Key West people.

The first time I went to Key West was in 1961 on a trip with my dad. The way I remembered it was a sleepy artist colony like place with with a interesting waterfront area with fishing shacks. Dad did not show me anything that I thought was strange or out of place. I thought it was a neat place to go fishing.

The next time I saw Key West was in 1998. I had gotten a job at the Marathon Hospital, and a few of my co-workers grabbed me after work and took me to Key West for the night. The place had changed in 37 years, and it was no longer the sleepy place I remembered.

I changed jobs and started working in Key West proper. I found it was a small town with lots of visitors. The residents were all a bit different. Nobody was from Key West. No one cared where you came from, and no one asked questions about your past. If you wanted to tell them, that was OK, and some would tell you a little about themselves. I quickly learned about Island time. Island time is registered in days. We will do it ( sometime )Tuesday...  If it is Key West formal you needed shoes and a shirt. No one objected to anyone doing something "his way" if it did not cause a problem. It was the tourists that caused the problems.  I found I got along well and fit in with the local group.

Key West is not a cheap place to live. It is hard to find a real job in the Keys, and let alone a job that will pay enough to live there. Then, there is the pull of becoming Key Wasted every night. There are more registered bar and restaurant seats in Key West than permanent residents. But it is still a fun place to live. I have been out of the Keys now for over 10 years and I still wonder why I left and also why I stayed there as long as I did. The best thing I came away from the Keys with was a wonderful wife. That has made all the difference and is one of the reasons the Keys are special to me.