I feel quite lucky to live where I do. Maybe someday I'll write my autobiography but not now.

I've been in this apartment for the last ten years and it is the last apartment house (5 rooms) left in a neighborhood of multi-million dollar homes.

It is a simple pleasure just to live in Key West.

Anyway yeah my big (king) bed fills about a quarter of the room. When I'm not on the computer I'm in bed.

Multi-million houses?! Well well, that says a lot about your neighbours... maybe you should go and invite yourself round for tea one day! Have a little BBQ in the garden, I'm sure they have enough room to spare a few more people in the shed at night when they just want a bit of luxury lol. Hey, do they actaully have the huge posh houses with really expensive interiour etc... or just the "look nice from the outside" sort of houses? Just asking here... I know different parts of the US can be pretty descieving even in such a beautiful area.

As for your home, I'm still getting over how much room you have (or rather don't have for that matter) to move around in. Must be pretty crampt yet cosy, but hey at least you have an advantage over your neighbours...your mortgage is WAY less!

I live in the "old town" historic district of Key West.

Most homes are large and old.

Here is a listing for a place down the block from me.

Real Estate Blog - 730 Southard Street - Historic Key West Landmark

Most houses in my neighborhood are similar.

This apartment house I live in was once a single home but then split into 5 different units. Mine is by far the smallest (and cheapest).

Many of these are second (vacation) homes. Very nice in and out. Very rich people.

Oh mi gosh, I gasped when I saw those pictures!

Why can't everyone just have equal sized houses...

Then we wouldn't have to worry so much about others not having a home at all in 3rd worlld countries...

All those up-tight rich people with their classy houses, just there to look nice and make other people jealous

Gosh, I'd hate to wake up in the morning for the first thing I see to be their house opposite the road! Wow, just wow, I'd prefer to live in the house rather than wake up to see it

The house you see pictured like most of Old Town was built in the mid to late 1800's.

Back then there was no road to Key West. It was a "true" island.

Most of these grand houses were built by the ship carpenters of ship Captains for the Captains family.

In the late 1800's Key West was briefly listed as the richest per capita community in the US.

Most of this wealth came via piracy as the locals would prey on shipwrecks off the reef here.

The Navy eventually established a base and began the basic current infrastructure of water; sewage; electricity.

In the early thru mid 1900's Key West retained an "outlaw" reputation for smuggling black market goods off the high seas.

The US Navy basically took over the island during WWII and then during the Cuba communist scare of the late '50's/60's.

By the late 60's the Navy pulled out and hippies moved in!

Anyway your point of class conflict remains. The rich still need carpenters and that is what I get paid for.

I agree with your "communal" ideal but no communist system has ever really worked on a global scale.

The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor for the most part.

In the late 1950's US President (former General) Eisenhower warned of a "Military Industrial Complex" and that is exactly what the US has become.

Technology is developed (funded) primarily via the military. It is the leading output of the US.

Of course this is two edged as the tech trickles down.

After all DARPA was the first internet and it was developed by the military to share secrets.

As a former Idealist I am now a Cynic and some claim that is a natural unavoidable progression.


Apologies to D-A-L for hijacking his thread!

You certainly seem to know your stuff about the past, been reading up on google lately hmm? Lol, no matter, I have no doubts in your intelligence.

Hey, you never mentionned that whilst the US were taking over the island during WWII, oil had also been discovered in the Middle East. It actually shocked me that WWII didn't "actuallly" end when people thought it did. Majority of people who look into things to get the meaning, rather than just what they think is fact, would find that WWII actually finished early in late May- April, so when the Germans surrendered, the world automatically presumed that defeat was in September... how wrong.

Of course, at the time of oil discovery, people weren't fully aware of its properties, and therefore it was not in such as high demand as it is today hmm. I think it's only been within the last 10 or so years that we've actually become too dependant on technology and fuel, but then again I could be wrong- it could be earlier.

I guess this is why I take communist ideas seriously, however, I for one am not a communist. Nooo lol, you got me wrong there. I like to be optomistic, yet some things I just doubt for too long and then when I finally get the bad news I'm not too shocked; because I've already summed up the pros and cons. It works for me in that way normally, so when you say the world couldn't live peacefully together as one in communism, I completely agree with you there.

I rarely write more than two sentences at once so actually writing my last post, which I did write totally off my head, was like producing a novel.

Anyway if you want the Google stats:

History of Key West - Shipwrecks, salvaging, sponging and the Navy in Key West - Florida Keys

Key West, Florida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


You are up really early and I am up really late but it's nice to read you!




By the way I don't use oil. I have a bicycle and a sailboat.

Thanks for the information dude. I got up early to see if Kai was around since you both have the same time difference between the me and US (6 hours), but he's busy I haven't been around here for a while actually, just been preoccupied for the past few days so I thought I'd come and see how everyone is lately.
I have a week off classes- well until the 23rd so although I do't have "work" to do, I still have revision but I'll be around more often I think (I hope)

Omg, you have a sailboat, that's awesome! Does she have a name?

No name. It is a molded piece of fiberglass with a metal pole sticking up in the air and some cloth to catch said air and as such I see no gender.

I am the Cynic now!

Here is a cool sailing story though:

Zac Sunderland

I hope I don't offend Kai if you become enamored with this romantic Zac.

Hahaha, enamored with Zac, noooo I'm very happy with the special guy I have already thanks I guess that story's a bit like me but on a MUCH bigger scale! I enjoy the oceans and travelling out, I love to kayak more than canoe because the rest of the boat members prefer to mess around- and therefore don't listen when you're telling them to row lol! Kayaks are more free and smaller, so to me they travel faster which is always an advantage.
Boat genders?
Sailors (in my opinion) name their boats 1. To look good infront of other people, and 2. so they know which one is theirs lol they all look the same.
Yours sounds... quite defined in the sense that I'd be able to find yours amongst the other boats