Just about 100 years ago, a five-year-old Key West girl was chosen to present a special bouquet of flowers to Henry Flagler’s wife Mary Lily on the day that marked the completion of Flagler’s Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad.

Henry Flagler re-enactor Paul Jellinek reacts to remarks by 105-year-old Lamar Louise Curry after presenting flowers to her. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Those plans fell through — but a century later, at 105 years old, Lamar Louise Curry finally met “Flagler” and he presented a similar bouquet to her.

The Over-Sea Railroad, a miracle of engineering whose track stretched more than 100 miles out into open water, connected the previously isolated Keys with each other and the Florida mainland for the first time. Its completion has been called the most important single event in Florida Keys history.

On Jan. 22, 1912, when the first Over-Sea Railroad train arrived in Key West from the mainland, thousands of Key Westers greeted Flagler, his wife and other dignitaries. Despite carefully laid plans, however, the young Miss Curry was not among them.

The little girl had eaten peanuts the day before and come down with a terrible stomachache. Her stomach illness (later determined to be a sensitivity to peanuts) caused her to miss the train’s arrival, and the honor of presenting the flowers was given to another young lady.

When the organizers of the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad Centennial Celebration found out about Miss Curry — who now lives in Coral Gables, Fla. — they desperately wanted her to come to Key West on Jan. 22, 2012, to present flowers to a Mary Lily Flagler re-enactor.

Miss Curry displays a photograph of herself as a five-year-old girl -- the age she was when Henry Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad first steamed into Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Unfortunately, her health simply wasn’t good enough to allow her to make the trip. So they did the next best thing.

Just before the centennial anniversary, Henry Flagler re-enactor Paul Jellinek went to see Miss Curry at her Coral Gables home.

“About 100 years ago, I understand that you were going to bring flowers to my lovely wife,” said Paul, who visited Miss Curry on his way to the Florida Keys for the centennial anniversary celebration. “You weren’t feeling well (that day), so this day I thought I would bring you some flowers.”

Miss Curry can’t quite remember how she felt about missing the honor, but she does remember the anticipation of Jan. 22, 1912, and what it was like to ride the “railroad that went to sea.”

“It was a great occasion and I remember planning it for a long time,” Miss Curry recalled. “We heard about it and watched it since 1909 being built.”

Mary Lily Flagler holds the flowers presented to her after the first Over-Sea Railroad train arrived in Key West Jan. 22, 1912. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County LIbrary Collection)

She also recalled the experience of riding an Over-Sea Railroad train, especially when it traversed the Bahia Honda bridge.

“It was very exciting, because I looked out the window the whole time while we were on the trestle,” she said. “So it was a wonderful occasion to ride over it.”

Though the meeting between “Henry Flagler” and Miss Curry came 100 years later than originally planned, it was a momentous occasion for both of them.

Paul Jellinek, who is obsessed with the visionary Flagler he portrays, was the most enthusiastic of all.

Over and over, he kept repeating, “I can’t believe I’m seeing someone alive today who was alive when Henry Flagler arrived in Key West.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

While most kids who visit New York’s Coney Island find themselves enthralled by the rides, sights and sounds of the boardwalk, Pasta Pantaleo found himself obsessed with a large replica sailfish.

Islamorada resident and gallery owner Pasta Pantaleo is internationally acclaimed as a gamefish artist. (All photos courtesy of Art by Pasta)

“I grew up with a love of cars, so I always said that sailfish are like a Ferrari and tarpon are like a four-wheel-drive truck,” Pasta said. “I’ve always been fascinated with the structure of a sailfish, and found myself drawing that sailfish from Coney Island millions of times before I ever saw a real sailfish.”

Today, he’s recognized around the world as a gamefish artist and runs the acclaimed Pasta Pantaleo’s Signature Gallery in Islamorada. And as president of the area’s Morada Way Arts and Cultural District, he helps showcase the creative culture of the Upper Keys.

A native of Italy, Pasta spent most of his childhood in an Italian immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a young teenager, he made his way to South Florida.

"Gimme Shelter" showcases Pasta's talent for capturing the underwater world and its gamefish inhabitants.

