Save a little slice of ‘old Fort Walton Beach’
Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
This is a copy of an email I just sent to the Fort Walton Beach City Council:
My name is Del Stone Jr.
I consider Fort Walton Beach my home. I’ve lived in the city since 1964 and my mother’s family, the Readys, have lived in the city since the early 1930s.
I recently moved into Mom’s house on Elliott Point to help her, and to look after the house and property. She and Dad bought this house in 1969 and I grew up in it. My enduring memories of this neighborhood are of the “old Fort Walton Beach,” with its oversized lots, forests of live oaks and hickories, and its closeness to the water.
That closeness to the water is what made my life special. Prior to Elliott Point we lived in a neighborhood off Robinwood Drive, which was well inland. Once we moved to our current location my life took a new direction, one that included swimming, fishing, boating, or just contemplating existence from the peace and quiet of an undeveloped beach on Choctawhatchee Bay.
We were able to do that back in the ’70s and ’80s because Elliott Point offered numerous public accesses to the water. Our favorites were “The Point,” a public beach at the end of Hood Avenue, the launch ramp on Walkedge, and the bay access at the end of Bay Drive and Brooks Street. From there we could launch our john boats, swim across a lagoon or stroll the beach and swim.
Times have changed.
Most waterfront locations on Elliott Point are now blocked by docks and seawalls. The Point has shrunk to a fraction of what it once was, and if you stray beyond those narrow confines an angry homeowner will shake his fist and threaten to call the police. The boat ramp remains but the land across the lagoon has been developed. The beaches there are pretty much off-limits.
That leaves the water access at Bay Drive and Brooks Street.
I now hear the City of Fort Walton Beach might vacate the property at the request of the resident at 44 Bay Drive S.E. I am writing to urge that the city not take that action.
While I can understand the resident’s wish to own the property, the fact is that lot represents the last meaningful access to the water for ALL of Elliott Point. Without it, neighborhood residents will have no access to the beach apart from a sliver of land at Hood and the “park” at the end of Hollywood Boulevard, which is blocked by rip-rap.
The other lot in question, a pond that borders Brooks Street, is an established wetlands area. As such, it protects the quality of water in the bay, provides a repository for storm water, and offers a habitat for small animals and birds. It cannot simply be “filled in” without serious repercussions for the rest of the neighborhood.
Given the erosions in our quality of life due to overdevelopment, the city should, in my opinion, reverse that trend by allowing this tiny slice of property to remain public so that today’s children will be able to enjoy a small sample of the “old Fort Walton Beach” I took for granted in 1969.
Sincerely,
Del Stone Jr.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
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