12/7/19

Runaway Ballerina




On this day in 1985, a Florida man who found out his father helped deliver him during birth inexplicably smashed a hot pizza in the older man’s face upon learning the news. 


Pincus Sprinkle of Windmill, Florida was charged with assault and littering. He remains in the county jail in lieu of a $150 bond. At the trial, his lawyer pleaded
with the judge to wave the bond because his client is allergic to jailhouse food, particularly, baloney, moldy wonder bread, and kool-aid. 

Sheriff’s deputies were called Thursday to the Sprinkle family’s home, where they found a pizza slice on a chair and cheese sauce strewn around the room. Evidence enough to send Pincus to the big house.
Henry and Lucia wake early, showering and shampooing each other's hair. She has waist-length naturally curly pitch-dark hair, his hair is long salt and pepper colored, which he braids Native-Indian style.

After showering and packing they enjoying a leisurely breakfast on the front porch— grapefruit, watermelon, brown sugar Pop-Tarts, shots of Ouzo and coffee. Pedro their woodpecker begs Lucia for Pop-Tart crumbs, nudging her with his beck. Henry pours Ouzo into a glass of water, with childlike zeal saying, 
see this sweetie? When I pour Ouzo into water there's a chemical reaction causing the compound to turn cloudy, it’s called the Ouzo Effect! Thinking he's off his rocker she says,
amazing Louis Pasteur, my husband the chemist!
They will spend a night in Key Largo, a town with booguu dog and woodpecker friendly motels.
During the 40s the movie Key Largo was filmed in Key Largo, putting the small town on the map.

As the film opens a group of sadistic gangsters and kingpin Johnny Rizzo, played by Edward G. Robinson, take over the Key Largo hotel, holding a group of guests hostage because the gang was bored stupid as they waited for a boat to take them to Cuba. 
The mob plays fiendish mind games with the hostages in the claustrophobic lobby of the Key Largo Motel until Frank McCloud, played by Humprey Bogart has had enough. With pre-Bruce Lee lightning-quick moves, Frank unyokes Johnny Ricco's gun, pumping Ricco and his knocked sideways thugs full of lead.
Lucia carries a large Gucci bag as Henry wheels their iced-downed Coleman Cool Box, filled with Budweiser beer, 3 bottles of Jack Daniels and cans of soda water, loading the booze into the cargo area of their 1975 Chevy Malibu Station Wagon. The Chihuahuas, Che, and Mia follow as Pedro the woodpecker naps inside Lucia's bag.


It’s a 2-hour drive from Key West to Key Largo on the 7 Mile Bridge which spans the Islands of the Keys. Most of the drive is over water, with the Gulf of Mexico on the port side and the Atlantic Ocean starboard. Driving north on Highway 1 he invents a drinking game, 
OK, babe, there are 6 towns on the road to Key Largo, whataya say we make a pit stop at each of em and down a shot with a beer? Lucia giggles,
and the one who fucks up The Finger to Nose Test buys dinner, Henry fired up,
OK, you're on!
The first stop is Summerland Key, Henry wheels the station wagon off the highway at Bahia Honda State Park, passing the public beach to a deserted corner of the park with a single picnic table. As they open the tailgate of the wagon the Chis and Pedro bolt out. The couple wheels the cool box through the sand to the lone picnic table, downing a shot and sucking down a can of beer. 
Lucia takes off her tank top and bra,  swaying back and forth from the waist up, causing her immense natural orbs to oscillate. 
The Chis paddle about in the ocean, worried about sharks and high waves Henry calls them in, Pedro is in a pine tree, pecking away, drumming out patterns of sound like Morris Code.
A 26-year old girl with braided hair, wearing a knitted bikini top and short-shorts glides gracefully up to the couple, placing both her hands on Lucia's breasts, speaking softly,
your aura pulled me to you.
The willowy beauty rubs Lucia’s chest, they become inflamed and french kiss, deep long kisses. Henry knows what's coming and says,
OK, time out! Let’s have a drink for fuck’s sack and get to know each other.
OK, I’m Summer, 
we’re Henry and Lucia.
Summer pulls a joint of skunk weed from a small crocodile-skin backpack, they pass the weed around. Summer opens up, telling her story, 
I’ve been dancing since I was 5, I was danseur suje with the New York City Ballet, success came at a price though, look at my feet! 
She has calloused feet and her toenails are thick! Describing her painfilled past,
I paint my nails because they’re black. My back is shot and I have tendonitis. Professional ballet was eating me alive and I had to get out, so I left New York and have been on the bum ever since. Pedro flies to Summer, perching on her shoulder as Lucia says,
poor bebe, come with us to Key Largo!
Henry drives north on the highway and Summer sits between the couple in the center of the front seat. She pulls a cassette tape from the glove box, putting it into the tape player— Stay with Me by Faces, it’s a getaway song, the station wagon overflows with feelings of intimacy, sexual vibrations, and anticipation.
Everybody's hungry, he wheels off the highway, driving through the town of Marathon, seeing a quaint Cubano cafe, La Nina Restaurante, parking and leaving the pets in the car.

