it".  Sometimes, other kids would help so we could go play baseball.

I can sit here today and smell the smells, hear the noises and see the sights through pre-teen eyes just as sharply as if I were still there.

[Frank_Pender]

Tom,
     You would have done quite well in my creative writing class.  Your poetic side would have been on the high side of the curve during the Spring session.  You are very good at painting pictures with words.   Thank you for sharing some of your boyhood years.

[CHARLIE]

Tom, you forgot to mention the rose apples and the bamboo, mulberry trees and the lot full of 6 or 7 foot high sawgrass. Also, what you called Florida Cherries are I  think Surinam Cherries. Mom used to make us get our switches from those cherry hedges. We'd have to get 2 in case she broke one. Also, all the neighbors were really nice  but one elderly couple. They lived across the street from our ballfield. If someone hit a homerun and the ball went into their yard, they'd go get the ball and take it into their house. No more ballgame. >:(

[woodman]

  I remember those days, mom would have fresh milk and cookies on the table when i got home from school. And like Tom i could go on and on, it' called the good old days.

[DanG]

Great story, Tom! Brings back some memories of my own boyhood, like the huge mimosa tree that shaded my grandma's hen house, and the peach switches we were victimized with when at Grandma's place in S. Carolina. At home, Ma used ligustrum, which was quite effective, in her hand. Reminds me of the time I had been done a great wrong by one of my little brothers. The exact transgression escapes me now, but it must have been a biggie, 'cause Ma let me go out and select the switch by which his punishment would be delivered. Well, I cut one that was about 7' long and big as your thumb, at the big end.  Ma took one look and screamed, "I WOULDN'T WHIP A HORSE WITH THAT THING", and proceeded to wail the daylights out of me with it! Little Bro got off scott free, and I wore stripes for a few days.

Good lesson in that.

[Tom]

Thanks Frank.  I'm not much at succeeding but I try.  It's so hard to convey some of that stuff and I want to share it so bad.
I really appreciate the appreciations.

Charlie, I try to forget the correctional aspect of foliage, not that I ever really will.  You will have to tell these guys, DanG especially, how a big brother can get a whuppin' for nuthin'.

Woodman, memories are priceless, aren't they?  When we were young, we were chastised for day dreaming.  Now that we are up in age a little bit, it's as if we have an excuse.

[Bud Man]

Tom  Sounds like an Enchanted Island, which Florida surely would be in the category as a State.  My Mother and Grandmother would take us 5 kids to Florida every summer as a child. (I remember my sister mispronouncing Panama City as Pajama City)   My wife is from Punta Gorda and we have a home there, the yard has all the flora you so richly described, including a driveway lined with Coconut and Royal Palms.  Florida reaks with diversity, with it's Spanish names and Native American Indians influence.  I can visualize a 70 to 80 ft. Royale Poinciana tree in bloom that I see when I cross the Caloosahatchie River going to Fort Meyers in the summer months. My wife tells of similar stories of growing up in Florida, all Native Floridians love their state with a passion and you describe vivily some of the reasons why--Thanks for sharing your cherished memories.

[Bud Man]

DanG, my Grandmother let us pick the Privet switch and it had better been a proper one or she'd go get a proper one. Wish she were here today to give me a proper whupping , I probably need one !! ;)   Glad your back, hope your vacation was enjoyable !! ;)

[woodman]

  Tom amen to that.

[splinters]

Tom:
Up to this past week I would have thought that your part old Florida was long gone. I just got back from a week with Dad. He retired to one of those tin retirement villages. We spent time just driving around to see what there was. It's amazing how fast you go from "tourist slick" landscape to really rural and beautiful. Anyone who has been south and hasn't gotten off the fast lanes and out of the amusement parks for a while is missing the best part of the state.

[CHARLIE]

Splinters, I don't know what part of Florida your Dad resides, but if it is around the middle of the state (Orlando or Ocala area) take some time to rent a small boat and idle up/down the Silver River, Ocklawaha River and the Salt Run River during the summer...preferably in the middle of the week. You'll be amazed at the beauty of the wild flowers, trees, different water birds, turtles, alligators and fish you will see (the water is very clear...especially the Silver River).  If your Dad lives down in the Fort Myers area, then take a day and tour the swamps. Taking an airboat ride into the Everglades is an experience you'll not soon forget.  

