The Ladder of My Life

March 13, 2012

Elton John



Kathy & Michael



The Ladder of My Life

There was a point during Friday’s amazing Elton John concert where a vivid memory suddenly sprang to mind that I hadn’t thought of once in twenty-five years. As the opening strains of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” came on, I was suddenly transported to a time when I was nineteen, in a drug and alcohol induced haze lying semi-conscious in a pool of vomit having overdosed on who knows what. Thankfully my good friend Michelle came across me and dragged my sorry self to the ER where I had the pleasure of having my stomach pumped for the first time.

Kathy





I have only one clear memory of that somewhat pivotal evening and that was hearing the Elton John song “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” on the radio, and thinking to myself that it was like a scene out of one those cheesy “ABC after school specials” that were popular at the time. (It would be like a Lifetime movie for you younger readers). While “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” may have been an even better song to have been playing, it was still amazing how simply hearing a few notes brought me so quickly to a place I had not even considered in many years.

“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”

It was really just a single moment of an incredible show that lasted close to three hours, included thirty songs that dipped deep back in to Elton John’s incredible catalog. It’s funny because I bought the tickets for Kathy; she is a much bigger Elton John fan than I am. We have seen him a number of times together and I have seen a number of shows going back to my first show back in 1982 as part of the “Jump Up” tour. He has always been a solid performer and the shows have always been great, but somehow this show was transcendent in the scope and impact it had on me. It was like hearing a soundtrack to your life that you didn’t even realize existed.

“Funeral for a Friend/ Love Lies Bleeding”

I think the rarities and focus on older songs probably combined with the reflective mood that I seem to have been in of late made this show a much more fulfilling and emotional ride than it might have been otherwise. It was awesome. He opened with and played eight songs off the classic “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road” which was an album that I used to sneak in and steal from my sister Marika to listen to over and over when I was a kid. While I was hardly surprised to hear “Candle in the Wind” or “Bennie & the Jets”, I totally was not expecting to hear the likes of “Grey Seal”, “All the Girls Love Alice” and “Harmony”- none of which I’d ever heard him perform.





The whole night was like that and whether the music brought back memories of the old jukebox at the long gone Geist reservoir fishing shack where my friends Ed & Riley once played “Philadelphia Freedom” repeatedly or drunkenly dancing my way through college listening to the likes of “I’m Still Standing”, Elton John’s music has had an impact that I scarcely realized or considered. I am so glad that we went to the show. Sometimes Kathy gives me a hard time about being overly nostalgic, but times like this help me appreciate that everything that has come before has made me what I am today, for better or worse.







We stayed in Lauderdale overnight after the show. Kathy wanted to get some shopping done so we spent the next day at the Sawgrass Mills mall and at IKEA, much to her delight. It has been a while since I had been in a mall and I have to say that I don’t miss it much. The good news is that on the way back down the Keys, we stopped off in Marathon to attend the Marathon Seafood Festival.





Kathy

The festival was pretty much exactly the same as it always is, which means good food, fair entertainment and a collection of not so great arts and crafts displays. Lobster and fried fish are pretty much consistently good though and the money goes directly to support the local fishermen, which is a good thing.

Happy Birthday TSKW!

March 9, 2012



Lauren, Jay, Elena & Martha



Happy Birthday TSKW!

Since opening back in 2006, The Studios of Key West has become such an important and integral part of our cultural life here in Key West that it is difficult to recall what it was like before they came in to existence. This week, The Studios celebrated their fifth birthday with a party that Kathy & I attended with great appreciation for the tremendous impact that they have had on our lives and the standard of living here.



Rosi

TSKW serves as the artistic heart and soul of our island and has grown in to a multi-faceted community that is constantly in a state of change and flux, always finding new ways to enrich the lives of the artistic community and those who love it. It is hard to see a day go by when there is not some activity at the Studios (In fact many days there are multiple events). Home to art openings, concerts, plays, art classes, lectures and just about all manner of artistic expression, the place has been host to some of my favorite Key West moments in the past five years and if you have read this blog before, chances are good that you have read about something happening there.

Bill

Lauren & Elena

The staff and volunteers, led by the calm guiding hand of Jay Scott (who is sadly stepping down), Elena Devers, Martha Barnes and Lauren McAloon are probably among the hardest working and most dedicated employees of any business in Key West. I don’t know how many hours a week they work during season, but it is a staggering number and they always seem to have a smile and positive attitude no matter how exhausted they may be. It is a pleasure to just walk in the place and see them.



Kathy & Sherry

Mark & Elena

The party was a well-attended successful celebration packed with supporters, artists, volunteers and well wishers. A well deserved moment to briefly pause and recognize those who make the Studios possible, the patrons, board, staff, artists and volunteers as well as those who just love the wonderful arts community that TSKW has been responsible for fostering and nurturing. Kudos to everyone involved. Here’s hoping for many more happy birthdays to come.



Art Space

In addition to the Studios party, we attended another art gallery opening this week, this one at the hip new gallery Art Space on Truman. The theme of this month’s show was “The Conch Show” and it featured art that was created strictly by artists born in Key West or “Conchs” as true locals are called. Featuring the talents of Jorge & Michael Marrero, David Sloan, Ronny Bailey, Cayman Smith-Martin, Sparky Carbonell, Grace Calleja, Garth Holtkamp and Audra Gootee, (and new work from the Key West Mystery Blob) the show was a huge draw and seemingly big success.







This week also found us wrapping up a great visit from Kathy’s Uncle Al & Aunt Kathy as they headed back up to Massachusetts this week. Not before we were able to spend some time hanging out. Taking them out to a nice dinner at Two Cents restaurant and then heading over for some farewell drinks at the Porch the night prior to their departure.

Kathy & Al

Kathy & Kathy

The week concluded with some more visitors. It actually happens a lot when you live in a tourist destination that you get visitors that you don’t even really know. Mutual friends from Indianapolis gave our names to a couple who was visiting and we ended up going down and meeting Ryan & Rachel at the Porch and spending a fantastic evening drinking and catching up on our mutual friends. How we haven’t met previously is somewhat beyond me but it was great to get to know them now.

Rachel, Michael & Ryan

Finally, we were back at The Studios of Key West again this week, this time to catch the Friends of the Library lecture series presentation by one of our favorite writers, the lovely and talented Diana Abu-Jaber. We became friendly with Diana & her husband when they were here previously for the Literary Seminar and she was back in town this week speaking on her fantastic latest novel, “The Birds of Paradise”. As eloquent and moving a speaker as she is talented as a writer, Diana charmed the crowd as we have seen her do many times before. If you ever get a chance to see her read, go and if not then reading one of her wonderful novels will have to suffice.

Diana