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THE CHARACTERS OF KEY WEST

When famed U.S. writer John Dos Passos rode a train down to Florida's Key West in the 1920s, he described the trip to his friend Ernest Hemingway as "one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life." Key West and the Florida Keys can do that to you.

When it comes to U.S. cities, few can rival Florida's Key West for character...and characters. From it's Caribbean island character to legendary characters like Ernest Hemingway, Key West and the Florida Keys open the door to America at its most unique.

Of course, Hemingway was the ultimate Key West character. "Papa" moved to Key West in 1931 with his second wife, Pauline, purchasing a house at 902 Whitehead Street to raise sons Patrick and Gregory. His claim to literary greatness had been tempered by a spate of national criticism that labels his prose as "little more than drivel" and Key West was his quiet escape from the glare of publicity.

Most of Hemingway's Key West neighbors didn't care what the critics wrote or what he wrote...or that he even wrote at all. What mattered most was that Papa liked to partake in boxing matches with his cronies, go fishing in the Gulf Stream, and down a drink at Sloppy Joe's Bar.

But Hemingway did write in Key West and he wrote well. Standing at the typewriter in a studio next to his home, he created For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Green Hills of Africa, A Farewell to Arms, and Death in the Afternoon.

Hemingway is one of the world's most famous authors and a Key West icon. The anniversary of his July 21st birthday is commemorated with a seven-day celebration. The mid-summer myriad of events includes a Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, Short Story Contest, Writer's Workshop & Conference, Storytelling Competition, and Radio Trivia Quiz. Of course, if he were alive today, Hemingway would have to arrive at his own Hemingway Days celebration in a limousine and hire security guards to ward off autograph seekers.

Thanks to Hemingway's presence in Key West, as well as the subsequent stays of the late and great playwright Tennessee Williams and other Pulitzer Prize-winning residents, Key West has become a mecca for contemporary literary greats. They are joined by many undiscovered writers, joyfully anonymous and finding inspiration in a place that encourages creativity and characters.

The Hemingway home, now a registered national historic landmark, was built in Spanish Colonial style of native rock hewn from the grounds. They furnished the house with rugs, tiles, chandeliers, and furniture brought from all over the world. Though Hemingway sold the house in 1961 shortly before he killed himself, the house and its furnishings have been kept intact, as if the writer were about to return from an afternoon of fishing or drinking.

One of the most fascinating stories about the house involves the swimming pool, which was the first built in Key West. Mrs. Hemingway built it in the late-30s, during one of Papa's many trips abroad. When he returned and learned that the pool had cost $20,0000, Hemingway was shocked at the price and took a penny from his pocket and tossed it to the ground, saying, "Here take the last penny I've got." Pauline had the penny embedded in cement at the head of the pool, where visitors can see it today.

Besides his simple study, left as he liked it, two other things demonstrate the home and Key West are still Papa's. One is the shrubbery that the nature-loving writer planted and the other is the multitude of six-toed cats which roam the place--actual descendants of Hemingway's own cats--a living link with the Key West that was (and is) Papa's.

Hemingway may have been the quintessential character of Key West and a visit to his house is certainly obligatory, but for the quintessential Key West experience, a virtual character convention is held daily at Mallory Square. If there is a single attraction Key West attraction that befits the entire experience, it's the sunset celebration. The sun, usually a glowing orange ball, seems to drop off the edge of the universe, and most of Key West's characters come out to celebrate.

A Key West sunset is more than a natural phenomenon. It is truly a celebration of the sun, the green-blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and--at Mallory Square pier--the people. It's the people that give it character.

Daily, as the sunset nears, islanders and locals flock to the pier and the place comes alive with entertainment. Here is a group of tourists tapping their feet to the tunes of a string band and over there is a unicyclist unbelievably wriggling free of a straitjacket. Nearby, two men are tumbling, while a gaily dressed young woman beats out a tune on a washboard and cymbals. Animals abound, with snakes, parrots, and many other exotic breeds vying for attention.

A juggler is delighting another crowd with oranges and, later, with flaming Indian clubs. Not to be outdone, another juggler dazzles the crowd with a tossed machete and flaming stick. The Bead Man, mane full of beads, works the crowd and poses for pictures, while the Cookie Lady arrives on her bicycle and hawks her warm brownies and cookies.

The sunset and entertainment on Mallory Square are free. As might be expected, the entertainers do pass the hat, saying, "We welcome your dollars. We welcome your complaints. If you have any complaints, write them on a five-dollar bill and put the bill in the plate."Though a bit less lively than the sunset celebration, many past characters are buried in the Key West Cemetery. The cemetery fills 21 prime acres in the heart of the island's historic district, with picturesque stone-encased caskets resting on top of the rocky earth. But the gravestones are what draw visitors.