[splinters]

My dad is around Plant City right close to I-4. Past visits have been Him thinking that we need to be amused. I-4 to Orlando or I-4 to Tampa. Thinking all Fl. is like that is like thinking NY is all New York City. Thanks much for the tips. Next year We'll have more time to look.

[Tom]

Reading back through the thread I came to Charlie's remembrances and memories begat memories.

The Rose Apple Tree.

Have any of you ever seen a Rose Apple Tree?

This one particular one was behind the house of the lady who lived across the street from us and stood on the edge of the unpaved alley that intersected the block.  

It was 30 or so feet tall (seemed bigger then) and was difficult to climb because of a slick single stem that was a little taller than we were and prevent us from reaching the lower branches.  If we got started then the climb was easy and a hard shake would litter the ground with hollow, sweet, fruits.  You could tell when the fruit was ripe because the one or two large seeds inside would rattle when you shook it.  They were about the size of  Golf ball or a little larger, pale cream in color, crunchy in texture, tasted just like a rose smells, and were so sweet that you could hardly stand to eat them.  They drew little flies when they rotted on the ground and I would stomp on them and cover them with sand to help prevent the insects from being so overpowering.

It was a pretty tree with large green leaves and made the neighborhood look and smell good.  This was one of our many stops during a day of hard playing to refuel ourselves.  If you had to describe us Neighborhood kids as we ran to and fro, playing kick the can, hide and seek, baseball, Army, cowboys and Indians, and many other energy exerting games, it would be Gaggle.

[Gordon]

You ever been just kicking back relaxing and doing some daydreaming and all of the sudden a memory of the past will click in just like it was yesterday.  The type that you haven't thought about for years and it pops up just as clear as a bell. At work it's always hurry up and wait. But that is the way things work so you just have to deal with it the best that you can. Well I was sitting at a set of gates in the van waiting my turn and this is what popped into my head.

When I was just a young kid we lived either on or very close to water so swimming, boating were just everyday fun growing up.

The swimsuit of choice was cutoff jeans, nothing fancy. There were always a few pairs of them hanging drying off on the clothesline that was one sure way you could tell it was summertime. Water wicking off of the white strands from the frayed ends.

The first boat that I sailed solo was a sunfish sailboat. Had a ton of fun on that boat growing up. I can only remember my dad sailing that boat once or twice the entire time that we owned it. Course he had bigger and better boats anyhow so that boat was pretty much mine to do as I pleased. There was nothing fancy about this boat but it was some good fun.

The nice thing about it was if you got to hot you could flip it over and take a quick dip in the water. Then flip it back upright and be sailing again. For two people this could be a real blast. It was a single sail single hull fiberglass boat. Most of the time we would stay pretty close to home but every now and again we would get the urge to roam. So here is the story about a day of roaming on the fish.

We got off to an early start on the boat it was a nice summer day. We had no plans of going anywhere but for a sail cuz the urge struck us to go for a sail. Well the wind was perfect so we could run along the shoreline and away we went. Now a couple of miles down the bay we stopped at another friends house. We ate some food got some drinks and away we went. So we decided to run to the river to another friends house. Now this was a long run but we had done it before with no problems so we kept on sailing. Before we knew it we had ended up at our next destination point. It was still late morning and we messed around some but he had to go so we headed back to the boat.

Now we had never been as far as the next river or to the smoke stacks as we called them. That is where the coal power plant was located. We were both looking at the stacks and then looked back at each other about the same time. Yes it was off to the smoke stacks. So after a few hours of sailing more or less we took a stop on the beach to take a swim and relax some. Near as we could tell it was early afternoon now so we had to get going. After all we were very close to the smoke stacks now.  

