Be The Light: Of Hurricanes & Happy Hellos

/ Ally Bean

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INTRODUCTION

As you may remember, starting last March I joined a yearlong monthly event called We Are The World Blogfest.  

The purpose of this event is to highlight positive news stories, presenting these stories on your blog on the last Friday of the month.

This being the last Friday of September, I’ve a news story to share with you, my gentle readers & fellow #WATWB participants.

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THE NEWS STORY

Earlier this month when Hurricane Irma made landfall in the USA, Key West was hard hit.  After the hurricane moved farther north, for those people who didn’t evacuate Key West, there was no running water, no electric power– and no cell phone service.

One of the people who didn’t evacuate was Buco, a mechanic at The Green Parrot, a famous bar and Key West icon.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, Buco figured out that the closed restaurant next door had a landline connection that was still working.  Using an old hand set, Buco was able to get a landline telephone working and accessible to people at the side door of The Green Parrot.

The bar then allowed anyone to make a free two-minute call using the phone so that the residents still in Key West could assure their friends and family that they were ok.

[Full story here: A Key West Dive Bar Closed For The Hurricane, But Let 500 People In To Phone Loved Ones]

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MY COMMENTARY

Overlooking the fact that what Buco did, pirating a phone line, is technically illegal, this story is a feel good one in which human ingenuity and kindness comes together to help everyone.

I especially liked Buco’s observation about the people who stood in line to use the phone.  He said: “it’s always their mother’s number that they remember.”

While The Green Parrot [“a sunny place for shady people”] is famous in and of itself, the latest mention of it in the news, under the circumstances, makes me smile about the bar and the people who work there.

[Click here to view Bar Cam].

I can’t help thinking… road trip, anyone?  ‘Cause I know a place I’d like to visit. 🍻

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{ photo images via Pixabay |1||2| }

48 thoughts on “Be The Light: Of Hurricanes & Happy Hellos”

  2. That’s a good one. Truly, I dial few numbers by heart — my mother, my husband, his parents, and my friend HME. I suppose that does say a lot about us — whose number we know is whose number we need to know.
    Great share, Ally Bean.

    Liked by 2 people

    • joey, I remember my ob-gyn about 10 years ago commenting on how few telephone numbers his patients seemed to know. He wondered what it all meant about changes in our society. I’ve come to believe that it means exactly what you said: we know the numbers we need to know.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Michelle Wallace, I think you’re right. Buco was the right person for the job at hand– and was fated to be where he was. I’m glad you liked the story. It made me smile from beginning to end.

      Like

  5. Hi Ally – couldn’t agree more with you and the others … an amazing tale – and hey bother the illegalities – much more important for people to contact their loved ones. Brilliant – film scenarios are made of this … I just feel for the devastation everyone must be going through now – it just takes so much energy to deal with these sorts of devastating natural events. Great name is Buco … cheers Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary, I thought this story demonstrated how ingenuity can be put to good use, especially when one overlooks a few, as you said, “illegalities.” Got to love a guy named Buco who knows how to get things going. Heads up, Hollywood.

      Like

  6. As I started reading that was my thought – “Wait, it’s not his phone line!”, but then I thought under the circumstances, did that really matter? It’s all priorities, isn’t it? How nice to hear about people helping out instead of being angry and screaming.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Carol, I thought the same thing when I started reading the article. Then, after smiling to myself about this guy’s cleverness, I remembered that what he’d done is not legal. HOWEVER, considering, I think his priorities were in the right place. Plus, it’s Key West… so maybe the illegality isn’t such a big deal?

      Liked by 1 person

    • Janis, your seat is saved. I’ve never been to Key West– which is odd considering how many times I’ve been to Florida in my life. HOWEVER, now that I know there’s someone named Buco there, someone who know what’s important in life after a hurricane, I want to go. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

    • nancy, I wondered the same thing and I have no answer. I know that in downtown Naples FL there’s a web cam as you walk down the sidewalk and there’s a sign that says so, but as for The Green Parrot I could not say. I think that we all are on camera somewhere more often than we think we are. It’s a different world now.

      Like

  11. Ingenuity and good will – what perfect qualities to have in the aftermath of widespread challenge!

    It made me smile reading this story knowing that one of the totem medicines of Parrot is remembering the power of one’s words. How perfect Green Parrot was part of delivering welcome words to those concerned about the safety of their loved ones.

    Nice find Ally Bean!

    Like

    • Deborah, I agree that the right person was in the right place with the right skills to help everyone who needed it. I love the idea that only an old-fashioned landline could get through to the mainland. I didn’t know that about the parrot totem meaning, but kismet, eh? That makes this story even more interesting to me.

      Like

  12. This is a feel-good story, and sometimes the rules need to be bent under the circumstances. This was clearly one of those times. That short phone call to a loved one is so meaningful – on both sides. It seems to me Buco has his priorities in the right place.

    Liked by 1 person

    • cherylbalcom, I like #WATWB because it can never hurt to add a dash of positivity to the blogosphere. Plus it’s fun to write a blog post based on news instead of my life. You know?

      Like

    • Betsy, good point. If The Green Parrot paid for the phone charges then this is a case of borrowing, not stealing. I thought this was a wonderful story that made me laugh and filled the bill of being positive.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Margaret, I have no doubt that the people of Key West would be worth the drive alone. It’s a heck of a long way to drive down there, but once there I’d sit back and enjoy.

      Like

  19. I love how this story has 2 sides – I think in life we have a choice what we focus on: the good deed or the bad stuff. Your story chose well, thank you! ☺
    Tbh I’d be in a serious trouble calling anyone with my phone off – I don’t remember any numbers any more! 🙈

    Liked by 1 person

    • Miss Andi, that’s a good observation about this story. There’s definitely good and bad going on here, focus on what counts.

      I think everyone no longer remembers phone numbers. Makes me think we all need to write a few of them down on a piece of paper to have handy, just in case.

      Like

  21. I’ll join you on the road trip! That sounds like a great place to visit, and I’d love to meet the people who frequent the bar. I have to smile at the whole illegal bit that is offset by humanity and kindness. If he’d used the phone line to call in friends to vandalize abandoned properties, for example, this story would be completely different.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, welcome aboard our theoretical Key West getaway! I’ve been to FL a million times, but never got to Key West which is odd considering I’m an English major and like cats! I agree that the context of why Buco did what he did, negates the illegality of it. Fun story all around. Thanks for stopping by to comment.

      Like

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