The adventures of a Florida boy (part 14)
In the 1960s, kids ran as far and wild as their imaginations would take them
ONE OF AN OCCASIONAL SERIES: My boyhood was spent in Florida in the 1960s on an island called Coquina Key. My parents’ waterfront home overlooked a large expanse of Tampa Bay. Back then, parts of the island were undeveloped, which left plenty of room for climbing trees, digging forts in the sand, and swimming in shark-infested waters (though we didn’t give the latter much thought).
This is part 14 of a random and mostly lighthearted series that I might eventually combine into a memoir. I’m telling these stories to the best of my recollection and changing names and physical descriptions just because it seems like the right thing to do.
The Dogs of Coquina Key (episode 1)
Back in the late 1960s, there was no such thing as leash laws (at least that I knew of). Everyone let their dogs run free, which was great news for the dogs but not so great for the cats.
It was not the least bit unusual to be zooming along on your bike and be attacked by a snarling dog. But we calmly kicked the dog in the side and kept on riding. Business as usual.
My dog was named Sam. He was a 60-pound, black, purebred standard poodle. Standard poodles are renowned for their intelligence. It pains me to say this, but Sam was one of the exceptions. He was friendly and lovable, but there was simply no denying that he was dumb as a box of rocks. And quite the coward.
My friend down the road had a dog named King, who was the polar opposite of Sam. King was the ultimate definition of a mutt, and he was quite smart. For his relatively diminutive size (about 25 pounds), he was also one tough sombeech.
While Sam was a gorgeous dog with silky black fur, King was one of those mangy-looking dogs whose fangs protruded from the bottom of his mouth. Though Sam was more than twice his size, King made it quite clear who was the boss. King would place his front paws on Sam’s back and growl menacingly. Sam would stand there and look happy, his tongue lolling goofily from his mouth. They never fought, but only because Sam never gave King a reason to.
Though Sam had free rein, he rarely wandered far from home. But King was an adventurer. No, check that. He was a pirate! And he sailed the seven seas of Coquina Key. King was also renowned for his affinity for the ladies. I’m sure there were many people who wondered why there were so many dogs on the island with upside-down fangs. It must be a dominant gene.
After Sam passed away, my family purchased a 10-pound silky terrier named Susie Q, who turned out to be a lot like Sam. She was gorgeous but also exceedingly dumb. Susie Q’s claim to fame was that she was obsessed with a red rubber ball about the size of a racquetball. From early morning until late at night, Susie Q would chase that ball all over hell’s half acre. My family and everyone who came to visit grew used to it. We’d be sitting in the living room chatting, and Susie Q would drop her ball in one of our laps. We’d toss it. She’d chase it. We’d toss it. She’d chase it. We’d toss it. She’d chase. it. I could copy and paste this a thousand times and not come close to her proclivity. Susie Q was so obsessed with the ball, if it fell into the shallow end of the pool, she would leap in and swim down to the bottom to retrieve it. If one of us was swimming underwater and surfaced by the side of the pool, Susie Q would be there, dropping the ball next to us with the crazed hope that we would throw it. She would then run so fast, the pads on her paws would start to bleed.
Susie Q had another obsessive habit. She liked to evacuate her bowels in the hallway that led from my parents’ bedroom to their master bathroom. There was many a dark night when my stepdad would make his way to the bathroom in his bare feet only to let out a string of profanities that would cause the devil to blush. Needless to say, I would lie in my bedroom and laugh myself silly. One time it happened twice in one night. I was lucky to survive my hysterically explosive reaction.
But Sam, King, and Susie Q were only the tip of the iceberg of the Dogs of Coquina Key. A German Shepherd (coincidentally named King) and a Doberman Pinscher named Lodi engaged in epic battles that would make Godzilla versus King Kong pale in comparison.
Stay tuned for Episode 2 of the Dogs of Coquina Key. It gets even better.
The adventures of a Florida boy — past episodes
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
Books 1 and 2 of my teen fantasy adventure Dark Circles are now available and are appropriate for readers 13 and older. But adults are enjoying them as much as young teens.
Book 1 (May 2023) is titled Do You Believe in Magic?
Book 2 (October 2023) is titled Do You Believe in Monsters?
Book 3 (coming February 2024) will be titled Do You Believe in Miracles?