I find it funny, that as a younger person
growing up in the 50’s and 60’s I neither read or really knew much about Ernest
Hemingway. After moving down to Key
West in 2005, I discovered a very interesting man that I would have loved to
have been able to call my friend. Hemingway was a man’s
man, he was a sportsman, brawler, adventurer, writer and most of all a person
who followed his own dreams. I get the
feeling that if something really interested him he would do it and then deal
with the consequences for it later. I share
some of his drives in my own life and try hard not to worry too much about what
happens if it doesn’t work out.
I came to Key West not knowing how I was
going to support myself. I looked at a
few ideas, got my “Captain’s License”, but shuttling tourists around the island
didn’t really ring my bell if you will.
I ended up as a barman, this was thanks to a friend that was at a party I was
asked to bartend. Rum and making of
cocktails was a great interest and fun for me, but wasn’t really something that I thought
about making a living with. 
After going to work at the Rum Bar in Key
West, I really got seriously involved with rum and the creation of new and
interesting cocktails. Robert Burr asked
if I was interested in becoming a member of the RumXP, a group of likeminded
rum enthusiasts that gather in different places around the world to learn about
rum and sample and judge it for competitions.
I was encouraged to start a blog and write about this life that I am
currently living. The idea of a book came along next, all working out very well.
The blog has sent me looking into many
different things about Key West and the fantastic people that have inhabited
the island over the years. This is how I
discovered Ernest Hemingway and the exciting life that he lived. I have been lucky enough to visit several of
the places that he frequented during his lifetime in the Caribbean. Wandered Bimini and the Compleat Angler Hotel in Alice Town, where he was said to have worked on "To Have and Have Not" between 1935 and 1937. I have visited
several of his drinking haunts in Havana and Cojimar, Cuba. I have seen Ambros Mundos Hotel, where he
lived when he first arrived in Havana and finished "For Whom the Bells Toll". I had the privilege of visiting San
Francisco de Paula, the unique village where Finca la Vigia, Hemingway’s
marvelous house and Pilar which is located there today.
Following Ernest Hemingway’s steps through
the city of Havana and visiting such places as El Floridita, Sloppy Joe’s
(Havana), Bodegita de Medio, and others, I have gotten a pretty good feel for
the man and his unique way of looking at things When he did something, he seemed to accept
things on his terms and only being the best at all that he tried. Most important was, it really had to be
fun. I’d love to have any portion of
his talent, but one thing I do have is the drive to do what really feels good
to me. I’m not afraid to step out into
the wind, put my head down and experience something new. This following of my gut and my sense of
adventure has been often driven by some of the same strengths that kept Hemingway going
especially the idea of just doing things for the fun of it. ;o)