"I Told You I was Sick" is one of the cemetery's most famous expressions immortalized in stone, but there are many more. In life, Key West natives, called Conchs, rely heavily on nicknames. So sharp-eyed cemetery snoops will find names like Bunny, Shorty, The Tailor, Mamie, Bean K., Lito, and lots more.

Perhaps the most unusual crypt in the cemetery belongs to Jose J. Abreu, a Key West native and Navy veteran who was still alive at this writing. When he's gone, he doesn't want to be forgotten as a Key West character, so all his nicknames adorn the marble memorial under his family's tin-roofed tract: Mr. Clean, Baldy, Joselito, Jojab, Jacinto, Josellilo, Diablo, Uncle Tio, Cousin, and Loco. There's more: Kojak, Gambia, Calvito, Pepito, Skinhead, Primo, and Nuts. Abreu also included "The Buck Stops Here" and "Call Me for Dinner."

The cemetery is open daily from sunrise to dusk. Walking tours can be arranged through the Historic Florida Keys Preservation Board.

There are many other landmarks in Key West, many of which revolve around past and present Key West luminaries. Whether you're heading to a museum or a bar, you're sure to find the something interesting in Key West.

After his first visit in 1946, President Harry Truman became enamored of Key West and returned every few months during his presidency. The 2.27-acre estate where he stayed is preserved as the Little White House. On one visit, he wrote to his wife, Bess, "I've a notion to move the capital to Key West and just stay."

More than a century earlier, noted artist and naturalist John James Audubon must have felt the same way in 1832. When Audubon visited Key West, studying and drawing birds and plants in their natural habitat, he stayed at the home of Captain John H. Geiger, a salvager and harbor pilot. Each day, Audubon explored the mangroves in search of native birds and plants, sometimes starting at 3am and working into the night.

The house has been completely restored and is now a public museum called the Audubon House, with original hinges, hardware, and wood used by ships' carpenters in constructing the house. Along with period furnishings, there are numerous engravings by Audubon, including many from his famous "Birds of America" folio.

Two fascinating smaller museums are nearby. One, the Oldest House in Key West, is a a gem of a small, typical residence of the same period. The other is the East Martello Tower Museum, built prior to the Civil War and now a museum of shipwrecks, pirates, sponging, and cigar making. Part of the tower serves as an art gallery for local artists, including the colorful primitive wood carvings and paintings of native Key West artist Mario Sanchez.

Also nearby (Key West just isn't that big) is the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum. Typical of Key West characters, Mel Fisher is a modern-day fortune hunter, heading around the world to find treasures buried in the sea. The museum displays many of his finds, including part of more than $400 million in gold and silver from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a 17th century Spanish galleon that sunk just 45 miles west of Key West.

There are also many more characters off the coast of Key West. The underwater world awaits, with some of the finest scuba diving in the U.S. You might even become the next Mel Fisher, discovering another Keys wreck full of gold. Other popular watersports include windsurfing, sailing, and fishing. In one day in Key West, you can go from simply viewing colorful fish on a dive to feasting on your fresh catch when you return from a fishing trip.

Landlubbers who want to discover the visual delights of Keys reefs without getting wet will love the Key West Aquarium on Mallory Square. The first open-air aquarium in the U.S., this popular attraction includes a 50,000-gallon tank exhibiting the mangrove environment, tropical and game fish, sea turtles, and birds. Other exhibits include a "Touch Tank," a spiny lobster tank, and, of course, sharks.

If you meet a Key West character and want to treat him or her to a drink or dinner, Key West accommodates. In a matter of minutes, you can go from toasting Hemingway at Sloppy Joe's or Captain Tony's (the original Sloppy Joe's) to enjoying a creative gourmet seafood meal (try the local conch) at one of Key West's many renowned restaurants. But wherever or whatever you drink or eat, be sure to finish your evening with a slice of Key lime pie, made with condensed or evaporated milk and achieving its unique flavor from the juice and minced rind of the piquant Key limes that flourish in the area.

In the evening, Key West nightlife can range from laid-back to wild. The tradition of Cuban music is apparent in Key West, as is an individual brand of jazz blues, known as Conchtown rhythm. This mix of New Orleans jazz and calypso features a noted impresario, Coffee Butler, a native Key Wester who is billed as "the southernmost Louis Armstrong" in nightclubs where he appears. But the biggest influence has to be Jimmy Buffet, who began his career in Key West by playing for friends at at small venues.

