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Summertime in Sarasota was made even more delightful for us teen-agers with the opening of our gorgeous Lido Beach Municipal Casino. One of its new modern gadgets was a coin operated binocular on the second floor balcony overlooking the snow-white sand being kissed by the Gulf of Mexico.

One July 1940 Sunday afternoon's peace and tranquility was suddenly interrupted by a lady's high pitched screaming voice summoning the nearby lifeguards.

"Hurry", she exclaimed. "There are three people out there about a mile.  I can see three heads but they aren't moving."  Two of the lifeguards ran to the water and swam out as fast as they could.

According to the front page article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune the event transpired over a two-hour time frame. On Monday, the three "rescued" teen-aged boys were charged with disturbing the peace and endangering the lives of public servants.

According to my brother Ray, he and two buddies were out there, just floating and drifting with the tide. Fortunately, they weren't tired out, because the lifeguards had spent their energy and needed help getting back to shore. Life was/is good.