Newman's Own

A new headline when I awoke this afternoon, something to take our minds off banking failure and bombs in the Indian sub continent. I have to confess I am bummed, but not surprised by the news of Paul Newman's death. There was a charming pre-obituary in last month's Vanity Fair and the name-dropping story confirmed my wisdom in thinking of him as a person worth admiring. I think we would be in a much better place had more people his self deprecating self knowledge and less of the preening stupidity public figures seem so proud to express. His death is just another confirmation I am growing old.

Mid Duval Street

Duval Street exerts it's fascination, it's the heart of the city of Key West. It's where visitors want to be, and it's frequently where residents don't want to be. It's the street that garners lots of attention from the city commission, it's the street that needs to be cleaned up- the problem child with it's obscene t-shirts, panhandlers, garbage, public intoxication and human weirdness. It's the street that if it didn't exist, as the saying goes, they'd have to invent it. Take away Duval and you end up with any old small town America. Duval Street is the heart of the contradictions that exemplify modern Key West.

People are frequently surprised to discover that a small town like Key West has distinct neighborhoods- Old Town, Casa Marina, The Meadows, New Town, and the area known to Realtors as Mid Town (White Street to First Street)- which can also be broken down into various streets and areas. Thus it should come as no surprise to learn that Duval Street itself can be split into zones. Everyone will have an opinion but roughly speaking the street comes in three pieces, Lower Duval where the tourist bars are, Middle Duval where the shops and stuff are, and Upper Duval at the southern end where there is generally less activity, which has been a sore point for some merchants who wanted to increase their share of cruise ship business. The middle part of Duval is also home to the better known gay bars on Duval, in the 700 and 800 blocks.

There was a time when Key West really was a gay haven, a small Navy town out of the mainstream and away from the public eye, and that was a good thing in light of the intolerance prevailing. Nowadays I hear that the trend is, and has been for Fort Lauderdale to attract the young up and coming gay community and some of my gay friends lament the loss of cutting edge status. Myself? I'm straight so I'm pretty much indifferent to the issue. Frankly I'm indifferent to the bar scene as a whole, though I kind of prefer the music from 801, the disco queens belting out across the street, rather than the dull noises groaning out of Sloppys and the Bull and those other straight dens of iniquity. The Bonneville I parked in a sea of dancing queen noise and it appears my motorcycle is as indifferent as I am to the blandishments of disco:The weather lately has been ruffled, lots of breezes cooling what is usually the hottest and stickiest of months and it was a delight to the skin to be out on Duval at two thirty in the morning. I was not alone. And this viewed from across the street seemed a companionable moment though they rather seemed to be letting the side down with their slovenly manner of dress. I mean I dress a bit like that and I expect better from my gay neighbors:

I find Key West generally is an evocative town to wander during the nighttime hours, as much as it is during the day. And even on Duval there are quiet corners waiting to be caught by the all seeing camera eye. I am always fond of the scooter culture that permeates Key West, and when I see a scooter neatly parked it reminds me of the good fortune of people who can stand to live in the city, in that they can substitute four wheels with two. Like this Kymco:

I always used to think I wanted to live in an apartment, in a city, able to step out and see the bright lights all around. My wife disabused me of that notion early on in our marriage and I guess she's right though the sight of a compact flight of stairs like this makes me wonder if city dwelling might not be in my future:

I'd like to be, but I am not the type, to shuffle out in my under shirt and carpet slippers to stand on the stairwell overlooking the street down below watching the world go by. Perhaps I should go back one day and lounge around and pretend I live there...a city dweller for an hour.

And what about this anonymous alleyway, does this not scream age and history and nowhere near modern day America?
It might be Havana or Prague or Dijon but certainly not Florida in 2008. Actually that is exactly what it is. Or this:This is classic Key West architecture and its yours for the asking, judging by the realtor's sign:It takes a fair bit of luck to operate a long lasting business in Key West. Martin's German Restaurant used to be on Appelrouth Lane, a little hole in the alley place but it has since grown to this on Duval, all blue and exotic:When I see a "For Rent" sign in an empty shop window I tend to get gloomy and mutter to myself about these weird economic times and financial melt down and the like:Of course stores come and go in the natural order of commerce these days but it is a bit unnerving nevertheless to see empty windows on the main commercial tourism street. The convenience store on Olivia appeared to be doing land sale business among the young adults, mere shadows really, hovering in front:

People ask me sometimes if there are dangerous neighborhoods or places where one shouldn't walk at night in Key West. I am not the best person to ask about stuff like that as I tend to wander at will at home and abroad and so far I have never come to any harm. I find Key West a totally nonthreatening environment to wander around in, night or day. Young people for the most part are polite and civil in a way that strikes me as very old fashioned. They step aside for an old gray beard like me shuffling along the sidewalks and they never behave in a way that might be construed as threatening. I walk, I take pictures and no one bothers me. That's city living as far as I am concerned.An hour seems too short for a lunch break some nights and I had to make like a leaf and blow. Like these guys all energized by the sight of a transvestite ambling along the darker part of the sidewalk across the street talking with a friend.I found it rather touching that somebody still lives in Key West who is moved to pull a sharp U turn in the middle of Duval to check out the blond wig and endless masculine legs tottering down the sidewalk. It's good to get downtown every now and again and see innocent amazement in all it's glory.