Brazilian pepper was the pervasive invasive in the 1980s when I moved to this area. Now there are iguanas. Fewer “square groupers” wash ashore on summer nights; instead more sea turtles make the annual trek up the beach. Then sometime during the past 20 years, the water began to rise, houses grew larger and small businesses disappeared. And, of course, I’ve grown older.
Changes over many years.
I’m lucky, I guess, to still recall the 1980s and nights out with friends, dancing at nightclubs in Delray Beach and Boca Raton followed by dipping into private swimming pools and hot tubs — especially during the long, slow summers.
I’ll admit at times the beer and booze flowed, the scent of marijuana lingered in the humid air, and once in a while people staggered from the bathroom wiping white powder from their noses. But never once did I see a gun.
I won’t deny we sometimes behaved irresponsibly. We were young and reckless.
How a similar late-night gathering resulted in the Sept. 12 shooting death of The Coastal Star’s computer support contractor — and friend — makes no sense. Police are calling the shooting at the Berkshire by the Sea timeshare along the beach in Delray Beach a murder. The youngest person involved was 45. The victim was 58.
Unless the case goes to trial, it’s unlikely most of us will learn anything about that night that make sense. All we know is Al Camentz — a good guy who kept our office computers running and advised us on the best live New Orleans music to hear — is gone. Shot to death.
I know there were plenty of guns in South Florida in the 1980s. I read The Miami Herald and watched Miami Vice. But here along the beach in Palm Beach County, we felt safe from gun violence.
Now it feels as if the tectonic plates of a South Florida summer have shifted.
Not all recent deaths have been violent, of course. Consider the loss to skin cancer of songwriter, musician and businessman extraordinaire Jimmy Buffett. Seventy-six years old seems far too young for someone to die whose music continues to reverberate from nearly every open ragtop cruising A1A on any given weekend.
Also gone too soon is our mechanic, candy salesman and friend Vin Dinanath, who owned the Gulfstream Texaco on A1A. Since 1995, Vin was a friend to our unique little neighborhood. He will be deeply missed by many, especially his fellow cops (Vin was a retired officer) and fishing buddies. Vin would have been 68 in November.
Neighbors who lived long lives and witnessed almost unfathomable changes throughout their many years also died last month. I will miss sharing gossip and goodwill with these seniors.
As the autumnal equinox passed on Sept. 23, the Earth’s axis and its orbit lined up so that both hemispheres got an equal amount of sunlight.
Balance for a short while. Subtle changes of the season.
I’ll take it.
— Mary Kate Leming, Editor
Comments