This Week on the Island 03/28/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind has been blowing all this month. Most fishing vessels are staying in the harbor because the sea is too rough. This week the wind is blowing out of the north. The temperature has dropped (75 degrees) and I have been wearing a windbreaker. Wyleigh dog loves it.

The Army was doing some training at Fleming Key and lost a man. They found him on Friday floating off Mallory Square.

We have lots of birds here but ours are sea birds or parrots, so they squawk, etc. This time of the year the mocking birds are back and mating and singing. I do miss listening to the bird songs in the spring.

Jo and I went to Miami on Saturday and picked up Sassi, a 6 year old, black and white female husky with blue eyes. We got her from the Husky Rescue Team.

Doug Bennett
Key West, you have got to love it.

PS
I still miss Nevada.

This Week on the Island 03/21/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, March 16, we had sunrise at 6:36 AM and sunset at 6:36 PM, or 12 hours of both dark and light. The Equinox, the first day of spring, is not on my calendar until March 20th. I guess the further south you go the sooner it gets here . For more info on equinox: http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/Sundials/equinox.html

Key West has taken all bicycles that were locked to trees, trash cans, etc and put them in the police lockup yard. It is against the law to lock bicycles to anything other than the provided bike racks. It is amazing the laws that this town will enforce and the ones that they do not enforce.

The Mayor of Key West has been given the authority to marry same sex people. It is against the law in Florida. The quote in the Key West Citizen from our Mayor Jimmy Weekly was 'Every movement has to start somewhere. I think this is the start of that movement.' He seems to not know what has been going on in other parts of the USA.

Many people live on boats here in Key West. Many of these boats are anchored out at Christmas Tree Island. When the 'Live Aboards' come into town they dock their dingys at the 'dingy dock' right beside Turtle Kraals. There was a dingy this week that had not been tied fast and it floated under the dock at low tide. When high tide came in the dingy floated up until it was trapped under some cross members supporting the dock. The tide kept coming in and the dingy kept trying to rise with the tide. The dingy broke in half.

Saturday was the annual conch blowing contest at Sunset Pier at #1 Duval Street. It was a beautiful day with lots of sun and I think everyone had a good time.

Doug Bennett
Key West, you have got to love it.

This Week on the Island 03/14/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kennedy's PT Boat was the only one ever to be rammed until last week when a yacht rammed the PT Boat sitting in the Key West Bight. This PT Boat is the only remaining operational WWII PT Boat in the USA and is the one that was used in the filming of 'McHale's Navy' and 'PT 109, The John Kennedy Story'.

A new restaurant in town "Ray's Pizza of Key West' list itself as Original ITALIAN Creations and the first thing on their menu is FRENCH fries. Their ITALIAN restaurant also has NEW YORK pizza.

The Spring Breaker's are here and on Thursday we had 5 cruise ships in the harbor (about 15,000 more people on lower Duval). A bunch of locals, called Livable Old Town, protested by driving their cars down Duval Street from 11:00 - 12:00 NOON. They were trying to show that the town is overcrowded. Well if it wasn't, it was by the time they got there.

There was a St. Patrick's Bar Crawl on Saturday. The local Parrot Head Club wore their Lime Green T-shirts and had a wonderful time. It was sunny and 80 degrees. Jo has some friends in from out of town and they joined us. I think we all had a great time.

Jo and I went to the METEOR for some ribs. The Meteor is next door to the Green Parrot. The Meteor got its name from the sign that was hanging on the building when the rib-joint moved in. The sign is left over from a weekly TV sitcom (Key West ) about a newspaper 'The Meteor' and life in Key West. I remember this show but most people never heard of it. It was on the air from 1992 - 1993. I think it was supported by the Key West Travel Bureau.

The spring break kids are here. Bikini's everywhere. I love this time of the year.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love

PS
Nevada is no longer with us. I will miss him.

This Week on the Island 03/07/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading for this week was 'Key West & The Florida Keys' by June Keith. I would recommend this book for anyone visiting the Key's. The book is divided into sections to discuss the different sections of the Keys. Key West, Lower Keys, Marathon, Middle Keys, Upper Keys, & Key Largo. Like most books about the Keys, many things have changed since she wrote the book and places mentioned may or may not exist today.

