The gym at Ferry Park was one of those third great places

Workers begin the process of tearing down the Docie Bass Recreation Center at Ferry Park. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.

The gym at Ferry Park is going away and I’m a little sad about that. I don’t fault the city for tearing it down. The building was old and lacked air conditioning. It cost a fortune to operate. Still, there’s… READ MORE

I prefer change that benefits us all

In 1964 the beach along Okaloosa Island was mostly free of condos and other buildings. This photo was taken from the Okaloosa Island fishing pier. Image courtesy of Del Stone Sr.

When it comes to the history of Fort Walton Beach, I have an unfair advantage. Not only have I lived here a long time, but my mother’s family, the Readys, moved to the area in the 1930s. On lazy Sunday… READ MORE

Why the outcry over a single bird when an entire species is at risk?

Image courtesy of Enviornment American Research & Policy Center by way of a Creative Commons license

Confession: A couple of weeks ago I committed the high crime of sharing a photo to the job’s Facebook page of a young girl feeding a Goldfish cracker to a seagull. You would have thought I had nominated Charles Manson… READ MORE

Well, goodbye, little house. I sure did love you. I sure did

My 1987 Nissan Pulsar is parked in front of my old townhouse, Unit 3F at 215 Hughes Avenue in Fort Walton Beach behind Uptown Station. I lived there 24 years. Image by Del Stone Jr.

I’m gone from the townhouse. It was a sad moment. I spent the morning hauling boxes of books and photo albums from the upstairs bedroom, what was once my office where I wrote “Dead Heat,” “Black Tide” and “I Feed… READ MORE

My brain is cluttered with ancient tech trivia

My final memory of that training day – Saturday, May 26, 1979 – was Jim Shoffner handing me a fat three-ring binder to study. It was the instruction manual for the ECRM 7600 (today they’re in PDF form online and… READ MORE

I turned on the light and something moved

Image courtesy of Roger Brown at Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/@roger-brown-3435524/

I got up this morning about 3:30 to use the bathroom. When I turned on the light I saw something move. There, on the bathroom floor, stood a cockroach – not one of the cute TV commercial cartoon roaches that… READ MORE

My flying days are permanently grounded

Two TWA 707s sit on the tarmac at the Torejon flightline in Madrid, Spain in 1963. One of these planes would take me and my family back to the United States. Image by Del Stone Sr.

My flying days are behind me. I remember the exact moment I discovered my fear of flying – it was on a trip to visit my sister and her husband in Dearborn, Mich. I was 14 and traveling alone for… READ MORE

My thoughts on a high school reunion

Image courtesy of Pics4free by way of a Creative Commons license.

I’ve never been to a high school reunion and I likely never will. No, I wasn’t picked on – no more than anybody else. There are fates worse than being picked on. I was ignored. I wasn’t good looking. I… READ MORE