“It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humidity, Stupid!”

Mike Fleming

Description

Nick Finch is like an Intelligent “Forrest Gump” as he travels through the years, events, and people set in Palm Beach. It’s a hell of a trip. Bring sunscreen and enjoy
“It’s Not the Heat, it’s the Humidity, Stupid!” chronicles the life of Nick Finch, the fifth of five children of J.W. and Charlene Finch from the post WW II meeting of his parents to his life growing up in one of the most unique places in the United States, Palm Beach County. Follow his journey from childhood to college to a career in the classroom surrounded by personalities, events, and challenges that will leave you laughing, grinning, and even at times, crying. Set in Palm Beach County as the backdrop for some sixty years of Nick Finch’s incredible journey so come along for the ride and make sure you have sunscreen and an umbrella because it is Palm Beach!

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 04 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665571586
• Langue: English

Extrait

“It’s NOT the Heat, it’s the Humidity, STUPID! ”
 
(Growing up in the nation’s most energetic, eclectic, and yes, expensive county…Palm Beach)
 
 
 
 
MIKE FLEMING
 
 

AuthorHouse™
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Bloomington, IN 47403
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© 2022 Mike Fleming. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 09/23/2022
 
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7157-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7156-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7158-6 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022917694
 
 
Print information available on the last page.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1The Story of John and Charlene Finch
Chapter 2J.W.’s Atticus Moment, and Growing Up with Segregation, Palm Beach Style
Chapter 3The High School Years—Paddling, Parties, and Proms
Chapter 4It’s Time for an Audible, or a Change in the Playbook of Life
Chapter 5Growing Up in A Hurry
Chapter 6Those Who Can’t …
Chapter 7Remember, Reflect, and Respect because It is Time to Say Goodbye
Chapter 8I Love The Eighties
Chapter 9It’s Summer: So Much to Do, So Many to See, and So Little Money to Do It with—and It’s So Damn Hot!
Chapter 10Growing Up and Maturing is Very Hard, Especially in South Florida—Just Ask The Locals
Chapter 11Routine is Our Friend, Except in South Florida and in Teaching, Where There is No Routine but Managed Chaos
Chapter 12It’s Halftime, and at Halftime You Need to Make Adjustments
Chapter 13Change Can Be Good, but Too Much Change Can Be Revolutionary
Chapter 14Hello, Goodbye, and Goodbye, Hello
Chapter 15Playing Catch-Up
Chapter 16Major Changes on The Horizon
Chapter 17Traveling The Galaxy and Never Leaving The County
Chapter 18The Next Generation of College Students, Dogs, and Travel, and The Ultimate Never-Ending Vacation
INTRODUCTION
W hen I retired from the Palm Beach County School District after thirty-seven years as a high school classroom teacher, coach, athletic director, and department chairman, I needed to start a new chapter. Teaching was great in so many ways, which I will hopefully express with the passion the profession deserves as I put pen to paper. I cannot just go golfing or fishing every day. For some that works, but not for me. I have written before. I have made contributions to nonfiction US history textbooks. It is cool to see your name and school in the credits, I will admit. I wrote a crime-themed thriller set in West Palm Beach and the Bahamas that apparently did not thrill my potential editors. It did not help that my connection to the publishing world died in a seaplane crash. I was truly fortunate to have taken a creative writing class as a senior at the University of Mississippi, more affectionately known as Ole Miss. I have a deep love for literature because of the many great writers from the area, such as Nobel Prizewinner William Faulkner. It is such a treat to study the man’s work at a class held in his house, in his study. The great Eudora Welty is a Mississippian, and along with the ultra-talented author and editor Willie Morris they were my creative writing teachers in addition to some guest instructors. Yes, I met Harper Lee. This class inspired some great writers, such as best-selling authors John Grisham and Donna Tartt, and the underrated and under-read Larry Brown and Barry Hannah. I thought that with It’s Not the Heat; It’s the Humidity, Stupid! I would give it another shot and write about what I know—and I know Palm Beach County.
Palm Beach County, located in the southeast corner of Florida, is diverse and unique in so many ways that the subject matter can be overwhelming. What I decided to do was to write about the experiences of me, my family, my friends, and my community. Most of the names have been changed, and some of the characters are a blend of multiple people. I witnessed most of the events described herein firsthand, while a couple of the others are stories of the locals.
