I remember Mike McCaan pretty good. For those of you that were fans of the t.v. show Ed, Mike looked just like the guy, minus the brains. He suffered from tinitus, from one loud rock concert too many and squandered all his money on a 1973 Camaro. He lived in Lutz, I believe and the space and numerous stoplights and "Big City" atmosphere of Pinellas County really put the zap on his head. To ride in his car was quite simply a journey in terror. The dude was a competent staff member, but a terrible driver. He had an almost supernatural faith in the mechanical abilities of his car that it was scary. I remember coming home from fishing and riding along with him, because my brother was an even worse driver. We were on Pasadena Avenue about to hit thrill hill going Northeast Bound when Mike just fuckin punches it and next thing I know we hit the hill doing goddamn 85 miles an hour and go airborne through the entire intersection, pan out bottom on the WRONG side of the road and wind up in a church parking lot with him laughing like a nitrous oxide addicted hyena. He burned Robert and Marcine Wards dad for like $800 dollars in parts and labor on his car following that one. When crack cocaine hit the streets of Pasco County, I guess he fell for it in a big way. I saw him in Pinellas County Jail in 1985 when I did a stint for violation of probation. He was in with the Felons, and I would see him in the mess hall, but could never get his attention, because someone had busted his hearing aid. It is hard to say if he ever made anything of himself, but that Thrill Hill Stunt went down in the record books for sure!
Jeff Coakley had a pretty good job in construction and would drive all the way down alone for seven step raps down a fucked up US 19 with the sun in his eyes for the whole time, only to have some freshly squirted 5th phaser punk tell himm they had bad feelings because his eyes were red. I remember one rap where one of the Khune brothers started laying into Jeff, and I just stood up, folded the chair beside me, held it up and said something to Koonie Boy like, "One more word, and its upside your fucking head asshole." I defended Jeff told everyone to kiss my ass and then invited everyone to the movies at Pinellas Square and left disgusted. To my relief, half the kids followed me out to the parking lot, got in their cars and left with me.