Though he was born Roberto Pantaleo, he’s gone by the nickname “Pasta” for many years. He inherited it from his older brother Nick, often called “pasta fazul” by friends because of his Italian accent and their problems pronouncing the name Pantaleo.

He credits his artistic talent to another inheritance — abilities passed down from his artist father.

Pasta Pantaleo spent much of his professional life working as a commercial graphic designer, and indulged in sport fishing and boating as hobbies. His career in gamefish art began in 1999, when he was contracted to produce a poster for a Florida fishing tournament.

“That was when I realized that my fishing life, my marine life and my art life could be put together a little bit more,” Pasta said. “Because the two loves I had were painting and fishing.”

Shown here helping local art students, Pasta (right) was chosen Florida's best artist of 2011 by Florida Monthly Magazine.

During the early years of his fine-art career, he worked with several Keys galleries and fishing tournaments, frequently traveling to the Keys for art shows.

In 2006, Pasta decided to move to the Keys permanently. He opened his first gallery, called Keys to Life, on Windley Key.

Soon afterward he began offering gallery nights, partnering with other local galleries and businesses to create culturally entertaining evenings for visitors.

“In my opinion, the fishing guides, artists, musicians and chefs are the fabric of what holds the Keys together,” Pasta explained. “They all work with each other to make a really great experience in the Keys — they’re what people come down here to experience.”

Eventually, those gallery nights and partnerships led to the formation of the Morada Way Arts and Cultural District, a nonprofit volunteer organization whose mission is to increase awareness, knowledge and support of the arts and unique culture of the Upper Keys.

Pasta's "Daily Special" depicts a light-drenched underwater vista.

On the third Thursday of each month, the organization hosts the Morada Way Arts and Cultural District Third Thursday Walkabout. The 5-9 p.m. cultural stroll features national and local artists and artisans who are showcased in galleries along Morada Way — as well as live music, food and vendors.

“I’ve always been a person who likes to band people together to better the community,” Pasta said.

Each day, he strives to improve his craft of capturing the majesty and beauty of the Keys’ marine life and environment. He sees his life in Islamorada as similar to living in a small Italian fishing village … with a slow pace allowing the time to stop and appreciate the natural beauty that inspires his work.

Topics: Arts, Highlights, Islamorada, Local Color, Profiles, Voices Main Archive

Standard Oil millionaire Henry Flagler conceived the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad in the early 1900s, and the first train traveled from the Florida mainland to Key West Jan. 22, 1912. Today historians credit the railroad, officially named the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway, with making possible the evolution of the modern Florida Keys.

Seth Bramson displays a signal lantern from the original Over-Sea Railroad. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Seth Bramson is a company historian for the Florida East Coast Railway and author of “The Greatest Railroad Story Ever Told: Henry Flagler and the Florida East Coast Railway’s Key West Extension,” the recently released history of the engineering and construction of the railroad that stretched more than 100 miles over open water.

A celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Over-Sea Railroad’s completion culminates Jan. 14-23 in the Keys. Its final event is a Jan. 23 evening presentation and book signing by Seth Bramson at The Studios of Key West, 600 White St.

Here, he shares insights into the railroad that connected the Florida Keys with mainland Florida, and each other, for the first time.

Q: How complex was the construction of the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad? What other large-scale construction projects does it compare to?

Seth Bramson: The building of the Key West Extension was the greatest single railroad engineering and construction feat in U.S. — and possibly world — history. During the era of the extension’s construction, the only engineering feat that could be even remotely compared to the Key West Extension’s construction was the building of the Panama Canal.

Constructing the Long Key Viaduct, shown here, was one of the greatest engineering challenges faced by Flagler and his team. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Library Collection)

Q: What were the most daunting engineering challenges in the construction process?

SB: Unquestionably the most daunting engineering challenges were the building of the three major bridges: Long Key Viaduct, Bahia Honda Bridge and what is today known as {the} Seven Mile Bridge — as well as the filling of open water to create the Key West Terminal property, today known as Trumbo Island. Nothing like the building of the bridges had ever before been attempted.

Q: What did construction of the Over-Sea Railroad mean for Flagler and his team?

SB: The successful completion of the Key West Extension added to Flagler’s legacy to the point that, today, the name Henry M. Flagler is the single greatest name in the history of Florida.

