This Is Halloween

November 2, 2020

This Is Halloween

In a normal year, Halloween would mean that we were in recovery mode from Fantasy Fest madness and just the start of the crazy annual hectic rollercoaster ride that happens each fall from late October all the way through the Key West Literary Seminar which is in early January. This is far from a normal year of course and with Fantasy Fest, the KWLS and most other important activities and events canceled because of the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, life has been totally strange. With Kathy gone for the next month or so at our house in Colorado, it has been even more isolated and hermit-like for me.

The Coronavirus continues to surge, which has limited my desire to get out and about much around people. The long-predicted Fall surge seems to be in full swing with experts predicting that it is going to get worse before it ever gets better. And it is already getting worse with the numbers reaching levels not seen in months. Currently there have been 9,207,362 cases to date in the United States and 230,996 deaths from Covid-19. In Monroe County, we have had 2,290 cases of which 1,076 of those have been in Key West and 25 people who have died locally.

These are frightening times and it has nothing to do with Halloween. Between the coronavirus and the most important election of our time being tomorrow, these are stressful and uneasy times. The good news is that the holiday season, some good friends and the magic of frequent facetime calls with Kathy in Colorado have made it much more bearable than it might otherwise have been.

Kathy has been relaxing at our house in Colorado Springs, where they actually had a decent amount of snow this week. Our friend Kerry joined her for a few days as she evacuated from her home in Estes Park due to the horrible and appropriately named East Troublesome Fire. The fire which is one of the worst in years Colorado burned through literally thousands of acres of Rocky Mountain National Park, jumping the great divide and headed quicky toward the Western Edge of Estes where Kerry lives and owns a restaurant, The Rock Inn Mountain Tavern.

The entire town of Estes was evacuated as the firefighters used the parking lot of her restaurant as their staging area and command center due to the proximity to the fire, it was scary stuff. Thankfully a massive snowfall helped subdue the fire somewhat and Kerry was able to return home, where she and her restaurant immediately began feeding the firefighters who were working so hard to contain the fire.

Kathy has been enjoying seeing her family, doing Fall things like carving pumpkins and spending time hiking in the Garden of the Gods and relaxing at our Colorado house. I have been trying to keep busy here as well, not going out too much but to limited, socially distanced events like the Key West High Football games which are limited to only a small percentage of the normal crowd. The past two weeks the Conchs have looked pretty good winning games by scores of 42-0 and 42-8. 

Of course, Halloween itself was very different this year, I stayed home most of the night, only venturing out with our dog Jack to walk the beach under the beautiful and rare full Blue Moon. It was great and beautiful out and helped me adjust to the fact that we did not have a single trick-or-treater visit our house, which I guess is a good thing as most Halloween events were limited, socially distanced and safe. I relied on my friends posting or sending me photos of their Halloween costumes and got some from our two favorite little girls, Meredith and Sloane.

The election is dominating the news though as everything from the highly contentious and crazy race for President of the United States to local ballot initiatives to limit the size and scope of cruise ships that visit Key West are on the ballot. Like about 60 percent of the population of our County, I have already voted and await with a mixture of hope, trepidation, anxiety and outright fear about what the election will bring.

Finally the past couple of weeks have seen the sad demise of two of American music's iconic songwriters with the passing of Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver. Combined with the loss earlier this year of Jon Prine and it has been an incredibly tough year for music. Thankfully I was able to take solace by watching virtual concerts this week by two of my favorites, Todd Snider and Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. Snider did special tribute shows for both Walker and Shaver that were incredibly touching given his close personal relationship with the men.