On my trips walking downtown Key West I have amassed quite a few pictures which didn't fit in with the stories I wanted to tell so I thought to string them together at random like the billboard says at Sloppy Joe's: "You'll see it all at Key West Diary." First I caught these chickens standing around being fowl in New Town. I am not overly fond of them but so far my neighborhood on Ramrod Key is fowl free. I like my mourning doves, thanks, Key West can have it's chickens.
Alongside the chickens I saw this decrepit old thing, with 25,000 miles on the clock and nothing left to give I rather think. These 40 year old Honda 750s were ground breaking motorcycles when I was a kid, four cylinders, disc brakes and reliable, they spelled the end of the dominance of Harley Davidsons and Triumphs in the big bike leagues:
Sic transit gloria mundi. On the streets of downtown I saw what appeared to be a mundane pizza delivery machine, in a picture that at first seemed over exposed and yet on reflection illustrates the white hot heat of summer (with apologies to Arizona where it is really hot):
And here's a puzzler, what has pie got to do with the Virgin Islands I wonder?
Personally I'd rather have a roti (a Caribbean burrito frequently of goat meat). On the subject of food I noticed fake Scandinavian ice cream has moved into the building where Ben and Jerry's used to be:
I saw these people scooping soft serve from the chain restaurant, so I guess they came all this way to eat what is familiar rather than try something new and exotic at Flamingo Crossing down Duval?
Mind you, locals like this place, DQ, out of all proportion; good luck finding it if you are a visitor:
And on the subject, more or less of food, I understand this place will soon be no more, as the landlord has raised the rent out of sight, they say:
Somebody I'm sure will lament their passing, but I for one found deep fried balls of macaroni and cheese to be a little too robust for even my digestive system. Police officers will undoubtedly miss the weekend off duty details, if the rumors of their imminent closure are true.Here's another random downtown picture. It occurs to me we have a long way to go on the resource preservation front if all we can think of to do with our precious water is spray it pointlessly in the air:
The city has been making noises about forcing residents to recycle, an idea that so far has gone over like the proverbial lead balloon. People in Key West are not known for their foresight, charming though they may be. Putting up bizarre signs isn't beyond the grasp of your average Key West business person, even if recycling is beyond their grasp:
No Trespassing? Where? At the payphone? Who are these people with these weird signs, what do they mean? I am going to go to my grave with too many unanswered questions, I know it.
The city has been making noises about forcing residents to recycle, an idea that so far has gone over like the proverbial lead balloon. People in Key West are not known for their foresight, charming though they may be. Putting up bizarre signs isn't beyond the grasp of your average Key West business person, even if recycling is beyond their grasp:No Trespassing? Where? At the payphone? Who are these people with these weird signs, what do they mean? I am going to go to my grave with too many unanswered questions, I know it.Among my other failings was my inability to commission a work of art by the late Captain Outrageous. He was a stressed out businessman from Up North who came to Key West and put polka dots on a whim on some item of domestic utility, a bicycle perhaps, and found he had started a hobby which became a business s which led to his sudden demise on the floor of his own gallery in town. One can still see the odd brightly painted scooter bicycle or car covered in his outrageous creations but I'm sure his death will put a crimp on their daily use. Imitation is flattery they tell us, and it is cheerful in its own way:
Here's an example of a Captain Outrageous scooter:
Some people, the lucky ones, come to Key West and discover they have a gift previously unknown to them. Others find their reward at the DMV, but the message remains the same:
And some encourage youngsters to be creative. I am very fond of the painting project on city fireplugs all around town, another expression of Key West style:
Do you suppose this crocodile of out of town youngsters gets to be creative with fire hydrants Up North?
And had they looked up from following Dad's exertions they might have spotted this, which I actually doubt because I hadn't spotted it before. I don't even know why I was looking up at the top of the Curry mansion when I did see it:
I am unsure if it's a wrecker looking hopefully for a wreck, or the captain's wife checking for his ship, or the captain's wife's anxious lover doing the same (as some rather spiteful interpretations of the widow's walk have the legend). Anyway there it is for all to see and for most of us never to notice. (They took him/her down for Fay and s/he wasn't back up a week later). Or what about this suspension of reality?
It makes the bicycle harder to steal I grant you but it also makes it bloody awkward to use. A bad parking job you might argue, like my silver Nissan Maxima parked on Elizabeth Street, only a short walk from the curb. But the red pickup was all over the sidewalk. Disgraceful says I:
You'd think we had both been imbibing at Hogs Breath but I know I hadn't, I just stopped by to take a picture...
...and just look at those bicycles, what a gruesome parking job. I am not alone.
