I received this great historical recollection in an e-mail that was forwarded to me. Fortunately Mr. Auspitz has written in with his comments below and doesn't object to his wit being displayed here. A late 1950's photo of Richard is at http://www.pbase.com/image/126752300 and a current photo is at http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/126752919
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY YOUTH IN MIAMI BEACH BY RICHARD AUSPITZ
Knocking your shoes together upside down in case scorpions or some other creature had crawled in during the night…
Schools of fish 1/4 mile wide filling the entire top of the water; taking an hour to pass...
Constant Pods of Porpoises taking hours to pass at Indian Creek in front of the Fontainbleau.
Submarine Sams...
163rd Street (Sunny Isles Causeway) totally covered by land crabs in such abundance that you did not drive there for fear of a flat tire...
Walking to school in two or three feet of water following a typical rainstorm with pants rolled up (no drainage pipes at the time as they were not aware it was possible at sea level)...
Hurricane Parties (held at the home of whoever's parents were out of town?)...
The Orange Bowl Parade when it was a big event...
Working at the Miami News Selling Starts (new subscriptions)...
Working then being fired at Mary Jane Shoes on Lincoln Road and Washington.
Citations given out for loitering in front of Liggetts Drugs Lincoln and Washington...
James Dean in Rebel then Giant after he died...
A young / beautiful Elizabeth Taylor...
Mitzi Gaynor “hubba”...
Jerry Lewis when he was really funny...
Silver Dollar Jake passing in his fire engine red Caddy convertible, wolf whistle, ahooga horn, steer horns on the hood and a Mannequin dressed up like a sailor on the back deck. Jake throwing our handfuls of silver dollar shaped (foil) condoms as he rode along...
Piccolos on Ocean Drive...
Pickin Chicken's - dipping Southern Fried Chicken into Honey...
Miniature Golf Course on Collins Ave...
41st Street: Moderne Drugs, Mike's News, Rondo's (before it became Omar's Tent) - Rondo always running after a waitress swinging some kitchen utensil at her for Who Knows What?...
The 63rd Street overpass going North to South (always fun stopping and raising you car's hood to end traffic flow)....
Making out at Pecker's Point...
Riding A Motorcycle up the middle of the Pine trees on Pine Tree Drive...
Using the Greens and sand traps at Bayshore Country Club as a motorcycle Jump (sometime car jump)....
Fun Fair, Colonel Jim's, the Night Owl, the Grate (Candido)...
Lenny Bruce at El Patio on Dade Blvd...
The Jim Jam on 75th St...
Valentis Italian Restaurant with the Reindeer in Front on NW 7th Avenue and NW 20th Street...
Wolfies 21 Strawberry Cheese Cake (Size of a small city for 35c)...
Speeding was a $10.00 fine paid to the cop on the spot...
Everyone knew everyone (population 12,000 in MB including 3,000 that went to The Old Beach High, *Not the New one on Dade Blvd* now 50 yrs. old!)...
Austin Burke and his fabulous commercials wearing 20 articles of clothing...
State Road 9, where no “Beachite” had gone before!...
Hialeah was farm land...
Miami Beach High had the worst football squad in Dade County and the most beautiful / promiscuous girls...
All the perverse teachers at Beach High...
The busting of Miami Beach High School Principal Irving Katz for having an affair with his secretary and taking a few bucks out of the till...
The 48th Street Beach...
Riding a motorcycle from school directly to the beach and jumping in the lake like ocean wearing just jeans...
Local waters looking like the Bahamas...
Leaving School at lunch time and going to Gulfstream Park for the afternoon...
No Route I-95, no Palmetto Expressway. Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale 1.5 hours via US1...
Proving your manhood in the middle of the night by driving Miami to Naples via Tamiami Trail in one hour (the reward a Royal Castle Honey Bun the size of first base)….
The overpowering delicious odor of Honey Suckle and Jasmine. Sea grape trees everywhere in abundance. Spanish moss hanging...
The Surf, the Normandy, The Beach, The Lincoln, The Variety, The Roosevelt (great dirty films), The Flamingo Theaters. Movie Grand Openings Just like Hollywood, Ca...
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Don Rickles, Shelly Berman, Mort Sol, Johnny Mathis...
The Noshary at the Saxony Hotel on Collins...
