Ft. Lauderdale. The name alone can conjure up several images. One may be that of a spring break party scene circa 1980. It also may make you think of a huge transplanted community of former New Yorkers who moved here for their slice of the ‘good life.’
My Ft. Lauderdale
As a child, that was the Ft. Lauderdale I knew and loved. My grandparents were snow birds, part of the great New Yorker migration who flocked down to the warm and sunny shores of “FLA-rida.”
This microcosm of our aging society and their lives is documented in the new Oscar-nominated and Kickstarter-backed film Kings Point.
Every single summer, my brother and I counted down the days until we were off to the magical vacation world of Florida. We flew on our very first flights (we got our wings!) and often flew alone – the stewardesses (as they were still called at the time) doting on us and making sure we were reunited with our grandparents at the end of the jet way when we disembarked the plane and felt that first rush of Southern Florida humidity. Ah, remember the days when anyone could walk around all areas of the airport to greet family right at the gate?
We stayed there for a month, or sometimes two, and I thought it was the best place ever. We played in the pool just about every day under the hot Florida sun while our grandpa took photos of us on his cool Polaroid camera. “This is the tropics,” our grandma would say. “Don’t forget to keep applying the sun block.” We got sunburned anyway, swam until we were prunes – playing Marco Polo, perfecting our underwater somersaults, and diving for pennies all day long. Sometimes we took a break and played shuffleboard behind the pool and community clubhouse. We didn’t even really know the beach or Intracoastal waterway. The local pool was enough for us.
When it rained, we splashed in puddles outside in the driveway or we lounged around inside, soaking up the luxurious central air (something we never had back home in New Jersey), and played cards. When we were really lucky, they took us to ride the go-karts or go to, my favorite, the waterslide park. Some mornings we’d get up at sunrise and our grandpa would take us on a neat bike ride farther than we could go alone. In the evenings when it was cooler, my brother and I rode our bikes by ourselves exploring around the various condominium (something I always thought were just for ‘old people’ until I bought my own condo years later) communities.
We spent the evenings eating grandpa’s awesome big salads and grandma’s meatloaf and rice, followed by a multi-course dessert consisting of M&Ms or Hershey’s Kisses, then maybe a bowl of ice cream topped with Hershey’s Syrup. We definitely packed on a few pounds each summer.
After dinner, we all sat side-by-side in chairs watching their favorite TV shows like The Golden Girls, Hart to Hart, or Magnum, P.I. on their tiny, white 13” kitchen television. It was great. We didn’t have an Xbox or Wii. We didn’t have Internet or phones or laptops. Sometimes the power went out and we all played cards or Boggle by candlelight. I wrote postcards back to my friends at home and rushed to the mailbox each day to see if anything had come for me.
They did what grandparents do best – spoiled us rotten – but less with ‘stuff’ and more with unlimited kisses and hugs and laughter and grandma’s great back scratches. This was Florida to me.
Do you have a place like this that was magical for you that probably doesn’t feel the same anymore?
This is part of a series on Ft Lauderdale. Stay tuned for “Ft. Lauderdale Today…”
Linda
I was born and raised in South Florida and spent many many years in Ft. Lauderdale 🙂 Your pictures brought back so many memories…I LOVE MY FT. LAUDERDALE <3
Lisa
Hi Linda! So glad you saw this post and enjoyed it. Where exactly did you grow up? My grandparents lived in Tamarac, but the Sunrise Music Theatre! Have you been back lately? Your city is looking good. 🙂
Linda
The place where I grew up was very special. It was a market garden owned by my grandparents. I can’t, in all honesty, say that they resembled your folks, but the place itself was special, and a marvelous place to play and grow. When my grandfather died my grandmother sold it, of course, and the atmospheric, old house was leveled and a new bungalow built. I pass it sometimes when I visit England, but no, it isn’t the same at all, although the road on which it sits, oddly, hasn’t changed much at all.
Loved this post for its warmth. It reminded me of lovely holidays I had with my kids in Florida too!
Lisa
Thanks so much Linda. Where you grew up sounds lovely. There’s such a nostalgia for these places mixed in with childhood memories and innocence. So hard to recapture! We were lucky to have them though!
Cathy Sweeney
Wonderful memories. There were lots of special places for me growing up, but the most “magical” was probably Santa Rosa and Sonoma County wine country. We’d come from Chicago to visit my brother in the summer – the air, the sights, pretending to be a “Californian” was just so exciting. I still love going there and it’s one of my favorite areas on earth — but it’s different.
Jools Stone
Lovely piece of childhood nostalgia here Lisa. Nice to see some genuine vintage pics too, waaaay before Instagramm! You grandpops look very sweet and happy.
Katrina
What a great story! Thank you so much for sharing. Made me smile. 🙂
Kristy of Migration Expert
Seeing your grandparents picture kissing is very romantic. They’re so perfect together. It’s very rare to see old people that are still in love with each other.
Lisa
Thanks Kristy! They were amazing. I wish they were still alive today so I could, now as an adult, ask them all about how they stayed in love and so happy for 60 years!
Consuelo Morin
During the summers, Grandma Dora would return to New York and then join my family at our second home in Dingman’s Ferry, Pennsylvania. While we were there, Grandma taught me how to crochet hook rugs, watched me as I swam at the pool, played cards with me, cooked for our family and took care of Tweety – the parakeet we had brought from home who spent several summers with us until his untimely demise on my 13th birthday (one day, I’ll share that story too).
Lisa
Such a nice memory Consuelo. I’m so glad you commented here. I grew up in the Northeast (in suburban/rural NJ about 45 minutes east of PA) so I know what those fun, sunny, warm summer memories are like. I used to do hook rug to when I was a kid. 🙂