Table of Contents
Introduction 1
I My Roots
Dad and Liberace 5
Dad and the Crawlspace 7
The Beatles in Miami 10
Keith 15
Dad and Me 18
II Florida Living
The Last Beach Bum 24
The Cedar Key Taxi 29
The Problem with Rattlesnakes 35
Lions in the Backyard 40
A Swamp Wedding 45
III Special Florida People
Nathan Martin 49
Miss Martha 59
A Cowgirl 61
Sheepshead George 65
A Cowboy 68
IV Eating Florida
Key Lime Pie 73
Joe's Stone Crabs 74
The Orange Shop 77
Bee Man 81
Robert Is Here 85
Fixing Tomatoes 88
V Florida Places
The Coral Castle 101
Solomon's Castle 105
Mister Cook's Garden 108
The Fountain of Youth 112
Rattlesnake, Florida 122
VI Florida Writers and Artists
Patrick Smith 129
Clyde Butcher 132
Mary Ann Carroll 135
Harriet Beecher Stowe 140
Michael Gannon 143
The Photo Laureate of Silver Springs 149
Louis Armstrong on the Ferry 153
Billy the Kid Emerson 158
The Lion's Paw 167
VII Seasons of Real Florida
Fall 173
Winter 174
Spring 174
Summer 175
VIII Far South
The Smallest Post Office 177
John Tigertail in the Everglades 179
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park 181
Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park 184
The Seven Mile Bridge 188
Hemingway House 191
The Dry Tortugas 194
IX More Special Floridians
Frog Girl 199
Murf the Surf 204
Charley Morgan 214
Ferdie Pacheco 218
Roger Hammer among the Poisonous Plants 225
X A Long Look Back
A Newspaperman in Florida 230
Acknowledgments 237