Wandering Around Key West

The opening words of Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man and the Sea," begin as follows, "There is an old fisherman, Santiago, in Cuba who has gone eighty-four days without a catch.  He is "thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck,...and his hands had deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords.  But none of these scars were fresh.  They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert".  Santiago's lack of success, though, does not destroy his spirit, as his "cheerful and undefeated" eyes show.  He has a single friend, a boy named Manolin. Who helped him during the first forty days of his dryspell.  After forty days, though, Manolin's parents decide the old man is unlucky and order their son to join another boat. . ."

How could I not fall in love with a man that could create such thoughts, and pen such words as these?

In recent months I have written of Jack London's "Valley of the Moon" - in California's beautiful Napa Sonoma Wine Country.  I've written about John Steinbeck's Monterey Valley, which provides fervent blossom to his "Cannery Row," as well as other vibrant characters of his writings during the Great Depression. 

While in Hemmingway's Key West, Florida, I joyfully stalked the very footsteps of his past.

Among the above scenes, notice the Key West Lighthouse, which sits on an adjacent property of Hemmingway's house.  The cats on the bed, were told that I had come well over 3000 miles to visit them, and to see their multiple toes.  The grey one on the right, yawned a bit, but quickly returned to slumber.  Don't we wish life could always be so easy!

 
Written by Myrl Jeffcoat  2/16/2010
ActiveRain archived at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1497652/wandering-around-key-west