Random Ramble

I pointed my camera somewhat at random downtown before Tropical Storm Fay and I ended up collecting a bunch of pictures of random stuff. After all this hurricane related bedlam I want to return to a world of order and serenity. This red Smart car first showed up parked in front of the post office last February and here it is, still apparently in use as a commuter:My wife recently turned down her chance to get a blue and silver convertible Smart car. She decided we should keep her new-to-her Sebring convertible and wait for a better choice of small, more fuel efficient cars to come to the US market in a few years. I was surprised by her decision because she seemed to have really fallen in love with the little two seater.

I saw an unconverted convertible cruising Duval Street, and the young male driver looked a bit predatory, a shark eyeing the fresh young things in their bikinis on the sidewalk: I doubt somehow he would have the same effect driving a smartfortwo instead of his BMW.

When they say that Key West is a good town for two wheelers they aren't wrong. I saw a whole huddle of Harleys parked at the Banyan Resort on Whitehead Street. When I see a bunch of visitors on Harley Davidson's I'm inclined to think they brought them down on trailers, which seems a shame to me as the trip should include the ride to get there: Others in Key West use scooters to get around town and parking really is a breeze:Others rent and wear the sort of clothing that would get loud tut-tuts on Modern Vespa and other motorcycling fora:

Oh and they drag their feet too, the heathen. I ride a Bonneville and it deserves a picture here too I think:Away from the hustle and bustle of commerce downtown. Of which there is plenty:

I think they meant this:

Not this:

I spotted Curt striding off across the street looking for more conch fritter supplies, so I stopped him in mid flight and we chatted about this and that. He said business was brisk (mid August before Fay) as parents were enjoying the dregs of the summer school holidays:Then he asked me something about my work and he wanted me to confirm a rumor. he asked if its true that we get lots more calls on the night of the full moon, and i had to confess that in my experience it is a lot busier for the emergency services when there is a full moon. I pointed out I don't believe in such superstitions, but it does seem, in my experience, that we are busier at that time. Hmm, he pondered, that's odd, because the moon is just the same, only more of it is visible. He has his feet on the ground does Curt, but we had to part ways with the conundrum unsolved.

All this activity in downtown Key West was started by a man who is still alive and well and could claim to be one of Key West's first waterfront developers. They named a street for him:

Apparently his family had the land that the Pier House was built on, and that erection started the trend that ended up with all the waterfront sporting large hotels. Wolkowsky himself retired, until a short while ago, to a lonely island about seven miles west of Key West. Woman Key is the only inhabited island in the Wildlife Refuge and his house is quite visible from the water. A friend of mine had business out there one day and he said the affable old man greeted him warmly as he docked his boat and sat him down to a breakfast of coffee and Dunkin' Donuts. Somewhat to his surprise because he had thought the place remote.

Nowhere down here is really remote anymore. We have tours and taxis:

Expensive homes:

Luxurious guest houses, no wait a minute, Guest Mansions:And humble Navy Officer housing converted to million dollar waterfront condos:Thanks in large part to the spark ignited by the old man of Woman Key.