Happy Holidays

December 6, 2010







Happy Holidays

The holiday season, which is as crazy busy here as anywhere I have been, kicked off right after the Thanksgiving with the annual recognition of World AIDS day on December 1st. In all the years that I have lived here, I had never managed to make it to the candlelight vigil and march to the AIDS memorial to remember those lost to the disease. I wanted to begin the season by changing that and honoring some friends who are no longer around before kicking off the fun festivities that typically mark the holidays in the Keys.





Everyone who lives in the Keys, or at least all those who have been here since the 80s or 90s, knows personally someone who has passed away from AIDS and countless others who have been impacted. Certainly Kathy & I are no exception, having both lost friends and seen the terrible toll that has been experienced by our small island.





It was a solemn memorial at the foot of the White Street Pier where the names of all those lost from Key West are listed. The crowd stood silently as the names were read aloud in a ceremony that sadly lasted far too long. Next the fifteen new names of those lost during the last year were read and added to the tragic toll. I was at once saddened by the terrible loss and proud of my small island community for taking the time and remembering those lost.





After the ceremony, there was an annual event at La Te Da to raise money for AIDS Help, the Tree of Life. The event consists of a huge Christmas tree that is decorated by small stuffed angel bears that are sold to raise money. In place of the bears, small pieces of paper with private messages are added to the tree, so in the end the tree is covered with hundreds of thoughts and memories.







On a lighter note, we attended another holiday event this week that marked the start of the Christmas season when we heeded over to Key West High School to see the most recent production by the wonderful theatrical group, Keys Kids. The show, “Broadway Santa” featured a huge cast (actually two separate casts- we saw cast A) of children from the community.





Of course if there are kids involved, we are almost certain to know many of them and this was no exception. The play involves a plan by Santa & Mrs. Claus to bring the crew from the North Pole to Broadway and open a show based on their lives. The show doesn’t go as planned and yet is somehow still a huge success.





The kids mostly play the roles of elves and reindeer with a few larger roles for the older kids to fill. Kathy & I enjoyed it, though it wasn’t any great piece of theater. What it lacked in skill was more than made up for in enthusiasm and effort. It is so cool to see the kids giving it their all. Next up for Keys Kids will be a production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” which will feature mostly older kids and I am sure will be well worth checking out.