After recently watching the superb PBS documentary of Ernest Hemingway by Ken Burns, I knew I had to visit Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West just to once again check out all the cool stuff on the walls!
Florida Literature
The Hawk is Dying (1973) Harry Crews
“Everybody wanted something from George Gattling. They wanted sex and new seat covers, money and confessions, a little bit of love and a lot of answers. That’s why George liked his hawk. All it asked of him was an opportunity to kill.”
The Questionable Name of Progress
“Now, of course, having failed in every attempt to subdue the Glades by frontal attack, we are slowly killing it off by tapping the River of Grass. In the questionable name of progress, the state in its vast wisdom lets every two-bit developer divert the flow into drag-lined canals that give him ‘waterfront’ lots to sell. As far north as Corkscrew Swamp, virgin stands of ancient bald cypress are dying. All the area north of Copeland had been logged out, and will never come back. As the glades dry, the big fires come with increasing frequency. The ecology is changing with egret colonies dwindling, mullet getting scarce, mangrove dying of new diseases born of dryness.” ― John D. MacDonald, Bright Orange for the Shroud (1965)
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” – Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
Did You Know …
The 175-foot Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet served as inspiration for Stephen Crane’s famous short story, “The Open Boat”? First published in Scribner’s Magazine in 1897, “The Open Boat” was based on Crane’s ordeal of surviving a shipwreck off the coast of Florida earlier that year. Crane and three other survivors used the lighthouse to navigate their small boat to shore: “A singular disadvantage of the sea lies in the fact that after successfully surmounting one wave you discover that there is another behind it just as important and just as nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats.” According to none other than H. G. Wells, “The Open Boat” was “beyond all question, the crown of all [Crane’s] work.” Originally known as Mosquito Inlet Light Station, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the third tallest lighthouse in the United States.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
“We cannot live without the earth or apart from it, and something is shrivelled in a man’s heart when he turns away from it and concerns himself only with the affairs of men.” ―Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek (1942)
The Yearling Restaurant
Step back in time to “Old Florida” at The Yearling Restaurant, a local landmark in the Cross Creek area (way off the beaten path!) that first opened its doors in 1952 and specializes in Southern “cracker-style” cuisine. Enjoy live music courtesy of legendary bluesman Willie “The Real Deal” Green. Named after Marjorie Kinnan Rawling’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning 1938 novel, The Yearling, the award-winning Yearling Restaurant lies less than a mile from the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park (I personally advise visiting this must-see attraction in the morning followed by lunch at The Yearling). Or choose to spend the night at the adjacent Secret River Lodge, which boasts seven restored cottages. The eclectic menu at The Yearling features such offbeat delicacies as Florida Gator, Frog Legs, Free Range Venison, Fried Portobello Mushrooms, Conch Fritters, Stuffed Grouper, Blackened Mississippi Catfish, Maple Leaf Duck Breast and Domestic Quail, as well as steaks, burgers, sandwiches and more. Save room for one of the signature desserts such as Key Lime Pie, Pecan Pie, Sour Orange Pie and Buttermilk Pie. The Yearling Restaurant is located at 14531 County Road 325 in Hawthorne, just 14 miles from Gainesville. Don’t be scared off by the eatery’s rather rough exterior – it’s all part of the charm! It is open for lunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday. For more information, visit www.yearlingrestaurant.net.
Stop-Time
“My faith in the firmness of time slips away gradually. I begin to believe that chronological time is an illusion and that some other principle organizes existence. My memories flash like clips of film from unrelated movies. I wonder, suddenly, if I am alive. I know I’m not dead, but am I alive? I look into the memories for reassurance, searching for signs of life.” – Frank Conroy, Stop-Time (1967)
O. Brisky Books
Whenever I used to pass through the charming town of Micanopy just South of Gainesville, I used to stop by one of my favorite used bookstores, O. Brisky Books, which had a great selection of Florida-related literature, among many other topics. In fact, just about my entire Harry Crews literary collection was obtained there. Since the bookstore didn’t accept credit cards, one time I had to run over to the ATM at Pearl Country Store to get enough cash to buy a rare edition of Crews’ third novel, This Thing Don’t Lead to Heaven (1970). I can assure you it was well worth the hassle! The owner, O.J. Brisky, would always engage me in a conversation about Crews (1935-2012) that would go something along the lines of this brief exchange:
Brisky: “Have you heard anything about how Harry’s doing?”
Me: “I heard through the grapevine that he’s not doing too well healthwise.”
Brisky: “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been hearing too. It’s too bad. Hope he’s feeling better soon.”
Me: “Yeah, me too.”
Ideally located at 112 N.E. Cholokka Boulevard in downtown Micanopy, O. Brisky Books had no air conditioning and the door was always propped open. There was a bench outside where Brisky himself often could be found greeting customers and reading one of the books from his diverse inventory. The adventurous browser at O. Brisky Books would often walk away with a handful of books totally unrelated to anything he or she began their search for!
Born in Hungary, Brisky grew up in Louisiana and attended LSU, where he majored in American Literature. Brisky, who served as a reporter and editor before opening his first used bookstore in Tarpon Springs, later helped start the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of his inventory of more than 50,000 books, a sizable selection of which I’m sure he read over the years. Sadly, Brisky passed away in January 2014 at the age of 71 and the bookstore closed down for good shortly thereafter. I haven’t been back to Micanopy since.
Wandering Florida 