I never know what tale he will tell when he comes home. It's usually around 9 am, but sometimes it's almost 11. On those long days, he could have met a team of cyclists visiting Key West from Sweden and stayed to take each one's picture with their bikes. (Yep, that happened.) Or maybe he met a nice couple from Minnesota on the way out of church and gave them a tour of the Stations of the Cross garden, chatting all the way. (That happened, too.)
Sometimes he ends up running with complete strangers he meets and they often become friends. He will say "Remember that architect from Chicago? He'll be back in town in a few weeks and we are going to run!" I can barely keep the list of semi-acquaintances straight, but his enthusiasm is kind of contagious.
He gives tourists directions and is happy to take their photo when he sees a couple taking individual shots....'Hey, do you want a picture with you both in it?' The answer is always yes. In front of Hemingway House, Customs House, Mallory Square, but most often in front of the Southernmost Point buoy. I would love to know how many times he has done that in the five years we have lived here.
A few days ago, I got a message from one of those people, and she even sent me the photo John took last year. It turns out that this woman, my new friend Miki from Charleston, SC, her husband, and my husband spent 45 minutes chatting about life in Key West, kids, blogs (she has one too), and much, much more. Miki says the conversation stayed with her and she has been following my blog since then. It turns out she is writing a book set partly on the island. I look forward to reading it soon and will make sure to post about it so people can look for it.
While there have definitely been times I have been irritated by John's open-arms approach to strangers ('Hon, you REALLY didn't invite them to come see your studio NOW, did you???') after talking to Miki I see his treks around the island as more of a public service. Palm trees, blue water, and super nice people. It's really what Key West is all about.
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| Miki and her husband in 2014, photo taken by John. |
