HEMINGWAY

 

This day in history 1933…..Ernest Hemigway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man And The Sea.

Hemingway lived in Key West from 1931-1940. Early on, he purchased a large home on Whitehead Street. He, his wife, and the six toed cat moved in.

I have done several tours of the Hemingway House, as his home is now called. The thing that impressed me the most was the place within the property where Hemingway did his writing.

Behind the house is a garage. Two storied. Hemingway had the first floor doors sealed off.

The garage was free standing. Ten feet or so away from the main house.

Hemingway required solitude and silence when writing. He made the upstairs of the garage his place to work.

Access to the room is what is interesting. The only way to get to the second floor of the garage was to go to a second floor room of the house facing it. There was a window on the second tier of the garage. It was directly opposite the bedroom window. Hemingway had a large board that he slid from the bedroom window to the garage window. He then walked across on the plank. Following which he pulled in the plank.  No one could bother him.

Guy de Boer. A Key West notable.

Guy got me into the tv/internet business. I did my first internet show several years ago for his company, KONK Broadcasting. While doing it, Guy decided to branch out. He started a local weekly newspaper. Circulation now from Key West through Key Largo. He asked if I was interested in writing a column for the paper. I was.

The newspaper was and is known as KONK Life. It is one of the most read of such newspapers in the Keys. Everyone appears to be reading KONK Life. I know. One to three persons a day will comment directly to me how much they enjoyed my column, agreed or disagreed with what I wrote, etc.

Guy recently distinguished himself in another area. Sailing. Recently, he has been sailing in some tournament or another every weekend. I did not know how good he was.

Guy is the Captain. His vessel the multi hulled Key West Magnum. Last week, Guy took first place in the finals of the Schooner Wharf Wreckers Race. A feat! Guy’s boat beat 44 other vessels in 8 different classes.

Good going, Guy!

My yesterday was dedicated to doing nothing. Hung around the house. Watched TV. Sunned myself by the pool. Napped.

A good day!

This morning I received sad news from Novara, Italy. Via e mail.

My friend Nini owns a golf course outside Novara. Though I never got to play, I had visited the course several times and enjoyed a drink in the club house.

The golf course is small. Though 18 holes. Nini was on the tractor cutting the grass. The tractor tipped over pinning Nini beneath it. Nini broke his back. That is all the information I have at the present time. He is in special care at a local hospital.

Two heart doctor visits today. I may buy stock in the doctor’s office.

Tomorrow night is my blog talk radio show. Join me on the internet at 9. An interesting half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

A FIRST COMMUNION LUNCHEON

 

A terrific lunch yesterday!

Anna has been my housekeeper for 8 years. A Polish immigrant, now a proud citizen. Her daughter Julia was making her First Communion. Anna invited me to the celebration following Church.

The luncheon was at Sole’s. Anna’s husband is a chef there.

What a meal!

Perogies, lobster tails, lamb chops, egg plant in oil, and on and on. Fantastic! I made a pig of myself on the lamb chops.

Little Julia was lovely. Anna was lovely. First time I have seen Anna dress dressed.

Anna’s mother and sister flew in from Poland for the event. The mother I knew from the times she has visited in the past. The sister was new to me. Very attractive. Unfortunately, English not spoken by either.

Then to Lisa’s. As soon as I walked in the front door, I knew something was wrong. Robert and Ally were seated on small chairs at the coffee table. Busily doing home work. Never raised their heads to acknowledge me.

They had been bad. They were being punished.

Lisa said they were behind in their homework and had not helped to clean up the house mess they had made. Whatever Lisa said must have been forceful. I have never seen Robert and Ally so cowed.

There was a benefit to me. Jake had no one to play with. He was stuck with me. Yesterday, we were friends. I hope he remembers the next time I visit.

I watched the Kentucky Derby at Don’s Place. A great race. Orb looked terrific in coming from behind in the mud to win.

Joanie was sitting next to me at the bar. We had all bought into a pool. There was a $10 one and a $5 one. Joanie bought one of each. You pulled your horse blind out of a glass. Joanie got Orb each time. She was moaning and groaning……How can I win?

She won $300! God bless!

I was down for some reason last night. Intended to go directly home from Don’s Place. At the last minute, I changed my mind and headed over to the Chart Room.The race crowd was still there.

Spent some time chatting with Sheila.

Then Mike and Tina came in. Two of the grandest people! Worldly. They are frequent travelers. All over the globe!

I had not seen them in well over a year.

Good people! I am especially enamoured with Tina.

Mike and Tina own a home in Key West. On the street across from the cemetery. Should be dead at night. Not recently, Mike told me. Too many tourists partying till late in the morning.

Tina and I talked quite a while. About everything.

By the time I left the Chart Room, I felt good. Actually, terrific! My spirits were up. I give Tina the credit.

Mike and Tina were with some neighbors from the cemetery street. Don and Sue. Wisconsin people. Snowbirds. Don was or still is in the food business. Sue in marketing research. I spoke with Don a while. Sue got lost in the crowd.

JJ was bartending. JJ was a celebrity yesterday. His picture and a brief bio were in the Key West Citizen. JJ was Person of the Day.

The Audubon House was pictured in the Key West Citizen also yesterday. Obviously named after John James Audubon. I have always wondered why the Audubon house is named after Audubon.

Audubon lived the home roughly one month back in 1832. That’s all! He painted birds and plants from the house’s backyard. He also painted them from other areas in Key West and the Tortugas. Some ended up in his famous compilation The Birds of America.

Someone must have decided to name the house after Audubon to make it a tourist attraction. It is. However, a local’s also. The grounds are lovely. Many the party I have attended on those grounds. The interior is a bit spartan. Many antiques. Not enough. Worthy of a visit.

May 5 is Cinco de Mayo. I never heard the term till this past week. There are reminders all over Key West that Cinco de Mayo is to be celebrated today.

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for fifth of May) is a holiday held on May 5 that commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 12, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin.

So what!

I am confused. Not only have I never heard of the holiday in the 25 years I have been frequenting Key West, there is not a sizable Mexican community living here. There are many of Spanish origin and descent. Few of Mexican.

If the city fathers came up with Cinco de Mayo as another Key West holiday to be celebrated, they are crazy! We have so many holidays now that they are overlap each other.

The last item I want to talk about this morning is peanut butter.

I love peanut butter! Not on bread, not with jelly. Directly out of the jar on a tablespoon 2-3 times a day. I am a creature of habit. I have enjoyed Peter Pan creamy peanut butter for years. Yesterday, I discovered a new and better peanut butter! Sorry, Peter Pan.

Jif creamy! Smoother in texture and better taste. The only reason I bought it was Publix was having a sale.

The best parts of my day yesterday were chatting with Tina and discovering Jif peanut butter!

Enjoy your Sunday!