Q: What were the Florida Keys like before the railroad was built?

SB: Prior to the completion of the Key West Extension of the FEC, the Keys were completely rural and mostly uninhabited. The FEC brought life to the islands as well as hospitality venues. Whole communities came into being because of the railroad, including those at Marathon, Matecumbe, Long Key and others.

The arrival of the Over-Sea Railroad changed the face of the Keys forever. (Image courtesy of the Key West Art & Historical Society)

Q: How did the Over-Sea Railroad change the Florida Keys?

SB: The completion of the railroad to Key West meant the fulfillment, to the people of the Keys and the island city, of one word: accessibility. With the coming of the railroad, the isolation ended and, although it would take time and patience, development could and did begin. The Keys were, with the completion of the railroad, a completely different world.

Q: The railroad operated for less than 25 years, but it left an indelible legacy. How does its existence continue to affect the Keys?

SB: The building and operation of the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway was, and is, the greatest railroad story ever told. The incredible task of building a railroad over the sea in the early years of the 20th century has come, in no small measure, to define the residents of the Keys — the Conchs — who have come to be known for their hardiness, their pluckiness, their adaptability and their resilience.

Q: Why should people care about the centennial of the Over-Sea Railroad’s completion?

SB: It is extremely important that, especially given the issues and problems that America faces today, the celebration of what America was — and still is — capable of doing should and must be celebrated and memorialized.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Marathon, Voices Main Archive

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Keys
smiling holiday revelers savored the breeze.
But in other locations, nobody was smiling
as they braved freezing temperatures far from the islands.

A trio of canine "kids" awaits the arrival of Santa Keys. (Photo by Mary Threlkeld)

While Keys visitors partied in warm outdoor bars,
toasting friends with mojitos sipped under the stars,
Christmas spirits had plans for the cold “refugees”
who were physically elsewhere but craving the Keys.

That’s why, out on the beach, there arose such a squawking
of unsettled seagulls in seagull talk talking
that drivers of cars cruising next to the ocean
couldn’t figure out what had caused all the commotion.

The moon on the shining white crescent of beach
made the shoreline of Cuba seem almost in reach
when what to the drivers’ amazement appeared
but a Santa in flip-flops and seaweed-decked beard.

Elves riding golf carts? Santa Keys' helpers in Big Pine use some unconventional vehicles when assisting the big guy. (Photo by Neysa Threlkeld)

Now, this Santa was wise and this Santa was bright
and he sure sympathized with the northerners’ plight.
In his past life, before heading south for the sun,
he too spent the winter months freezing his buns.

So he hijacked a sturdy old boat used for fishin’,
found some Key deer to pull it and started his mission.
Sailing skyward to surf on a tropical breeze,
he steered his ship north bringing gifts from the Keys.

As palm fronds before a wild summer storm fly
(when the shutters are closed and the water is high),
Santa Keys cruised the northern states with his Key deer
spreading visions of warm blue seas and island cheer.

With his Key deer garbed in brilliant lights, Santa Keys prepares to depart on his mission. (Photo by Neysa Threlkeld)

At each house where the residents longed for the tropics,
he left small Keys tokens stuffed deep in their stockings.
There were conch shells and flip-flops and Key lime tidbits,
Margarita mix too — and “Buffett’s Greatest Hits.”

There were fishing reels, dive logs and lotions for sun
Conch Republic flags, stickers that read “U.S. 1,”
tiny replicas of Key West’s Southernmost Point
and shrimp sauce from a funky old Keys seafood joint.

When he dropped the last gift at the last snow-topped house,
Santa Keys told his Key deer to steer a course south.
His farewell drifted back on a sweet balmy breeze:
“Merry Christmas to all — now come visit the Keys!”

To watch an underwater video of Santa Keys, click here.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, On the Water, Quirks, Voices Main Archive

Once upon a time (way back in 1982), the Florida Keys & Key West seceded from the union and formed the independent Conch Republic. This wasn’t a joke. In fact, it was a last-ditch attempt to get the U.S. Border Patrol to remove a blockade it had erected at the head of the Keys — where agents searched outgoing cars for unspecified contraband, tied up traffic interminably, and nearly annihilated the Keys’ fledgling tourist trade.

