Human Interaction

Mary Gauthier

May 11, 2021

Human Interaction

Now that Kathy and I are both fully vaccinated, we have begun to feel more comfortable reentering normal society with less anxiety about catching or spreading the coronavirus. We do have a bit of reentry anxiety and are taking slow steps with know friends and maintaining the precautions that we have been, even though the Florida Governor has removed all statewide Covid 19 restrictions. The pandemic is still going strong, as the total number of fully vaccinated individuals slowly creeps up, the numbers of sick and dying are still increasing, though not at the pace they once were.

To date the United States has had 33,481,455 confirmed cases with 598,520 deaths. In Monroe County there have been 6,960 cases with 3,252 of those in Key West and a total of 49 deaths. Though I saw a report recently that suggested that the official tallies may be seriously under counted, let’s just say it is at least this bad.

Still ,it feels so good to be able to just get back out and rejoin the world and to see and enjoy hanging out with friends at someplace that is not our yard. We started by accepting an invitation from our friends Nadene and Trevor and their daughter Meredith to spend an evening at the newest island hotspot, the Lost Beach Island Farm. The Farm at lost beach is actually on Stock Island and has just recently opened their expansive waterfront location.

Located at the terminus of a dirt road on Stock Island, at the moment the place transforms you into what was the Key West of Old. Designed a true working farm that raises bees, chickens and eventually pigs and goats, The Island Farm is currently hosting limited availability beachfront bonfires with live music on weekend nights with further big plans such as more activities and even a summer camp for kids. It is a pretty cool set-up as it is and we shared a nice evening hanging out at the fire with our friends. It did get a little buggy, but that is to be expected since it is sort of located in the middle of a swampy mangrove shoreline.

We were with more friends for a night out eating at an actual downtown restaurant, albeit outdoors as we joined our friends and former Key West residents Dennis and Allly and two of their kids, Elizabeth and Greg who were here for a wedding from their home in Lantana, Texas. Ally used to teach with Kathy back in the day at the Key West Preschool Co-op and it is always so fun to see them. We had a great dinner and played tourists by watching the sunset and buskers at Mallory Square. 

We were out at dinner again later in the week having a wonderful meal with our friends Tom , Greta, Jean and Caitlin and her girlfriend Kat at Kaya restaurant downtown to celebrate the graduation from the University of South Florida by our friend Caitlin. The food was absolutely fantastic and it was a great time recognizing Caitlin’s achievement.

Greta and Tom also joined us at our first live music show at the Barrel House at the Perry Hotel for an awesome outdoor show by one of our favorite singer/songwriters, Mary Gauthier. Our friends Bonnie and Bonnie and Gae also joined us as I purchased two pods, each of which could hold up to four people for the show.

Jaimee Harris a singer/songwriter that we were unfamiliar with opened the show and she was terrific and beautiful voice and some amazing heartfelt songs, she remained on stage throughout Mary’s performance as well and it made for an amazing evening of live music and it felt so great to be back seeing a live show in person.

Finally, I also made a return to art openings when I attended the opening show at the Studios of Key West that featured two artist friends of ours, Letty Nowak and Kristyn LaMoia. It was a timed entrance and limited people allowed in at a time, but I am so glad that I made the effort as it is a brilliant show. It will be up all month and I would encourage anyone in Key West to head over and check it out.

https://www.islandfarmhoney.com/

Dream fulfilled

 

May 2, 2021

Dream Fulfilled

I have been an Indy car race fan as long as I can remember. There is grainy home video of me attending practice for the Indy 500 in 1968 with my father and grandfather. I attended my first Indy 500 in 1973 and have been to every one since until the pandemic had me (and everyone else) miss the race as it was held without fans present. I have attended races at tracks across America, and have been a fan of Indy Car racing the entire time. 

 

In 2001, a new and very rare experience was born when the idea was hatched to expand a real Indy Car to include space for a passenger to ride along behind an Indy Car driver and the Indy Car two-seater was born. The Indy Car experience is something that I have always wanted to try, but was reluctant to spend the fairly expensive price that is required if you want to purchase one yourself. 

Through some good luck and serendipity I was able to secure an invitation for a free ride due to Covid 19. As strange as that sounds, it is true. I usually get a Hard Card credential from IndyCar that allows me access to the pits and paddock at every race of the season, but due to Covid, that access was being limited at least for the first four races of the season. As a consolation, a very nice woman from Indy Car contacted me and asked if I would be interested in getting a free ride.

I could not have responded yes fast enough. It was something that I had always dreamed of doing but had never an opportunity. I was given a place and time to show up and join the various big wigs, sponsors and others of about 30 people to participate in the Ruoff Mortgage Fastest Seat in Motorsports. I reported to a trailer where I was given an actual driver’s suit gloves and baklava and we all went trackside and lined up for the five various cars, each driven by a former Indy Car driver.

I was happily in line to ride with Gabby Chaves but when it came my turn they could not get a helmet to fit, apparently my fat head would only fit in the very largest helmet so the organizer asked that if I did not mind waiting until the end, he would make it worth my while. I had been waiting forever for this so  few more minutes was no problem. Myself and another apparently fat headed large man were pulled out of line and waited until all the other guests were finished before we were led down to the car driven by legendary driver Mario Andretti- who is generally only the driver for the biggest sponsors and celebrities. The other guy went before me and when he returned, The large helmet was placed on me and I climbed inside the second seat just behind Mario.

Words cannot describe the absolute exhilaration, thrill and nausea inducing ride around the St. Pete track. It was awesome, one of the best experiences and biggest thrills of my life. The g-forces and the feeling under hard braking from the top speed of near 180 mph to a sharp hairpin turn is something indescribable. How these drivers do this for hundreds of laps all while paying attention to driving, talking on the radio and watching out for other cars is truly spectacular. The experience was so amazing that it overshadowed the race itself, which was pretty cool as well.

The race day featured a pair of races in the Indy Lights series, the first won by Kyle Kirkwood and the second by David Malukas. I was in victory lane for both of those races but managed to make it to my seats to watch the second Stadium Super Trucks race and the main event the Indy Car race that capped off the weekend. The race featured a trio of spectacular Indy Car rookies, Romain Grosjean who raced in F1 the past few years, Scott McLaughlin the Australian Supercars champion and Jimmie Johnson the seven-time NASCAR champion. 

The race was dominated by Andretti Autosports’ Colton Herta, who led from the start and led 97 of the 100 laps in the race, holding off a charging Joseph Newgarden in the end to capture his fourth career victory. Simon Pagenaud, Jack Harvey and Scott Dixon rounded out the top five. It was a good race under bright sunny and warm skies. 

But as fun as the race was, it was that two-seater ride that will be ingrained in my memory. Ironically as I was leaving the track over the pedestrian bridge about an hour after the checkered flag, I ended up right next to none other than Mario Andretti. I looked over at him and said that I was the last rider in the two- seater and that it was an awesome experience and he said, “Oh you’re the guy with the Fat Head”. I laughed and said yeah that’s me.

ttps://us.motorsport.com/indycar/news/mario-andretti-indycar-lady-gaga/6491355/