Memorial Day 2009

South of The Bridge of Lions in St Augustine is a pristine National Guard Barracks next to a 175-year-old military cemetery. We spent the morning visiting & taking pictures, expecting to have the place all to ourselves. Thankfully, we were joined by several 'visitors' soon after our arrival.

Monday is Memorial Day & there will be the usual poorly-attended services of remembrance held across the nation. Unfortunately, many Americans will regard the day as nothing more than a day off from work. The traditional family get togethers will take place, but lots of folks will never pause to give a 2nd thought to those who served & sacrificed or those currently serving & sacrificing.







The signs describe these pyramids. More than 1400 soldiers are buried beneath them.



This fellow was an amazing patriot. WW1 was absolutely brutal - He returned for WW2!!



Here's a marker (below) for a soldier from The Spanish American War - a war against Spain, approved by Congress at 3AM on April 19th 1898, & formally declared 6 days later in response to the sinking of the US Warship 'Maine'. To avoid war, President McKinley actually tried to buy the island of Cuba from Spain. Can you imagine the quality of life that the Cuban people could have enjoyed had this offer been accepted 111 years ago?

Maybe this soldier charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt (Roosevelt was almost 40 years old at the time - with 6 kids at home! 3 years later, TR became the 26th president of the USA.)



Here's a picture that helps to reinforce my hope for America's future. These kids are members of The Explorers Club - part of the P.A.L. program run by the St John's County Sheriff's Department. They placed flags on every grave. I listened as the Deputy in charge explained the need for quiet decorum, reminding them that "this cemetery is a place of honor". He instructed the kids on how the small flags were to be placed, emphasizing that they could not be allowed to touch the ground. I would guess that the group ranged in age from 10 to 16 & they went about the work quietly, respectfully & efficiently. They were being taught to give something back & they carried out the task as if it was a privilege, not a chore & not a joke. It was one of those choke-back moments for me.





Is Monday going to be just an extra day off? A day for a backyard cookout? Is there enough time in this weekend's busy schedule to honor those that put it all on the line - both past & present? Freedom has always come at a great cost. Acknowledge the sacrifice - take time to say THANKS.

Ghosts N' Guests

This has been a wacked out week. We have some friends in town (Sean & Mary from Indy). They have a condo nearby. Naturally I'm swamped with work & some not-so-great things that need taken care of this week & it has rained for a solid 2 days with 2 to go. Mary mentioned a new book that she bought from another St Augustine author (Randy Cribbs). It's about ghosts & The Old Jail (I haven't read it yet). Well now my writing has stalled 'cause I recently completed a few chapters in Reckless about the haunted Old Jail. Guess a re-write is on the way. It's a shame 'cause it wasn't bad stuff. All that studyin' & research wasted! We even had pictures.... like this one.



So it's no secret that I like ghost stories n' pirates n' the beach. Stop yawning - it's impolite. I mentioned Sean & Mary (from Indy - where they race cars), but left out the fact that they're part-time ghost hunters (http://tpioindiana.blogspot.com) & go by the name Paranormal 911. They've got all the gear & had previously provided me with the research material about ghost chasin' equipment for my now-ruined Old Jail couldabeenamasterpiece chapters. They were at our house Saturday night & we all thought it would be cool to set up the recorder, EVP thing & rods n' stuff. Yikes, some freaky stuff started happenin' right away. The rods pointed & crossed when Mary was askin' questions & then.... IT .... wanted to "talk" to Deb.

I wasn't 'scairt'. I think I've run into ghosts before. Maybe. Here's a picture of one from the lighthouse taken by me. That's not the moon in the upper left either - the I see dead people experts call that an orb. (This was taken the same night that the moon in the trees photo was taken - see blog header pic). Can you see the shape near the bottom? It's not doctored at all. Really.




Back to Mary & Sean (Did I mention they're from Indy - which is near Indiana. Lots of corn out in those parts, but not much sand. Kinda sad when you think of it that way.) They took some audio of the events in my not-previously haunted home & there were 2 words on that audio that sent a chill up my spine. "DUCT TAPE". Makes me sweat just writin' about it. Ya see, I have at least 2 dozen rolls of duct tape in the garage - neatly stacked in a cabinet above a table saw. It's my stash. No one can touch it... but IT knows it's out there... & probably wants some..... maybe wants to tape my wrists & ankles together & levitate me to the lake & dump me in with the gators .... or maybe he has something that needs to be repaired. I don't think they have a Home Depot or Lowes "On The Other Side" ....

