{"id":912,"date":"2018-06-25T11:16:50","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T18:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/?p=912"},"modified":"2018-06-25T11:16:50","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T18:16:50","slug":"dear-ben-an-official-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/2018\/06\/25\/dear-ben-an-official-request\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Ben… an official “Request”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone that knows me, knows that I have an addiction… cruisin\u2019. I also have a love affair with Key West… and of course, I\u2019m a parrothead.
\n[def: par-ought-head — Fanatical, out of control, aficionado of Jimmy Buffett and everything Margaritaville. ]<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that long ago that I dreaded the idea of a cruise. The idea of spending a week going places was ok. But the idea of all the time floating around getting there… especially all the nights with nothing to do… terrified me.<\/p>\n

Boy was I wrong. I discovered the piano bars on cruise ships. Night after night of absolute fun… laughin, singing along, maybe dancin\u2019 a little, and certainly drinking too much. For me, it has become not so much where the ship is going, but rather, who the piano bar entertainer is.<\/p>\n

I should tell you, the piano bars on Carnival cruise ships are not the \u201celevator music\u201d type piano bars you may see in some hotels or other cruise lines. Carnival tries to provide a piano bar that is rip-roaring, sing-along fun. Late night it is often irreverent, politically incorrect and usually a bit naughty… sometimes a lot naughty. For me, it\u2019s a blast.<\/p>\n

Now days, before I book a cruise, the first thing I check is what ships my favorite piano bar entertainers are going to be on. I do that even before I check to see where a cruise is going. In fact, my last cruises have been booked solely because of one magnificent entertainer; Ben Gentry. And I\u2019m doing it again. Simply put, it\u2019s my opinion that Ben is head and shoulders above the rest, the best of the current PB entertainer Carnival has.<\/p>\n

Now if it sounds like I\u2019m \u201csucking up\u201d to Ben, it\u2019s because… well…\u00a0I am. But what I just said is also true. I\u2019ll get back to this in a minute.<\/p>\n

First, for those that don\u2019t know, Carnival is \u201ccheap\u201d when it comes to compensating their employees. (That\u2019s not earth-shattering to those of us that cruise on Carnival.) Carnival depends on gratuities to supplement the income of many of the crew members. I think in some cases, gratuities may be the main source of their income.<\/p>\n

The same thing is true for piano bar entertainers. They depend on folks to \u201cput bread in their jar\u201d… tips. This is true of land-based piano bars too, but I think more so on cruise ships.<\/p>\n

(By the way… I\u2019m sure all piano bar entertainers HATE and at the same time love Billy Joel.)<\/p>\n

Anyway, lots of folks want to have the entertainer play their favorite tunes… like… ummmm… let\u2019s say a Jimmy Buffett tune. Now… since most of the piano bar entertainers also don\u2019t like doing Jimmy Buffett stuff, if you just write your song on a piece of paper and send it up to the entertainer, then that is just a \u201csuggestion.\u201d Most likely it won\u2019t get played. At best it will go to the bottom of the stack.<\/p>\n

However, if your suggestion is wrapped in paper currency, it becomes an official \u201cRequest.\u201d If the denomination of the paper currency is like a Peso, then the request will still be at the bottom of the playlist. The larger the denomination, the higher in the playlist it goes.<\/p>\n

I should mention that you shouldn\u2019t expect the PBE to play your request instantly. You see, they often get on a roll and have the folks singing, clapping and dancing to a set of themed songs. So don\u2019t expect your request for \u201cGod Save the Queen\u201d to be played in the middle Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog.<\/p>\n

Well… I suppose if the request for \u201cGod Save the Queen\u201d is wrapped in the US currency that doesn\u2019t have a picture of a past President on it, you may well interrupt the bullfrog.<\/p>\n

So now to the main point and why I\u2019m sucking up to Ben Gentry. You see, the last two cruises with him I left him with a \u201cFuture cruise credit request\u201d for songs Ben didn\u2019t know at the time. Of course, these were proper \u201crequests\u201d and not suggestions… and of course with it was wrapped in an appropriate dead president. (Sorry… not one of those other two bills.)<\/p>\n

Ben did a magnificent job the first time with a song that is very difficult for anybody to do. He did such a good job it almost got me laid… almost.<\/p>\n

So… the last time I cruised with him I left him with another future cruise credit. This time I gave a list of four of the more obscure Jimmy Buffett songs that he didn\u2019t know. My note to him was to pick one.<\/p>\n

But… these weren\u2019t just obscure songs. Each one of them has a connection… a significent connection to Key West. Therefore, here (in no particular order) are the stories for each of the songs from which I hope my request will come.<\/p>\n

Tin Cup Chalice<\/strong> – Jimmy got his \u201cmusical footing\u201d when he went to Key West. He was just out of a bad marriage and deeply in debt. A friend took him down US1 to Key West in an old Packard. (Packard is a now-defunct car company.)<\/p>\n

When he first got there, Jimmy played for beer in a corner of a place called the Chart Room. I think every bar and honky-tonk in Key West claimed Jimmy played there. This one has pictures to prove it. It\u2019s a tiny place and hard to imagine any entertainer would play there, but he did.<\/p>\n