Even NBC "Today" weatherman Al Roker (left) and anchor Matt Lauer are fans of the Conch Republic. Here they display the republic's flag during a special broadcast from Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

So, like any intelligent population blessed with a creative mindset and lively sense of humor, some good citizens and friends of the Keys came up with an offbeat, attention-getting response: they staged the island chain’s secession from the mother country.

It was a stunningly effective solution to the problem. Following the international media hoopla generated by the gutsy action, the blockade was quietly dismantled, never to return.

The concept of the Conch Republic, however, has far outlived the incident that spawned it. While Keys citizens are technically still Americans, today Conch Republic flags and passports are common — and the secession’s anniversary is celebrated each year with a fun-filled festival.

The concept of the Conch Republic appeals to the independent, nonconformist spirit of Keys residents (and those who dream of becoming residents). And recently, one of the republic’s founding fathers discovered that it also appealed to a citizenry on the other side of the world.

Intrepid traveler Stuart Newman discovered a Conch Republic-like country in faraway New Zealand.

While he was in New Zealand representing the Florida Keys & Key West at the annual Society of American Travel Writers convention, honorary Conch Republican Stuart Newman took time off to explore the countryside. Driving along the Lost World Highway, he encountered the “Republic of Whangamomona.”

Here, in Stuart’s own words, is the tale of his remarkable discovery.

Whangamomona, NZ — Halfway around the world from the Florida Keys, residents of tiny town on New Zealand’s North Island, arguably inspired by Key West’s 1982 Conch Republic rebellion, seven years later seceded and formed the “Republic of Whangamomona.”

In 1989, dissatisfied with a series of governmental redistricting changes, the elder gurus of the community of less than 180 gathered at the pub of the local six-room hotel/restaurant — and declared Whangamomona to be an independent republic.

The republic of Whamgamomona is governed from this unassuming hotel. (Photo by Stuart Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Located in New Zealand’s Manawatu-Wanganui region, Whangamomona is accessible via the Lost World Highway (NZ 43) — not exactly the caliber of the Keys’ U.S. 1, since it boasts a 90-mile stretch without a service station.

Whangamomona’s first president, Ian Kjestrup, was elected after his name was placed on the ballot without his knowledge.

Kjestrup served from 1989 through 1999 and was succeeded by Billy Gumboot, a goat (!), who won by eating the ballots of the other candidates. Gumboot served 18 months before being succeeded by a poodle named Tai, who served from 2003 to 2004 and retired following a reported assassination attempt.

The present chief of state, garage owner Murt “Murtle the Turtle” Kennard, won out over founding father Kjestrup and a cross-dresser named Miriam (sound familiar?) by a single vote. He was overwhelmingly re-elected this year.

Like the Conch Republic, Whangamomona has a population of indigenous poultry.

Today, the tiny “country” of Whangamomona is replete with Conch Republic-type passports and official T-shirts. Every other year in January (summer in New Zealand), the town celebrates Republic Day, which attracts thousands of visitors from throughout the North Island.

As Stuart discovered, clearly the citizens of Whangamomona share an irreverent mindset and good-spirited sense of fun with the denizens of the Conch Republic. Those attributes will take center stage in the Keys April 20-29, 2012, during the 30th annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration.

Why not come down for the festivities and declare your own independence?

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Festivals, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Quirks, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Henry Flagler’s Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad ceased operating in 1935, but two Keys women vividly remember childhood experiences riding the “railroad that went to sea.”

Two Keys women recall childhood journeys on Henry Flagler's Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad. Here, a train steams across the Long Key Viaduct. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Library Collection)

Completed in 1912, it was called the Over-Sea Railroad because its track stretched more than 100 miles out into open water. For 23 years it carried passengers from mainland Florida to (and through) the Keys, giving them a breathtaking sense of steaming across the ocean.

Minnie Dameron, who spent much of her childhood on Plantation Key in the Upper Keys, remembers trips to visit family in Key West — and taking the train’s final journey just before portions of its track were severely damaged in a 1935 hurricane.

Marie Gasser, who spent childhood summers in Ohio and winters in Miami, recalled her family’s one-way train trip from Miami to Key West before her death in January 2012.

Dameron remembered her father flagging down the train at the Plantation Key freight station with a white handkerchief, and a lantern signaling the family had boarded.

