Literature Lesson: Hemingway in Key West, Florida

Docked at the furthest of the Florida Key Islands, we finally made it to Key West.  Key West has a reputation for attracting artists, including the famous American novelist and journalist Ernest Hemingway.  I traveled to Florida many times, but never that far south.  We took the Key West Conch Train for the transportation purpose of getting to the Hemingway House.  We visited during the summer and the sweltering heat surrounded us.  Bring water, sunglasses, and cash – the museum entrance only takes cash.  It takes patience while the train fills up and starts moving.

Patricia Schultz’s book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die recognizes Hemingway’s Home & Museum as a key attraction, “Visitors interested in the real deal can tour the house and studio where Hemingway completed A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls.  Many of his possessions are on display, presided over by some 60 polydactyl (many-toed) cats, about the same number that Hemingway kept on the property between 1931 and 1939.”

We found the Hemingway Cats immediately.  They roam the grounds and don’t seem bothered by the many tourists, even people like me taking photos of their toes.  We also found the cats in the house, seemingly posing on a bed. 

The tour guide keeps the tour family-friendly, but our guide definitely told some jokes aimed at the adult visitor group.  You’ll learn about Hemingway’s wife Pauline who also lived at the house and you’ll hear about other women too.  The guide did a great job explaining the history and how it connected to the items in each room.  Typewriters and photographs made you think of both his career and his adventures.  After touring inside the house, we saw the famous expensive in-ground pool.  Look for the penny embedded in the cement.

The visit inspired me to learn more about Hemingway’s life.  I like Ken Burn’s documentaries, so I looked forward to the release of “Hemingway” show in 2021.  The six-hour series gave more depth and interesting stories.

If you want to learn about Hemingway’s earlier life, visit his birthplace in Oak Park, Illinois.

Hemingway’s Home & Museum in Key West tickets cost approximately $17 for adults and $7 for kids.  Tours offered everyday and last approximately 30 minutes. 

Hemingway’s Birthplace tickets cost approximately $20 for adults and $18 for youth.  Tours last approximately 50 minutes.

 

Agriculture Lesson #3: 5 Cool Pumpkin Sites to Visit

Pumpkins, just the thought of these orange colored gourd-like squash takes you back to childhood.  Create a fall tradition with your child to pick pumpkins in the field and learn about agriculture at the same time. 

You can inspire their love for reading by reading about pumpkins.  One year I read the story Backyard Giants by Susan Warren outloud to my kids, a couple chapters at a time, following the adventures of Ron and Dick Wallace.  It not only teaches about giant pumpkins, but also lessons about the importance of setting a goal and values of determination and sharing knowledge with others.  It was published in 2007.  When we heard Ron & Dick broke the world record growing a 2,009 pound giant pumpkin in 2012, we cheered for them. 

Our family enjoys the tradition of visiting a pumpkin patch and then carving a pumpkin to use as a Halloween decoration. Get ready for messy fun. Getting out the seed is just part of the reward. You can roast them in the oven as a treat. These seed are good for kids, theyhave protein, magnesium, copper, and zinc. Kids just love the bite sized crunch.

I took this photo at Barn N Bunk farm in Trenton, OH.  We've found many of such large farms offer fun family entertainment.  We've enjoyed hay rides and corn mazes.  I've learned that the Midwest is central to pumpkins with 95% of pumpkins intended for processing grown in Illinois.  Here's 4 key places to discover pumpkins with your family:

1.  Art and Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay, CA - 42 year tradition, world champion pumpkin weigh off, parade, pumpkin sculptures, crafts, so many events, there's an app for it http://www.miramarevents.com/pumpkinfest/about_show.html

2.  Vala's Pumpkin Patch, Gretna, Nebraska (NE) - $13.29 per person admission, even sells seasons passes which makes sense when you see their entertainment schedule- stunt dog show, 4-H day, dance show, Scarecrow band, monster dash run, pig races, and s'mores at the fire http://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/

3. Papa's Pumpkin Patch, Bismark, North Dakota (ND) attracts 50,000 visitors per year, enjoying bale mazes and a crib sandbox or buying pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pie, mid Sept. to late Oct.
https://papaspumpkinpatch.wordpress.com/

4. Morton Pumpkin Festival, Morton, Illinois (IL) home of Libby's canned pumpkin where 80% of the world's pumpkin is processed, pumpkin idol, recipe challenge, tennis tournament http://www.mortonpumpkinfestival.org/

5.  Cox Farms, Centreville, Virginia (VA) - 40 year tradition, watch for their Nov. Pumpkin Madness event where you can recycle your used pumpkin for some smashing fun http://www.coxfarms.com/fallfestival.aspx

Women Inspiring Women, Read all about It

Inspiring Books for Marketers:

Author Mary Lou Quinlan made her debut of her new book What She's Not Telling You at a Procter & Gamble marketing training that I attended.

She inspired us all to do power listening and search for the whole truth. Mary Lou writes about the risks of relying on focus groups and 'literal listening'. I agree, you need to understand at a much deeper level.

I hope the book inspires you too. My favorite quote is "start marketing with women, and stop marketing to them."

I was the Tampax Pearl Assistant Brand Manager and the book mentions one of my commercials as an example in the section about secrets/silent pride (Thanks Mary Lou!): "While it's an easy laugh to see women trying not to be seen buying a pregnancy kit in a drugstore, more marketers in the feminine categories would be wise to help her keep a little dignity in the aisle or "pink ghetto" as Jen calls it. Perhaps the best efforts belong to TAMPAX, who've taken a cue from the youner women's comfort with "down there" and lightened up the tone of the category with commercials that brought tampons front and center, like using one to stop a leak in a rowboat on a date, so that no one needs to feel weird in the drugstore aisle." (page 138, What She's Not Telling You by Mary Lou Quinlan, Jen Drexter, and Tracy Chapman).

If you want to read more about the author, visit http://www.justaskawoman.com/
and if you click on the blog tab, you can read the first chapter for free.

If you want to read more about the commercial, visit the Effie Award website www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2005/56