As the day draws to a close, it's obvious that you need to spend a few days in Key West to get its true flavor. There's a wide variety of accommodations options to oblige your need for sleep. From small inns to large resorts, Key West is accommodating.

Many other people, places, and things attack the senses in Key West. Once you think you've seen it all, take a tour with the Conch Train, on one of the pedal-propelled cruisers, or by foot. Whether having a drink with a local conch character or some eating some spicy conch chowder, Ernest Hemingway would still love Key West.

SIDEBAR

THE REST OF THE FLORIDA KEYS:

TAKE THE OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

There's much more to the Florida Keys than Key West and the Overseas Highway can get you there. Though it's only 45 minutes by airplane from Miami to Key West, visitors who fly miss one of America's great motor odysseys.

The Overseas Highway, often called "The Highway that Goes to Sea," is a modern engineering wonder. It is a driver's magic carpet ride through the Keys, carrying autos from Florida's mainland across countless coral and limestone islets through this special world all the way to Key West.

The highway--the southernmost leg of famed U.S. 1--follows a trail originally blazed in 1912 when Henry Flagler extended his Florida East Coast Railroad from Miami to Key West. The railroad ceased operations on this link in 1935, but this highway of 113 miles of roadway and 42 overseas bridges replaced it in 1938. Though the Overseas Highway can be traveled in less than four hours, much more time is needed to explore the true character and characters of the Florida Keys. The Key to Florida Keys addresses are the mile markers, small green signs with white numbers that start at MM 126 and end with MM 0 at the corner of Fleming and Whitehead streets in downtown Key West.

Jumping-off point to the Florida Keys is Key Largo (MM 105)--42 miles south-southwest of Miami. The longest island of the Keys chain, Key Largo is the site where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall battled both Edward G. Robinson and a hurricane in the movie of the same name. Even if a hurricane doesn't hit, Bogie's Key Largo connection can be experienced aboard the African Queen, the actual boat that Bogart skippered in the movie of the same name.

But Key Largo's true star attraction is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park--the first underwater preserve in the United States--and the adjacent Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary. These two refuges offer 55 varieties of delicate corals and almost 500 different species of fish for the viewing pleasure of divers and snorkelers. For those who want to stay dry, there's even the world's only underwater hotel.

Further south, vistas of the Keys are dominated by emerald-green lagoons, deep-blue seas, nodding palms, rustling pines, and olive-green mangroves. White herons, roseate spoonbills, pelicans, sea gulls, ospreys, and other creatures share this paradise with visitors.

Islamorada (MM 85) is the centerpiece of a group of islands known as the the "purple isles"--the islands feature a heavy concentration of the stunning violet sea snail and "morada" is Spanish for purple. Known as the "Sportfishing Capital of the World," Islamorada is heralded for its angling diversity and features the Keys' largest fleet of offshore charterboats and shallow water backcountry boats. The Keys boast more sportfishing world records than any other fishing destination in the world.

Marathon Key (MM 49) is the heart of the Florida Keys and is home to Crane Point Hammock, a 63.5-acre tract that is one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in the Keys. The area contains evidence of pre-Columbian and prehistoric Bahamian artifacts and was once the site of an entire Indian Village.

The drive across famed Seven Mile Bridge (MM 47) at Marathon Key leads to the Lower Keys, but don't pass by the small island below the old Seven Mile Bridge. Pigeon Key once housed the workers who built Flagler's railroad in the early-1900s and, while the rest of the keys have evolved into relatively modern destinations, this tiny key has remained essentially unchanged. Step onto Pigeon Key and step back in time.

The sheer sweep of the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico is readily seen from Bahia Honda Bridge (MM 38). A state park of the same name--featuring one of the top 10 beaches in the U.S.--makes it easy to sample the natural atmosphere of "America's Caribbean islands."

Big Pine Key (MM 30) is noted for the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary and serves as a national refuge for the miniature Key deer, tropical forests, and even a few alligators. Popular nature tours by kayak or larger boats offer unforgettable opportunities to view the unique fauna and flora of the Keys.

Finally, Key West lies at the end of the Overseas Highway. If this city, situated closer to Havana, Cuba, than Miami, were a person, it would be quite a character.

For further information, write to the Florida Keys & Key West Visitors Bureau at P.O. Box 1147, Key West, FL 33041, U.S.A. In the U.S. and Canada, call (800) FLA KEYS. From other countries, call (305) 296-1552. Online service users can obtain a wide variety of Keys information by typing http://www.fla-keys.com on a personal computer connected to the world wide web.