Minnie Dameron took several Keys train trips with her parents and sister. (Photo by Steve Panariello, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“We’d get so excited when we knew we were coming to get the train and go all the way to Key West — we put on our best clothes,” said Dameron, 87, who now lives in Key West.

“My sister and I used to love to ride the train and look out the window,” she recalled. “But when we’d come to the Seven Mile Bridge, it looked like you were riding on the water, so we’d get scared and hold one another’s hand.”

For Dameron, arriving at Key West was the trip’s highlight. On special occasions, she remembered, Cuban bands and dancers greeted arriving passengers.

Gasser recalled her family boarding the train in Miami when she was about 5 and walking back to the last seat — a seat that resembled a church pew. Her mother sat by the window and her father on the aisle, while she rode between them.

Marie Gasser, who was 5 years old when she rode the train with her parents, remembered her mother being quite unhappy about riding over water. (Photo by Steve Panariello, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“Everybody was excited — take a train down to Key West,” said Gasser, who was an Islamorada resident when she died at age 95.

During the journey, they walked to the dining car.

“It seemed like a long ways to get to something to eat,” said Gasser, who remembered a waiter in a white shirt and black pants helping her. “He brought a highchair for me, lifted me up and put me in the highchair.”

The journey was pleasant, she said, until her mother looked out the open window as the train crossed a bridge so narrow it seemed she was sitting over water. After arriving in Key West, her mother refused to take the train back to Miami and insisted they return by boat.

“She said boats were made to go on water and trains were not!” Gasser chuckled.

Dameron and her family’s last ride was the train’s final journey to Key West — just before the Labor Day 1935 hurricane slammed into the Upper Keys, damaging that area’s railroad line. The trip wasn’t inspired by foreknowledge of the storm, but instead to get treatment for her sick sister.

A group awaits the Over-Sea Railroad train at the Islamorada station. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Library Collection)

“She had a temperature and my mother tried everything to get it down and couldn’t, so we got the train to Key West,” Dameron said. “We would have been in it (the hurricane), but I was on the last train in here (Key West) because of my sister being ill.”

Three years after the hurricane, the Overseas Highway debuted, built on a foundation that incorporated most of the original railway spans. Today, it contains 127 miles of roadway and 42 bridges over water connecting the Keys. The original train bridges were retired in 1982, but many became fishing piers.

A celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the railway’s completion is to culminate Jan. 14-23, with Keyswide events marking the centennial of the first train’s journey.

“It changed the Keys forever, and what a blessing it was,” said Dameron. “I just wish it was still there — that’s how much we loved it.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

The annual Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! seminar, at Islamorada’s Postcard Inn at Holiday Isle resort, gives beginning and intermediate female anglers a chance to learn saltwater fishing — or improve angling skills they already have.

Intrepid angler Maria Newman, left, fights her "lionfish" prey under the direction of LLGF founder Betty Bauman. (Photos by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

It’s called the “No-Yelling School of Fishing,” and includes instruction on how to rig baits, tie knots, gaff fish and even boat handling. One session teaches effective and comfortable ways to battle gamefish.

For several years Larry Kahn, editor of the Florida Keys’ “Keynoter” newspaper, has played the role of the gamefish target. This year, swimming in a resort pool with a fishing line tied to his belt, he portrayed an invasive lionfish.

Selected students reel, while the fish tries to swim away. The process teaches students not to allow slack line, to follow the fish as it moves in the water and, ultimately, to wear out their quarry.

That’s what happened to Larry at the hands of a savvy Miami student (and middle school teacher) named Maria Newman. Here, in detail, are her thoughts and his on the experience.

Musings From Maria, the Angler

Larry the lionfish doesn’t know there’s a hook instead of the morsel of bait. He simply thinks opportunity just knocked, and he swallows.

On the surface, I wait to feel his slightest tug. I jerk the line to set the hook, and he takes me for a big run of line.

Larry the lionfish attempts to escape the tenacious angler.

I smile and patiently let him take it. He wins this run.

Now it’s my turn. I pull my rod back and crank the reel faster and faster. I get back what I lost.

His turn. He takes a left turn and runs again — pulling, tugging, trying to survive. He thinks, “If I don’t pull harder, I’m a goner.”