Before long we made it too the stacks and about that time it started to look like rain. We started tacking back and fourth up the river just to see what was there. But the sky was turning worse. We both decided about that time that we had seen enough and it was time to start heading back. Now we were sailing back home and rain was in the air. This wasn't good. It wasn't long before it started to get windier and then the cold rain started. It felt good at first but then started to feel pretty darn cold. It went without saying that we had no time to stop we had to get the boat home. Or else we or should I say I would be in deep ka ka. The smart thing would have been to stop call the house and get a ride home. But we were kids and we sailed on. Now the wind was kicking pretty good and the waves were much choppier. About that time the rudder extension broke. Ok not too bad still could steer the boat fine. It was getting pretty dark and we still had a good mile to go. It had been storming all afternoon. The fun had long left this trip. We vowed to check the weather before going out again. (We never did check the weather we always just went) We vowed to never go out again. (We did many times after that day)

So at dusk we pulled up in front of the house and dropped sail. We were proud for getting through our first storm safe and with just one broken bolt. Yup we were now ole seasalts. Dad had been watching us with binoculars for the past couple of hours. First thing he asked was why didn't we just beach the boat and secure it for the night instead of sailing in that nasty storm. Our mouths dropped, we thought we would be in trouble for not bringing the boat back. So we did the unsafe thing and sailed back. Just lucky someone was looking out for us that day.

So here I was thinking about my first real storm that I was in as captain, when I heard a loud honk. Yup, it was my turn to go through the gates.

Gordon

[Tom]

Oh yea, I remember those kinds of days.  Carefree, footloose, having no fear until the day was over.  We sailed a little Dart which was a single sail single hull 8' boat for two.  Plenty of experiences like that in our boat too.  Perhaps I'll daydream about that for awhile.

[Bibbyman]

Some 40 years ago, Saturday morning was our "goin' to town" day.  We had a couple of places we always stopped and a few we'd hit about once a month.  Western-Auto was more on the once a month schedule.  I looked forward to stopping there because it was the only place in town that stocked guns.  They usually had about two dozen in on display in an open rack - no locked case, no cable, no trigger locks.  Even at my early age,  nothing was said about me taking one down and looking it over.  The ammo was conveniently located under the gun rack.

My 8'th grade graduation gift from my folks came from Western-Auto.  It was a Savage 24 over and under 20 gauge and 22 Long Rifle.  I bought my first deer rifle from there only a couple of years later.  It was a Winchester model 88 lever action in 308 Winchester.  They had to order it and I was disappointed that it was the "old model" (pre-64) with the cut checkering instead of the pressed basket weave checkering of the new model.  :

[Tom]

Isn't it strange how our priorities change?

We had a  hardware store like that at home too. The owner would open a box of 410 shells and sell them to us one at a time for a dime.  We never had enough money at once to buy more than one and he knew it.  Eventually we would buy the whole box. ( We is all the kids in town.)

My old 410, a winchester model 20 single shot made just before the turn of the century..........the other century, is still my favorite gun even though it hasn't fit me in 46 years.

[ADfields]

Bibbyman
Did it look like mine?

It's a pre 64 in 308 as well and the Blue Book of Gun Values puts the pre 64's at least $100 over the newer ones.   Thats the same with about all pre64 Winchester's.   Did you get to like it even if it was the wrong one and all?   Do you still have it?   I love mine, it took another moose last month in 1 shot for me.   Thay tell me up hear it's to small but I dont have no trouble with it, pull the triger and give them a bit to drop.   The big 300mag's are no faster than the 308 is to drop them.   I havd been looking for a model 100 in 308 for my other half for 6 or 8 years now with no luck.
Andy

[Bibbyman]

Yea, that's it.  I traded it even up for a new reproduction Remington cap and ball 44 revolver with a few accessories a couple of years after I got it.  

[ADfields]

So this one could have been yours! ;)   I found it at a gun show about 1992 and overpayed for it, but I'm glad to have it!
Andy

[Tom]

There was a time in my early years, I must have caught the end of the trend, when stores were owned by local people who inventoried and stocked things.  They even made an effort to keep in stock the things you wanted.  If they didn't have it, they ordered two so that one would be there when you needed it.

These folks would actually smile at you when you walked in the door.  Most of the time, they new your name, or that you were so-in-so's son.

They handed out lollipops to kids, welcomed questions, would break open a case to sell just one of something and didn't get chewed out by the boss for talking to a customer.  Break  a case?  Why Putnam's Hardware broke a box of 410 shotgun shells to sell to us kids because we only had a dime at a time.

