What started in October 2004 has finally come to a general conclusion this past Monday.
On Monday evening of April 4th, 2005 I completed a weekend long proofreading of the basically completed book "William Moriaty's Florida".
My plan is for the book to be an 8.5" x 11" perfect bound edition, probably printed by Lulu, Inc. It will contain eight chapters and be 253 pages in length. Costs may force me to print the interior of the book in black and white, but if there is ever a CD version, that will be in color as well, for I truly did capture some incredible sights in color in my journeys around the Sunshine State.
Just about all of the PCR contributors get a mention here and there in the book!
I can not give enough thanks to graphic artist and author Lisa Clardy of F-Bod Studios in Orlando for her invaluable assistance in collating the manuscript into book-ready form. Her graphics and composition are absolutely outstanding and I am honored and blessed to have had her help in this daunting task.
As an overview, here are the Chapters as listed in the book's actual Table of Contents:
William Moriaty's Florida:
A Collection of Sunshine State Folklore, Facts and Fancy from "La Floridiana" as seen in "Nolan's Pop Culture Review"
by William Moriaty
I. Foreword by Nolan B. Canova
II. Introduction
Chapter 1: Tampa Television in the 70's and 80's
Pages 1-5:The News
Pages 5-8: Local TV Fright Shows
Pages 8-10: Tacky TV Ads
Pages 10-14: Dr. Paul Bearer -- Gone But Not Forgotten
Chapter 2: The Paranormal in Florida
Pages 15-28: UFOs
Pages 28-43: Ghosts and Hauntings
Pages 43-50: A Case of Microwave Mayhem or Misinformation in Northwest Florida?
Pages 50-51: The Florida Skunk Ape
Pages 52-53: The Strange Case of Mary Reeser
Pages 53-56: There's A Monster on the Beach (or: "Here Comes Ol' Three Toes!")
Chapter 3: Road Trip Adventures in the Sunshine State
Pages 57-60: My Miami Trip -- Post 9/11
Pages 60-64: Will's No Miss Things to do in the Sunshine State
Pages 64-67: Will Takes a Walk in the Park
Pages 67-71: Will and Greg's Road Trip to Miami
Pages 71-75: Will's Scenic Boat Tour of Winter Park
Pages 75-79: Will's Too Short Trip to Miami -- and Life is Good
Pages 79-93: Will and Karen's Road Trip to South Florida
Pages 93-104: Will's Key West Adventure
Pages 104-108: An Independence Day Florida Road Trip
Chapter 4: Florida's Flora, Fauna and Wicked Weather
Pages 109-114: Florida's Fabulous Gardens
Pages 114-115: Snakes Alive, We Must Be in South Tampa!
Pages 115-118: The Hurricane -- Florida Weather at its Worst
Pages 119-120: Florida's Mysterious Big Cats
Pages 120-125: Florida's Gardens, Up Close and Personal
Chapter 5: Florida Places
Pages 126-128: Florida's Roadside Attractions -- the Coral Castle
Pages 128-138: Getting From Here to There -- the Story of the Bee Line Ferry and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Pages 138-148: A Tale of Two Cities: St. Petersburg and Tampa -- A Bay Separating a Gulf of Difference
Chapter 6: Florida Personalities
Pages 149-156: Interview with Cartoonist Denis Lebrun
Pages 157-159: One of the First Families of Florida -- Canova
Pages 159-163: Mob Rule -- Tampa's Organized Crime Communities of the 1920s
Pages 163-168: Webb's City, Inc. The World's Most Unusual Drug Store -- A Profile of J.E. "Doc" Webb, Florida Folk Hero and Entrepreneur Extraordinaire
Pages 168-171: Local and National Music Personalities and Bands from the Tampa Bay Area -- 1960s to 1980s
Pages 171-174: A Condensed History of the Native Indigenous Peoples of the Tampa Bay (or "La Bahia Del Espiritu") Region
Chapter 7: Prime Time and Prime Rib
Pages 175-185: Prime Time and Syndicated Television Shows about, or filmed in Florida
Pages 185-189: Hungering for Memories
Chapter 8: Florida's Friendly Skies
Pages 190-208: The History of Aviation in Florida
Pages 208-211: My Life and Times at Tampa International Airport
Pages 211-214: Notable Commercial Air Crashes In, Bound For, or Bound From Florida
Pages 214-230: Florida Commuter Airlines from the 1960's to 1980s
Pages 230-234: The Continuing Saga of Desdemona's "Cosmic Muffin"
Bibliography
Page 235
Index
Pages 236-252
Web Sites We May Have Overlooked
Page 253
Of course none of this would have been possible without "Nolan's Pop Culture Review"! So I sincerely thank Nolan Canova for his giving me the opportunity to be a part of his fine on-line publication. I also wish to thank Ms. Jody Norman with State of Florida Archives and Ms. Kim Robinson with the Copyright Office of the United States Library of Congress for their courtesy and invaluable assistance.
It is my sincere desire that you will enjoy reading this book once it is available and that it will inspire you to contemplate challenging yourself to more deeply explore and interpret the world around you - - particularly if you're lucky enough to live in Florida!
"La Floridiana" is ©2005 by William Moriaty. Webpage design and all graphics herein (except where otherwise noted) are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.