Tin Cup Chalice is the first song Jimmy Buffett wrote after he got to Key West. It\u2019s about the Sunset Celebration. Every Day on Mallory Square there is a Sunset Celebration… at least on days when clouds don\u2019t block the sunset. Crowds of people go there every sunset, and they all applaud when the sun drops into the ocean.<\/p>\n

The lyrics to Tin Cup Chalice are about the sunset, the sailboats on sunset cruises and life in Key West.<\/p>\n

Ben… if you pick this Tin Cup Chalice, please change one part of the lyrics to the way I always sing it: \u201cWith a tin cup for a chalice, fill it up with good red wine\u201d… change \u201cgood red wine\u201d – to – \u201ctequila and lime.\u201d I don\u2019t know why Jimmy didn\u2019t write it that way… maybe it was before Margaritas and such.<\/p>\n

Woman Goin\u2019 Crazy Caroline Street<\/strong> – The street in Key West, Caroline Street, is where the \u201cred light district\u201d used to be. The main \u201cred-light\u201d area was down by what is now known as the \u201cSchooner Wharf.\u201d (Yes, that\u2019s where the Schooner Wharf Bar is.)<\/p>\n

Back in the olden days when shrimpin\u2019 and fishing were king in Key West, the sailors would come into the Schooner Wharf from days, weeks or months at sea. They would get paid and immediately head to Caroline Street for a little \u201cliquid refreshment\u201d and \u201ccompanionship.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the places they would go was one of the roughest and toughest bars Key West has ever known… the Red Doors. Downstairs was the saloon and upstairs was the brothel. Today the Red Doors houses a little boutique downstairs, and air conditioners poke out of the walls upstairs.<\/p>\n

This song starts with, \u201cThere\u2019s a woman goin\u2019 crazy on Caroline Street…\u201d and goes on about a rough and rowdy bar. Pay attention to the lyrics, and they will tell all you about the woman and Caroline Street.<\/p>\n

Ever notice how some of the Buffett songs have weird lyrics in some places. This next one is a good example… starting with the title.<\/p>\n

Last Mango in Paris<\/strong> – The title of this song is misleading. It really should be \u201cCaptain Tony\u2019s\u201d Almost everyone who has been on a cruise to Key West has walked right by Captain Tony\u2019s bar on their way to Duval Street.<\/p>\n

This song starts out, \u201cI went down to Capt\u2019n Tony\u2019s… to get out of the heat.\u201d The next time you are in Key West, step into the doorway entering Captain Tony\u2019s. There is a fan there blowing cool air down on you. Every time I go into Captain Tony\u2019s I stand there for a minute to cool down and hum the tune in my head. (I don\u2019t dare sing out loud.)<\/p>\n

Anyway, the song is about Captain Tony rather than about the bar. Captain Tony was Tony Tarracino; a character and icon of Key West. I can\u2019t tell the whole story here… it\u2019s too long. But, before he opened the saloon, Tony was a shrimper, charter boat captain, a gunrunner for the CIA.<\/p>\n

Capt\u2019n Tony ran for Mayor of Key West four times. One of those times Jimmy Buffett was his campaign manager. Really! You can see the newspaper clippings in the bar. The last time he ran… the time he won, he came under fire for using the word\u00a0\u201cshit\u201d in his campaign: \u201cAll you need in life is a tremendous sex drive and a great ego – Brains don\u2019t mean shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his opponent tried to make a big deal out of the profanity, Capt\u2019n Tony responded, \u201cIf everyone who uses that word votes for me, I\u2019ll win by a landslide.\u201d He won by 32 votes.<\/p>\n

The next time you are in Key West, you owe it to yourself to go down to Capt\u2019n Tony\u2019s to get out of the heat… and then spend a bit of time there reading and learning about the place and the man. You\u2019ll discover that he probably really did:<\/p>\n

\u201cEat the last mango in Paris…\u201d<\/strong>
\n\u201cTake the last plane out of Saigon…\u201d<\/strong>
\n\u201cTook the first fast boat to China…\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think of the songs, this next one is should be the National Anthem of the Conch Republic. (If you aren’t sure where the Conch Republic is, try Google)<\/p>\n

Semi-True Story<\/strong> – Key West is full of tales. Presidents, writers, minstrels, and characters… Truman, Hemingway, Buffett, and Terricino all add to the lore of Cayo Hueso (the original Spanish name of the island). No matter where you look… no matter what corner of the island you go to, there\u2019s a story that goes with it.<\/p>\n

Names like Bumfarto, Sushi, and Sloppy Joe all add color. Every little bar from the Speakeasy Inn to the La Te Da, to the Schooner Wharf Bar, to the Chart Room have a story to tell about Bone Island (the translation from Spanish of Cayo Hueso).<\/p>\n

Everywhere you go you will hear a story… and every one of them true… at least according to the rules of this song.<\/p>\n

As much as anything else this song personifies \u201cThe Rock\u201d and is why I like it. Well… then there\u2019s that tequila thing too.<\/p>\n

So Ben… it’s your choice. It is looking like I\u2019m going to be seeing you this fall and I’ll give you a better “heads up” when I’ve booked. But this should give you enough to ponder for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone that knows me, knows that I have an addiction… cruisin\u2019. I also have a love affair with Key West… and of course, I\u2019m a parrothead. [def: par-ought-head — Fanatical, out of control, aficionado of Jimmy Buffett and everything Margaritaville. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":915,"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions\/915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kokomoman.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}