Coral islanders of the Florida Keys protect select cherished mainlanders and their privacy who come our way regularly to escape the hurly burly of the mainland.  Especially those who come to our taverns and dive bars to sit a spell, tiple a bit, shoot the breeze, tell tall tales and, yes, I’ll admit it, gossip.

One of my first long ago was Miami Dolphins/Hurricanes and Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson up in the northern keys during football weekends when he was out of coaching and not yet employed by Fox Broadcasting as an NFL studio analyst on Sundays.  He drank bottled iced Heineken like a machine and had trained the staff at (redacted — he still goes there) to bring him a fresh one every 15-20 minutes.

He could go on and on about football and other topics of interest to him, Never knew what you might hear.  Once I asked him to dissect my alma mater’s team issues.  I was bowled over at the preciseness and orderliness of his exposition.  He then offered to meet me at the bar for a quarter of the following week’s game for a film session.  I have never watched football since in the darkness I had been in after that skull session (I bought him his rounds).

Same goes with the recently deceased Key West regular, Mike Leach — the father of the innovative American football’s Air Raid offense system that is seen everywhere on Saturdays and Sundays.  His drinks of choice were blended bourbon and shots of tequila.

He’d talk non-stop on just about anything.  I spent several afternoons listening to him hold forth at Capt. Tony’s Saloon.  I’m a talker, but he made me feel like an introvert and short on breath.  He go on and on and on.  He’d talk to anyone about anything but mostly about whatever popped into his head at the time.  He was a close personal friend of the late Captain Tony.

I love and miss those rascals.

Go on down to Capt Tony’s to get out of the midday heat
When you hear a voice call, “Son, come have a seat”
Turn right at the light don’t search for answers in anyone’s eyes
Life changes faster than the weather
So have a seat at the bar, let’s start swapping lies

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