This week we had an Art Show on Lazy Lane behind Schooner Wharf Bar and another Art Show at Bayview Park, a Boat Show on the Outer Mole where the cruise ships dock and the library had a book sale not to mention 'Bark in the Park' for dogs at Fort Zackery on Sunday.

The weather reminds me of a Jimmy Buffett song, 'Everyday is the same here'. It has been beautiful for the last two weeks. I get up in the morning and it is in the low 70's and then it get to the high 70's with plenty of sunshine all day. There is a nice March breeze blowing in from the ocean.

HARC (the Historical Committee) has approved my permit to do repairs to my front porch.

Motorcycles everywhere. Loud motorcycles. Noisy motorcycles. A bunch of fat guys all dressed in black. Drinking lots of beer and making too much noise.

Nevada dog is now over 14 (that's over 100 in dog years). He has problems with his back legs and cannot walk around the block anymore. I put him on a mat in a little red wagon and pull him around the block twice a day. At least this way he is able to get out of the house for a little time and smell something other than the inside of the house.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love

PS
Last night a large yacht came into the Key West Bight. He stopped in the middle of the Bight and put the transmission in reverse to back into his slot. Well guess what, it wasn't in reverse and he went straight ahead hitting a bunch of boats and running into the boardwalk by Schooner Wharf Bar. (Kind of reminds me of a movie). This is going to cost him.

This week on the Island 02/29/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would recommend this week's book, 'More Postcards from Paradise' by June Keith. The chapters are about 2 -3 pages long and very entertaining. The book is about 250 pages. You will learn many things about Key West.

We had 10 Cubans arrive in Key West Wednesday morning. They landed at the Southernmost Point right next to the monument.

This week end is the 'Wrecker's Race' and is in celebration of Key West's days of wrecking. Ships would wreck on the reef and the people from Key West would rescue the passengers and cargo from the wrecked ship. Key West was the riches city in the USA in those days. The government built light houses and the wrecking days came to an end.

This week end is also the start of 'Spring Break'. Spring Break starts the first week of March and ends Easter weekend. We will have 6 weeks of spring break this year. People seem to be much more noisy than normal.

It looks like my next project will be the front porch. I applied for and received city license and permission from HARC (Historical Committee) to repair/replace rotted/termite infested wood on the front porch.

One of my girls, Wyleigh Dog, asked me out for Sadie Halkins day (Feb 29th). She wanted to go to Schooner Wharf Bar and listen to Michael McCloud.

Doug Bennett
Key West, you have got to love it.

PS
Are you a Southerner?http://www.chuckchamblee.com/dom/fun/yankee_dixie_quiz.htm

This Week on the Island 02/22/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This weeks book was 'Hemingway's Key West' by Stuart B. McIver. Interesting.

Last week on Saturday, Jo and I got sunburned, then we had a cold front get here last Sunday.

Our monthly Social for the Southernmost Parrot Head Club was held Wednesday night at Capt Run-a-Grounds. It is a floating restaurant in Garrison Bight. It was 53 degrees and we had a short meeting because of the cold. Now here it is Sunday again and it is in the 80's. Well at least the cold weather gave me a chance to finally do our taxes. We will get a few bucks back.

Received this months Reader's Digest. It has an article about '10 Simple Keys to a happy life'. I know a few more than 10 Keys, but Key West is my favorite Key.

This week was 'Ole Island Days' and it ended with a street fair on Whitehead Street. Lots of crafts and art on display. I did see something different. There was a man creating art on pieces of board (8 1/2 * 11) using a magnifying glass and the sun's rays to burn the words and pictures on the wood.

Senator Hillary Rodam Clinton was in town for a fund raiser.

'Sunday Morning' (the TV show) had a presentation about Key West Chickens.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love it.

