The Night of Fear

June 1972

Our ship stayed for a few nights in Miami, FL which meant I couldn't go to visit my friends and church. So I decided to take my bible and my thumb with me and check out Miami. I was really good with directions and had no idea where anything was so I thought I would just go aimlessly and explore...oh my, what a mistake I made. I should have stayed at the ship, but I was hoping to discover something special in Miami.

After catching a ride downtown I somehow ended up walking through the poorest and the most dangerous place in Miami (a few short years before riots ruled the streets). Tension was in the air, a lot of people were out in the streets at night and I was walking through the streets like a fish out of water. Up until then, I had been in many different and sometimes scary situations that somehow didn't faze me much, but walking by myself through the streets with people staring at me like I didn't belong scared me. I picked up my pace and walked as fast as I could trying to find my way out of the neighborhood I got into. As I was speed walking down the street hoping the end was close somebody said, "That bible isn't going to save him here."

Several blocks later I was out safely on a highway ready to go home. Whether it was the bible or not, I made it out without any problems and got back on the highway where I hitched a ride back to the ship.

A very expensive foreign sports car with 2 seats stopped in front of me so I ran up to it, opened the door and as I was sitting down I saw the driver. She was an amazingly beautiful girl with a very short skirt who lived in the Bahamas and asked me what there was to do in Miami and if I would like to show her the town.

What was I going to show her, the streets I had just been on?

I told her I didn't know of anything and when we came to the dock, I got out of the car, thanked her for the ride and went to bed.