Inside they sit down in a booth, it's an all you can eat buffet, Summer blushes, 
you 2 go ahead and eat, I’m broke darlings, Lucia hugs her,
Henry and I love you bebe, you’re family, we’ll take care of you! 
The 3 of them feel warm and connected as they walk to the buffet, it’s loaded with everything Cuban—Masitas, Mojo, Yuca, fried plantains, pulled pork, polla, rice, and beans, with flan and donuts for dessert.
Summer fills her plate, she hadn’t eaten in a few days, Henry concerned she gets enough to eat,

doll, feel free to go back and fill your plate! 
After a while, she walks to the buffet for a 2nd serving, her plate brimming over with deliciosa comida Cubana. Henry gets the ball rolling, 

Summer did ya know Lucia is Cuban? We met there, she was the love goddess of Havana, known for her beauty, and I’m gonna tell ya, Castro’s balls ached for her! Lucia cuts in,
watch it maldido puta, don’t go too far with this, Summer interjects in a quiet manner,
it's true, Lucia's exquisite I want her! Henry hooting out loud,
Oh, don't worry, she’ll jump your bones when we get to Key Largo. Eat up Summer, you’re gonna need the protein when she gets ya in the sack! Lucia gives him the evil eye, arching one eyebrow,
you’re being an asshole Henry, we were in a groove and you shit all over it!
As she works on her 3rd plate of food, the fun couple orders a pitcher of Bucanero beer mixed with Clamato. 
Summer was above the fray, radiating violet light, she could daydream and change the world. 

Henry and Lucia weren’t spiritual, their relationship was an ignoble game of tit for tat, he would bait her and she would spit the bait back. But, their crosstalk was a mere lark, anger didn’t have a place in their life, they were in love with each other and in love with the world, naively blind to the agonies of the world. 

They were thrill-seeking hedonists who couldn't tell you who the governor of Florida or New York was because they didn't care. Henry didn't vote and Lucia had lived most of her life in Cuba, seeing first hand the damage extremist politics could do. Politics were for anybody but them. 

Henry goes to pay the bill, a heavyset bald-headed Cuban with a pencil mustache, wearing whites, who's standing behind the cashier says,
does the hippy chica have tapeworms? She ate like a burro! You're esposa is Cuban so I won't charge you double.
As Henry drives the highway north, Lucia feeds the Chis and Pedro leftovers smuggled out of the cafe. Pedro enjoys the fried plantains, moving his head back and forth as he nibbles the tiny bits from her hand, happy she comments, 

my little Pedro loves to eat!
Luca lights a joint, passing it around, Henry decides to drive non stop to Key Largo, it's a 1-hour drive from Marathon. 

Summer is wedged between the couple in the front seat, she takes a cassette tape from the glove box, placing it in the tape player. Rocks Off, a Rolling Stones riff, plays as Henry jibes,
there's nothing in the world Lucia loves more than getting her rocks off! She comes back with,
did he tell you he gets down on his knees and begs me to squirt on him?
As the Stone's riff Soul Survivor plays Henry pulls into Key Largo, going to a phone booth, thumbing through the yellow pages to find a dog-friendly motel. He calls Pop’s Motel, it fits the bill, getting directions. Key Largo like Key West has 3 main streets so finding Pop’s is a cinch, 

He parks at the front office, Lucia, Summer, and the Chis get out of the station wagon, walking around, looking the motel grounds over as Pedro flies to a palm tree to do some pecking. 
The grounds couldn’t be better, there is a private beach surrounded by palm trees on 3 sides.

