The Marco Island years

Charles Dickens in 'A Tale of Two Cities' wrote that it was the best of times and the worst of times - and I often think that the phrase was most apt for my years in Marco.

Certainly living in a spectacular house on the water, with a pool, a state of the art kitchen, dolphins, pelicans, cool breezes, no money problems, and a constant flow of family and friends, would be hard to beat in anyone's language.

We belonged to two golf clubs, one very exclusive one which showed us a lifestyle we had never experienced before. You would park your car near the pro shop and by the time you walked up to the building, they would have your golf clubs on the golf cart, all clubs cleaned and a fresh towel hanging on it. You'd go in the locker room, get your shoes out of the locker which had your name engraved on a brass plate. They too had been cleaned for you after your last game. We belonged to the Yacht Club which meant that during the season when the other restaurants were so crowded you would have to wait for ages for a seat, you could call the Yacht Club and book a time - no wait, no hassle, and amazing food and service.

Dick played golf almost every day, I played an average of four to five days a week, I became the head of the 'lambs' - the new golfers with the high handicaps; then later was chairman of the annual fund raising for charity and broke the record for the amount of money raised.

Nearby Naples was a gorgeous town with fantastic restaurants and shopping, and being on the Gulf Coast, as opposed to the Atlantic coast, had access to pristine white beaches.

Our boat was docked in the back of the house, with open access to the Ocean. South of us was miles and miles of isolated beaches which we could access with the boat and the shells were so thick on the beach, one could literally sit in one spot and fill a bucketful.

It became the 'worst' of times, only because my social drinking slipped into the problem drinking. This 'disease' held me captive for about two to three years and with it came of course, family problems, social problems and bad memories that definitely put a blight on a period when only the best memories should have prevailed. Thank God for recovery - but more about that later.