When I find myself on the corner on Highway One where Mad Dawgz barbecue used to be I find myself wondering where and what and why. The lot is cleared, the barbecue stand is gone and all hint of commerce has been erased from the former garden center turned eatery.
Change seems to be a constant in the Keys, people come and stay a while and go "home" some of them content that they lived their dream for a while at least in the Fabulous Florida Keys. Some come and can't make it at all, not for a minute. They come and tell people how stuff was done Up North and I guarantee you there is nothing quite so aggravating to anyone who lives here as being told how to do something better in this place that welcomes anyone anyhow. Making a life for yourself here isn't always easy but it is made that much harder when you come here and try to change things. Be like my dog and enjoy the sunshine and relax.
For a type A personality like myself learning to let go has been one of my middle aged life's hardest tasks and I have failed a few times at this necessary task. I am known at work as a fire breather because I expect things to be done a certain way. However when I explain to my young colleagues that we don't get nasty grams, I don't write people up, and we get to enjoy working in an atmosphere unencumbered by negative expectations the method in my madness usually becomes clear. If it doesn't they move to another shift where there is more excitement and drama. Being anal has it's compensations, and in Police Dispatch dotting t's and crossing i's is a good thing.
In most of the United States you can get lost by moving. You can live in a big city and never seem to see the same face twice, or if you restrict your movements you can certainly keep seeing the same faces in your neighborhood. You can live in a community where nothing and no one changes, or you move over the hill and live in a completely new and stimulating environment. In the Florida Keys, not so. The Mile Markers delineate the parameters of life. The road goes only in one direction with no alternative routes. Intellectually it is easy to understand that life is governed by proximity; a glance at a map and it's obvious that land ends abruptly and tidal water is close by in every direction.
However translating that perception into reality doesn't always work well. People get bored in communities all over this land even the most stimulating and usually end up limiting their travels despite the many opportunities they may have to see things new and different. I was rare among my colleagues in California in that I used to choose different routes too and from work and I would drive the mountain roads for the pleasure of a different horizon, for the desire to see a new vista. Most people, and I myself much of the time, stuck to the same dangerous curves of Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz mountains hoping it wasn't our turn to be crushed by passing indifferent traffic. I commuted by car in those years after riding to and from work and getting so tired in a day's work I felt it safer to drive a car. That was the measure of stuck in a rut I was. 
In the Keys there is no choice, there is but one road, surrounded by water on both sides, there and obvious. In the Keys you follow the road because there is no other and when the road runs out the journey is over. I still can't explain why some ride the road for longer than others and why some can't seem to settle into the groove. My wife and I found our way here by accident and stayed deliberately, very deliberately against our own expectations. I've seen others come and lose their minds trying to make this strange place, frequently a life long dream, work for them. I keep saying these small islands are the land of the inexplicable and how to come and why to stay is one of the biggest unexplained mysteries of all. Businesses come and go, people come and go, a paradigm for life itself. And here, sometimes, you can take the time to ponder the mystery.
Change seems to be a constant in the Keys, people come and stay a while and go "home" some of them content that they lived their dream for a while at least in the Fabulous Florida Keys. Some come and can't make it at all, not for a minute. They come and tell people how stuff was done Up North and I guarantee you there is nothing quite so aggravating to anyone who lives here as being told how to do something better in this place that welcomes anyone anyhow. Making a life for yourself here isn't always easy but it is made that much harder when you come here and try to change things. Be like my dog and enjoy the sunshine and relax.For a type A personality like myself learning to let go has been one of my middle aged life's hardest tasks and I have failed a few times at this necessary task. I am known at work as a fire breather because I expect things to be done a certain way. However when I explain to my young colleagues that we don't get nasty grams, I don't write people up, and we get to enjoy working in an atmosphere unencumbered by negative expectations the method in my madness usually becomes clear. If it doesn't they move to another shift where there is more excitement and drama. Being anal has it's compensations, and in Police Dispatch dotting t's and crossing i's is a good thing.In most of the United States you can get lost by moving. You can live in a big city and never seem to see the same face twice, or if you restrict your movements you can certainly keep seeing the same faces in your neighborhood. You can live in a community where nothing and no one changes, or you move over the hill and live in a completely new and stimulating environment. In the Florida Keys, not so. The Mile Markers delineate the parameters of life. The road goes only in one direction with no alternative routes. Intellectually it is easy to understand that life is governed by proximity; a glance at a map and it's obvious that land ends abruptly and tidal water is close by in every direction.However translating that perception into reality doesn't always work well. People get bored in communities all over this land even the most stimulating and usually end up limiting their travels despite the many opportunities they may have to see things new and different. I was rare among my colleagues in California in that I used to choose different routes too and from work and I would drive the mountain roads for the pleasure of a different horizon, for the desire to see a new vista. Most people, and I myself much of the time, stuck to the same dangerous curves of Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz mountains hoping it wasn't our turn to be crushed by passing indifferent traffic. I commuted by car in those years after riding to and from work and getting so tired in a day's work I felt it safer to drive a car. That was the measure of stuck in a rut I was. In the Keys there is no choice, there is but one road, surrounded by water on both sides, there and obvious. In the Keys you follow the road because there is no other and when the road runs out the journey is over. I still can't explain why some ride the road for longer than others and why some can't seem to settle into the groove. My wife and I found our way here by accident and stayed deliberately, very deliberately against our own expectations. I've seen others come and lose their minds trying to make this strange place, frequently a life long dream, work for them. I keep saying these small islands are the land of the inexplicable and how to come and why to stay is one of the biggest unexplained mysteries of all. Businesses come and go, people come and go, a paradigm for life itself. And here, sometimes, you can take the time to ponder the mystery.
6 comments:
The subject of making the Keys a life long dream is something I have given much thought. The "why" behind the dream has evolved over the years. In that lies the possible solution in making it work, evolution, flexibility, and adaptability. However, leaving it an inexplicable mystery is much more romantic.
I think the problem with living in the Keys are directly related with the expectations that people come with. They come with high expectations and the Keys as with most places probably disappoint. The Keys, like other places, has its ups and downs, and the sooner you realize it, the better you'll adjust and see the beauty.
Mr Conchscooter:
It seems that paradise by definition can only be found in confined spaces. Be it KW, with its one road, or Hawai'i, comprised of many isolated islands in the middle of nowhere, also limited in exploration alternatives. Can Paradise be found on the "mainland", can it be California ? I think we all try to strive to live in a place with good weather all the time, and sunshine but each have their problems. Utopia only exists for a short time, and then Poof, it's gone
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I think Utopia only lives in our personal perception, and as you say, is constantly changing.
The Keys, as with anywhere has its warts.
Agreed, expectations I think play a large part in people making it anywhere.
That said, reality can sometimes be a harsh bitch, but there has to be a reason for people to try. I think that is hope.
I'm sure life in the Keys has its down side, I've never been there in the Summer when it's hot. We are supposed to have snow showers now through the weekend. Next week it might get up to 80 which means all that mountain snow will be melting causing floods here in Montana. It's down right cold now, only 52 degrees. It got down to 31 last night in Butte.
Bob from Livingston Montana
I'ts cooler here than most of the mainland during the summer months.
As for Paradise, I've found most people bring their wether with them wherever they go. It's not possible to escape ones demons my changing address.
I'll return to the mainland to visit, but never again to live.
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