The motel has 12 bungalows, the rooms are 100% kitsch but homey— walls paneled with imitation walnut wood, the prevalent colors are, dark brown, light brown and vanilla, tacky framed prints like you'd see in a Salvation Army store line the walls, and the bathrooms have cheap plastic shower curtains.
Henry walks into the front office. At the counter, he sees an old guy resembling Charlie Weaver standing by his wife who looks like the Grandma logo on a package of Grandma’s cookies. The guy goes through a canned spiel,  
Welcome to Pop’s Motel, I’m Pops and this is my wife Dumplin, we're a pet-friendly, Christian motel, no hanky panky, alcohol or drugs allowed! 

Henry thinking, staying here will be like living in a convent, but it’ll be a hoot breaking the rules! He kisses up to Pops,
Praise the Lord Pops and praise you too! I need a large room for my wife, our teenage daughter, 2 Chihuahuas, and a woodpecker. Pops likes what he hears, thinking Henry is Christian,

will you need a cot son? Henry replies,
no sir, Pops, my wife, daughter and I are very close, inseparable, sleeping together comforts us. 
He pays Pops for a couple of nights and takes the key for bungalow 107. Then, driving the station wagon to the bungalow as the others follow walking, Pedro preferring to hang-out in the palms and peck.
The bungalow is large, with a kitchenette, and a mini-refrigerator. They walk inside and turn on the air-conditioner, Summer walks to the ice machine near the front office, Pops is standing outside, smiling, 
I met your father, he reeked of alcohol, but he assured me he's a good Christian. Summer puzzled says, 
cheers, Gramps!
Back at the bungalow, Summer brings ice and makes drinks, Jack Daniels and soda. Henry ques them in,
Pops is a born again, no hanky panky, straight-up guy, we’ll play along with him, he means well!
Lucia notices a painting of Jesus over the bed, which she takes down and puts in a drawer, saying, 
I don’t want Jesucristo looking down on me while I’m screwing, it'll make me feel guilty!
It’s 8 PM, the Chis are asleep, Pedro pecks on the door, Summer lets him in and goes back to bed with Lucia, rolling a joint. Henry is watching Monday Night Football on TV. 
The girls light the joint, exchanging mouth hits, then making out, tenderly biting one another’s lips, enjoying the paltry pain as their bodies shiver. They go down on each other, gyrating briskly, moans become screams, the phone rings. 
Henry's wrapped up in the football game, unaware the girls are balling. It’s Pops,
Henry, your neighbors in bungalow 8 have complained about the noises coming from your bungalow! He's ready with an alibi,
Oh yeah, right Pops, Our daughter Summer has the lead in her high school play, Cape Fear, we’re cold reading it with her, going over the scene where Leigh Bowden finds a private detective with his throat cut in her kitchen and screams. Pop’s chuckles, 
I see Henry, it’s OK to rehearse, but no screams, please!
After the football game at 9 PM they go out for a late bite to eat, and more drinks, leaving the pets in the bungalow. Henry drives through the small town in no time, driving out of town on a dimly lit back road loaded with pot-holes, by chance finding the Caribbean Club. 
The joint oozes history, founded in 1938,  it’s the oldest bar in the keys. It started out as hangout for hard-drinking local fishermen and by the 40s it became backroom gambling den. In 1947, Warner Brother’s screenwriters used the bar for inspiration, writing the screenplay for Key Largo there, typing and drinking away in the tavern. The scenes in the lobby of the Key Largo Hotel were shot at Warner Brother's studios in Hollywood and the outdoor bits were filmed in proximity to the Caribbean Club.
Henry parks the station wagon in front of the tavern, inside they sit at an old wooden table. The bar has a high beamed ceiling, the beams are dark from age. There’s a taxidermy mounted Blue Marlin behind the bar and a small sign hanging over an old cash register, reading,
                         NO CREDIT CARDS
The walls are paneled with imitation wood and the barroom is cluttered with neon beer signs on the walls.
There’s a group of serious boozers sitting at the bar, looking like the barflies in The Elbow Inn, the tavern in the Charles Bukowski bio-film, Barfly.
The bar-goers eyeball Lucia and Summer, who they think are movie stars, there is a marked contrast between the girls and the barflies. 

