Community

January 29, 2009



Rhett & Melissa

Community

Last Stand Meeting

This past weekend Kathy & I joined our friend Melissa Lawson for a wonderful gathering at the upstairs bar at Bagatelle Restaurant to help celebrate her 30th birthday. It was a wonderful occasion for an amazing woman who is a great friend. It got me to wondering though, since with-in the past month or so we have also been invited to birthday celebrations for friends celebrating 40th, 50th and 60th birthdays and with-in the next week we will be attending parties for two friends celebrating their reaching the age of eligibility for Medicare.

Melissa & Fiona

Graf, Trevor & Eileen

A few of my facebook friends have commented that we know people with a wide range of ages, and while I had not previously given it much thought it is certainly true and I have to think that in the Key West community at least, that is not really all that unusual. In fact it is one of the most wonderful things about living in such a truly diverse and remarkable place. We have friends in every age range, of every race, of varied religious and cultural communities, friends in the gay and lesbian community, who are serving in the military, who are artists, musicians, or actors and friends from many different nations who call this island home.



No place that I have lived and few that we have even visited come close to the true diversity that makes Key West such a special place. We love it here and we love that we have so many friends from so many varied experiences that we can learn from and enjoy each day. So happy birthday Melissa and thanks for including us in the celebration of your 30th birthday.

Last Stand Meeting

Raymond Jungles Speaks to Friends of the Library

Of course that wasn’t the only big event of the week, as always there were a plethora of cultural events to choose from as the Key West season churns on. The frenetic pace of the past month seems to have steadied somewhat and the events have seemed much more manageable this week.

Annette, Cathy & Christine

We did attend the annual meeting of the non-profit community organization Last Stand this week. Held at The Studios of Key West, the meeting brought together many of the very diverse and interesting community people that I was describing above. We had to leave early to rush off to attend a basketball game at Key West High School but it was a great event for a great group that works hard to protect the quality of life on our island.

Edmund White



Finally, I have been busy with the Friends of the Library lecture series held each Monday at The Studios. I have been spending so much time there of late, I feel like I should be on the staff. Last week the speaker was landscape architect, Raymond Jungles who presented a slide show featuring many of the amazing gardens he has worked on. This week, the speaker was well-known author and biographer Edmund White who presented on his two most recent books. It is an excellent series, every Monday evening until April.

Edmund & Brewster

Last Stand Website

Change

January 24, 2009



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Change



I have always tried to keep our blog free of politics, there are plenty of political blogs out there and while I make no secret of my political leanings, I also have great respect for many people who hold beliefs very different from my own. The events of the past week have been so inspiring to me and to so many who worked so hard to bring about real change for our country. Thus, you may have to forgive me if I veer towards anything of a political nature in this posting.

Martin Luther King Jr. Picnic

Mike Mongo celebrates Inauguration

Personally after having watched with great excitement the peaceful transition of power over the past week, it all really seems to have transcended politics and reached us at some primal level. When Kathy & I took my mother Marta to see Barack Obama speak at the Miami Book Fair two years ago, I realized right away that we were witnessing something special and I knew I was listening to a future President, I just had no idea it would happen so fast. It has been an amazing journey and one that will hopefully lead our nation back towards peace, prosperity and respectability.



William Stafford



So much has been written on the inauguration that there is not much to be said. I would like to thank our friend Bob Muens who left the warmth of Key West and his work on the Literary Seminar to arrive in DC just in time to join the masses on the National Mall to partake in all the glory and excitement of the big day. He has graciously agreed to allow me to post a few photos from his perspective in this posting.

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* Bob Muens

As for Key West, there were a number of celebrations to mark the day, beginning the day before with the annual community picnic and parade in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Howard and I took a break from the office to head down for lunch. It was amazing to see what good spirits everyone was in. The sense of community and good spirit was palpable and it was a great little event.

Howard

Greer Nolan & Gae Gannister

Inauguration Celebration



For inauguration day itself, we opted out of attending any of the celebrations ( Key West High, The Grand Key Resort or Little White House) and watched the ceremony at home joined by Kathy’s father Jimmy. It was wonderful to see.

Richard Hatch & Mike Mongo



While we watched the actual inaugural and related activities at home, we did venture out to the Inauguration Celebration dance party hosted by Richard & Suzanne Hatch at their newest restaurant, Salute on the Beach. It was a good crowd to be partying on a Tuesday night and once again – everyone really seemed in a celebratory and hopeful mood. I just hope this new exciting spirit will not be lost too soon and that we can make some headway on the many obstacles that we face as a nation.

* Photos courtesy of Bob Muens

Martha Barnes