PHOTO/The Conch Republic flag flew in Cuba last year.
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
The past year opened and closed with a couple of scoops for this reporter. On Dec. 31, 2013, Konk Life published our first-hand report about accompanying Key West Mayor Craig Cates on the first commercial airplane flight from Key West airport to Havana, Cuba, in more than 50 years.
It also happened to be the centenary of the first-ever flight from Key West to Cuba by Rosillo del Toro.
The two of us returned alone with the pilot and co-pilot (the others had reason to stay) and felt elated from the whole trouble-free adventure and the openhearted reception we received from personnel at José Marti airport. It was a lovely experience for us both.
The plane was a 10-seat, twin-prop Cessna 441 belonging to Ed Knight and we flew the stone’s throw to our nearest big-city neighbor at 10,000 feet averaging 274 mph.
The trip went ahead by virtue of the first permit issued by the Cuban government to land a plane in Havana from Key West since the Castro revolution.
Aboard on the outward journey in addition to Mayor Cates and this reporter were Carolann Sharkey of the Key West Botanical Garden plus board members of the garden. We left at 9:58 a.m. and arrived after a smooth flight at precisely 10:20 a.m.
Del Toro, by the way, took 2 hours and 45 minutes in his flimsy seaplane back in 1913.
Twelve months later, at this end of 2014, on the morning of Dec. 3, a party of several leading Key West citizens (who’d kept the flight a closely guarded secret) took off from Miami for Havana’s José Marti Airport to attend an inaugural performance of “The Hemingway Suite” by local artist composer Bill Lorraine at the Teatro Marti, plus other cultural happenings.
That visit made history as one of the first such cultural exchanges between our neighboring cities and nations since the U.S. embargo of relations with Cuba half a century ago.
And just days after the Key Westers returned on the cusp of the year, President Obama heralded in the official end of that embargo.
How else did we feature in the world’s news quite so centrally? Well, quite honestly, the only local news that struck directly to our heart emanated from the Middle Keys, where Dr. Sean Perry of the Marathon Veterinary Hospital saved the life of Buttercup, an orange tabby cat who needed blood by giving him a transfusion from a West Palm Beach dog blood bank. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, 62 cats have been known to receive such xenotransfusions (from the Greek “xenos,” meaning strange or foreign) and cats are apparently the only animals — besides dogs, of course — that can safely process dog blood.
Kind of takes an “r” or two out of “Grrr,” wouldn’t you think? So Keysey….
Meanwhile, the space between Christmas and the new years is really not a great space in which to catch our city commissioners for a confession on their new-year resolutions or a prediction or two they might like to make about the future.
Despite our best efforts, we were able to capture the thoughts of just five of the city’s top servants, their words amounting to the long, two shorts and the tall.
Given this year’s Cuban emphasis, we must start with the fat response from Commissioner Tony Yaniz representing District Four:
“ In the coming year we need to focus on our biggest crisis: Affordable workforce housing. I want to go to referendum to allow up to six stories east of Kennedy away from the waterfront.
“We must continue to work towards providing aging-in-place options for our citizens: Independent living, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
“We must resolve the traffic issues on our streets, provide adequate parking and commuter alternatives, and move forward with creating a viable Duval Street option. We will continue with the ongoing projects like City Hall and Truman Waterfront. And, by the way, the much-needed second bathrooms at Smathers Beach.
“I’d like to see the city institute a program by which we get bids for major projects instead of proposals and that we hold the bidders to those figures. And I will continue to demand that the city hire locally and internally whenever possible.
“I want to keep a close eye on the pros and cons of the cruise-ship industry’s impact upon our city as well as our precious coral reef. There has to be a healthy balance that will not forfeit our greatest asset.
“Finally, I want to continue to encourage any and all exchange with Cuba to rebuild the cultural and historical links that our two islands have enjoyed for more than 150 years.”
“On a personal level, I want to spend more time with my grandson Jameson (Papo), take care of my health, watch my weight and spend more time exercising as the stress of the job can sometimes be intense.”
And now this, from Commissioner Billy Wardlow representing District Three:
“I wish for all the citizens of Key West to be healthy and to enjoy themselves. For the morale at the city to be at its best. For the fire department to enjoy the new station on Simonton Street and for us to be ready to move into the new Josephine Parker City Hall.
“For myself, I will try to stay healthy and make wise, good decisions while sitting on the dais. Thank You.”
Now this just in from the city attorney, Shawn Smith:
“Watching both my children and parents grow in age, I’ve resolved to savor and be more appreciative of the complexities of life’s small moments, take nothing for granted and give much greater recognition to our good fortune to call this beautiful community of islands our home.”
And lastly, here are a couple of quickies.
This is from Commissioner Jimmy Weekley of District One:
“My personal resolution is to have more fun than I did in 2014.
“My prediction for 2015: The development of the Truman Waterfront actually begins.”
And here’s a single-sentence conclusion from Commissioner Mark Rossi of District Two:
“The status quo is the best way to go. Blessings, brother!”
So be it.
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