Florida Vacation 1970

briangparker63
Jul 13
2 min read

Summer vacation every year

Driving to Florida

“Don’t make me come back there!”

Driving straight through,

Traffic backed up for miles

Atlanta at the morning rush

“It’s not too late to turn around and go home!”

The Florida welcome center at dusk,

Riding tethered tricycles in a circle,

Florida’s way of wearing out excited kids.

No Disney, no Denny’s, no Risqué Café.

Papaw’s trailer after dark,

Pine needles, sand, whippoorwills.

Granny and Mom reminisce deep into the night

As if we weren’t there for two weeks.

“Get back in that bed and go to sleep!”

Papaw’s trailer smells weird

And I’m afraid of unseen unknown Florida bugs.

Finally falling asleep and Dad wakes me up

To show me the tiny tree frog he found on the wall.

It gets away, never to be seen again.

“Don’t tell Granny or she’ll have us stripping the beds.”

The next day is hot, humid, rain in the afternoon.

Chasing lizards, crying when their tails come off

Laughing when Papaw explains about lizard tails.

“Don’t pick up the pine cones. Scorpions live there!”

Papaw’s Gatorade, like nectar, like gold, not yet mass marketed.

Granny and Mom reminisce all day

Same stories every year, as if learned by rote or read from a script.

Dinner at my Aunt’s with Aunt Claire and Uncle Junior

And Sissy and Marty and David.

David secretly smokes drugs and Marty dates Sal the Wop

And Sissy is getting married and Uncle Junior Belches long and loud.

Repeat as necessary every day and every night

For two weeks every summer.

Variations on a theme: Cocoa Beach, St. Pete Beach,

Pine Island, Tarpon Springs, Homosassa Springs, Silver Springs

Rainbow Springs, lunch at Stuckey’s, dinner at Horne’s