Читать книгу The River to Glory Land - Janie DeVos - Страница 9

Acknowledgments

As I began the research for my book, life intervened with a wonderful twist of fate. I discovered that Jo Ann Bass, granddaughter of the founders of the iconic Miami restaurant Joe’s Stone Crabs, lives just twenty minutes from me during the summer months, which is the off-season of the restaurant (one can only buy stone crabs in a month with an R in it.). Jo graciously invited me to lunch at her gorgeous home, which is actually a 100-year-old converted barn. We sat in her kitchen eating chicken salad, and she regaled me with stories of her grandparents in the 1920s. One story involved her grandmother chasing Al Capone’s girlfriend out of the restaurant. Her grandmother liked Al’s wife. Sitting with Jo has been one of the highlights of my years of research. I’d like to thank this most beautiful and elegant lady for the memories; those that she shared with me, as well the ones that she and I created together. I will cherish that afternoon always.

And many thanks to Jack Riley, FAA Certified Aviation Instructor and friend, who didn’t just explain the basics of flying to me, but took me up in his plane so that I could experience them. As we soared over the Blue Ridge Mountains and through the gorges, I thought a lot about the courageous pioneers in the field of flight. Even with all of the instruments available to pilots today, the simple act of flying remains an amazing feat to me. Having said that, flying 100 years ago, without much more than a compass as equipment, took more than courage. It took an immense desire to grab that brass ring; one that was sky-high and out of reach for the vast majority of humankind.

I’m also extremely grateful to my friend and fellow Rotarian Dr. Arch Woodard for helping me understand the uses and side effects of chloroform in the early days. Though this was long before his time, he was kind enough to provide me with valuable information about early twentieth-century medicine, and kinder still in using layman’s terms in discussing it with me.

Finally, I am greatly indebted to the older generation of Miamians who generously offered up their rich memories and recollections of a golden age in Miami…a time that has long since vanished but that set the foundation for the beautiful city that glitters and glows in her own right today. To simply say ‘thank you’ to each of you seems like far too little. My gratitude is so great. For now, a heartfelt ‘thank you’ will just have to do.