"Growing Up In Pensacola" is a collection of humorous essays describing the author's experiences growing up in a large family in a small coastal community in Florida during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Its a potpourri of stories that can be read in any order, that share the youthful joys of summers spent at the old swimming hole on Bayou Texar, the challenges of grammar school, the concerns of family and friends during World War II and the family's connection to local politics. The love of community and respect for friends and neighbors, are evident in the stories about East Pensacola...

Johnson knew he could get his ass blown off in Korea, but that was a risk his government was willing to take. The story begins in 1952 when the three U. S. Navy Dental Technicians were assigned to the U. S. Marine Corps at Parris Island, S. C. The three were unlikely friends: Johnson, a self-professed "Redneck," and Dubeau, a proud Cajun, were white and from the South. Carter was black and from the North. They learned they would not be going to Korea but would remain in Parris Island . . . "till this damn war's over," said the Chief. They were bored, but life got better when Johnson won a...