When the sign in the door said open from 9 to 5 they didn't lock it at 4:30 so they could leave at 5.  If you were standing on the sidewalk at 7:30 in the morning or 6:30 in the evening and the owner was in the store, there was a good chance he would stick his head out and say "need something"?

Lunch (dinner) was usually taken by everyone at noon.  But, the sign on the door said "Down at Taylor's getting a sandwich".   If you really needed something, you could go over there and get a sandwich and shoot the bull till he was ready to go back to work again.  That took care of the emergency's.

You always had to stop in the barber shop and have a seat for a few minutes to visit.  A haircut didn't cost an hour and a half's wages and only took 10 minutes.  You could get your shoes shined by the rag poppin' shoe black for entertainment too.  The one in Duncan's put his kids through college shining shoes.

Next door you could get your shoes resoled.  Yep they would actually patch up a pair of comfortable shoes and make'em good as new for a tenth of what the shoes cost.  The shoe repair store sold belts, wallets and purses too; and smelled so good of new leather.

You could stop in the post office to check the mail in your box, meet several friends and even conduct some business on the sidewalk out front on the way to work.  

Everybody had to walk by the Western Union to set their watch

Stores were open 5 days a week.  Some were open 5 1/2 days a week.  Wednesdays were usually a half day.  Saturdays were always a half day if they were open at all.

Friday night was  high school football.  Everybody went.
Saturday and Saturday night was Little League, high school, Pony league and American legion baseball.  Most everybody went.

Sunday was Church.  Everybody went.

Nobody was out after midnight.  Even high school kids should be home by eleven.  If you were younger than that, you were home all of the time, unless chaperoned, and inside of the house at dark.

All of the parents watched all of the kids and you best mind them too.

We didn't say "yeah" or "nope".  We best say "sir" or "Ma'am",  Mister, Mrs. and Miss or get chastised.

Bare feet were ok.  Play shorts were common and homemade.  Cotton trousers were more common than dungarees and short sleeved sport shirts were worn instead of "T" shirts.  "T" shirts were considered underwear and you were really looked down upon if you wore the sleeveless undershirts in public.  

You didn't wear advertising on your shirt or hat unless you got paid for it.  The only ones allowed to wear their cap backwards were the baseball catchers and then only when they had a mask on.

If you were in the presence of adults, you kept your mouth shut, acted subservient and showed respect.  Sir and Ma'am were real important here.

Ladies hugged, men and boys shook hands.  Girls giggled.

Long hair on boys was dangerous in a fight and generally looked down upon.  There was something "not quite right" about short hair on a girl.

It was ok for boys to get dirty.  It was ok for girls to get dirty when they were playing with boys.  It wasn't generally ok for boys to go play with the girls.

The speed limit in town was fifteen miles per hour.  Cars stopped for pedestrians even if they were J-walking in the middle of the block.  It was common to be waved through an intersection by someone who was not in a hurry.  You would be guilt ridden if you double parked.   Parking places actually fit the cars so you could open the doors and get out.  If it was less than a mile, we walked.

Movies during the week were at night and for adults.  Early movies on Friday and all day Saturday were for kids.  Late movies on Friday night were for adults.  

The town had a dance every Saturday night at the Community Center for school kids.  Fishing was an acceptable pass-time for boys and girls.  It was generally the chosen sport when there wasn't a team sport in progress.  

The town had craft and sport programs available during the summer for anybody who wanted to sign up.  We jumped on trampolines, climbed ropes, did gymnastics, played ball, did woodworking, crafts, read and some were in summer school.  Since we had to be home at dark it didn't leave much time to get into trouble and if we did somebody's momma or daddy saw us.

Vacations were a real and planned thing every summer for most, even if they were visiting relatives.  Looking back, it was a chance for your parents to have some time alone.  Sometimes the Parents took you on vacation and that was really neat.

The church had a boys organization and a girls organization likened to the Scouts that kept you busy when the town didn't.  It seems we were always going camping, either with one of these organizations or just a bunch of neighborhood boys putting up a tent in the back yard.  We used to cook some mighty good meals over a campfire.

