Show me a Ray of Sun
June 24, 2019
Izzy, Marlo, Jodie and Kathy 
Cale, Kathy and Caitlin 
Debbie 
Show me a Ray of Sun
June has been unbelievably hot here in Key West, with each
day seemingly reaching record heat and the heat index at one point reaching a
boiling 110 degrees, which is hot as I can ever recall it being here,
especially this early in the summer, which makes us nervous for what the
traditionally hotter months coming up will bring us. The heat has made us want
to hole up in the comfort of our air-conditioned house and we haven’t really
been out as much as we might otherwise have been.
Holing up has its benefits however as it has given us time
to do a little reading which is perfect timing as three of our wonderful writer
friends have new books out at the same time and I have to give them each a
little shout out and recommendation. It is fun having three such talented
female friends who all happen to be fantastic writers all currently touring on
their most recent book releases which are all doing wonderfully well.
Malla Nunn lives in Australia, but we have remained friends
on Facebook since she was here a few years ago for the Key West Literary
Seminar and her new mystery novel, “When the Ground Is Hard” just arrived at
our house meaning I have not yet delved into it just yet, but it has been
getting wonderful reviews and if it is anything like her Edgar Award nominated
earlier work, then I am in for a real treat.
Our friend Kali Fajardo-Anstine recently released her first
collection of short stories, “Sabrina and Corina: Stories”. I am thrilled to
say I have read it and I loved it so much that I bought a dozen copies and sent
them to friends and family that I knew would enjoy the terrific stories told
with an intimacy and power that I could not believe was coming from someone who
I thought I knew pretty well. The book is an absolute treasure and both Kathy
and I are thrilled with Kali’s success.
Key West is incredibly fortunate to host our third terrific
writer friend this week as Nicole Dennis-Benn is here teaching the Key West
Literary Seminar’s Young Writer’s Program, so Kathy and I were able to join her
and her lovely wife Emma for dinner along with our friend Kate who is
organizing the KWLS program. We are so lucky to have Nicole here because since
the time she agreed to participate and now, her book, “Patsy” has absolutely
blown up and has been getting wonderful, well deserved reviews everywhere
including, “The New York Times”, “Oprah”, “Vanity Fair”, “Entertainment Weekly”
and even “Time” magazine.
We had an wonderful dinner at BlackFin that included
fantastic food and conversation. Nicole will be doing a reading and book
signing this Friday here in Key West at Books and Books. Try and get out to see
her and even if you can’t get her incredible new book. Celebrating our successful author friends has
not been the only thing keeping us busy this week.
Kate, Nicole and Kathy 
We also got a taste of Pride Fest which is celebrated each
June by heading out to see the annual performance by our friend Allen and his
drag alter-ego Alma Jean at the 801 bar. Allen is one of the sweetest and
nicest people we know and though he has retired Alma Jean, the World’s Ugliest
Drag Queen, each year he does a single show for the 801 crowd of friends and
family. The show was fantastic, at turns funny, touching and mostly just plain
good.
Alma Jean
This week has also been cool in that it has seen the return
to Key West of some old friends and that always makes me happy. The first was
something of a complete surprise when I learned via facebook that a high school
classmate who I had not seen in some thirty years was going to be in town for
just a few hours having come down on the Ft. Myers ferry for just an afternoon.
I met Deb downtown where we shared a beer and some fun memories and I played
tourist with her for the afternoon, before she was back on the boat headed
home.
Michael and Debbie 
Jodie, Izzy, Craig and Marlo
Also this week, our friends Craig and Jodie along with their
daughters Izzy and Marlo were back in Key West for a few days. I had not seen
any of them since they moved to Australia about ten years ago. Craig is a
longtime friend, former colleague and the person responsible for me getting
hired by RPM Nautical back in 2005. We all had a great dinner at Roostica and
it was fun to catch up with him and his family. We had not seen the girls since
they were very young children and here they were young women complete with cool
Australian accents. Again it was nice to catch up and we were very happy that
they chose to come back and visit Key West, hopefully it won’t be ten more
years until we see them again.
Trevor and Meredith 
We also had some good times with other friends, a wonderful
meal at BlackFin (again) with our friends Effie, Cale and Caitlin and attending
another 5th birthday party for Meredith, the daughter of our friends
Nadene and Trevor. When we did get out, we made the most of it. Of course into
every sunny day, a cloud sometimes appears and this week we lost a wonderful
friend with the passing of our friend Terry Scott.
Effie
Rob and Meredith
Terry was one of the kindest, gentlest and most generous
people in Key West and she always, always made everyone around her, including
thankfully, Kathy and myself, feel like family. In fact being at Terry and her
late husband Tom’s house always felt like one of those big wonderful family
gatherings that everyone loved. She had been battling illness, yet her death
still hit with a suddenness that was shocking and incredibly sad. To all her
family and many friends, Kathy and I send our deep sympathy and love.
Terry Scott 
posted by Michael and Kathy @ 2:43 PM
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