All I know is, if I don’t get this fish up close to the surface, I lose. It’s him or me. Hook, line, rod, harness, fish-fighting belt … don’t fail me now!

I’ve got him now (I always assume the fish I catch are boys. Why is that?).

I’m tired. He’s tired and I can feel him struggling, trying to get free.

There he is close to me, at the surface. He’s mine.

I win! That’s my fish. That’s my Larry — my wonderful Larry the lionfish.

Reflections From Larry, “The Fish”

Sometimes the greats hang on too long.

There was Willie Mays in 1973, capping his baseball career with a sad six home runs and a .211 batting average with the Mets after a Hall of Fame career with the Giants.

An actual lionfish, unlike Larry, sports venomous spines instead of a wetsuit.

Then there was Michael Jordan, closing out his basketball career in a Washington Wizards uniform in 2002-‘03 after redefining, as a Chicago Bull, how NBA basketball is played.

And there was me, at the end of a fishing line, being reeled in so easily that a minnow would have been more challenging for the angler.

This was my fourth year depicting “The Fish” at Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!

I had retired after three years, having portrayed an acrobatic dolphin (mahi-mahi), tenacious tuna and powerful grouper. I came back for a fourth year as a lionfish, monofilament line tied my body, to swim away from student Maria Newman — while she tried to reel me to the side of the “classroom” pool.

After the epic battle, predator and prey might have stopped at Key Largo's Fish House Encore for a tasty appetizer of ... lionfish.

But like Mays and Jordan, I was past my prime. I thought I could coast as a lionfish, a relatively small fish with little fight, and wouldn’t need much spunk. Boy, was I wrong.

I was at the end of Maria’s line for only about five minutes as LLGF founder Betty Bauman instructed other students in what Maria was doing right and wrong. There was much right … little wrong.

I kept trying to swim away, but Maria kept hauling me in.

Finally, I gave up. I exited the pool gasping for air, a shell of my former fish self, and retired. Again.

Four years as “The Fish” was a pretty good run.

Just one year too many, that’s all.

Wait, is that Betty calling again for 2012?

Topics: Environment, Islamorada, Local Color, On the Water, Quirks, Voices Main Archive

In 1993 Jimmy Johnson had just won his second consecutive Super Bowl, and was celebrating with his Dallas Cowboys team in the locker room, when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jammed a phone in his ear.

Former NFL football coach Jimmy Johnson stands at the wheel of his "Three Rings" fishing boat off the Upper Keys at sunset. (All photos by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

The caller was Bill Clinton, then president of the United States.

“He said, ‘Coach Johnson, I want you to come to the White House, and congratulations on winning the Super Bowl’,” recalled Jimmy, who also coached the Miami Dolphins and led the University of Miami to a national championship. “I said ‘I’m sorry, Mr. President, I’m going to the Florida Keys. I’m going fishing’.”

Jerry Jones, standing next to him, was shocked to hear him refuse an invitation from the president.

“Jerry Jones grabbed the phone and he says, ‘Yes, Mr. President, we will be at the White House’,” Jimmy said, laughing. “I wasn’t even thinking, but that was my mindset: I wanted to go to the Florida Keys.”

Jimmy displays a nice dolphin fish he caught while trolling off Islamorada.

Jimmy Johnson has had a residence in the Keys since just after that second Super Bowl victory. He moved to his current home in Islamorada 11 years ago and his name graces Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill at Fisherman’s Cove, a dining and entertainment complex as well as a private residence club in Key Largo.

Jimmy began visiting the Keys in the mid-1980s while he was head coach at the University of Miami. Toward the end of that period, he earned his dive certification and developed a lasting love for the subtropical island chain.

“I came down to the Keys (for) my final open water dive and just fell in love with the place, the people and all the things you could do down here,” he said.

While he was the Cowboys’ coach, he decided he eventually wanted to live in the Keys. When he retired from Dallas, he sought a home that offered specific benefits.

Jimmy is happiest at the wheel of his fishing boat.

“I wanted to get away from all of the hustle and bustle and autograph seekers, and go to an area where I could just lay back and enjoy life,” he said. “{In the Keys} I can go out anywhere and not be bothered.”