Royal Castle's 29c breakfast (one pat of butter) 15c hamburgers, Lums Dogs 20c and 5c for a Pepsi. The Non Attorney Perlman Brother serving Lum Dogs on 41st St, Lums becoming a chain, Lums going Public, Lums buying Caesars Palace...
Port of Miami Description: 5th and Biscayne Cruise Ship Parallel Parked, you walked on and off it went to the Bahamas, Cuba, etc...
Miami International, 36th Street and LeJeune was about 2,000 square feet, pulled up in front, walked in walked out the back and up the steps and off you went...
Chalks on the Causeway, The Goodyear Blimp...
Fisher Island was a mosquito nest...
The Japanese Gardens on the Causeway...
Havana was an hour via TWA four prop Constellation...
79th Street was the end of Miami Beach then you fell off the flat earth...
Drift Boats were $2.00 and catching fish was guaranteed...
Every Kid that fished the Drift Boats became a short term mate...
Spear Fishing, Hunting in the glades, Motorcycling and being hit in the face with Icy hail on MacArthur Causeway...
MacArthur Causeway Draw Bridge was very low, made from wood, tar, metal and anything else they had at the time...
The Coast Guard Station...
The all you can eat for $1.00 shrimp place (The Shrimp Spot) near the train station 20th Street and NW 7th Ave...
The Night Beat (Sir John) / Flip Wilson / Cassius Clay...
The Famous Restaurant and Variety Meats on Washington Avenue, Henry Steig Clothing, driving holding a beer, crinolines...
Fishing on the jetties behind the Bombay Hotel at 69th and Collins, Willie Restrum, Bell Barth, Alan Burke on Radio, the glamour of the Morton Towers, The Hotel National de Cuba in Havana, Dirty Dicks, the Junkanoo, Nassau...
Endless Poker games, Madras Shirts, Flocks of egrets as far as the eye could see taking an hour to pass overhead. The building of the Motels in Sunny Isles, The Dunes, The Thunderbird, The Aztec, Suez...
Desolate isolated Ocean Houses at Collins and 58th...
Golden Beach Speed Trap. Chary's on Harbor Island...
Governor Leroy Collins...
Biscayne Point...
North Beach Elementary, Ida M. Fisher High School...
Nice girls and better yet slutty ones...
The Boom Boom Room, The Elbo Room, the Gristmill...
Ben Grenald serving breakfast at Moderne Drugs on 41st Street (also home cures for jock itch, hemorrhoids, underarm odor -- Ben was a Fountain of Knowledge and one of the really good ones!), Kasdin Drugs, Prarie Poultry, Polo Park, The 10th Street Dance, the reform school in Kendall, teenagers married in the keys, cars actually driving on Lincoln Road (before mall!)...
Women Wearing Mink Coats in ninety Degrees...
5th Street / Potamkin Chevrolet, The Good Year Tire Company, The Drive by Cleaner (Mark's) at Purdy Ave and Alton, getting to the airport after a rainstorm by zig zagging 20th Street or 79th Street to the dead end at LeJuene...
Renting a Sailboat from Captain Dick at Dinner Key, scrambling at the gunnery range, the illegal midnight drags on Prospect Road in Ft. Lauderdale, only hearing English spoken, Desi Arnaz a student at St. Patrick's High School off 41st Street...
The Great Political Battle to prevent Royal Castle from opening on 41st Street...
Sons and Daughters of various crime families that were our school chums...
Meyer Lansky, local elder, The Forge...
The changing of 41st St to Arthur Godfrey Road???...
The building of Julia Tuttle Causeway….
Night time High School Football games. Baton Twirling, pretty girls...
The Everly Brothers, Charlie Brown He's a Clown, Dance with me Henry, Still of the Night...
Johnny Mathis assuring success in the back of your Chevy...
Fan and Bills, Mitches Steak Ranch, )Curry's, Parhams (the all night joint 69th and Collins), Beach Bowl 79th Street, Having a bottle of booze delivered from Happy's Stork Lounge on 79th St because they never carded when delivering, Neils Deli Alton & and 17th, Alfie's News (Bookie Shop), Paul Bruin, The Castaways / The Wreck Bar...
Boundless fruit trees everywhere, mangos, papayas, key limes, coconuts, ponderosa lemons, grapefruits, oranges, etc...
And the most amazing part, I ended up married to the beautiful girl that lived across the street from me on Sheridan Avenue…..
Life is Sweet.....