Rude Boy

I was following this Harley look-alike out of town on the Boulevard, but I got tired of his loud pipes so I swung off onto First Street got tangled in school zones on Flagler and lost a bunch of time leaving Key West earlier this week.


But before we went our separate ways I noticed his Illinois tag and as usual I was forced to wonder why do people do this. Rude? Really?


I met up with the motorcycle by chance at the gas station at the end of my street 27 miles away. That happens a lot in the Keys where driving choices are limited. You keep meeting the same vehicles, and in this case I suddenly discovered why the absurd specialty tag suited this rider.


I am not fond of people who cock block gas pumps while they are busy inside the inconvenience store doing some light shopping. It took a few minutes to fill the Bonneville but Rude Boy was nowhere to be seen. Living down to his name inside the Shell station.


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Daytona Bike Week Residue

Motorcycles, quite aside from my Green Bonneville (in the foreground) have been all over Key West:


Highway One also has been packed in all directions for what seems like forever. This is a typical stretch on Cudjoe Key:


Spring Break has a lot to do with it, but let's not forget that Daytona Bike Week runs through Sunday Up North, and Key West is a popular side trip for the adventurous rider.


This is not a week to look for Triumph Bonnevilles on the highway, but it is a week of relaxed riding styles on the 42 bridges of the Overseas Highway.





It's an odd irony that Florida requires seat belts on slow moving SUVs and family loving slow minivans, but doesn't require motorcyclists over 21, with health insurance, to wear helmets.


Motorcycles must have their headlights on at all times whereas the lights on requirement is only a gentle suggestion for cages (motorcycle talk for cars).


It's all about the open road, in the flat, straight, Florida Keys.


A lot of it too is showing off your ride in the sun.


For some dude like me allergic to crowds and attracted to practical everyday motorcycles, the rampage through the Keys is a source of wonder.


Pirate bandanas and doo-rags are the clothing preferred by many of the adventurers.


But I was impressed when this intrepid traveler actually stopped and asked for directions. You know the joke about why the Israelites wandered the Sinai for forty years? Because Moses was a man and couldn't bring himself to ask for directions.


And then there are the non bikers still riding around Key West on two wheels.


I never understand why parents think it's okay to ride without a helmet when the law mandates their kids wear one. Isn't learning by example how they are supposed to raise the new generation?


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Ramrod Sunset

Looking out of my bedroom window one recent evening I saw this:


Across the salt flats looking a Summerland Key on the horizon.


Just one more fabulous sunset.



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On And Around Whitehead Street

I like taking pictures of people taking pictures of Key West.


They remind me why I am out pretending to be a tourist taking pictures of my home town. They saw bougainvillea, I saw Spring Breakers.


Key West can be a very severe town. This sign on Louisa jolted me into compliance even though I was on foot at the time.


This open lot at the corner of Louisa and Thompson looks ripe for development...


...and as usual when development is the issue building one nice house is not enough. Two 'rate of growth ordinance' units means that two homes could be packed into this field.


The they will need cars and stuff and these lanes can be pretty tight. I'd rather have a stilt home with parking underneath and lots of room for a garden. Luckily it's not my lot to be under- exploited.


Whimsy in a tropical theme:


And a flower.


And a dog doing her job.


Cheyenne often asks me why I keep taking her picture. It's because she doesn't grumble like other members of my family tend to.


She is a good and patient girl and deserves all the time in the world to sniff whatsoever she wants.



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Artist's House

I have to say I admire people who take a simple structure and turn it into a canvas.



Bright colors and flamboyance suit almost anything in a sunlit tropical environment. Take a strange shape for a bike rack and paint or age and watch the yellow Labs flock to it.



And up above the door one doesn't just nail a number, one adds colors and scenery.



I am clearly no artist, my house is a sort of gray color wit dark trim. What do I know?


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Ironies And Amusements

I couldn't help myself, when I saw the big Tarot-like sun face peering round the tree and the ridiculous sign hanging off the trunk.


Cheyenne had had enough of summer mugginess in winter. She stopped for a while and when she stops I pull out the newspaper...


...or the camera and watch my fellow humans honk their way past me.


A scooter is a fine way to get around town, with minuscule fuel consumption and ease of use, it makes more sense than riding the bus. Seen here from the bus stop at Whitehead and Truman:


This sticker struck a nerve. Just what?!


It will take more than bumper stickers to end the federal reserve banking system . However more people are talking about killing the privately owned central bank so Ron Paul could feel ,Ike he is making some headway at least.


This house is on Amelia Street, I think, and it has been looking rather abandoned and down at heel for some time, but now it appears to be on the mend:


I think the asking price on this Zenn car (Zero Emissions, No Noise) was north of five grand.


Now here is a mystery, a dog turd on a plant. How did the dog balance it on the leaf like this, and why? And where was the owner, foul human, with no plastic bags to hand?


"C.E.S." old timers will recall the old City Electric System, the publicly owned utility that became a Lower Keys operation over time and changed it's name to Keys Energy System.


I never knew the health department had a car dedicated to helping people get the message about quitting tobacco but here it is; I saw it at the Gato Building on Simonton.


My mind was in the gutter on Catherine when I spotted this sculpted bowl of, was it fruit or nuts?


And this magnificent sponge was hanging as a decoration in front of the House next to the Tomasita seafood shack...


...whose hand written sign comes in a style eminently reminiscent of similar signs I've seen all over the Caribbean.


It gets the job done with no frills.



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