The minute my eyes opened I was out the door to see our new neighborhood--We had arrived late at night and I couldn't see our surroundings--
I stood in the driveway on the gravel in my bare feet--I was 13 and still was dern baby with tender feet on the gravel--never could walk on rocks like my buddies--anyway--I rubbed the sleep from my eyes took in the first look at our Florida Paradise--and saw an orange grove for as far as I could see--across the road---and then the sting came--I mean a white hot sting on the top of my right foot--a little red ant nailed me--How could that damn little thing cause so much pain? I hollered and ran out into the yard to escape further attacks---wrong move swifty!! I walked right out into a sand spur patch--I didn't know what they were till later--nor that ant either---FIREANT-
My feet were filled with stickers so I sat down to get off my feet--now my butt was filled with stickers--I just hollered out the slogan along the Florida roadways-----Florida Arrive Alive--yeah then they kill ya on the second day----and as that day was half over that death prediction nearly happened.
The mailman came and mom said get the mail son--the box was right out by the road--as I got to the mailbox something flew by my head like a bee--it was a sound I had heard before in my life but I couldn't place it at first--spewwww-another went flying by my ear -like a bee on a bombng run--spewwwwww--I said what the He---l--didn't quite finish the word when the mailbox nearly exploded--at least the lid--a nice neat hole in it that was not there a second ago.
I finally dawned on yours truly that I was under fire from someone across the road in the orange grove--I hauled ass to the house and told mom not to get near the windows-----kids were just firing 22's out in the grove--and the shots were coming toward the house.-I screamed a the top of my lungs for them to stop shooting--we never saw the culprits but the shooting stopped.--
This was my introduction to Winter Park Florida in the summer of 1958.
Codgerman