I can almost hear Chuck and Trundy Stairs's voice

 

(Chuck holding up a rattle snake our dad shot at our home on Castleberry Road in Odessa, FL)

 

telling the tale of the old Stairs Family Homestead, during this maiden voyage of the Big Cat Rescue drone.  On 6/14/66 Harold and Sara Stairs bought 10 acres in Odessa, FL.  I remember my father saying he had grown up in a house with no windows in the middle of a pasture that was once Lynn Anderson Dairy.  He went to school in the little shack in Citrus Park that is now a historical monument.

 

On the new 10 acres, an old army barracks was converted to a modest little home that became the gathering place for the Stairs clan on holidays.  The Stairs tried a number of business ventures there, including bee keeping, a rabbitry, a dairy and a nursery that specialised in Bonsai trees.

 

I have so many fond memories of this tract of land that seemed to be perched on the edge of the world.  It was so far out in the middle of no where and the road ended about a quarter mile away.  Then it was a little dirt path that ended at the house.

 

On 10/12/73 Harold Stairs died of an aneurysm.  He had been born in 1912.

 

In 1975 we built our own house.  We were the original DIY family.  We set the timbers deep in the ground and built the house up on the stilts.  I remember my father and I falling off the roof, two stories up, as we were trying to hammer in the shingles at the lower corner.  Falling into the sand, only our pride was hurt.

 

Chuck learned to drive a motorcycle in our yard, and I whined about having to water the trees all the time, but look at them now!  We had an above ground pool and so many pool parties and sleep overs.

 

Coming home with one of my first "dates" for a family dinner, I remember my mother, Mary Stairs, bolting past us at the door, with a shotgun under her arm.  She said she was going to "get that armadillo!" and my date nearly ran the 15 miles back to town; thinking that was going to be our dinner.  (My mother never killed an animal in her life, to my knowledge)

 

In the 70's my dog, Mitzka and I would hike through what was then orange groves and cypress stands to Lake Alice where I would swim and cave dive as deep as I could hold my breath.  I remember there was such a celebration in 1981 when the mortgage was paid off and burned.

 

In 1983 Vernon and Mary Stairs built a house on the next plot to the east and gave it to me to get me and Jamie out of the ghetto.  We lived there till 1984 or so and then I moved to a series of homes that I was buying and selling on Smitter Road, Lemon Street and Sheldon Road before ending up here at the "island."

 

On 4/18/2000 Sara Stairs died.  She had been senile for a long time and kept us on our toes, as she would run off in the middle of the night.  It seemed there would be no more family gatherings of the Stairs clan and the original, tiny little house has set barren to this day.

 

Chuck moved into my home in about 1988 and still lives there today.  I'm sure he could tell so many more stories about the land and its occupants.  In the mid 2000s Vernon and Mary Stairs moved to Big Cat Rescue and revived family dinners.  We meet and eat frequently to enjoy the wonderful family love we share.  I love them all so much!

 

My father had to be rushed to the hospital again today. He was supposed to leave for vacation today and it would have been their first vacation in many, many years. I told my mother, "He's allergic to relaxing." He's dehydrated and feeling awful. It's been very hard for him to deal with his ailing heart and failing health. Life is so brief, and beautiful. I plan to make the most of every minute.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have an