This Week on the Island 02/15/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There a many people here this week. I guess the 3 day week end has them looking for a place in the sun. The weather has been warm and we have been running the air conditioning every day. I even got a little sunburn Thursday when I went kayaking. Saturday, I took my two best girls, Jo and Wyleigh Dog, to Schooner Wharf for Valentine's Day. Jo got a little too much sun as she listened to Michael McCloud. Our Winters are like your Spring, it is beautiful here, but Winter is almost over and the sun is getting more direct as it moves further north.

This weeks book was 'Key West Collection' by Dorothy Raymer and photos by Tom Corcoran. You may remember Tom as I used to report on his books and he used to take photo's for the covers of Buffett's albums. Anyway this is about Key West in the 1950's and is a bunch of short stories. Again, I really enjoyed this book.

We talked about the problem with chickens and Key West trying to solve the problem by having a Chicken Day. We talked about the Cubans and trying to get to America twice by converting cars into boats. We have even talked about the homeless and the problems Key West have with them, BUT did you know Key West also has a problem with CATS. The 'Truly Nolan' company (a pest extermination company) has teamed up with The Florida Wildlife Commission to try and capture some of the 'feral cat' population. All FWC vehicles will be painted a tabby color, have ears put on each fender, have long furry tails attached to their trunks, have whiskers attached to their grills, and the horn will be replaced with one that will say 'Here, Kitty, Kitty'. I think the cats are going to laugh themselves to death.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love

This Week on the Island 02/08/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Had to run the air conditioner Thursday and Friday night, Saturday while walking Wyleigh Dog it was 85 degrees and then Saturday night it dropped to 65 degrees with 30 MPH gusts of wind. Today, Sunday, it is overcast, windy and cold (58 degrees).

This week we had 'Women Flag Football'. Women from 6 countries have met in Key West to have an international flag football tournament along with a parade down Duval Street. The Kelly McGillis (Top Gun) Classic Women's Flag Football Championship.

Key West has decided to pay a local barber $20,000 to get rid of 900 chickens. He has his own web site now, http://www.keywestchickencatcher.com/ . On the farm when you get too many chickens, you have chicken for dinner (roosters) and you eat and sell eggs (no babies hatched).

Remember the Cubans that tried to make it to America in a 1951 Chevy flatbed pickup with pontoons. They were sent back to Cuba and the Coast Guard sunk their truck. Well this week the same Cubans tried it again using a 1959 Buick. They didn't make it this time either.

We have a 'square rigger' in the Key West Bight named the 'Crowith Cramer'. The sails are tied to the mast and are extended across the spar like vertical blinds by pulling ropes instead of being dropped from the spar. It is a student ship and teaches sailing.

There is a little street off the 200 block of Duval named Charles St. There is a place down this street called 'The Naked Lunch'. To attract attention to there business they usually have cute women stand on the corner of Duval and Charles and talk to tourist. Tuesday there was a man sitting in a chair with no shirt, a towel around his middle, and his pants in a bunch at his ankles. (Looked like he was sitting on the john.) He was holding a sign that said 'The Naked Lunch'.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love it.

PS
The house around the corner just sold for $875,000.00. It really needs a lot of work.

This Week on the Island 01/30/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is cold in the north. Wednesday morning it was 23 degrees in north Florida. It did get down to 56 degrees here but it got back up in the high 60's later in the day. I had to wear a windbreaker with my shorts and sandals. Today (Sunday) it is in the low 80's and I went kayaking.

I just finished 'Yesterday's Key West' by Stan Windhorn & Wright Langley. It s a book of the history of Key West told with old photos. I enjoy looking at the old photo's and trying to decide what it looks like now. The cover of the book shows the church on the corner of Duval and Eaton. There is an old wooden house on the opposite corner where Wendy's is today.

The upstairs of our house is 'basically' finished. We have removed the old carpet, repaired the floors, painted everything, replaced some electrical 'stuff', and recovered the floor with carpet tiles. Still need to re-hang pictures and clean-up.