Most outsiders see Palm Beach County from the immediate coastline west and in a few miles and really have no idea how big and diverse it really is. Palm Beach County has an area that is larger than that of two states (Rhode Island and Delaware). One can drive all day from the North County line in Tequesta south to Boca Raton, then west to Canal Point, to Belle Glade and Pahokee in the agricultural west, and back east again and have driven all day. Blink on I-95 and you’ll miss Delaware, for purposes of comparison. Also, Palm Beach County is very diverse in its makeup. It is one of the wealthiest communities in the world with its mansions, millionaires, five-star hotels, and exclusive stores and clubs, and is home to two presidents (JFK and Donald Trump). The South County has been described as the “sixth borough” as so many transplanted northeasterners, especially from New York City, inhabit the area from Boynton Beach–Delray Beach to Boca Raton. Jerry Seinfeld had fun with this area in his eponymous popular TV sitcom by renaming the retirement community “Del Boca.”
Going west from Palm Beach, you travel through the central communities of Rivera Beach, West Palm Beach, and Lake Worth Beach. Officials added the word Beach to the name just recently. It’s still Lake Worth. West Palm Beach was started 125 years ago as a “city of servants.” It is the county seat and now a semimajor city with all its potential and, yes, big-city problems. Leaving West Palm Beach, you will drive through the sprawling suburbia that is known as the western communities, which area is home to one of the leading equestrian communities with million-dollar barns, paddocks, and horse training and competition sites. These were at one time agricultural fields with peppers, strawberries, and sweet corn. Continuing west, you pass acre upon acre of rich farmland where winter vegetables and sugar are grown. The soil is the gold here. The towns of Belle Glade and Pahokee are rich with pride but short on money and services. Poverty and crime are everywhere, but so is young athletic talent. The National Football League is filled with stars who hail from this impoverished area. They boast about their hometowns with pride.
Going north, you’ll find the communities that make up the North County. Palm Beach Gardens was started by billionaire John D. MacArthur. “Mr. Mac” made his money in the insurance industry of Chicago and, like the true father of the county, Henry Flagler, came south with a vision and with a love for the weather. Mr. MacArthur built his community around the game of golf, where it still flourishes today. So many of the top golfers call the North County home, including the two best: Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods (the latter lives in southern Martin County at Jupiter Island). Jupiter used to be a small agricultural and fishing town. It is famous for its lighthouse, which was surveyed by a young Robert E. Lee and built by George Meade. These two men would meet again at Gettysburg. The Interstate Highway Act changed the North County as I-95 was finally complete by the late 1970s and early 1980s. This led to the development of North County suburbia as a new group of commuters would settle in the Jupiter area. The village of Tequesta borders the county line with Martin County. Once a town filled with engineers who worked for Pratt & Whitney (doing jet engine research and development), RCA electronics, and various supplemental firms, Tequesta changed when Pratt was bought by United Technologies and moved to Connecticut and when RCA moved to Asia. In the past twenty years, people, both retirees and suburbanites, have rediscovered Tequesta.
The variety of the towns and cities in Palm Beach County is matched only by the variety of people who call it home. There are the old Florida crackers, generational locals who wear that badge with pride, who are retirees from the North and especially the Northeast. Their numbers are getting smaller every year. There are fewer and fewer barbecue restaurants and more Italian food and bagel establishments, which is direct proof of the change. When Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Cuba, many Cubans escaped their homeland and came to South Florida, mostly Miami. But many came up to Palm Beach County. Spanish is the primary language spoken in many neighborhoods here now. Many residents of Cuban descent are now of the third generation and have risen to prominence in law, medicine, and education and have intermarried with the locals. Haiti, an extremely poor island nation, is another source of immigration to the county. Language barriers, economic competition, and poor primary education have hindered these immigrants’ attainment of, but have not stopped their journey toward, the American dream. Recent arrivals have come to the United States in search of the promise expressed by the O-word opportunity . These people come here looking for a chance and have an incredible work ethic. Places such as Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras are the areas they used to come home. Now it is Palm Beach County.
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