I first read Jeff's writings in the Tampa Bay Times when it was still the St. Petersburg Times. His Sunday columns describing anything and anyone from the ends of the Florida Keys to the northwest corner of the panhandle were - are - wonderfully written pieces on the nuances of whatever or whoever he's writing about.
Lately, I've been working my way through Seasons of Real Florida, one of his books where many of his previous columns eventually land. It isn't the first book of his that I've wandered into. The first time I'd picked up one of Jeff's books was while taking my first grad level class at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Gary Mormino, recently retired, was one of USFSP's Florida Studies' founders, along with Ray Arsenault. That first grad class with Gary was the History of Modern Florida, a title my sons found amusing, to say the least.
"History? Modern?"
No matter, I explained. If it happened yesterday, it's history.
At one point, Gary asked the class to get hold of at least one of Klinkenberg's books, spend a good part of the week reading it, then letting the class know the following week what we thought. Gary even managed to hand out copies of Jeff's books so that students wouldn't have to track down copies.
"So, what did you think?" Gary wanted to know the following week. We were all amazed, amused, and fairly entertained by Jeff's writing. I'd read through Dispatches from the Land of Flowers. One of the first essay, titled "Good Times at the Desert Inn," begins with an order: "You got to have some of my chili!" The Desert Inn is located in YeeHaw Junction, or was when the article was first published in November 1994. Apparently, one could "spoon your chili,...munch your frog legs...(and) gaze in wonder at Beverly's rattlesnake skins..." (p. 17). It gets more interesting from there. After all, a state that can boast the likes of Miami, Orlando (with Disney World, et al), Tampa, and YeeHaw Junction, with its interesting people, must have something to it.
Another article in Dispatches... ("The last wild man"), is about Loren G. "Totch" Brown, an "Everglades folk hero and former prison inmate." Gary Mormino had his "History of Modern Florida" class read Totch's book; "The last wild man" added an extra layer to Totch's story.
Back to Seasons of Real Florida, the book that I'm finishing reading, Jeff mentioned other Florida characters you'll seldom read about in the history books: There's a clip on Clyde Butcher (Florida's answer to Ansel Adams), Ybor City's "Last Fish Monger" (who gave a recently murdered mobster's Christmas fish to a widow), and one on the "Black Seminoles."
In other words, if you want to read what Florida is like, beyond the big cities, pick up a book by Jeff Klinkenberg, or grab a Sunday copy of the Tampa Bay Times to see what he's writing about.
And Jeff, I have only one request: If you ever decide to retire, let me know. I want your job!
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Seasons of Real Florida by Jeff KlinkenbergMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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