Cruisin' Highway A1A

I had a late afternoon appointment in Ponte Vedra today so I took the scenic route home - namely Highway A1A. It's a great ride & there's lots to see - the ocean on one side, the intracoastal waterway on the other, fabulous gated mansions, &, by my count anyway, 4 strategically placed Starbucks (between Jax Beach & St Augustine). I think they (Starbucks) did a local bladder capacity study to pinpoint these locations. If you're ever on the east coast of Florida & see this sign - jump on this road.



Here's a map. Don't wanna lose anyone on this post.



If you're going south toward our house - look left.....



Here's an aerial photo that I borrowed. If you read BAD LATITUDE, you can see lots of the places I described (sort of) in this photo - like the Matanzas Bay, the inlet, the old town, Vilano, Anastasia Island, etc....



The ocean, in most areas, is pretty close to the intracoastal - Pop & Nan live on
A1A, but on the intracoastal side facing the road & dunes, not on the ocean. I get so many emails about 'The Rackham Estate' - I'm thinkin' about listing the 10 most popular questions or comments in a future blog post. I'm sure the house is near the top of the list. I'm not posting the address.



The TPC Championship is underway this week, in Ponte Vedra at Sawgrass (also on A1A) Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson & all of the big name PGA golf pros are playing. This is the clubhouse - not too shabby. This is the course with the famous 17th "island" green.



Here's one of my favorite local spots - South Beach Grill. Just returned from SBG about an hour ago in fact. It's on the ocean - on A1A. Me n' Deb always sit outside, chillin' out & watchin' the waves. I highly recommend the Mahi. I would mention the Key Lime Pie but sometimes Deb reads my blog & I don't wanna stir up any diet talk.



Given the choice between living on the ocean side or the intracoastal side of A1A - most would choose the ocean, because of the view & easier beach access (though we are allowed to drive & park on our beaches - which makes it easy). The Rackham's live on the intracoastal side - 'cause they have some really cool boats, a huge boathouse & they really like this view from the backyard..... Follow the clues, Chapter One page 6 is a start.



So... maybe it's not on the ocean, but, for the Treasure Huntin' Rackham clan... it'll do .....

Reckless Endeavor

Me n' Deb spent the morning hangin' out on the back porch drinking coffee & yacking about all kinds of STUFF - like adding more rose bushes & flowers, the good old days at our beach house in Delaware, baseball & all of the kids that I coached, & the new tattoo that I've decided to get (gonna be awesome - I'll post pics when it's done). Eventually, the topic of Reckless Endeavor came up, so... I started where good stories start.... at the beginning... & rambled for an hour.

Deb liked the story, laughing a lot & saying 'no way' at all the right spots. She especially liked a new character that has a major role, though the name of said character may change. I still have a few more chapters to go (then re-writes & edits) but I thought I'd blog about it via pictures & drop a few hints along the way...

Jack Rackham is 16. If he hadn't taken that shortcut near Treasury Street, he never would have ended up in jail..... of course, the homeless girl never woulda been rescued either ....




Natuarally there are supernatural elements in this story, just like in Bad Latitude, & they're not limited to the prison surroundings either ....



.... Much of the story takes place here in St Augustine, like here at The Old Jail... a real place in The Ancient Haunted City .....



.... Pop's new boat.... Reckless Endeavor... is an 82 foot schooner with a few high tech surprises... a few million bucks very well spent... treasure hunters always need reliable transportation.... & it's big enough for Bad Latitude to hitch a ride...



Reckless doesn't lack any of the Rackham-preferred luxuries...it's not quite on par with the gated Rackham Estate, but it'll do....



..... and it has all the latest gadgets...



.... you need high tech gizmos to cross through the Bermuda Triangle.....



.... and being the descendants of this guy... Calico Jack Rackham.... there had to be a reunion....



.... 'cause Pop always flies the Rackham flag...



...... just like Old Calico Jack flew in the old days....including last summer in the middle of the night when chasing Jack through the Matanzas Bay...



Jack & Kai are on another mission... they'll have to keep their heads & their bearings.....



.... so they can get here.... & hopefully .... make it home.... in one piece.