Touch wood, the car I now drive (a Lincoln Aviator) is exceedingly gratifying! The engine just hums; everything works as it should. There are no conspicuous faults or rarities. I have no tolerance for mechanical difficulties or fitting abuses.  I am no stranger to the possibility of lemons in the automotive industry. On occasion I have been obliged to confront the dilemma with less than auspicious result. The baseless anxiety is however destined to be short-lived for two reasons. One, we only have to make it home (which I don’t anticipate for any reason to be an issue); two, this year’s replacement model was ordered months ago and will no doubt  await upon our return.

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We today fulfilled the ceremony of an early morning grocery shopping expedition to Publix. From our previous years at Daytona Beach Shores and Longboat Key we’re already connected to the store (both generally for payment and specifically for aisle designation of products) with an on-line App that we use for self-checkout service and expedient payment and email receipts. The store is on the central Overseas Highway about 6 miles directly north of Buttonwood Bay. I enjoy the drive itself because otherwise I seldom have reason to use the car and it gives me the opportunity to have it washed (which we ritually did this morning as well). Like many places in Key West (curiously including the Casa Marina Hotel), the treed parking lot surrounding Publix here on Key Largo resonates with the sound of crowing roosters. Although I have seen these colourful roosters on Key West in such unforeseen places as gas stations, it is only at Publix that I’ve seen them on Key Largo. For reasons I do not know, the roosters and their hens preserve their domain within the confines of the parking lot. They are seemingly unperturbed by the endless traffic, sometimes boldly strutting in front of an oncoming vehicle without hesitation. They are of course respected from a distance.

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Billy –
Thank you for your kind comments about my writing style.  Though at times I’ve felt like ‘unsubscribing’ (from Substack) as I gnash my teeth at the storms raging outside while you endure your tropical indulgences, I realize that so often you have been the inspiration to writing down my own thoughts and/or reactions to the day.  My yin to your yang so to speak.  And, like all exercises, good for the brain in this instance as well as the soul.  I shall persevere, if you can stand it!
Fi

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And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
Sea-Fever by John Masefield

The wind today is not from the sea; rather it is southeast off the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a strong 30 km/h wind which stirs the branches of the overhead Buttonwood bushes and disturbs the palm tree fronds. The daily weather report (when accessible along the rattled cable wires and communication towers) is confined to the 80°F temperature and the force of the wind. At sea level on this tiny ribbon of coral reef the commotion overhead is palpable and undeterred.

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Becoming accustomed to blazing sunshine amid whispering palm trees and a cooling breeze beside a pool is not the most unfavourable condition to have to endure. Granted there are interfering moments when the balmy wind subsides and the noontime radiance approaches the burdensome.  But one mustn’t complain of these natural transitions between ceremonial commitment and the fleeting passage of white clouds provoked by the North Atlantic Ocean only steps away.

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There are, I am now convinced upon the most casual reflection, many ingredients which stimulated the evolution of my existence. This may resonate as an obvious conclusion but I intend the observation specifically to enlarge upon what is for many the sole or substantial ingredient of growth; namely, themselves and their various talents and attributes. They perhaps credit the other influences as extraneous or peripheral only. The broader ingredients of progress might usefully be summarized as familial, educational, associative, accidental, providential and serendipitous.  And quite possibly in that exact order because that is the order in which I track the development of my own life when condensing the past three-quarters of a century.

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Upon leaving the mainland south of Miami, and after one surmounts the inexpressible joy of sunshine and heat on Key Largo, the next focus of one’s attention is upon the sea, the wavering palm trees and gnarled grey hardwoods implanted on the rocky white coral. This first impression of Key Largo is a lasting one. Its singular beauty abounds. It is a provocation affecting the eye of the whimsical observer as well as the amateur and professional painter and photographer.  No doubt too it stimulates the musician to share his or her peculiar expression. Unsurprisingly a glorious milieu such as Key Largo enhances the creative marrow of almost anyone.

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Stimulated by the invitation from Mrs. C to visit the walkway down to the sea behind her place overlooking Florida Bay, I ventured to the site today after stationing my tricycle beside the marine inlet where the sign was posted that no golf carts were allowed beyond that point.

