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| Key West sunset |
I have started this post at least five times over the last decade. For some reason it never gets written and always ends up in my "drafts". Since it is snowing today (April 16!!!) my plan for the day is to be productive all day. No napping, and screen time has to be useful. So here I am hoping to actually accomplish my first blog post in a month that I started years ago.
Of all of the artists writers, musicians, or athletes I have been a fan of none of them has had a bigger influence on my life that James W. Buffett (born Christmas Day 1946). I was not introduced to Buffett's music until I was at least in my late 20's. I was doing traffic surveys in Hyannis and we had to stay overnight. We went out to eat at a restaurant near the rotary called Starbucks (not the coffee shop, and out of business now). While we were there, there was a live cover band and dancing. One of the songs they played was "Volcano". The place went crazy and you could feel everyone's mood change.
Fast forward a year or two and I'm doing traffic survey's at Great Woods. I was at the parking lot entrance. As you can imagine I got to see some of the parking lot antics of a Jimmy Buffett crowd. There were pick up trucks bringing their own beach. There was a pirate ship. Of course there were scantily clad ladies. I decided then I needed to figure out what this craze was all about.
So I went out and bought Buffett's greatest hits known as "Songs you know by Heart". Well that was all it took. I listened to "A Pirate Looks at Forty" "Changes in Latitude", "Come Monday" and "Son of a Sailor" and I became a Parrothead overnight.
I have seen Jimmy in concert many times since then. I don't know the exact number but I've seen him around five times. Like everyone else, I get there early and spend time in the parking lots. Walking around the lots and seeing everyone have a good time is half of the fun.
Buffett puts on a great concert. We mixes up his set every year. He usually does a cover or two and mixes in a few new songs. He does play crowd favorites that are referred to as the Great 8. As you can figure out these are eight songs he plays at every concert. Of course, Margaritaville, Volcano, and Fins are part of his set along with the songs I listed in the forth paragraph. He also plays Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl" and CSNY "Southern Cross". Overall his concerts are a fun time.
However, when I say that Buffett influenced me, it is not his concerts. It's not the parking lots. What influenced me is the lifestyle. Now, before I get started, I know that Jimmy plays a character. He is a savvy business man and has created an empire. He is the owner of the Margaritaville chain of restaurants. He owns Landshark Laager. Margaritaville has expanded into resorts and motels. The guy is worth half a BILLION dollars. When he is on stage he is pandering to a bunch of drunken idiots that are swinging "Fins to Left, Fins to the Right" myself included. He is playing to a crowd that is wearing hula skirts and men wearing coconut bras (to which I am not included).
However it the much less commercial side of Buffett's music and lifestyle that I feel. I love the freedom he lives his life with. Despite all of his ventures. He still finds time to engage in his hobbies. He is an avid surfer. Jimmy loves to fish. He owns a house in Sag Harbor New York mostly so he has easy access to striped bass. Yes, despite all those years in the keys, Buffett loves stripers as much as us die hard surf fisherman. Though his main weapon is a fly rod from his boat.
Admittedly, Buffett has the money to live the lifestyle many of us dream about. I cannot take a trip around the world then write a book about it (A Pirate Looks at Fifty). I won't own a house in Aspen, Sag Harbor and northern California. However, I can do more than dream. As I've written many times, I have my bucket list notebook. Any chance I take I check something off of my ever growing list. While my list seems to get longer every year, that is not at all demoralizing. It just means that I keep finding more things I want to do. What fun would life be if I finished everything on my bucket list? I want to keep dreaming and looking forward to the next adventure. Surprisingly, Jimmy still has a bucket list. Just a couple years ago Buffett played in a venue that one of his idles, Mark Twain, played in New Zealand. He is still a kid at heart.
The truth is, while I like Jimmy's commercial songs, he is one of the few artists that I like there not so famous work. A lot of Buffett's non-commercial songs are real. They represent his real life stories. Of course, there are a few commercial exceptions such as" A Pirate Looks at Forty". But in general many of my favorite Buffett songs are non commercial and about real people, places, or experiences.
This year, thanks to the pandemic, Jimmy put out two cd's in a four moth period. The first was a bunch of new songs "Called Life on the Flip Side". The other is called Songs you Don't Know by Heart". It is a collection of songs he had previously recorded that weren't mainstream successes. None the less, some still have quite a following. The songs on the cd were picked online by Buffett fans over a many week poll. He put the songs together and made a cd. It is killer. Many of the songs are about Key West such as "Woman going Crazy on Caroline Street" and Tin Cup for a Chalice" which he wrote after seeing his first Key West sunset.
Let's talk about Key West for a minute. One thing I took away from Jimmy's songs was a yearning to visit Key West. I wanted to visit the places that Buffett played and Hemingway drank. I wanted to go into Captain Tony's to get out of the heat. Though KW is way more touristy and built up than when Jimmy started out there, it still holds the dream of a pirate town. You can go into Captain Tony's and you can go to Sloppy Joe's both of which Hemingway was a regular. You can visit Hemingway's house. I love Key West and I want to go back, probably more than any place I have ever been.
Living the life I live, I know I'm pretty lucky. I am fortunate that once I buy the equipment, the things I most love to do are pretty much free (birding, hiking, fishing, snorkeling, quahogging) except for gas. I take mini-adventures all of the time. My trips to Block Island, New Hampshire, and the Cape help me from going crazy. When I am not doing adventures even regular days off are usually spent fifty miles from home and usually near the ocean. In my opinion the most important thing you can do in life is collect memories. That is what I try to do. Everyday isn't a perfect because of work and responsibilities. But every chance I get, I'm out there trying to have as much fun as I can. I think Jimmy would approve.
Post Script
For the last couple of years I have wanted to see Jimmy Buffett in concert one more time. I knew he was getting up there in age and he wouldn't tour forever. I assumed he would tour this summer and when I realized he wasn't it saddened me but also worried me a little bit. My fears were realized when I woke up this morning.
Rereading this today on Buffett's death I realize, despite my best efforts, I can not put into perspective how much his music and books meant to me. "A Pirate Looks at Fifty" is an inspiring book. Words in his songs, are mottos I live by. It's silly, but when I buy shrimp at the grocery store, I always buy raw and not cooked shrimp just so I "smell those shrimp, they're beginning to boil". For that small minute, I feel the same as Jimmy Buffett.
Despite feeling I have some small talent for words, I never know what to say in the line at wakes. "I'm sorry for your loss" always feels so generic to me. It bothers me that I have never thought of something more poetic to let those grieving know that I understand their pain and sympathize. The same is true right now. I wrote all of those paragraphs two years ago and it does not feel as though I wrote what I feel. So many songs hit home for me.
Wherever you are Jimmy, know millions of us will miss you. Truthfully, I don't care about those millions. I care about what you're music has done for me. My life has been enriched because of you. Driving over the Seven Mile Bridge will never be the same. I will miss you
Nick Pacelli
September 2
8:16 AM
Norton, MA
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