by Thomas Mc Guane
I returned to live in Key West in the very year another resident of Key West released this book. I originally arrived to the last island out of America in ’71 and fell under it’s spell. It was like falling in love with a woman. But I couldn’t afford to stay. I tried again in ’72 but I’d arrived with a girl that broke my heart not long after. I don’t blame her now. I was all over the place emotionally and was an economic ruin. But things changed and I learned a trade over the late fall and early spring of ’72-’72. I had become a short order cook… The opening sentence of this book cracked me up. I recognized the young man’s confusion but i was making my way out of that forest thanks to the kitchen circus I was becoming more enthralled with despite the low pay, punishing heat and brutal hours.