There's no waitress, it's self-service, Henry walks to the bar, jotting down his order on a piece of paper using a pencil. He orders fresh crab-legs, catch of the day which is Grouper, a large plate of hash browns, and 3 plastic buckets of Rum Runners. The buckets of booze are ready in a flash, Henry playing waitress serves the girls saying,
I guess I'm the designated waitress tonight, you 2 are fagged out, suffering from orgasm fatigue, Lucia yawns,
if you could get it up, we wood-a asked you to join in! 
Henry and Lucia are constant drinkers, the word alcoholic wasn’t in their vocabulary. Summer drank nonstop as well, delighted to be with people who drank the same as her. The only difference between the threesome and the barflies is, they are active drinkers who didn't sit in a tavern all day and night.
Henry walks to the bar to pick up the dinner trays, the girls laughing, figuring he was so loaded he might drop a tray. After eating they drink snifter glasses of cognac, later Lucia says, 
I'm drunk, I feel sick! Summer loves her and is concerned, 
Henry let's take her back to the motel!
He drives back to Pop’s Motel on the same back road he drove to the tavern on. Lucia is laying in the cargo area of the station wagon with her head on Summer's lap, who is cradling her and holding a wet towel on her forehead. 

Henry's way, way smashed and driving perilously on the poorly lit road. There’s a loud thud as the car hits something, he gets out with a lit flashlight to investigate, seeing an alligator scamper into the bush. 
Back in the car, Lucia has spewed all over, Henry is shaken up by the accident,
I hit an alligator, luckily he’s OK!
In the bungalow at Pop’s Motel, Summer helps Lucia into the bathroom, bathing and spoon-feeding her ganja tea, which soothes nausea. After the bath, she puts Lucia to bed. 

She and Henry walk to the motel beach and sit on lounge chairs, smoking pot, he says,
Lucia is allergic to shellfish, we were so loaded we forgot. Summer walks towards him, sitting on the edge of his lounge chair saying,

poor baby, we'll make a delicious breakfast in the morning! 

Then she reaches out to him, clasping his head with both hands as she looks into his eyes saying,

I love you guys so much!
They deep kiss, then she pulls his shorts down past his knees, going down on him, sucking him full tilt, getting on top of him, riding cowgirl style. 
After finishing they go skinny dipping in the ocean, holding one another and looking at the moon. Henry waxing,

today felt like an eternity, as though time was marching in place, marking time till we rounded-off a full circle.

11/24/19

Stock Island Drive-in Theater





On this day in 1985, the Florida Supreme Court overturned the death sentence, and jubilation was felt on death rows everywhere in the State. Death row inmates passed rotgut hooch from cell to cell as the partying continued into the wee hours. The hooch was stewed by wrapping fruit or potatoes in a cheesecloth, hanging the stew under bunks until it fermented. 

Henry and Lucia had lived in their new house in Key West for a month. Waking at 10 AM, they go outside and sit at a wicker table on the front porch, eating waffles with Vermont maple syrup and drinking Mexican coffee. Pedro their pet woodpecker pecks on a waffle, particularly
enjoying the special syrup, eating like a bird. Lucia says,  

take me to the beach darling, we can take the family! And he says.

I ran into a Hemingway clone in the market and when I told him we had 2 Chihuahuas he said, 

oh my gosh, go to Dog Beach, and don’t forget the Moon Dog Cafe, it’s doggy friendly and everything is homemade!

The Hemingway clone was over the top gay, a nice guy who would be happier as a Tennessee Williams clone.