Tourist Information and questions:
1. Does the water go all the way around the island? That is why it is called an island.
2. Why is the water so salty? It called the Ocean.
3. How many sunset cruses are there each night? One.
4. Does the sun always set in the west? Yes, but only once a day.
5. Is this a part of the USA? Only if we haven't successes lately.
6. What time does the 6:30 PM trip leave? 6:30PM.
7. How long is the 7 mile bridge? 7 miles.
8. Where is the beach? Now this is a good question. While we are surrounded by water, we only have about 1/2 dozen beaches. Simonton Beach, Duval Street (South) Beach, Zackery Taylor Beach, Higgs & Rest Beach, Smathers Beach and let's not forget Dog Beach.
9. What are all the helicopters about? It usually means some Cubans have made it to Key West.
10. How do you tell locals from tourist? The locals are the one's in long pants and coats when it gets below 70 degrees, in the summer the locals are the one's with tan feet.
11. Why do you have so many homeless? Would you rather be homeless in New York at 20 below zero or homeless in Key West at 70 degrees?
12. What do I say to the homeless that are begging for money? Get A Job.
13. Why don't the homeless get jobs and get cleaned up? Why work when you can get the tourist to give you about $100 a day. If you get cleaned-up no one will give you money.
14. Where is a good restaurant (or place to stay)? Some are good, some are bad; things change hands so much here that it is hard to tell. I don't recommend.
15. Where is a good place that locals eat? This is a tourist island, everybody wants the tourist traffic. Maybe you are looking that place on Caroline. It must be a locals place because it name is ' PT's, a Locals Place.'
16. When I get to Key West, how do I get around? The island is 2 miles by 4 miles, walk, rent a bike, take a bus, but don't rent a car. (There is no place to park it). We have lots of tourist in the hospital from scooter accidents.
17. The Gulf of Mexico is North and West, the Atlantic is South and East. The Caribbean is on the other side of Cuba.
18. Where is the unfinished bridge to Cuba? The White Street pier. (tourist joke).

Doug Bennett
Key West, you have got to love it.

This Week on the Island 01/25/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have spent most of this week painting the upstairs, ripping out the old carpet, repairing floors, and installing new carpet. I hurt all over and have lost 5 pounds. I'm getting too old for the manual labor stuff.

The 'Snottie Yachties' have left the island, there were 301 boats, divided into 21 classes, representing 18 countries. They were really quite beautiful out on the water. I was told this morning that the 'Snottie Yachties' have a new name, they are called WAFI (Wind Activated F---ing Idiots).

Friday night while walking Wyleigh the dog, I met some people from the BlueWater Parrot Head Club of Michigan. Very friendly people, I enjoyed talking with them.

There is a 'Kraft Fair' today on the corner of Whitehead and Caroline. There is a 'Health Fair' at the high school, There is a parade of Southern and Northern solders on Duval this morning. The high today is 77 degrees with beautiful skies. I don't think that I want to get back upstairs and back to work. I think I will go kayaking.

Doug Bennett
Key West, you have got to love it.

This Week on the Island 01/18/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jim Belushi is in town doing some filming at Captain Tony's.

This week we celebrated Tennessee Williams with a Festival. Williams loved Key West because of all the sailors in their tight white pants. I don't think I need to say any more.

It is Sunday morning, 10:00 AM, it is 80 degrees with a strong wind blowing.The 'Snotty Yachty's' are in town. They are here for the yacht races. Each yacht has a crew. One guy owns the boat and the other guys don't have a dime. They put a big tent over the parking lot on Caroline Street and then complain about the town not having any parking and they keep getting parking tickets which they don't pay. They meet at the tent each morning, then go sailing, then get back after 5:00 PM and go back to their tent. The tent closes at about 8:00 PM and they go out on the town. They have had plenty to eat and drink so they don't spend much money and tip even less. They make a lot of noise and complain a lot; it has been said that some people don't likes them.

We have a few problems on this island. One is the homeless, another is affordable housing, another is the travel trailers parked all over the island, and another one is too many chickens. To attack the chicken problem, Key West has proclaimed June 17-20 as 'Chicken Week'. We will have a chicken parade, chicken look-a-like contest, etc, etc. I don't know how this solves the problem, but I like it.

