Thursday February 25, 2010

Public transportation is Key West is really well done! However, the pricing strategy is somewhat confusing. The Key West Department of Transportation charges $2.00 per ride. Seniors pay $3.75 for a 7 day pass. I paid $2.00 to learn that it would be possible to get a senior pass for $3.75 and I could ride the bus anywhere at any time as I qualified as a senior. This information is only available if you are lucky enough to know a local Key Wester or are able to decipher the fare schedule on the brochure. The routes are color coded and straight forward. Blue and Green run clockwise and counter clockwise around the island. The orange and red lines run to the other keys. I love taking the bus so I paid the $3.75 and am now the proud owner of a 7 day bus pass.. Interesting impromptu conversations can occur as passengers talk about how cold the weather has been, local and national politics and government shenanigans.

On a ride back to the boat from the Old Sea Port, a conversation about the Federal Banking System was started. One of the tour guides on the island was heading home from work. Out of the blue he started telling me about the dealings of the Fed. He was interrupted and corrected by a guy sitting across from me. The young man sitting across from me told the tour guide that he was wrong. A stimulating conversation occurred. My guess is that the young man had an MBA from Yale or Harvard . He certainly knew the inner workings and history of the Fed. Then the conversation abruptly ended as the young man got off the bus and walked out into the rain.

Pat Dailey performed at Sloppy Joe’s this evening. Pat is from Put-In-Bay Ohio. I like some of his songs and in fact play a few so while he was here I had to see him in person. He is 69 years old and still going strong. He has gained a few pounds over the years since first seeing him play in Put-In-Bay. He has added more humor and vulgarity to his act, but his songs of the Great Lakes are one of a kind. I watched how he played a few songs and he now seems to be playing them all in a lower key. Maybe his voice is getting deeper as he ages.