Although Jimmy still dives and loves to catch Florida lobster, these days Florida Keys sportfishing is his primary passion.

Behind his Islamorada estate he keeps a 39-foot SeaVee center console boat named “Three Rings,” after his three coaching championships. A dedicated room houses a large collection of rods, reels and boxes of lures and other tackle. Photos in the room and on his iPhone showcase past notable catches including a big bull dolphin (mahi-mahi), a large wahoo and an estimated 235-pound blue marlin he caught while fishing alone.

In fact, Jimmy usually fishes alone — a testament to the real reason he enjoys the sport.

“I fish for fun and for relaxation,” he said.  “I don’t fish for meat. I don’t fish to brag to everybody what I can catch.

Shown here heading home aboard "Three Rings," Jimmy has traded the pressures of coaching for the tranquility of Keys living.

Jimmy particularly enjoys the freedom of solo fishing, without a schedule or pressure to catch anything.

Sometimes he doesn’t even put a line in the water.

“When I was coaching, everything about my entire life was so regimented,” he said. “Now, going out by myself fishing, I load the boat and I go out and stay as long as I want to stay.”

That’s where he usually can be found — except during the NFL season, when he travels weekly to Los Angeles to help anchor “Fox NFL Sunday.”

“There’s only two things that get me away from the Keys,” said Jimmy Johnson. “The Fox TV show, and if someone gives me a big check.”

Topics: Islamorada, Key Largo, On the Water, Profiles, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Ever since marine researchers discovered dolphins just might rival humans among the world’s most intelligent mammals, people have been fascinated by the lively marine creatures.

At Dolphins Plus, dolphins Bob (left) and Jessica provide an affectionate Keys welcome.

In the Florida Keys, where dolphins are studied year-round, visitors to each of five centers can have a unique and wonderful encounter — sharing an in-water experience with these gentle animals while learning about them.

Before any in-water encounter, the facilities provide in-depth briefings that cover dolphin behavior, facts about the engaging creatures, and how to safely and respectfully interact with them. (FYI, during your encounter, don’t be surprised if the ever-curious dolphins use their sensitive bottle-shaped noses to give you the once-over — or present their chins to be scratched or even kissed.)

So where can you have an intriguing dolphin experience in the Keys?

Mandy Rodriguez, the guiding spirit behind Dolphin Research Center, shares some quality time with his buddies. (Photo courtesy of Dolphin Research Center)

Dolphin Research Center, mile marker (MM) 59 bayside on Grassy Key near Marathon, specializes in presenting marine mammal education and research programs to the public. Founded in 1984 as a nonprofit facility, DRC is home to a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions — most of whom were born there.

Enjoy daily narrated dolphin and sea lion behavior sessions and educational presentations to learn about marine mammals and the environment — plus interactive programs like Trainer for a Day, Researcher for a Day, swim and wade sessions and even the fun-filled Paint with a Dolphin.

At Dolphins Plus in Key Largo, Ocean Bay Drive at MM 100 oceanside, you can experience natural or unstructured swims with other participants and dolphins, structured swims or one-on-one interactive sessions with dolphins and sea lion encounters. Natural swim participants revel in the natural beauty and behavior of dolphins while snorkeling; structured swim participants follow a trainer’s instructions for hands-on interaction.

You’ll also find extended education programs, including Trainer for a Day and a three-day Dolphin Exploration Lab, that focus on a general study of dolphins and their habitats.

As well as dolphins, lively parrots and other creatures delight visitors to Islamorada's Theater of the Sea. (Photo courtesy of Theater of the Sea)

In addition, dolphin therapy programs are offered on the premises to individuals with disabilities and their families. Coordinated by the not-for-profit Island Dolphin Care, these remarkable programs involve educational, recreational, and motivational activities.

Islamorada-based Theater of the Sea, MM 84.5 oceanside, offers dolphin, sea lion and stingray swim programs, along with bottomless boat rides, parrot shows and continuous marine shows featuring dolphins and sea lions. Plus there’s a guided marine life tour that features tropical fish, sea turtle, alligator and crocodile exhibits — and don’t miss Theater of the Sea’s four-hour adventure boat tour, which includes a bay ride and snorkel time.