I get to thinking about these things every time I go into Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Sam's and  they don't have what I need.  They stock what they want and it's up to you, the customer, to find a use for it. There is no store owner and the help seems to know it.  Clerks are too busy to say hello, much less, "can I help you". If you take up too much of their time they get antsy. Once you do find what you want and try to leave, you are confronted with a bank of 15 or 20 checkout counters of which only one or maybe two are open.  The lines wrap through the aisle and down one of the corridors causing traffic jams for other customers who are still trying to shop.  The checkout clerk appears to be in a dream world and will look up only now and again to ask the customer, "how much is this?".  I live in fear that one will pick up a microphone and say "Price Check aisle 12".  The whole line will groan.

Outside I dodge my way through a parking lot with traffic worse than an expressway and find my truck pinched between two other cars so close that I can't open my doors.  The two parking places on the left are taken by someone who "took two parking places" and parked on the line.  He's got a new car, I guess.  The parking on the right is empty but has a sign "invalid parking".  I throw the stuff in the bed of the truck, unlock the door and open it enough to get my arm in and take the truck out of gear.  Then I go to the front and push the truck until the door clears and I can get inside.  Visions of wet paint or kicking doors in or breaking head-lights pass fleetingly through my mind but I couldn't do that.

I wonder what would happen if asked the clerk in the sports department for one 410 shell?

[Fla._Deadheader]

 :D :D :D :D :D  Sounds like yer Homesick  :D :D :D :D :D

  I'm about to post on a new project idea on another forum, but, I MAY have to build ya a Time Warp machine : : : ;D

[DanG]

He may be homesick, but it looks to me like he made a trip to the Super Walmart.  I did that Sunday morn. :-/  I musta walked 4 miles in that store, and they didn't have but half the items I was searching for.  Needed some things for the garden, but most of that stuff has been put away to make room for the Christmas junk they have already put out. >:(

[Tom]

Granddaddy's Eight-Inch Well

 

Have you ever seen an eight-inch water well?  

There used to be a lot of them in South Florida; some larger even yet.

 Granddad had a little farm on Jenkins Road in Ft. Pierce that had an eight-inch flowing well.  I don't know how deep it was drilled but it flowed from the aquifer.  Being sulphur, it emitted a smell that some people say is likened to rotten eggs.  We liked it and would even take water home in a jar to drink in the stead of city water.  

The best time to enjoy this well was in the heat of the dead of summer.  We would be playing or hunting or working in the garden and the sun would have taken almost all of the energy from our young bodies.  When someone thought of the well, we dropped what we were doing and ran to the wellhead.  The pipe came from the ground about a foot and on top was a large valve with a handle that must have been at least a foot in diameter.  On the well side of the large valve were several spigots so you could get a drink of water without opening the large valve.  Opening the large valve a crack would allow the earth-pressurized water to spew forth with such pressure that the stream flew for twenty feet.  As the valve was opened, the stream became larger and shorter until, finally, a full eight inch stream was being projected six or eight feet from the well head.  Where it landed had been washed into a small pond about 30 feet in diameter and we were all standing waist deep in it as the constantly cool 76-degree water flowed.

Strings of mossy looking algae growing in the leakage around the valve head made the well look like a prehistoric monster and the layers of sulphur and algae in the bottom of the pond broke up into green, white and yellow plates which floated to the sides as we splashed, swam and horse-played.  

To the east a hundred feet was the little barn and the sow.  To the South was the garden with tall stalks of okra not 20 feet from the pond and rows of collards behind. The little farmhouse was to the north about 100 feet and its fire engine red color stood out against the green background of the Australian pines.  Next to the porch was a large cabbage palm tree that bore wounds from a peppering with my 410 where Granddad had taught me to pattern the gun.  Next to it were two large Guava trees.  One tree that bore a white Guava and the other that had a rosy red interior. I've ruined many a meal by filling my stomach on such readily available fruit.

 Those are wonderful memories of a childhood unrecognized at the time. Oh, how I wish I new how wonderful a time I was having.

[Stan]

If you like that rotten egg smell, come and visit. We've always got at least two meth labs cookin'.  :