They dress for Dog Beach, Lucia puts on a knit thong bikini, shorts, and a tank top. She would test the water at Dog Beach to see if men stared at her, which she hated. Henry wears a pair of checkered boxer shorts and a white t-shirt. She says to him,

darling, I hate it when men stare at me, but, I enjoy feeling naked in a thong. He smiles saying, 

which part of being a goddess bothers you? Would you rather be deformed? Pissed she says, 

shut up, Henry! I don’t want to hear your Freudian fiilosofica shit, it’s not easy being a chica! You know what it’s like to have a cono full of sangre every month? What it does to your head? He laughs saying, 

sangre meaning blood or wine in Spanish? A pussy full of wine? In disgust she says, 

estas loco Henry, let’s go pendajo!

The couple followed by the Chi's and Pedro bring a large Coleman Coolbox to the station wagon and drive to a Shell station to get gas. Henry asks the attendant where Dog Beach is? The kid has pink bangs covering his face which he incessantly flips from one side of his face to the other, exposing an eye to see,  he says stuttering, 

take Tru Tru man a Avenue to Re Re Re nolds Stra eat! Henry not wanting to burden the kid pays and drives away, saying to Lucia, 

the ka ka kid is a fa fa fucking mess! She replies,

stop it Henry that’s aw aw aw ful! 

They laugh all the way to Dog Beach. 

At the beach they take the coolbox from the back of the station wagon carrying it to an area where then can rent chairs and umbrellas, the Chis and Pedro follow. The couple didn’t like the sun, Lucia was born dark, and didn’t want to get darker, Henry had milky-skin which burnt and blistered in the sun.   

Getting settled in the beach chairs, Lucia takes off her tank top and shorts, laying down with her thong on. Her body is sculpted from head to toe and her waist-length brass-colored hair glows in the sun. Beachgoers, both men women eyeball her as they walk by. She does her best to ignore the unwanted attention as Henry laughs saying,

they think you’re a famous porn star! She comes back,

then, they look at your crotch pendajo and see your teeny, weeny, pene and think, he's no porn star!  

Dog Beach is a leash-free area where dogs are liable for their behavior and can be 86’d or fined for infractions the same as NFL players. The Chis chase each other in the sand, play fighting. Pedro thinks he’s a seagull, flying high over the ocean and from time to time diving like a Stuka plane, pulling out of the dive before he hits the water, knowing he can't float or swim.

At some point, a male Great Dane named Haufman tears into Che who clamps onto the large dog's tail with his muzzle, holding tight as Haufman twists and spins like a bucking bronco trying to get at Che. Henry runs to help, unable to budge Haufman. 

Then, Pedro drops out of the sky like Superman, landing on Haufman, perching on his back, pecking the large dog repeatedly like would a Ponderosa pine. The Great Dane backs off and Che escapes as a Beach Patrolman shows, throwing down a red card and 86 ing Haufman. The big dog’s owners try to get the call reversed, unsuccessfully.

Lucia had stayed clear of the rumble and is relaxing in her beach chair as she pulls 2 cold beers out of the coolbox, thinking Henry might need one, he says,

you could have helped me you know, I couldn’t budge Haufman, he’s massive! She says raising her eyebrows, 

darling, if I had gotten into the free-for-all, my thong would have snapped open, it’s very delicate, held together by a few strands of yarn.

By sundown, the couple's loaded and hungry. They walk across the street, holding the Chis as Pedro follows airmail, to a pet-friendly restaurant called the Moon Dog Cafe, a place that's straight out of the pages of the Whole Earth Magazine. Inside they sit at a table, an older hippy woman approaches the crew to take their order saying, 

we’ve had a lot of folks here with parrots, but never a woodpecker! Henry laughs,

his name is Pedro, we’re thinking of changing his name to Superman, he just took on a Great Dane at Dog Beach, saving the day! The waitress says, 

oh, that must have been Haufman, he comes here with his owners all the time, I’m surprised, he's usually well behaved! Henry cuts in saying, 

we need to order sweetie! How bout a pitcher of rum and Coca Cola, 2 Cajun chicken sandwiches on rye, hash browns, a Caesar salad with bacon, and a bowl of sunflower seeds for the hero!

