Disney Vacation about 25 Years Ago

The first picture is something I found on the Google of a mother and daughter and their spouses/and/or dates having a little fun in Disney World. They were kicked out for life. You just can't help but loving a rebel.

The rest are pictures of our trip to Disney World about 25 or so years ago. The oldest is Rocky and the youngest is Adam.









I'm the one with the purple hat.

Andrew Jackson Stoned or maybe Bronzed

I took the above picture of Andrew Jackson in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2005. I suppose they have a statue of Andre because they named the city after him. And look! His horse stands on its hind legs just like Trigger!

Suppose Andrew and his horse had to pose for that statue and suppose the year was something like 1830.. Suppose his horse just stood a little straighter or maybe bucked "Old History" - history may have been changed forever in went into a different direction. No gold rush in North Georgia, and more importantly, no "Trail of Tears".

The Mission of Nombre De Dios, St Augustine postcard

On the back:

"THE MISSION OF NOMBRE DE DIOS
ST AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
Shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Leche, First establlished circa 1602 at Nombre De Dios.
John Hinde Curteich, Inc,
Printed in Ireland"

So, it was printed in Ireland eh? I found that many times the people who are not part of what they are looking at, or maybe on the outside looking in, can see things the people within do not see.... if that makes sense.

The little chapel itself reminds me of a little chapel we saw on the coast of Georgia one time... I forgot on exactly what island. For some reason every time I see the picture of the little Georgia chapel I think of authoress Eugenia Price. At the time I saw it for real, she must have lived near by.

John F. Kennedy Space Center postcard

I remember touring this Lakehurst, NJ-hangar-like building twice. Once BK and once AK. Each time the guide explained how the giant rocket came in the giant doors on something similar to RR tracks, and they did the final touches to it, then it would leave, also by rail, to the launch site at a very slow speed. I forgot what speed, but something very slow.

I wonder if the tour guide remembered me nodding my head like I understood what he was talking about…. And, if so, why did I come back for the same thing?

On the back it says:

"NASA Apollo Saturn V, 500 F. facility vehicle enroute from NASA'S vehicle assembly building to launch complex 39A."

John F. Kennedy Space Center postcard

This card was bought in the 70s at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I would think things have changed since then. For one thing, they found out Columbus was wrong after all, the world is flat.

Castillo de San Marcos, St Augustine, Fl postcard

On the back it says:
"Begun in 1672 and built intermittently for 25 years. It has never been successfully assaulted, but has served as as a haven for city residents during St. Augustine's long and color history. Photo by David Noble."

This post card must have been made before we assaulted it about 1989. We very cleverly disguised ourselves as tourists and slipped on the compound. Wait! I have proof this card was made before we arrived. I bought the card at the gift shop!

You should have seen me, with a dagger clinched in my teeth, I swung on some kind of line down from the sentry walk in a swashbuckling way, then did not have enough momentum to swing to the sentry walk on the other side, so, I had to go back and forth and back and forth until the line slowed down so I could drop off it and run to the parking log before they caught me.

St Augustine, Fl Ponce de Leon - Flagler postcard

This giant complex was built by Henry Flagler in 1888 to be the Ponce De Leon Hotel. If I read right, it metamorphosed itself to be the Flagler College, a liberal arts or visa versa, it did just the opposite, first it was Flagler College then the Ponce De Leon Hotel,

I don’t see any cars on either of the two cards, so both were probably taken near 1900, give or take a couple of years.

The Oldest House (photo1886), St. Augustine postcard

On the back:

“14 St. Francis St., St Augustine, Florida.

The Gonzalez-Alavarez House is the oldest Spanish residence in the area, dating back to the early 1700’s.”

So, is THE OLDEST house or the oldest Spanish residence in the area (and how big of an area?) or the oldest house in Continental United States? Because I think St. Augustine claims to be oldest city the U.S., the oldest house would in the city would possibly be oldest house in the U.S. But, again, maybe not.

Who’s counting anyway?

Howard Johnsons at Ft Lauderdale postcard

This is one of our BK vacations in the early 70s’. Then, this Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge was the latest state of the art kind of motor lodge. We were on the top floor, across the street from the beach and had a grand view of the Fort Lauderdale Beach and the ocean. Connie Francis starred in “Where the Boys Are” in a movie about and named Fort Lauderdale.

If the Howard Johnson building is still there it is probably a community eye sore.

I remember just across the side street was an great restaurant that had that Hawaiian luau decor that served great fish dishes. I expected to see Moon Doggie make a grand entrance.

Hambone Hambone – Where You Been?

“Been around the world and goin’ again!” slap slap slap! (that is me slapping my stomach and legs to give a beat to the song).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Juba dance or hambone, originally known as Pattin' Juba (Giouba, Haiti: Djouba), is a style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks. It is similar to clogging and the jig, and "pattin' Juba" would be used to keep time for other dances during a walkaround. A Juba Dance performance could include:

* counter-clockwise turning, often with one leg raised,
* stomping and slapping (v.s.),
* various steps such as "the Jubal Jew", "Yaller Cat", "Pigeon Wing" and "Blow That Candle Out".

I tivoed Bamboozled yesterday and am watching it in bits and pieces. It is unbelievable. But, I’ll save that for another blog.

The movie reminded me of a guy that we named Hambone because he did the hambone body slapping to rhythm so good. Hambone was a white guy, about our age, but more or less a drifter. He somehow materialized among us Marietta boys in the summer of 1960 in Daytona Beach. We got a kick out of him because he was such a party animal.

