Growing Up - South Florida (Part 1)
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I grew up in South Florida. Born in Miami at Jackson Memorial Hospital in December of 1960. My mom and dad brought me home to a small house in Miami on 52nd Drive. The house pictured at left.
According to my dad, the house is about double in size now, with someone adding onto it substantially since 1963 when we moved to Pembroke Pines.
I am not sure of the exact reason we moved to Pembroke Pines, my memory of the information my dad gave me is fuzzy. It had something to do with his job. He worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. At one point, his office was at Miami International, then I have a vague recollection of it moving to the Flight Service Station at Tamiami Airport. I believe Dad mentioned that he moved to Pembroke Pines because they were going to move the FSS to North Perry Airport.
I remember that house on 52nd drive to some extent. I remember the terrazzo floors and Jalousie windows. (see photos below). I remember the jets from Homestead Air Force Base flying over the house. And a specific incident that ties these together.
Please keep in mind, that we moved out of that house when I was about 28 months old. But I do remember this incident.
Dad was working shift work. It was evening. I don’t remember my sister being there so either I just plain don’t remember her there or she wasn’t born yet, which would have made me less than 2 years old when this happened.
Mom was around the house somewhere, probably in the kitchen, and I was playing with Dad’s big chrome flashlight. I was shining the flashlight around the living room, mom had turned off all the lights for me. I shined the light at the front door which had a top to bottom panel of Jalousie windows in it.
As soon as the beam from that flashlight hit those windows, a jet from the Air Force Base broke the sound barrier near the house. Of course the BOOM was loud and rattled the whole house, including the Jalousie windows I had just “hit” with the flashlight beam.
It scared me, I very clearly remember screaming and dropping the flashlight on the floor. It shattered the lens (Terrazzo floors are concrete with aggregate mixed in) and the back fell off spilling the batteries out.
I don’t remember much after that other than I was scared to death of that flashlight from that point on. To this day, if I see one of those lights, I still get a little shiver.
That’s really the only actual recollection I have of that house. Anything else I “remember” I can usually attach to a photo I’ve seen.
Jalousie Windows
Terrazzo Flooring. I remember ours being a little lighter than this. Less of the aggregate in it maybe?
That dang flashlight!!!
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