They pour themselves glasses of rum and coke, downing them as they eat. Pedro puffs his chest and ruffles his feathers proudly as he pecks at his well-earned seeds, Lucia comments,

darling, I think Pedro's getting a big head! 

They laugh, pay the bill, walk to the station wagon, load it and drive home where they shower and change. Henry had heard of a drive-in theater on Stock Island, and he wanted Lucia to see it. He finds the address of the theater in the Yellow Pages. 

Stock Island is north of Key West on Highway1, like the other islands in the Keys, it began as a knob of coral rock appearing as the ocean dropped a thousand years ago.

The island is unincorporated and is known as a no-man’s land. It’s a place where gangsters with names like—Joey the Chin, Tony the Weasel, and Rico the Leg traveled to lay low and hideout from the law in the 20s and 30s.

They leave Pedro in the house, letting him cool down after a busy day, then driving in the station wagon with the Chis north on Highway 1. At Stock Island he wheels the station wagon left, following College Avenue until he reaches the drive-in theater. It’s on a sand jetty with a large screen at the end near the ocean.

Stopping the wagon at the ticket booth, Henry rolls down his window, saying, 

Just 2 tickets sweety, the dogs won’t watch the film, they’re asleep. The high school girl is chewing a wad of gum, looking bored she says

7 dollars sir, enjoy the film.

They drive on the sand, directed by  2 guys with Detroit Bumper hair cuts in overalls who resemble Joe Dirt. They wave flashlights towards a parking place, Henry spins in. 

The couple opens the windows in the wagon, enjoying the sea breeze which smells like a mixture of— seaweed, tropical bush, and fish. 

Lucia watches intently as Henry attaches the clipped edge of the soft grey metal speaker on the inside of the half-closed car window. The experience was new to her because there aren't any drive-in theaters in Cuba,  she says, 

me enchanta darling, is this a make-out place? He comments, 

yes, darling, making out at drive-in theaters is as American as apple pie, she wonders, 

apple pie is American? Then, a beam of light reaches the large screen in front of them, and he answers, 

Oh yeah, babe!

A muffled tin-like sound comes through the small speaker as a cartoon comes on— a box of popcorn and a cup of Coca Cola, both with rounded eyeballs and insect-like legs dance as a voice says, 

don’t forget to pick up some delicious soft drinks and popcorn at the concessions stand in the rear of the parking lot. 

The film, The Blob comes on the screen and Henry laughs saying,

you’re gonna love this babe, it’s a cheesy B-movie!

The opening score, Beware of the Blob by Burt Bacharach comes through the low-quality speaker, the song is ghoulish Broadway and it never made Billboard.

As the film begins a teenage kid named Steve played by 28-year-old Steve Mc Queen witnesses a meteor crash in a cornfield, going to investigate he finds an old man who is being eaten up by what looks like a hand full of purple jam. Convinced the Blob is ghoul, the kid runs to town to report the incident and the sheriff thinks he’s crazy.

The flesh-eating Blob is without vertebrate or soul and grows larger with each living organism it gobbles up. The film which in theory is terrifying comes off as goofy. Lucia laughs and says,

el show es estupido, not scary! Henry smiling says, 

let's smoke a joint to get in the groove.

The Blob continues to expand, becoming a semi-truck size ball of goo that oozes into town, squeezing into the Colonial Theatre, absorbing a few hapless movie-goers.

As the Blob seeps out of the theater, the young hero, Steve, sprays it down with a fire extinguisher, noticing the CO 2 causes the jelly belly Blob to recoil. Steve then convinces a mob of angry town folk to get every available fire extinguisher and in the middle of main street, they spray the bugger, freezing it in place. Later the Air Force shows and halls the big-size ball of man-eating frozen jelly to a transport plane that drops it into an artic wasteland somewhere up north. 

Henry wheels his station wagon through the sandlot, heading south on Highway 1 to Key West, asking Lucia if she enjoyed the quirky flick and she says, 

the Blob is like Castro and the Socialist Revolution, eating everything in its path until the revolution eats up the world. Henry saying, 

babe, what an impressive use of metaphor! Wondering she asks,

what’s a metaphor?