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In my memory the Beatles made the adage “Steady as she goes” popular with their composition “Let it be”. The lyrics (see below) are more complicated than might first be projected. Whether the tale surrounding the evolution of the song is true or not is immaterial. The fact remains that letting it be is an admonition more difficult of performance than one might suspect; but it is in my opinion an ambition worthy of pursuit. It helps for example overcome the confounding necessity of endless activity by reminding oneself that current affairs (especially if not harmful) are of limited duration and that the knowable grains of sand in the hour glass are more cogent than the unknown upcoming agenda.

I have entitled this entry with the nautical theme “Steady as she goes” for two reasons. First, I am driven by the primal ingredients of the sea; and second, it reflects the currency of my domain and accessible expression. I cannot speculate a more fruitful resource of stimulation and reflection than the sea and Key Largo. Yet succumbing to this nutrition requires an appetite not just an appeal. It is not mandatory to insist upon local details either present or historic; what is commanded is the convincing recognition that even this idyllic, indulgent and indolent resort is both ephemeral and beguiling. Setting one’s course on the steady ensures its prolongation and proper achievement.

Written and sung by McCartney, the iconic track was the last Beatles single to be unveiled before he announced his departure from the band.

Speaking to James Corden on the his segment of Carpool Karaoke in 2018, McCartney recalled how his late mother Mary – who died from cancer when he was 14 – inspired him to write the track. “In the sixties I had a dream where my mum who died came to me and was reassuring me, saying: It’s gonna be OK. Just let it be…”

Interestingly there is another hit recording entitled “Steady as she goes” by a group called the Raconteurs. The meaning behind that composition is by some analysis different from what provoked McCartney. Yet both appear to have a commonality. The absorption and acceptance of what is before one’s very eyes is a talent. While it is stimulating perhaps to imagine what uncharacteristic things one might accomplish, there is nonetheless the recognizable value in expanding upon the elemental attributes of one’s present situation. I am not even certain whether, in the end, the result is any different other than the focus or prospective view. It is possible too that the exhortations to “steady the course” or to “let is be” are one and the same. Adopting the entreaties does at least settle upon one’s life a degree of restfulness and sedentary resolve.

STEADY AS YOU GO
Means to steady the ship on the course it is heading at the time the order is given. If the ship is swinging at the time, heading must be noted and the lubber’s line brought back to and steadied on it as soon as possible. The order is also stated as “STEADY,” or “STEADY AS SHE GOES.”

The band is based in Nashville, Tennessee. According to the band’s official website, “The seed was sown in an attic in the middle of a hot summer when friends Jack White and Brendan Benson got together and wrote a song that truly inspired them. This song was ‘Steady, As She Goes’ and the inspiration led to the creation of a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler.”

White said to Uncut in 2006, “It’s asking a question, which is, ‘Is doing that – getting married and settling down – starting a new life or is it giving up?” Speaking again to Uncut in 2006, he added, “I think the big notion in my head was we’re all getting older now and enough of goofing around. All our friends are musicians, so it was like, ‘How much of this world can we stay a part of and how much do we reject?’

Steady, As She Goes
by The Raconteurs

Find yourself a girl and settle down
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes)
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes)
So steady as she goes

Your friends have shown a kink in the single life
You’ve had too much to think, now you need a wife
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes)
So steady as she goes (steady as she goes)

Well, here we go again
You’ve found yourself a friend that knows you well
But no matter what you do
You’ll always feel as though you tripped and fell
So steady as she goes
When you have completed what you thought you had to do
And your blood’s depleted to the point of stable glue
Then you’ll get along
And then you’ll get along

Let it be

Should we do something else for a while, and come back in a bit
Or leave it, same as mine is, yeah
Oh, just let me get this, second clap
When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be
When all the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree, there will be an answer
Let it be

Although they may be parted
There is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer
Let it be

Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be
There will be an answer
Let it be

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow
Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
There will be no sorrow
Let it be

Yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Songwriters: Lennon, John Winston / McCartney, Paul James

Not that I imagine the sun in our solar system distinguishes one month from another, it nonetheless seems serendipitous that the urgency of February (being the shortest month of the year) conveniently echoes the pressing awakening of springtime that is everywhere present. Even here on Key Largo (where the coolest daytime temperature for the past four months has been about 69°F) we are now treated to floral blooms throughout the island (including white, pink and yellow orchids magically growing from roots twirled like snakes about the robust trees that miraculously survive upon the predominantly coral soil and crushed seashells beneath).

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