Where the Road Ends ....

Where the road ends is where creativity begins. There is no GPS to chart your course; the way is open to whatever direction your heart and passion drive you to create.

I understand why Ernest Hemingway spent afternoons here at the end of US Route 1 in Key West: to loosen his life, to set his own artistic path, to free his spirit.  The writer finds words flowing as smoothly as the cruise ships slide easily into port or the sunset sails glide past the crowd, and as vibrant as the deepest blue waters of the Gulf or the sweet cotton candy swirls of pink and white and blue, setting with the sun. The artist's latest inspiration awakens on a lazy afternoon; a sheet of paper, a few brushes, some swipes of color and splashes of water take shape into a burst of tropical paradise.

It's where entrepreneurship flourishes, where everyone stakes his and her claims to have a share of the gold. A bit reminiscent of "Paint Your Wagon," Cleo the dog and his partner, a double for Lee Marvin's Ben Rumson, share the sunset with the throngs on Mallory Square and pull in one-fifty on the evening, one buck at a time. A banjo. A song. A Golden Retriever. Each sunset a similar routine, just a different crowd to entertain.

It's an incubator for innovation. Where young Cooper religiously catches the bus two Keys east in order to catch the daily sunset at Mallory, his juggling tools tucked inside a white plastic bucket and joined with his hand-scrawled cardboard sign encouraging tips for his college fund. The eighth-grader intends to study science at Florida, and the regulars of Mallory have coached him in entertaining skills to spur his artistry and storytelling to attract some share of the funds. He's committed to his goals, and his skills are swelling as are hopefully his college investments.
 
It's where campers with assorted cars, vans and trucks from Washington, California, Quebec and Ohio park it for the day along South Roosevelt Boulevard, their Sterno-fueled stoves warming the morning's coffee in anticipation of savoring a day of renewed spirits and fresh ideas.

No need to worry about Daylight Saving Time, it's Key West Time, kept only by the rising sun along South Roosevelt and its subsequent setting at afternoon's end to the west of the southern most end.

 Almost heaven. Definitely paradise.