11/20/19

The Gingerbread House





It was a sunny day in Key West, fall 1985. A day every boat in the harbor was rented, not to fishermen though, every boat was rented to treasure hunters searching the depths of the ocean for pirate booty. 

Henry and Lucia celebrate their 1st morning in Key West, sipping coffee mixed with Irish whiskey on the porch, he paged through The Key West Citizen, saying,

the temperature in Queens is in the low 30s! 

It was a sure bet he would announce the temperature in Queens every morning. Thoughts of New Yorkers freezing empowered them.  

The Chihuahuas, Che, and Mia are playing in the yard, running after one other, and the couple's baby woodpecker, Pedro, has found his beak, which he uses to peck holes in the palms trees.

Whiffs of Night Blooming Jasmine disseminating from the jasmine bush under their bedroom window reminds the couple they are living in the tropics. 

After breakfast Henry gets to work on a story for HEADBANGER Magazine, realizing he needs a fax machine he stops typing and says to Lucia,

baby, let's go for a ride, I need a fax machine and we need groceries.

The couple dresses casually in tank tops, shorts and rubber slippers. Lucia  looks like Sophia Loren and has bronze coloured curly hair. She would look sensational in a potato sack. Henry has long white hair he wears braided.

They go outside and get into their station wagon, After driving 20 minutes they realize there are only 4 main streets in Key West. 

He pulls into a shopping mall called Inland Center, which was built in the 60s, the shops are single story with plate glass window fronts. They walk into Key West Office Supply and a salesman approaches quick-time saying, 

welcome to Key West Office Supply folks, our motto is, we sell quality for less!

Henry smiles, the old hat salesman reminded him of the character Shelly Levine in the play Glengarry Glen Ross, he says, 

I need a fax machine, something durable whata-ya got? The salesman says, 

you're my first customer so let’s make a deal!

They follow him to a counter with 10 fax machines on it, he points to a fax machine saying, 

the Epson 350 X, portable, dependable, compact and fast, connect this little guy to your phone line and you’re be ready for business! It's yours for 285! Henry lying says, 

we saw the same model at Buddy’s Office Supply for 275! The salesman quickly says, 

270 out the door!

Henry agrees, pays and the couple is out the door, putting the machine in the back of the station wagon. On their way to Winn-Dixie Lucia says, 

you’re awful, lying to save 15 dollars, is that how gringos do business? He says, 

babe, come on,  you can't con a con, the salesman knows every trick in the book.

In Winn-Dixie they fill 2 shopping carts, one with booze and the other with food— cases of beer and Coca-cola, bottles of rum, whiskey, baguettes, dried black beans, pork, chicken, rice, biscuit mix, honey, olive oil, salt, pepper and 3 sweet potato pies. Basic kitchen stuff needed for the new house. They drive home, unloading the food and booze in the kitchen. 

Henry then moves furniture around making the den into his office, putting the fax machine on a small table and connecting it. He calls Dave Spleen his editor in New York. Dave speaking in a flash beats him to the punch, saying,

Henry baby, last week's story, Pedro the Lucky Bird was a home run, our readers loved it! Every magazine gone within a few hours! Jumping in quickly he says, 

Dave, jot my number down, 306 251 7867, Lucia and I love it here, our house is delightful, fly down with Goldy and visit us, Dave says, 

sweet, love to go, but, I’m busy, busy, busy— gotta go, gotta deadline to meet!

As Dave hangs up Lucia is in the living room dragging a large box, yelling for Henry to come and help, he asks, 

what’s that? An inflatable swan? She says, 

close but no cookie, it’s a kiddy pool for the Chihuahuas and Pedro the baby woodpecker. 

Sitting on the living room floor, Lucia inflates the pool with a bicycle pump— pushing and pulling, pushing and pulling. Then, carrying the small pool out the front door, placing it in the middle of the front lawn and filling it with water from a hose.  

The couple rock on the porch swing,  smoking a joint. The Chis, Che, and Mia approach the new pool with caution, smelling it, then jumping in and paddling about. Pedro does a nosedive from a palm tree, underlining a point to the Chis,

don’t leave me out! 

