The Best Way to End

Like most holidays, I had assumed that I would be spending Christmas alone… a seemingly proper celebration for the end of the year of the Coronavirus. It’s not like I don’t get invited anywhere. I do. But, it’s not the same when it’s not family.

Then, when the scatter-brained pastor made it a point to come up to me and ask me--with a smile--in his Wisconsinese accent what I was doing for the holiday… insisting that I come over (even during one of his busiest seasons), I couldn’t say “No.” His Italian Wisconsinite family filled his house in Colorado with seven kids and one granddaughter coming in from California and Missouri. We played board games and laughed all night long.

Eventually, I realized that I was on the same flight as his oldest daughter (around my age) and his little granddaughter the following Sunday! They were headed to St. Louis, I was headed to Key West, we both had a layover in Dallas. So, we went together. I couldn’t remember the last time that I flew with someone that I actually knew… let alone someone I got along with… someone so warm, welcoming, and attractive… we talked and laughed and enjoyed the time together. In Dallas we found our separate rail cars and she looked back as she dragged her little one alongside her, waving good-bye as she headed through the automatic doors onto her train to her plane that would take her back to The Lou… I had lived in St. Louis for a while. So, I did not envy her destination. But, I still missed her.

As I made my way over to my own terminal, I was alone. I assume most people feel lonely at times like these. But, for me, the emotion tends to be one of liberation… independence… almost a relief… there’s no one else to worry about. I looked up at the Gate reading directions to Key West, then peered down from the sign to a man in front of me.

He had a red hue to his skin and silver hair… wearing a bright yellow smiley facemask. He looked oddly like my godfather who lived in New Orleans. So, I texted him, “Are you going to Key West?” He replied, “Yes” as they began calling for sections to enter the plane. I asked, “Are you in Dallas?” Again, “Yes” as the man with the red hue and silver hair got in line. Finally, “Are you wearing a yellow smiley facemask?” “Yes?” The no-longer-stranger got onto the aircraft. Then, one final text, “If this isn’t you, this is going to be embarrassing.” He didn’t have time to check his phone as he took a seat.

As I entered the plane and found my own chair, I pulled down the cloth to reveal my face behind my facemask and shouted back to him, “They let you on this plane?” I guess they did. We hadn’t seen each other in years. He glowed with joy.

Oddly, I’m not really sure why I chose to go to Key West. I needed a vacation. A real vacation. And, I think, at some point, I looked at a map. I have always had the goal to “See America First” (a slogan I picked up from working in Glacier National Park). And, while I glanced at the places I still wanted to go in America from East to West: Maine would have been too cold in December (hoping to visit Acadia in Summer 2022). I wasn’t quite ready to go to D.C. It definitely wasn’t on the top of my list, just some place that seems like everyone should see. Maybe I’ll chaperone some sort of youth trip there eventually (I’m very involved with youth groups etc.). I could have gone to the Smokies. But, decided to wait… maybe take someone with me. Then, I got to Florida. I had already been to Orlando during High School and I’ve visited Fort Myers (it’s nice). Sometime I should go to the Everglades. But, the spot that really just stuck out to me—ever since seeing Fort Myers and hearing about the rail system that connected islands—was the Florida Keys.

There is a 70-mile bridge from Miami to the ocean. Since I flew straight into Key West, I’ll need to fly into Miami and come back to drive it sometime. I wondered if there was still a train that made the loop too (that was one of FDR’s priorities after the Great Depression… to renew tourism in the Keys… How? By making a train that traveled out to visit them).

Anyway, the bucket list was being checked (ineffectively since there is so much more to see in the Keys!!) and news reports that there were open beaches in Florida—even during COVID—ironically inspired me to go. That was the opposite of what the media had seemed to hope for. While CNN and other news sources had spent the last four years complaining about the President Trump’s time off spent golfing in Mara Lago… it made me feel like Florida was perhaps the best place to celebrate the end of his presidency.

The Donald is far from the first person—or, even, the first president—to find refuge in the Keys. Truman had built a “Little White House” and Earnest Hemmingway as well as Robert Frost were frequent visitors and residents of this exotic island.

I spent two days exploring on a little red scooter (#3), but I’ll have to come back to go on the water and take the ferry over to Dry Tortuga’s National Park. Although, it was December the sun was shining and there was an average of 70-degree weather. The third day it rained. I took the time to rest and reflect before visiting family in Erie, PA.

Whatever brought me here—now—whether it was to have the first real vacation for the last few years or to just remind myself of who I am—not a homebody, but an adventurer and explorer who loves America, a patron hoping to single-handedly renew the economy of tourism in the United States even during a pandemic… I now believe that the reason that the Keys had called out to me was for my godfather.

As we spent the nights bar-hopping and going to comedy clubs, having hysterical conversations with a tourist family and a lesbian couple, drinking Pilar Rum and Wild Turkey (his favorite) … I found out that although I hadn’t planned on seeing him (not ever realizing he would be anywhere outside of New Orleans), he needed me to. He had decided to move from New Orleans to Key West... independently. This was one of his final trips back-and-forth and he needed the affirmation, the support, the insight that he belongs there. And, that he’s never truly alone. | December 30th, 2020 | KW