Welcome to Fantasy Island

DA PLANE! DA PLANE! 

"Hello I am Mr. Roarke and welcome to Fantasy Island...."

Woke up this morning to find out that Mr. Roarke had died. Ricardo Montalban played one hell of magical dude who lived on an island where all of your dreams could come true. Got me thinking about how much a power hour of ABC television could plant a seed into the psyche of a child.

Saturday nights growing up were the best. Sitting with Grandma and my sister we got settled in to be transported to the other side once the Love Boat / Fantasy Island power hour began. Good God how I loved those shows! My Grandma did too but that was because she had the hots for Ricardo Montalban and cooed whenever he appeared on screen. She also liked Bob Barker but that's a whole other story.

Anyway, I watched in wonder as the Love Boat docked in exotic ports and the crew helped all their passengers realize the good things in life. Right after the boat docked it was island time which began with one simple phrase and a whole other excursion to a quirky, unexplainable spec of land in the middle of an ocean. A place that people visited in order to have all their dreams come true. 

Hmmm... 

Many people ask what it's like to live down in Key West - I'd have to say it's a lot like the Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Got me to wondering... How much of my love for those shows got me down here?

Key West is a magical place where dreams can come true. Everyday I look up as a plane flies over and gauge what the work week will be like depending on how many planes I see. 

The cruise ships dock daily and people flood the island for a couple hours scouring it with a fine tooth comb. There are a quirky cast of characters that live down here and we all connect, affecting each other while providing entertainment to all that visit.

The final nail in the coffin was recently looking at a photo of a guy I dated after first arriving down here. He was toasting friends in his formal white Carnival cruise ship suit and I did a double take as I started to see an odd resemblance to Gopher. 

Oh ABC and Aaron Spelling, what did you do to me?? It could explain why I love this place so much and find that magic happens everyday when you're living on Fantasy Island. 

So thank you Mr. Roarke. I hope you find seats of soft, Corinthian leather in heaven. 

And if you happen to catch a little Spanish woman who loves Sanka and makes the best apple tarts in the world copping a feel, don't worry, she's just trying to make all her dreams come true.

If you'd like to see how many people are affected by this little spec of magic we call home, check out Kim Narenkivicius's Secret of Salt - now in newspaper form! 

A very talented lady, she weaves together stories and images from this inspirational island.