Dolphin Cove is a marine education and dolphin swim facility at MM 102 bayside in Key Largo. There you can choose from natural or structured swims, shallow water encounters in waist-deep water or Trainer for a Day programs that include dolphin interactions and a glimpse into marine mammal care and training.

Even small children can safely participate in magical dolphin encounters in some Keys centers.

Based at Hawk’s Cay Resort, MM 61 oceanside on Duck Key, Dolphin Connection offers a group of appealing dolphin encounter programs. Dolphin Discovery allows supervised contact with dolphins from a submerged platform, while Dockside Dolphins offers interactions without entering the water. You’ll also find a fascinating three-hour Trainer for a Day session that includes a behind-the-scenes look at dolphin training.

Of course, all five centers maintain high standards for safeguarding the physical and emotional health of the dolphins under their care, and the environment these creatures call home.

There’s no substitute for an unforgettable firsthand dolphin encounter at one of the places described here. But if you can’t make it down to the Florida Keys quite yet, click here for webcam previews from Dolphin Research Center, Dolphin Cove, and Island Dolphin Care.

Topics: Animal Ambassadors, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Marathon, Voices Main Archive

Life’s lessons present themselves unexpectedly, and this week mine came via the smiling face of a U.S. Army Special Operations Command soldier whose physical body was marred by war but whose positive outlook is as big as the ocean. His unflagging spirit reminded me what a great blessing family togetherness is.

Just seven months after he lost both legs and full use of his right arm following an attack in Afghanistan, Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott Schroeder was reintroduced to scuba diving with his wife and son who were learning to dive in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Scott, his wife Laura and teenage son Zach — all from Clarksville, Tenn. — were part of a trip coordinated by Task Force Dagger Foundation, a Texas-based nonprofit organization. Established in 2009, the nonprofit provides opportunities for wounded warriors to become certified to scuba dive after sustaining life-altering injuries during military service.

“The Task Force Dagger Foundation is unique in that it allows the families to bond together by letting them participate in all the events,” Scott said. “A lot of foundations out there are very good at taking care of us wounded warriors, but not all of them include the family — and this one does.”

Scott, who’s 45 years old, sustained his injuries last December when his vehicle rolled over a hidden roadside bomb (which he described as 50 pounds of homemade explosives) in a rural province of Afghanistan.

Scott Schroeder, a U.S. Army Special Operations Chief Warrant Officer severely wounded in Afghanistan, examines a brain coral while scuba diving in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“When I was hurt, it wasn’t just me that was hurt,” he said. “It impacted the entire family.”

Before his injuries, Scott had contacted Task Force Dagger Foundation’s managing director Keith David, with whom he’d served in the early 90s, about donating his time and energy to the organization to help wounded comrades.

“I said I want to be a part of {the foundation} monetarily, with my time, with everything. I think about retiring, and this is one way for me to give back after a 24-year career,” Scott recalled.

He never thought he would be on the receiving end of the foundation’s mission.

“I originally thought I was going to be on the giving end,” he said. “I’m blessed that they were there to help me … help us recover together as a family.”

Keith David said Task Force Dagger Foundation’s family focus sets it apart from other organizations.

Scott Schroeder, center, scuba dives with his son Zachary, left, and wife Laura in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“We try to assist when there’s a need,” he said. “One of the things we try and do is help them heal as a family unit.”

This trip to the Florida Keys was a first for the Schroeder family.

Despite being scuba certified in the late 1980s, Scott had to take a refresher course — primarily to adapt his knowledge to his new capabilities. Special hi-tech prosthetic “swim legs” helped propel him through the water during his dive on a shallow reef with his wife and son.

“It was so cool, like you’re in an aquarium,” Laura Schroeder said of the reef fish, barracuda and conch they spotted on their first ocean dive. “I thought the Keys were all about margaritas and salt.”

Although the diving is rehabilitation for him, Scott said he gets to do things he wouldn’t normally do while stuck in a hospital — getting on and off boats, walking up and down the beach and the dock — activities that I, and probably most of us, take for granted.

“Any ‘first’ we get to do as a family is a big event, and to be out here and to be able to dive with them on their first time is just great,” Scott said with a beaming smile. “You can see their eyes light up inside their masks while they’re down there.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Marathon, On the Water, Voices Main Archive