Pirates Cove Trailer Park, Cedar Keys FL. - 1950

Pre Army Days 1950

I walked down the path by the trailer park you could see the ocean and a small dock. There were some young people playing there. Joyce was the first I met and I liked her immediately found out her father owned the trailer park. We talked about fishing and we decided to go fishing together. My Foster parent father gave me one of his poles. The only difference between the two were the color of the rods,this one was blue, so that day Joyce and I went fishing.

On the island were a series of small bridges. At the first one we stopped at she went to put her line in the water instead the hook hit my head and stuck in my head. We walk back to the trailer park Joyce following me real close with her pole and her line in my head.Her father took the hook out of my head. John my foster parent for the next couple of months tried fishing to support the family but it was destined not to work. In the mean time I did a lot of fishing and we ate a lot of Yellow tails as they were called of the big dock in town. Joyce in the mean time was more interested in the local boys. I tried once talking with her but some things I said got back to my foster mother. We had oyster bakes, a college student who did research made us Shrimp Gumbo. I went with him out to the little Islands where he collected sea horses with a net.

Some times I would get a tourist and tell him I knew the best fishing spots and go out with them.
It was easy enough for them to catch fish. One caught a small shark and he gave me some to eat it was good, I went out with a local fisher man who put out a net to catch fish. One night he was so drunk he threw in the anchor with out the line attached to it. Then another time I went out on a larger boat for deep sea fishing and caught grouper red and black grouper, (Black taste better). I was doing well catching fish but I got sea sick so I never went out with them again. One day I saw a small boat on the shore with a oar in it.Why not I got in and started out to sea,,big mistake a strong wing blowing out to sea and so I went not able to get back to shore.
I rowed and rowed towards another Island and lucky got to it. I took off my shirt and waved it, A boat stopped and pulled me back to shore. On another day the main dock caught fire and my foster parent John was on it.he had to jump in the water but got to shore.

On one of the bridges I was fishing with my foster parent Helen, I caught a five pound cat fish . We ate it the next day.

Then one day we moved to Gainesville to another trailer park.

A new phase in my life had begun.