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Surfing Armageddon: Fishnets, Fascists, and Body Fluids in Florida
Having moved from the richest suburb in America to a plantation in Florida (which his father dreams of recreating as Tara, the mansion from Gone with the Wind ), George Tabb enters late adolescence with a black leather jacket and a penchant for punk rock — quirks that don’t sit well with his conservative Southern classmates. In Surfing Armageddon, Tabb shares his painfully funny recollections of teenage rebellion, family turmoil, and an abusive father with black humor and real humanity.
- GenresHumor
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2006
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 24, 2008
This brought back a lot of memories for me of my own years trolling the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Amusing and scary....amazing that this guy became a rock musician and not a serial killer. LOL.
March 7, 2010
I alternate between laughter and tears reading this book!
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June 25, 2007Picking up where George Tabb�s critically acclaimed memoir Playing Right Field: A Jew Grows In Greenwich left off, we find George and his family of five brothers and sisters on their way to the south�s greatest cesspool, Tallahassee, Florida.
The Tabb family is led by their father, Lester, a Brooklyn born, power hungry, bipolar lunatic. Also, by the boy�s evil stepmother, Cybill, who has more personalities than her namesake. They make their way to The Sunshine State from Greenwich Connecticut with pricesless antiques and many horses in tow.
Also with two children driving the extreme milage, each having only been behind the wheel of a motor vehicle once.
The story really gets going when George discovers why his father has decided to move his family from the richest suburb in The United States to a dumpy southern town.
Because he purchased Water Oak Plantation.
A run down reminder of why the south had lost the civil war. A place where land was so cheap that Lester�s 14 acres in Greenwich more than paid for the 146 acres he purchased in Tallahassee.
As well as the Sunshine Children�s Home For The Mentally Retarded. A facility for children with problems only the state could handle.
Of course the elder Tabb�s first plan, which he immediately put into action, was to evict what he called �The Retards�, and then to remodel the ancient Southern Mansion into the greatest dream he thought he ever had.
The rebuilding of Tara, the mansion from �Gone WIth The Wind�.
The property was perfect with its rolling green hills and mansion atop the land, with Lester able to see and control everything in sight from the balcony of his white column surrounded bedroom.
Of course, George Tabb�s life went from worse to rock bottom.
But with humor and fresh signs of puberty firmly in hand, George did what any other teenager from his bizarre background would do.
He discovered The Punk Rock.
After repeated viewings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which were followed by late night visits to New York City�s legendary punk clubs like CBGB and Max�s Kansas City, Tabb discovered the likes of The Ramones, The Dead Boys, Blondie, and of course, his future path.
The fact that his father moved him to Floriduh after his real mother and stepfather turned him on to this stuff only led young Tabb to immediately purchase a black motorcycle jacket, and become the outsider�s outsider.
The Tabb family is led by their father, Lester, a Brooklyn born, power hungry, bipolar lunatic. Also, by the boy�s evil stepmother, Cybill, who has more personalities than her namesake. They make their way to The Sunshine State from Greenwich Connecticut with pricesless antiques and many horses in tow.
Also with two children driving the extreme milage, each having only been behind the wheel of a motor vehicle once.
The story really gets going when George discovers why his father has decided to move his family from the richest suburb in The United States to a dumpy southern town.
Because he purchased Water Oak Plantation.
A run down reminder of why the south had lost the civil war. A place where land was so cheap that Lester�s 14 acres in Greenwich more than paid for the 146 acres he purchased in Tallahassee.
As well as the Sunshine Children�s Home For The Mentally Retarded. A facility for children with problems only the state could handle.
Of course the elder Tabb�s first plan, which he immediately put into action, was to evict what he called �The Retards�, and then to remodel the ancient Southern Mansion into the greatest dream he thought he ever had.
The rebuilding of Tara, the mansion from �Gone WIth The Wind�.
The property was perfect with its rolling green hills and mansion atop the land, with Lester able to see and control everything in sight from the balcony of his white column surrounded bedroom.
Of course, George Tabb�s life went from worse to rock bottom.
But with humor and fresh signs of puberty firmly in hand, George did what any other teenager from his bizarre background would do.
He discovered The Punk Rock.
After repeated viewings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which were followed by late night visits to New York City�s legendary punk clubs like CBGB and Max�s Kansas City, Tabb discovered the likes of The Ramones, The Dead Boys, Blondie, and of course, his future path.
The fact that his father moved him to Floriduh after his real mother and stepfather turned him on to this stuff only led young Tabb to immediately purchase a black motorcycle jacket, and become the outsider�s outsider.
September 22, 2012
couple of words MOTHA FUKIN AWESOME , Tabb is one of my favorit Maximum Rock NRoll Columnist , get this book you wont be dissapointed ! a healthy love for DeadBoys the band ..........I Want Lunch !!!!
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June 10, 2009Trip down memory lane to the days of The Ramones and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews