Mom is Just a Nickname

That’s pronounced BOH-cuh RUH-tone, by the way, for all of you Northerners who like to give it harsh, short vowel sounds.

Boca Raton is known these days for being home and playground for the rich and the famous, with beautiful golf courses and huge homes.

I know it differently, though. I remember it as the gathering point for our large family. Both of my parents spent years there as children, and I spent many hours there as a child. My memories of Boca include the neighborhood my dad grew up in, the beaches, and the school my grandmother taught in for years and years. I remember the mural of a Spanish Mission that my grandparents had painted on the wall of their dining room (such a sad day when we heard that the new owner had painted over that mural ) and the fairy tale mural my grandmother had on the walls of her classroom at school (perhaps why I love the story of Sleeping Beauty so much?).

I remember spending the night at my grandparents’ house with half a dozen cousins, being woken up with the sunrise in the morning, and told to get swimsuits on. We’d pick oranges off of the orange tree beside the house and squeeze the juice into a thermos. We’d all pile into the car, and drive to the coffee shop. We’d get donuts to go, and then on to the beach. Within minutes of leaving the house, we’d be there! Watching the sun come up over the ocean, the waves crashing the shore, as we ate our breakfast of fresh-squeezed orange juice and donuts, liberally sprinkled with sand. We’d splash into the waves and stand in the sparkling clear water, watching the tiny yellow school of fish curiously nibbling at our knees.

At Red Reef Park, I’ve explored the reef, with all its various forms of life. I’ve seen man-o’-war and jellyfish dotting the seaweed that came in withe tide. I’ve watched a nest of sea turtles hatch and make its way to the ocean. I’ve spent hours walking the coastline with my grandparents searching for beautiful seashells.

Boca, to me, has nothing to do with the rich and famous. Boca, to me, is a town filled with many happy childhood memories.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 7:16 am and is filed under memories, the alphabet game. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.