A "dispatch" from Key West at 6 AM

So you probably want to know why I’m up so early.  I will give it to you in one word: roosters. They crow. 

There are a lot of them here.

The story is that there was a thriving Bahamian community here, and they kept chickens.  And they had cock fights.  The local authorities took a dim view of such things, and decreed that no one could keep chickens, so, the Bahamians said “Ja, mon, whatever you say mon!” and just opened the cages to let the birds go.  Hence, there are roosters everywhere on Key West.

Also, lots of cats.   If you tour the Hemingway House, you will learn about cats with six toes on both of their back paws, called polydactyl.  There are 60 or so of them on the property, all descendants of Hemingway’s cats.  Of course, their movements are not restricted to the property, so lots of their descendants prowl the island. 

I like to come outside early here.  All the touristy stuff is sleeping, but the island is waking up—no doubt aided and abetted by the roosters—getting ready for the day.  The donut shop around the corner is making fresh donuts ( including a key lime and maple/bacon glazed one) and, you can catch a whiff of them cooking on the breeze. There are people puttering to work on mopeds, and garbage trucks, buses and even a street sweeper or two.

In the resort’s gardens, however, it is quiet, especially considering what is going on all around.  The cool breezes through the palms make a soothing whooshing noise, branches of the banyan trees (the resort is named “the Banyan”) creak and moan.  Like me, they resent having to move this early, and give voice to their aches, I think.

It’s no wonder that Hemingway liked this place so much!  It’s a quirky combination of historical site and party boat.  I am about three blocks away from Papa’s place.  Like his work or not, a writer can feel creative energy there, a resource that only needs tapped.