Tag Archives: Key West

Life After The Runway 

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Terry, Jack, and Ron

We had so much fun tonight in Key West. Friends of friends turned out to be former male super models for Halston and the Marlboro Man. These were the days of Studio 54, decades before the Internet.

It was wonderful to hear about Liza, Warhol and Rubell. It was even more wonderful to see pictures of these guys in their heyday and to know that they still live exciting lives, even in the laid back, calmness of The Keys. Jack, in the center of the above photo, was a businessman. 

We went through pages and pages of magazines and books to see these Eileen Ford male models with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. It was also magical to hear how wonderful it was to work for Halston and how much he contributed to the world of fashion.  

It was also pretty awesome to stand by a guy in his 60’s (Terry) and realize that you used to see him many moons ago up on a Billboard in Times Square puffing on a cigarette as one of the Marlboro Men. 

It seems like it was yesterday, yet it was a lifetime ago.

Mother’s Day in Key West

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If you ever would have told us that our baby girl would be living in the heart of Key West, we would have told you you’re nuts. My baby, who is now approaching 31, says that she has found paradise. She is also with the man she deeply loves. While they plan to live in many different places, Whitney and Fredrick are committed to stay in Key West until January, 2014 while he becomes certified as a Coast Guard Captain.

Both Whitney and Fredrick lived the corporate life for a few years in high powered jobs. Then, after months of discussions, they decided to sell everything they own and move to where they are surrounded by water and the sun shines all the time. They didn’t want the Internet to be the center of their lives day in, day out.

Whitney can do her UX job anywhere there is cell and Internet coverage. Fredrick bikes to work. They said most weeks they don’t move their cars. Duval Street, the main drag, is one block away.

Their move here is not that unique. Millions came before them. Built in the late 1800s, the house is surround by stunning tropical foliage and looks like a bed and breakfast inside. It is quite large. French doors lead to the backyard which has an in-ground pool. Whitney has a separate room for her office that looks on to the front porch. The setting should provoke great creativity.

And surprise, surprise! Whitney gave Eliot and me a Mother’s Day / Father’s Day double whammy gift tonight. She has enrolled us in the 32nd annual Key West Literary Seminar. At a four-day event that takes place in January 2014, we will attend seminars plus a party with some of the greatest mystery writers in the country. Eliot has already read most of their work, so this is going to be a star-studded event for him. I get to learn about their lives and perhaps pick up interesting writing skills. In any case, we get to live like locals and make a lot of new friends.

We had a very thrilling day. Tomorrow we get up at 5 am and hit the road to Miami. I hope Mother’s Day was a good and healthy one for all.

Sights from Key West

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Happy Mother’s Day, Everyone!

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My girlfriend Laura Foti Cohen just sent me a Mother’s Day present by email. It was a scan of the thank you note I sent her 30-plus years ago for the baby present she gave Whitney when she was born. The note symbolizes a 35-year friendship that has survived the test of time, mostly because of the Internet.

Laura moved from NY to LA almost 20 years ago with her now-ex-husband. Both are in the music business. At the time, Laura wrote for Billboard magazine and then went into the digital music business. Today she writes plays. We recently met up for lunch at Almond, a restaurant in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, where we dished for about two hours. It was a sheer delight.

As I sat across the table from Laura, I realized all the decades that have gone by and she is still the same gal that I knew way back when. If it weren’t for Facebook and email, we would have lost touch. Now when we meet up, it’s relatively easy to have deep conversations because we constantly follow each other online.

Don’t try to figure out what I wrote in the baby thank you note. I was ribbing her about nonsense. I think Whitney still has the stuffed animal Laura gave her.

Speaking of Whitney, Eliot and I are driving from Miami to Key West tomorrow (4 hours) to spend the day — a sleep over. We will leave at 6 am to beat the traffic. We’ll do the same thing on Monday. Yes, our Whitney lives in Key West now with her boyfriend, Fredrick. Whoever thought our city kid, whose first word was “taxi,” would want to move to Hemingway territory. She said she found paradise. That’s how we feel about Miami Beach.

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Laura Foti Cohen