After all, we were at Daytona Beach to party - not sit around and discuss physics of the stars and solar systems above us or oceanology or anything like that.

Weeks later on his way back to his home in Chattanooga he stopped by Marietta and looked up some of the friends he made on the beach and if I remember right, lived among us for a week or so. Then he went on his way.

It seems he made a second appearance in Marietta a year or two later on his way to someplace else.

Now Hambone is about 66 or 67 years old. I wonder if he ever settled down. I wonder where he has been? Did he go around the world and go again?

Jail House Rock

I mentioned in an earlier blog entry about a lot of us went to Daytona Beach in the summer of 1960. And I mentioned some of the trouble we found ourselves in.

While typing the bit about Larry B. throwing french fries and Clell kicking us out of Atherton’s Drug Store reminded me that Larry B. was part of the Marietta bunch that went to Daytona Beach that year.

After five to seven days almost all of us went back to Marietta.

Larry B. and several more friends were having too much fun. They stayed. And they stayed without any money. They were broke.

I forgot who else besides Larry stayed in Daytona Beach, but I remember what he did which was his trademark.

At the time, Larry had a little trademark joke of putting both hands, one on top of the other hand, cup the top had under his chin, which was to represent a long beard. Then, whatever he said, he imitated a goat’s na-a-a-a-a and wave his lower hand, as if his beard was blowing in the wind.

For instance, he would come up to you with his metaphor beard blowing and say, “You have a d-o-l-l-ar I-I-I can bo-r-r-ow? Nn-a-a-an!”

My nickname was Rock, so Larry the goat imitator addressed me as “Ro-o-o-c-c-c-k-k-k” and his hands under his chin.

As I said, Larry and his friends were broke. They decided to take up the profession of grabbing pocketbooks on the beach and running with them. They picked old women that they could outrun.

They got caught anyway – all two or three of them.

They were in jail waiting their trial or for someone to pay their bail, whatever. I think their parents and friends (me too) decided to let them sit it out.

Behind bars, in the middle of night Larry would jump up on the bars and shake them and say “Jailer! Jailer! Help me! Help me! I am sick!” Then the jailer would ran back and find everybody in the cell asleep. He would walk away, and just as he was shutting the door Larry jumped up with his hands under his chin and said, “J-a-a-a-i-ler!”

The jailer would run back and demand who said that and they would all pretend to wake up, wanting to know what was going on.

That was just my old friends having fun, with no sense of what was right or wrong and always out for a laugh.

Larry spend most of his adult life as a bell hop in Atlanta. He was witty and a smooth talker, I bet he did okay. I haven’t seen him since we left him in Daytona Beach. I heard his sister bought him a house here in Marietta close to her and he is retired. I have been intending to call him, but keep putting it off because I wonder if he remembers that I didn’t help him when he was in the Daytona Beach Jail?

Actually, he was the last thing on my mind. Two friends of mine were in an auto accident a few days after we returned and one was killed. I just put Larry out of my mind.

Now, he is back in it (my mind, that is).

You Are In Luck!

The River Walk on the north side of the river goes on and on it seems. Which you are thinking:
"How long is he going to dwell on Jacksonvlle - on and on?"

I think I am through with Jacksonville. That's about it - for now, anyway.

The Main Street Bridge, aka The Blue Bridge

This picture was taken while we were in a water taxi, about to cross the river at, well, water level.

This is the bridge I walked over everyday to go to the library. And I ran over it and back, once, it isn't as long as it looks.

Manatees

The picture of the Manatee on the warning signs is the closest I came to seeing a Manatee on the St. Johns River, although on both trips I walked the River Walks continusly.

On the latest trip each time I would walk or run the River Walk on the south side of the river I would see two city workers tending to the pansies and other flowers in boxes alongside the walk and the river.

One was a black lady who was working everytime I saw her. She was very busy and very articulate in her work. However, her co-worker, I never saw his face. Each time I walked by he was asleep in their little golf-cart looking thing with a small truck bed. He would be hugging the steering wheel, which then his arms served as a pillow and his head would be face down.

I think she probably did enough work for both of them.

Thursday on my walk i asked her if she ever sees any Manatees. She lit and told me she did, several times a day. She went on to tell me she saw one injured near "that bridge" pointing. She told me she called authorities who came and pulled it out of the water to do medically help it. She smiled and nodded and said he was going to be OK.

The Landing

The complex-looking thing with the orange roof is The Landing. It is just a step above a mall food court.

I found myself hanging out here some both years, sipping Starbucks or a Diet Coke and watching people parade by.

There is also a Hooters here, so it is nice to find a bench that also has a view of the activities of their waitresses.

Jax Max

Did you know Jacksonville, Florida, is the largest city, area wise, in the U.S.?

Mo' Jax Pix

Jacksonville, Florida Pictures

These pictures are deceiving.

You would think the pictures I am presenting is pictures I clicked last week.

I cannot tell a lie, as GWB would say. Most of them were taken last year when we came down for a week at Jacksonville at the same type of meeting. Why take pictures of the same type of thing I already have on file?

Another Light At The End of a Tunnel

In a way it looks kind of erotic, doesn't doesn't it?

A Ship Goes By And Doesn't Stop

Here, while we were up near the high point of the fort we saw a ship cruise by and went down the sound. A tug boat met him, and they kept on going, out of sight.

I'm glad that ship didn't stop out in the water and a boat full of men and guns rowed to shore and one of them stabbed a flag pole holding a flag into the ground and declare in that this now is now their land, whoever they are.