After three months of near total isolation I scraped off the Yeti exterior and made myself presentable for David Wolkowsky’s annual downtown rooftop party to celebrate the start of the Key West Literary Seminar. This year’s party was in honor of poet Billy Collins. Only for my dear friend David would I make the monumental effort to buff and dress up. I’ll confess I toppled in my high heels.

10 o’clock the excellent party ended, but I was out and dressed and it was a Friday night so I went to the Green Parrot where, reliably, there was a great band, www.facebook.com/Entrain  I have heard them before and I keep their CD in my car, and there are a couple all drums tracks that cannot be played loud enough. The lead drummer has an extensive and worn kit spread out in front of him, he is always smiling, sometimes his eyes are closed and his head is thrown back. The drummer is all wide shoulders and wiry arms and moving so fast you can barely see what he’s doing. His legs are pounding up and down, like he’s stomping, but his sneakered feet are on tiptoes, like he’s running wildly through a brambly dense forest. His energy is mighty. 

Some songs are blissful pure percussion, lead drummer, steel drums, bongos, shake-shakes and a tambourine. I defy you not to dance when you hear them. Preferably not in heels, however.

The only peculiarity was that everyone I ran into at the ‘dirty bird’ aka the Green Parrot, made fun of my attire. I was shocked. This has never happened before and I have appeared there in polkadot nighties worn inside out (by accident) and flip-flops (not always matching) and no one has ever said a thing except ‘hello’ and ‘good to see you’.

From everyone I caught quite the reaming. Over and over I had to explain I had just been to a grown-up’s party and dressed accordingly. Ha ha ha! they laughed at me and one and all said, ‘It looks like it’! 

Turns out there is a dress code at the Parrot! In any case I’m going back into isolation. 

Image by Amy Badass©

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