Key West always had that outlaw vibe.
Hemingway, fishing. Harry Morgan and his boat,
the Queen Conch. Taking tourists fishing. Running
guns and rum and Chinamen. Revolutionaries from Cuba.
A native of the keys is called a conch. They eat conch salad.
Conch fritters. If Key West secedes, they'll call themselves
the Conch Republic. A man alone ain't got no fucking chance.
Hoke Moseley was a conch. He grew up in Riviera Beach,
which the natives call Rivera. Moved to Miami.
He caught outlaws for a living. Was all but one
himself. Sometimes the line between criminal and cop
is muddy and indistinct. Blurred and fuzzy.
Travis McGee took his retirement in stages.
That's what I did. Am doing. I am at the house
until the first of the year, writing a memoir.
GULF COAST STORIES. The line between
writer and reader. Reading a book is like taking
a vacation. Going on a trip. A journey.
Compare journal. From diurnal.
Daily. The Great American Nonfiction Novel.
Written on the hop, instead of afterwards.