The Heat of the Summer Where Are the Children? For the most part, Memorial Day weekend 2017 was pretty tame. I have five years of experience to judge by. I know that a lot of our Taxi Tales are inspired by three day weekends, so I was looking forward to new tales to report. Friday night nothing. Saturday night again nothing to report. I’m not complaining because I had not been feeling great. I was on Day 3 of feverish coughing, fatigue, and pretty much just feeling like crap. Sunday night was busier than the first two nights, but again, everyone was behaving. Then around midnight Dispatch got a call from our Tybee River Rats. In case you do not know what I am referring to, these are the guys and gals who live to go boating any time the tide is right (the tide is always right if they can get their boats out of the creeks). Our understanding of the situation was that that two of said River Rats were on their way back from Little Tybee after a camping trip. It was as dark as dark could be that weekend. No moon. Anyhow, as we understood, they hit something and the boat had capsized and they were in need of rescue. We tool the rescue crew, a group of three, up to a north end house where their boat was located, so they could go search and rescue. Around 1:30am we got a call from the search and rescue crew to pick them up at a dock on Lewis Ave. I made the pick-up. Two of the three were waiting outside to return to the south end. They jumped in the car and told me to get out of dodge before Number 3 got outside. Number 3 was the guy who reported the distress call in the first place. He had been going at it hard since Breezy picked him up from a shrimp dock on the south side Friday night. We did not make our get-away before Number 3 came running over to the cab. RATS! Number 3 was ranting and raving as to how could we just abort the rescue before the rescue had been completed. He was mad. I decided to just drive away from Number 3. One of the two passengers were on the phone with the Coast Guard as the other passenger gave me an update on their failed rescue mission. Because of the complete darkness, it was impossible for them to find the missing boaters. Let the professionals handle it. I dropped the two off at their favorite bar on Tybrisa. When I got to the end of Tybrisa, there was some police activity going on in front of a bar that faces the beach. I went through the parking lot to stay out of their way and ran into another Breezy. I stopped and asked him what was going on. He informed me he was there to pick up a couple going to Wilmington Island but as you could see, said couple was dealing with the police. Turned out that the bartender from the beach front bar decided to bring back the cold water challenge and dumped a pitcher of water on the head of his ex-slash-coworker; aka one of the two that we were there to pick up. A few minutes passed and one of the officers asked me to take Water Boy home (to Wilmington) or he was going to jail. I responded that we were there to pick the couple up and I obviously couldn’t put the three of them in the car together. I asked the couple if I could take Water Boy, which would delay them from leaving, because that would be two of the three Breezy cars off island. Can’t do that ever. They were very understanding and said yes take him first. I walked over to Water Boy and the officer that he was with and BOOK REVIEW By Mary Higgins Clark 16 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2017 By Ron Goralczyk By Nell Klein I don’t know if you will think less of me for reviewing a book written 42 years ago (and one that I have already read to boot), but I have a good reason, so please bear with me. Many years ago, while rummaging through the Goodwill bookshelves, I spotted a Mary Higgins Clark book titled Where Are the Children? I remembered that she was one of my mother’s favorite authors, so I grabbed it up. I loved the book so much that over the years I have read many (if not all) of Mary Higgins Clark’s books. Fast forward to 2017. One morning on the Today Show, Ms. Clark was being interviewed about her latest book. She is now 89 years old and has written 53 novels, and she’s still going strong! What I didn’t know was that Where Are the Children? was her first published book in 1975, and it started her long career in writing. I couldn’t remember much about the book, but decided to reread it and if it was as good as I remembered, I would pass it on. Well, it was, so here goes. Seven years ago, on Nancy Harmon’s birthday, her two children disappear and are later found drowned in the river. She is accused of their murder, but it is not proven due to a missing key witness. On top of that, her husband commits suicide over his grief. Now 7 years later, Nancy has moved to Cape Cod, changed her identity, remarried a wonderful man and has 2 adorable children. Everything is finally being put behind her, when, on the morning of her birthday (yet again), Nancy looks out her window to check on her children playing outside and they are gone. All she sees is one red mitten, and she knows that the nightmare is beginning again. Why is someone doing this to her, or has she lost her mind? I give this book 5 roses because I really enjoyed reading it a second time. It’s just a timeless, good ol’ murder mystery. So, it doesn’t matter if a book is just published or if it’s 42 years old, as long as you enjoy yourself. That’s what reading is all about, right? Until next time, read a book, if it’s a good read, pass it on!
20298TB
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