Here's an example of a Captain Outrageous scooter:Some people, the lucky ones, come to Key West and discover they have a gift previously unknown to them. Others find their reward at the DMV, but the message remains the same:And some encourage youngsters to be creative. I am very fond of the painting project on city fireplugs all around town, another expression of Key West style:Do you suppose this crocodile of out of town youngsters gets to be creative with fire hydrants Up North?And had they looked up from following Dad's exertions they might have spotted this, which I actually doubt because I hadn't spotted it before. I don't even know why I was looking up at the top of the Curry mansion when I did see it:I am unsure if it's a wrecker looking hopefully for a wreck, or the captain's wife checking for his ship, or the captain's wife's anxious lover doing the same (as some rather spiteful interpretations of the widow's walk have the legend). Anyway there it is for all to see and for most of us never to notice. (They took him/her down for Fay and s/he wasn't back up a week later). Or what about this suspension of reality?It makes the bicycle harder to steal I grant you but it also makes it bloody awkward to use. A bad parking job you might argue, like my silver Nissan Maxima parked on Elizabeth Street, only a short walk from the curb. But the red pickup was all over the sidewalk. Disgraceful says I:You'd think we had both been imbibing at Hogs Breath but I know I hadn't, I just stopped by to take a picture......and just look at those bicycles, what a gruesome parking job. I am not alone.
Higgs Lane is on Elizabeth Street between Eaton and Caroline, and should not be confused with nearby Donkey Milk Lane:
At least I'm pretty sure this is Donkey Milk Lane because there was no sign to that effect though I'm guessing there aren't many drunk tourists who could resist the urge to decorate their homes with such a sign. I have drunk horse milk and found it unpleasantly sweet; on the subject of donkey's milk I have no opinion. 
And peeking through the trees one can see the backside of the immortal Federal Building on Simonton Street, huge and lumpen dominating everything. I guess it must be a quiet neighbor at least:
Higgs Lane gives neighbors the opportunity for peaceful sunlit reflection if they are lucky enough have an upstairs deck:
Others have a rather more, how can I say?- eclectic taste in home decor:
While others who have the bad luck to have to go Up North for the summer have to button up their homes in case of hurricane while they are gone:
Back out on Elizabeth Street I spotted the Christian Science Reading room which would have done nicely for a little variety on my recent essay on churches. Anyway here it is
In my younger days I found these reading rooms to be pleasant places to check out the Christian Science Monitor, a fine newspaper (whose radio service I used to report for occasionally many years ago even though I am not a Christian Scientist nor would I ever be- I love my doctor!- in the interests of proper disclosure). It's worth reading from time to time for a different perspective. Actually the Reading Room looks typically funky Keys from the outside. And as Istood on the sidewalk contemplating my pictures from Higgs Lane a French couple swung by and there he was, at it again on the phone:
Is this how modern couples share a pleasant walk together? I prefer the company of my Canon to that of my Nokia.
What the handle came off I can't imagine, perhaps a shovel designed for an eight foot tall gardener. And meeting this dude every day outside my front door would get old in a hurry for me:
On the other hand this haven is entirely irresistible. It came as a surprise not find anyone actually enjoying it:
On the subject of the irresistibly bizarre I thought this was a piece of Adams Family style advertising. "Seats? We don't need no stinkin' seats!" Conch cruiser par excellence.
United Street is a main road leading out of the south end of Duval towards White Street. Its wide and straight and devoid of stop signs so vehicles tend to just whizz along it and I doubt they take the time to check out some of the stuff that lines the street. I was on foot in the baking sun so I had all the time in the world to check out these delightful old Florida storm shutters:
And there is the youth hostel as well, which I had heard was to be demolished. Perhaps the imploding economy saved the Seashell Motel:
I doubt rooms are still $18 a night but I'll bet its still an excellent deal. This place pulses with young people, hormones and bicycles in winter. I have heard that the imploding economy may have done no good for the Spottswood's grandiose plans for the Beachside Hotel (nee Holiday Inn). Rumor has it they can't afford it and Marriott is taking it over. And bang go their plans for a huge indoor convention center across the street from Beachside. I'm sure it's just a temporary setback, so opponents of development might want to keep their breaths bated.
Up the street there was a burst of greenery and someone knows how to keep a pristine yard, I was green with envy:
Trimmed clipped and neat and a flourishing coconut palm glorious in the sunlight, I mean its not like I don't get to see enough of these trees but this was quite a nice example of the breed:
Somebody spends altogether too much time trimming off the dead and half dead fronds off this one. Mine should be so lucky. Oh and this is apparently dentist's row because another tooth fondler has set up shop in the neighborhood. Brick buildings are relatively rare in Key West and when I see one, especially with wrought iron accents they put me in mind of classic Southern architecture.
Fair enough this is no court house or other substantial structure but the bricks, the iron and the shutters give it a certain ambiance in a town filled with wooden houses. This one below is more like it, a hot tin roof with a ridiculous cat walk on the top. One could hardly call this a widow's walk could one? No access, no view of the ocean if you could scale it. No captain's wife anxiously scanning the horizon for the return of the husband's ship.
Other homes in the area have their own, lesser embellishments:
Poetic license allows for the dreaded satellite receivers- two of them!- as embellishments. And let's not forget the charming order to stay out!
I don't know why people disfigure their homes with these signs. Its pretty obvious its a home and if somebody is intent on trespassing a five-and-dime sign isn't going to change their mind. Its just ugly in my view. 
I saw a parking instruction I had trouble understanding based on the fact that the parking area was gravel and had nothing painted on the ground:
I guess one gets to figure out one's own angles. As if we don't all the time anyway when we drive our lumbering cars. And not far away a rather more refined take on the same issue:
The Jeep had the angle thing all worked out without instructions, and wasn't poking into the street at all. The homeowners' association on the other hand took the time to threaten mayhem and towing in no uncertain terms.