Grown and Gone, But Not Forgotten: Tales of Growing Up In Central Florida

This is a collection of short stories mostly from my childhood growing up in Central Florida. Most of the stories are true and my characters are real. However, I have included some stories that have just enough truth to keep it real and just enough embellishment to keep it entertaining. I began writing these stories as a journal of sorts to be able to pass on to my children and grandchildren some stories of my childhood. After I wrote five or six, I thought I had exhausted all my memories. However, as I wrote, one memory led to another, and another, and so on. I had always been convinced that my childhood had been relatively insignificant. As I took the opportunity to look back on my childhood through the eyes of a man in his 60's, I slowly began to realize I had a great childhood. I just didn't realize it at the time. You see, neglected to ask my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings enough questions to really get to know them. I knew what their adult lives were like, but I now wonder what their childhood was like. As I wrote, I would post on Facebook Group pages for my hometown, which was the Winter Haven/Auburndale area. The stories seemed to hit home with many folks, and I was encouraged to assemble my stories into a book. I also created a few videos about growing up and I have included links to those in the ebook edition.