This week is also the 'Wrecker's Race'. In the 1800's Key West was the riches city in Florida. The money came from rescuing the people and goods from ships that had run-a-ground on the coral reefs around here. Many dollars were made by the first ship to reach the wreak as that captain became the 'Captain of the Wreak' and got an extra share of the goods from the wreaked ship. Everything was taken to town and sold (usually back to the people or company that originally shipped the cargo.) We celebrate yearly by having a 'Wreckers Race' to the reef. Mostly everyone just sits in the bar (Schooner Wharf Bar) and waits while the ships race to the reef and back.
----------------------------------------------------History----------------------------------------------------------Florida was purchased from the Spanish in 1821. In less than 40 years, Florida succeeded from the Union to join the Southern cause. When South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter in the Charleston harbor, the Union troops stationed in Key West marched to Fort Zackery Taylor. Key West was a Union outpost during the Civil War. Fort Zackery Taylor was controlled by the Union and captured many 'blockade runners' and towed their ships into Key West Harbors and sold their goods. Most goods were purchased by Southerners and they were put on other ships and sent on their way to southern ports.This week was the re-enactment of the Union forces marching to Fort Zackery Taylor to capture and hold the fort for the Union during the Civil War. We re-enact many mock battles between the Southerners and the Northerners that never took place in the first place.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love it.

PS
Jo and I continue with the project of working on the upstairs replacing the carpet and painting. We also are making many repairs as we go.

This Week on the island 01/11/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The book for this week was 'The Secrets of Key West Reveled' by Eden Entertainment Limited. I enjoyed the book. You can see some of it at www.TrueSecretsof.com.

I have always enjoyed dumb laws. Now there is a web site for them: http://www.dumblaws.com/states/states.php?State=Florida (Go to Navigation to chose your state.)

This week Jo and I started working upstairs. She wants to paint and put down new carpet. We removed all the furniture from the upstairs front bed room and ripped out the carpet. The floor (pressed board) under the old window air conditioner was shot. (There is always something with these old houses). We now have replaced the flooring and painted the room and are talking about what type of floor covering to put down.

The weather is wonderful: high 70's in the day with lots of sunshine and high 60's at night. Oops: The cold front moving thru the north finally got down to Key West. It was 58 degrees this morning but expected to get to the high 60's by this afternoon.

Pat Croce, the former president and minority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, has purchased what was the home of Key West Aloe at 524 Front St. from Frank Romano and Joe Liszka. The island that was once home to pirates will soon have its very own pirate museum.

The Key West Polar Bear Club had it's annual meeting. The ice was broken and put in drinks and then everyone jumped into the heated pool.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love it.

This Week on the Island 01/04/2004

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy New Year!

Enough reading for entertainment, this weeks book was 'Siberian Husky's for Dummy's. (We have had Husky's for many years) With Nevada sleeping most all the time, we are thinking of adopting another dog after he is gone. Want to be up-to-date on what we will need to know about a new dog.

The second book of the week is 'Key West, The History of an Island of Dreams' by Maureen Ogle. I already knew most of this stuff from reading other books, but I really enjoyed this book. It starts during the ice age and ends at about 1990.

Spent some time kayaking in the bight this week. When I get tired of paddling, I like floating outside Schooner Wharf Bar, listening to Michael McCloud, getting some sun, and enjoying life.
The weather: New Years Eve Day it was 78 degrees and sunny, the low was 68 degrees; same weather the day before and the day after and for the next week. New Years Eve: We had a choice of going to Duval Street at Sloppy Joe's and hang out and watch the Conch drop; or we could go to the upper end of Duval and watch the Drag Queen get lowered in a giant red slipper; or we could go to the bight and watch a Pirate Wench lowered from the mast of the Schooner America. We went to watch the Pirate Wench.

Had some of Jo's friends in visiting this week. I believe they had a great time.

When walking the dogs, I always look out for broken glass. This gives me the opportunity to find lost money. It is mostly pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Some times I actually find folding money. This week I found a $50 bill.

Doug Bennett
Key West, You have got to love it.