thejoysofjune-dick.blogspot.com: THE BIGGEST GAMBLE IN OUR LIVES !!

I was born 1/10/1931 in Bucksport,Maine and was raised in Bucksport for eighteen
years.I only give you these facts to verify that I have stayed in Maine long enough to
know whether I am qualified to judge what is a comfortable, livable temperature and
what is not.As far as our four seasons go, I could put up with spring ,most of the
time. I enjoyed the summer months very much and I enjoyed most of the fall months.
That leaves the winter months which I really do not give a rats butt about! So there you
are, my friends, I do not care about living in Maine in the winter. I will grant you that
after the land is covered with a fresh coating of snow it is as beautiful as any place
in this country. The younger generation doesn't mind the bone chilling cold
and they don't let it get in their way of having fun.The longer you live here, the less
likely you are to give up your job,sell your house and move South.

After I graduated from high school, I moved to Arlington, Ma.where I lived with my
Aunt and Uncle while I attended Cooking School in Boston (my father's idea, not mine ).
At least it wasn't quite as cold there with less snow.From there, I enlisted in the Coast
Guard and was assigned to the Boston Port Security Unit that was in the process of
being set up.The Coast Guard picked out twenty of us in Port Security and sent
us down to the Army Military Police Training School at Camp Godon in Augusta,Ga.

Fort Gordon Headquarters, located southwest of Augusta, trains more military
personnel than any other training center of the U.S. Army. The installation's
multifaceted mission encompasses force integration and mobilization in times
of national need. Fort Gordon was originally called Camp Gordon in honor
of John B. Gordon, who was a major general in the Confederate army,a
Georgia governor, a U.S. senator, and a businessman.
On March 21, 1956, the base was renamed Fort Gordon.

We left Boston in he middle of march. in a blizzard. and 24 hours later we were in
Augusta,Ga. in 85 degree heat.What a change that was. I had never given a thought

to just how warm it could be in the south., I have found a place where there is hardly
any snow and it is nice and warm.From then on, I kept it in the back of my mind that
some day I would move South,at least as far as Georgia.The time to make that
decision came several years later as I was finishing up an Apprenticeship program
as an Industrial Electrician.Now is the time that I had to make up my mind.By now I
have a wife and two young children. I either had to go now and take my chances on
finding a job with my limited electrical experience or wait until I retired..We spent a lot
of time going over the pros & cons of making this big move to the unknown.We finally
sort of said,"what the hell",packed up every thing we owned (which wasn't much) and
loaded it on a trailer that I had built, and away we went!!...Photos below show the very
reasons that we left home and traveled SOUTH!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My car in front of my Mother's apartment

Bare trees in a field of snow

Portland Head Lighthouse in winter

A beautiful winter scene

A warm farmhouse (we hope) in winter

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are the reasons that we drove non-stop from Maine to Florida. This was one of the
biggest decisions that we had to make at an early time in our married life. We planned to
moved 1,500 or so miles away from both of our parents who have helped us so much in
our early married life? We sat down with each of our families and had a discussion and
telling them what our plans were. They understood and we left with a with their blessings
and a clear conscience.They promised to visit when they could. They did,several times.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is what we left Maine for. This is the life that we have chosen and enjoy ! We have
no regrets.At that time Florida was a quiet, laid back State who served the winter tourist
six months of the year and went into survival mode for the other six months.This was
the way of life in old Florida.And another thing,we moved to Florida before Disney World
came with the Magic Kingdom and made Florida truly a Vacation Land. The character of
life changed in Florida slowly with the summer months seeing more and more out of State
tourist coming to Disney World . The States population grew also...A lot!

We are an active family.We loved Florida. We went camping, boating and RVing a lot
We spent many a week-end at "shell Island" across pass-a-grill pass from St.Petersburg.
I still thrill at the memory of us taking the boat out of the marina in the moon light at
mid-night, picking up the markers with the flood light and making our way to shell island
for the week-end. On the way,we would stop at Dunkin Donuts for a bag of breakfast.
(Half of the donuts wouldn't make it to breakfast time). During our growing up working
years,most of our spare time was spent taking the boat hull and making it into a family
boat that all five of us could live on. We crossed the state via the Intracoastal Waterway
(right across the center of the state).I wonder how many people know that you can take a
boat and go from Fort Myers to Stuart,then down coast to Port Salerno for a two week
vacation.What a two week experience that was.We tied up at a marina $10.00 a night.We
swam in their pool, played pool in their Rec.Room,went out the pass to the ocean and
fished .Six days for $60.00 bucks.What a great vacation.The only thing that we had to be
careful about,was not causing a wake while passing private property on the intracoastal
waterway.The sunsets at Shell Island was one of the blessings that we enjoyed most
every time we were there.

What else can I say!! We loved Florida and will always have fond memories of our
time there.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++