The Pier

Anna Maria Island, A Real Lost Paradise  

Anna Maria Pier This is the pier on Anna Maria Island in Florida. I lived there in the middle to late sixties. It was paradise.My house, a three bedroom two bath home, cost me  $85.00 a month. The pier was just up the street and around the corner. The Anchorage Bar was across the street from the pier. I played in a rock and roll band there on weekends. It was a fun place to dance and meet the Yankee girls when they came south for the winter. I was dating a local girl named Sue and we went out on the pier one night, embraced and kissed. I remember that kiss and Sue to this day. 

Later in life I married my wife and we both decided that when we die our children can dump our ashes in Tampa Bay on an outgoing tide to take us to the Gulf. I say this because a friend of mine died and his wife put his ashes in an incoming tide. When she realized it she said: "Julius, you son of a bitch, you never could do anything right.." We all laughed and went to the Sand Bar and drank a beer in his honor. 

I spent many a happy hour out on the pier. It was real nice early in morning to just sit and reflect on life. The island is so expensive now that only the super rich live there. What a shame.