Sh*t my mom read: Growing Up Floridian by Michael Taylor
Short blurbs about books that you may want to read. None of them are too taxing — more easy, fun reads. Unless they aren't. Don't worry, my mom will let you know if they don't meet her "fun reading" standards.
Jul 20, 2017 12 AM
Courtesy of Michael Taylor
Editor's note: This book by a local author is self-published, which we don't often review at CL. However, I know better to tell my mom no when she likes a book and wants people to know. —CS
Taylor gives an interesting account of how he spent his early years (1950's) in Indiantown, FL. Growing up he learned a lot about animals and nature and worked hard (whippings or slaps on his head taught him to do what he father wanted) with cattle, fences and all the stuff that goes with somewhat undeveloped Florida.
One sad bit: Taylor and his brother were playing with a gun and the brother died.
Another sad bit: His father ends up leaving with another woman and he and his mother moved to Pinellas Park to live with the grandmother.
Just want to read the bits about Tampa Bay? The parts about Pinellas County begin about page 240. He writes about how the Don CeSar was a VA office until 1967, then sat empty for a few years.
Overall: It was enjoyable to read and made you think about how hard a child under 10 had to work at his father's insistence on their ranch.
Michael Taylor
2016. 328 pages.
Available online in Kindie, paperback, and hardback editions at Amazon or locally at the Gulfport Beach Bazaar or the Gulfport Historical Society