ALAS BABYLON
When I was growing up in the '60's, novelist Pat Frank, wrote a book entitled "Alas Babylon".It dealt with the nuclear threat, and after reading it, almost everybody in my hometown became obsessed with wanting a municipal bomb shelter. Since Daddy was a local builder, he(somehow) ended up building a bomb shelter in Mount Dora.
It was cool, as a child to witness this thing, and see what was inside....
In order to reserve a place in the shelter, though, you had to put down a fee, for your reservation. I remember asking Daddy if we would go there, in the event of a bomb dropping? He never talked about spiritual "things" that much, unless it was in a Sunday School, but he said, very assuredly:" Beg, we're going to a far better place, above, where our fee has already been paid"!
I thought this was a pretty neat way to put it.......
This 'ole bomb shelter is still there, covered over by grass......
In the middle of an orange grove, behind somebody's house........
And I'm not tellin'.......
Becky
posted by Locksnest at 4:29 PM
4 Comments:
I wrote a piece on the internet pertaining to exactly this post you have written. I'd very much like to get in touch with you regarding this subject, and most especially either Dr. Hall or anyone still living with direct knowledge, i.e. from 1958-1962 particularly.
I grew up on Orlando from 1960. I had always heard the story of a privately built shelter around Tangerine / Mt Dora. In the '70s there was a writeup about it in the Orlando Sentinel ("Sentinel Star" I think it was still called.) I always wanted to see the shelter. I suppose there is not much to it these days and it won't be long (if it is in an orange grove) before it is turned into a housing development.
I read Alas Babylon too in high school. I still have the book and read it about once every 5 - 6 years.
the shelter has been found and documented
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpuScScdxvk
Happy reading :)
http://www.floridashootersnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=40353&start=80
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