Pedro lands on the round rubber skirt of the pool, perching and taking a drink, because he couldn’t swim. Henry says, 

babe, we’re only 50 miles from Cuba, why don't you call your mother.  

Using the new fax phone she dials 011 and the number, her mother answers, 

hola? Lucia speaking Spanish says, 

mother como estas? We’re living in Key West, it’s just 37 kilometers from Havana, we want to get you out of Cuba, her mother says,

oh no, I’m scared to ride in the rickety boats, scared of the Cubano policia and scared of the criminales in the boats! My life is fine with your help bebe.

Lucia and Henry sent her 600 dollars a month, the mother and daughter talk for an hour, then saying good-bye. Lucia pouting says to Henry, 

Darling, let’s get loaded tonight, we can celebrate our first day in Key West! He says, 

we don’t have to invent reasons to get loaded, we’re loaded sun up till sundown,  she answers, 

Jesucristo bebe, picky, picky, don’t be so filosofico, que mierda? He says, 

gotta go, gotta deadline to meet! Lucia commenting cynically,

Henry, el dos-peso Dave Spleen! Laughing he says, 

oh, you noticed darling, I do have to work on a story though!

The opening scene is in Tennessee William’s vanilla colored gingerbread house on Duvall Street in Key West. 

The small house is filled with books and art. He is up by 5 AM every morning with a pitcher of Bloody Marys next to his typewriter, the booze summons up his courage.

He types as he peers out a window at the swimming pool in his backyard which is surrounded by dead weeds and thirsty wilted flowers. His mind traveling beyond the limits of the backyard to his literary world— a world where lies replace straight-forward speaking, strong-arm tactics suck love dry and being alone is the human condition. 

The subtotal of these anxieties and his own fear are the seeds that fuel his endeavor to heal a nefarious world with poetic vision.  

From 1939 to 1957, Williams wrote a string of masterpieces— The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, becoming America’s most celebrated playwright, earning 2 Pulitzer Prizes, 3 New York Drama Critics’ Circle awards and a Tony.

Some credit Williams with queering Broadway, but Broadway was born queer and didn’t need his help. 

He met and fell in love with Frank Merlo in 1947 while living in New Orleans. Merlo, a Sicilian who served in the U.S. Navy during World War 2 and was a steadying influence on William's booze and doped filled chaotic life. When Merlo died of lung cancer in 1961 it spun Tennessee into a deep funk. He had battled depression most of his life, living in constant fear, belieiving he was going insane. 

During the period after Merlo’s death, Williams used more than ever. One night while staying in the Hotel Elysee, he was deep into stupefaction. While reaching for a bottle of Oxycodone and trying to open it with his mouth he swallowed the bottle cap and choked to death—an inglorious way to die. 

In March 1983 he was buried in St. Louis at the insistence of his sister Rose. This ironic because Tennessee hated St. Louis and spent most of his life running away the city.

As the sun goes down, Henry raps up the bit on Tennessee Williams, the golden boy who wrote The Night of the Iguana. A play Henry was gone on, built on the Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon's right of passage as it transgresses through a life long cycle of passion playing on quilt.

Henry and Lucia drive their Vespa to Sloppy Joe’s, the most celebrated joint in the world, amongst tourists. The bar is on Duvall Street, not far from Tennessee William’s gingerbread house. 

They sit at the outside bar, surrounded by Earnest Hemingway look-a-likes—local guys who sat in Sloppy Joe's every night looking at each other and at their images in the mirror behind the bar. A bartender who doesn’t look like Hemingway asks, 

whata-ya have folks? Henry answers, 

a pitcher of Coors Light mixed with Clamato, a crab cake sandwich, a Cubano sandwich, Cajun fries, and a Greek Salad!

As they work on their 2nd pitcher of beer, the food comes, it’s unremarkable basic tavern fodder which Hemingway would be unable to stomach, regardless the Hemingway clones gobble it up. 


The couple asks for a doggy bag and waits for the bill. Dropping from the sky, like Superman, Pedro their baby woodpecker lands on Lucia’s shoulder, pecking at her hair and she says, 

I think our baby missed us!