His life bespeaks of a man who as a boy spent many a night sleeping out of doors under the diamond skies of the Ten Thousand Islands. Panther were plentiful, mullet was multitudinous, fishing was fathomless and undeveloped land was limitless. His life bespeaks of an area that was teeming with wildlife the likes of which we could never know there today. In his life “Totch” was a fisherman, hunter, boat builder, husband, decorated war hero, poacher, fishing guide, moonshiner, rum runner, father, crabber and pot smuggler. Some seventy years later he would write this fascinating autobiography about his incredibly hard scrabble, yet incredibly free and rewarding life in what was the last remaining frontier in the eastern United States. “Totch” was born in 1920 a fifth generation native of Chokoloskee Island. This incredibly beautiful and desolate area of sea, sky, mangroves and shell islands that comprise the southern terminus of the American mainland gave birth to and sustained the life of one Loren G “Totch” Brown. Then Whitewater Bay, Cape Sable and the outpost known as Flamingo. To the west of that is Chokoloskee Bay (now, how is that properly pronounced?) and a portion of South Florida paradise known as the Ten Thousand Islands.Īs you continue tracing along the coastline you will also run across the Lopez, Chatham, Lostmans and Shark Rivers. Now, get out your Rand McNally’s or Florida atlas and trace your finger down the west coast of Florida - keep going, keep going – okay, south of Naples, then past Marco Island is the hamlet of Everglades City. In order to educate y’all on Crackerspeak dialect, let’s take a look at the “proper” pronunciation of the following Sunshine State locales:įailure to pronounce these colorful locales properly could result in your being the recipient of some less than complimentary looks from the natives (although 'Old Style Cracker' is about as dead as Latin). It, like many of the native sons and daughters of Florida, is an eclectic mix of southern dialects mixed with high heat and humidity.Ĭrackerspeak is the language that Florida Folk Hero and native son Loren “Totch” Brown wrote his fascinating autobiography in. University of Florida Presses, Gainesville, FL. This Week's Issue.The Greatest Ever.Get Well.Now The Song Makes Sense.Movie Notes.Screen To Stage.Meet The Beatles, Part 24 by Mike Smithīook Review: “Totch - A Life in the Everglades”,ġ993, 269 pp.

It's A Bash Dude!.Bush Speak by Matt Drinnenberg TIVO.The Grandfathers of Goth.TV Notes.Spider-Man 2 Review by Vinnie Blesi 28) This edition is for the week of July 5-11, 2004.īook Review: “Totch - A Life in the Everglades” by Will Moriatyīright House DVR vs. La Floridiana by William Moriaty Nolan's Pop Culture Review #224 Now in our fifth calendar year

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