Skip to content
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Latest:
  • SOLD! | 207 Melrose Ave | Audubon Point
  • From Google Reviews
  • Sold! | 216 W Seacrest Beach Blvd | Seacrest Beach, FL
  • Sold! | Adagio Condo G101 | Blue Mountain Beach, FL
  • Lot 8 Dogwood St | Seagrove Beach, FL | Sold!

Explore30A with Murray Balkcom

Murray Balkcom | 30A Real Estate

Explore30A with Murray Balkcom

  • Search MLS
  • Sell Your Home
  • Events
  • Active
  • Neighborhoods
    • Alys Beach
    • Blue Mountain Beach
      • Adagio
    • Freeport
      • Hammock Bay
      • Windswept Estates
    • Inlet Beach
    • Point Washington
      • Audubon Point
      • Peach Creek
    • Sandestin
    • Seacrest Beach
    • Seagrove
    • Seaside
    • WaterColor
      • WaterColor
    • WaterSound Origins
  • Food/Health
  • Style
  • Featured
  • LOCAL INTERESTS

Featured

Buy More House - Here's How
LOCAL INTERESTS 

Buy More House Using Rising Interest Rates to Your Advantage

April 12, 2017June 18, 2018 Murray Balkcom Featured, interest rates, news

Buy More House Using Rising Interest Rates to Your Advantage Buy More House by Murray Balkcom Let me first clearly

Read more
134 Blue Lake Road
Blue Mountain Beach Real Estate 

SOLD! 134 Blue Lake Road | Blue Mountain Beach, FL

March 28, 2017August 8, 2017 Murray Balkcom blue mountain beach, Featured, homes, real estate

Sold at $1,125,000: 134 Blue Lake Road Single Family Detached Home 3 Beds, 3 Baths, 2,450 Sq Ft 134 Blue

Read more
Pensacola, Florida—this is an era when the town is cobblestones, iron balconies, and men in straw skimmer hats. A trolley rolls down Palafox. Ships in the bay have smokestacks. It’s hot outside. Young Albert is a trumpet player. He has talent. His father, the attorney, calls him lazy. He says music is a dead-end profession. He says Albert won’t amount to anything in this world if he plays music. So, the boy works loading crates in the harbor. On weekends, he plays with the Salvation Army Band to keep his lips in shape. They’re a good band, they play hymns in front of the bank on Government and Palafox to raise money for the poor. The other side of Government Street: A couple shuffles the sidewalk. Man and woman, middle-age, dressed in ratty clothes. They have accordions strapped to their chests, and tin cups with rattling with coins. They wear darkened glasses. They are blind. They don’t often play on Government Street. Today, they’re hoping to earn enough to buy supper. The woman sings tunes she’s learned from the radio. She has a good ear. She can hear a melody once and play it. Albert and the band take a break to rest their mouths and replace fluids. The fellas remove jackets and fan themselves. This is Northwest Florida. The sun can melt a man like candle wax. “Ssshhh,” says Albert. “You hear that?” Everyone listens. “I hear it,” says Trombone. “Sounds like an accordion,” adds Bass Drum. The band is a curious lot. They go investigate. Albert stops walking. He listens to the music, then presses the mouthpiece against his lips to play along. French Horn finds a part to play, too. Snare Drum, Fluglehorn, and Tuba do the same. Soon, the boys have joined the blind woman’s song. Together, they play a secular melody—which has been strictly prohibited by the Official Salvation Army Rulebook, section 207-A, paragraph 3. It’s beautiful music. A big crowd gathers. Men in linen suits reach into pockets, tossing money. Women empty coin-purses. The blind couple smiles so hard, they almost crack teeth. So does Albert. They play until sunset. And I imagine Panhandle sunsets in the ’20’s were just as magnificent as today’s. When they finish, Albert gathers cash from the pavement. He collects piles of fifty-cent pieces, dollar bills, pennies. Six hats full. The blind woman thanks him. She cries. Albert cries. The band cries. Everyone cries. It’s more money than the couple has ever earned before. It was only one afternoon, a few hours in history. But it was more than that. Those who saw what happened would talk about it. Their kids would retell the story. And their grandkids—which is how I heard it. It’s a story that’s even outlasted Albert himself. A kid whose father said he wouldn’t be worth a damn in this world if he kept playing his god-forsaken trumpet. Well. Fathers don’t know everything.
Entertainment 

Featured Local Writer – Sean Dietrich – Sean of the South

March 27, 2017April 11, 2017 Murray Balkcom Entertainment, Featured, Sean Dietrich

Sean Dietrich – “Sean of the South” “Sean Dietrich is a columnist, and novelist, known for his commentary on life

Read more

Best Repellant for Black Flies in South Walton

Search Beach Neighborhoods

  • Inlet Beach
  • Rosemary Beach
  • Seacrest Beach
  • Alys Beach
  • WaterSound Origins
  • WaterSound Beach
  • Prominence
  • WaterSound West Beach
  • Seagrove
  • Seaside
  • WaterColor
  • NatureWalk at Seagrove
  • Grayton Beach
  • Blue Mountain Beach
  • The Retreat
  • Forest Lakes
  • Santa Rosa Beach
  • Gulf Place
  • Dune Allen
  • Cypress Dunes
  • Point Washington
  • The Estuary
  • North Santa Rosa Beach
  • Botany Bayou
  • Freeport
  • Sandestin
  • Miramar Beach
  • Destin
  • The Preserve At Grayton Beach

Great Reads! Buy Now!

Register for Updates

REAL ESTATE

207 Melrose Ave
Featured Neighborhoods Point Washington Real Estate 

SOLD! | 207 Melrose Ave | Audubon Point

November 4, 2020February 10, 2021 Murray Balkcom

207 Melrose Ave – Audubon Point is a 33 acre development with only 66 home sites, creating a low-density neighborhood in Pt Washington

From Google Reviews
Featured LOCAL INTERESTS Neighborhoods Real Estate Seagrove 

From Google Reviews

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 Murray Balkcom
216 W Seacrest Beach Blvd
Featured Neighborhoods Real Estate Seacrest Beach 

Sold! | 216 W Seacrest Beach Blvd | Seacrest Beach, FL

September 9, 2020November 4, 2020 Murray Balkcom
Adagio Condo G101
Blue Mountain Beach Featured Neighborhoods Real Estate 

Sold! | Adagio Condo G101 | Blue Mountain Beach, FL

August 28, 2020November 4, 2020 Murray Balkcom
Lot 8 Dogwood St | Seagrove Beach, FL | Sold!
Neighborhoods Real Estate Seagrove 

Lot 8 Dogwood St | Seagrove Beach, FL | Sold!

August 14, 2020September 9, 2020 Murray Balkcom

About Us

Explore30A.com
Selling Real Estate in the 30A and greater 30A area since 2003, Murray Balkcom has earned a reputation for maximizing buyers and sellers real estate goals and dreams. Here to serve! Contact Murray Balkcom today to learn how he can help you maximize your own real estate goals and dreams.

Useful Links

  • Greater30A.com
  • Explore30AHomes.com
  • ExploreDestin.com
  • Blog

Calculate Mortgage Payments

Mortgage Calculator

Explore30A.com

Explore30A logo
Explore30A.com
Murray Balkcom
Broker Associate
MurrayBalkcom@gmail.com
30A Local Properties
35 Clayton Ln, Suite B
Grayton Beach, FL 32459
Copyright © 2021 Explore30A with Murray Balkcom. All rights reserved.
Theme: ColorMag by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.