pI did come to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1947. My mother woke my brother and me one night and said, We are running far away from your father. He was very abusive and would beat her black and blue many times. Mom was afraid that he would kill her one day when he would come home drunk. She saved us all. ppTo all you boys, please remember that a good man will never strike a woman or hurt her in any way! ppMany of these experiences are taken from my early years in Daytona and Ormond Beach. Harold is my lifelong friend. Susan is my cousin. She never had any of these experiences. I just think she is a great girl, and I wanted to include her as a main character to share in this story. ppPlease, I do not recommend that any of my young readers try to catch snakes or alligators. These are wild things. To my older readers, what are you thinking They are extremely dangerous and can and will kill you. Do not do it! ppGrowing up in Florida was great. We had no air-conditioning and no TV. We had jus