When I first got into the bookstore business at the Walden Book Store in North Riverside, Illinois, back in 1976, I became quite a fan of the Travis McGee adventure/mystery novels by John D. McDonald. I was able to get the paperback copies of the series for free, and read them one after the other. Travis McGee lived on a houseboat called the Busted Flush at the Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and spent his days helping people in desperate trouble, especially damsels in distress. When I visited Fort Lauderdale many years after the series ended, I visited the Travis McGee Memorial at Bahia Mar, and took a self portrait next to it (see photo above). You can even see the ghosts of Travis McGee and author John D. McDonald in the photograph. Talk about miracles. I have often considered reading the series again, but I'm afraid that today the stories might be a bit dated. Or perhaps not. Boodles gin, anyone?
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