SPORTS & MORE: KWHS athletic director also hopes to coach soccer

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 30, 2021. Posted in Columns, Key West High School, Key West News, Sports, Sports & More, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Justin Martin was born and grew up in Key West, graduated from Key West High, then Flagler College in St. Augustine. After college, he spent three years tending to the family business — commercial fishing — before he took on coaching the Conchs’ girls soccer team. Now, since June, and at the age of 27, he has become the school’s athletic director, succeeding Sarah Eckert, who has become the Key West volleyball coach. Several balls had to fall in the right place for Martin to become AD: Kim Butler decided she didn’t want to continue as head coach of the school’s volleyball team. Eckert,...

WE’RE THINKING OF YOU, MIKE

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 26, 2021. Posted in Columns, Community News, Monroe County News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Upper Keys News.

“We need to take care of each other.” Those were the words echoed by Mike Forster as he sat down with Harriette’s owner Carlos Hernandez and Key Lime Tree owner Violet Wahba in early April 2020 to discuss a plan to provide some 200 meals daily to Upper Keys residents from Harriette’s. Mike Forster gets a short break during a mass feeding event at Founders Park. WEEKLY FILE PHOTO Forster was several weeks into a hot meal distribution outside his closed Mangrove Mike’s Cafe in Islamorada. A restaurant serving up arguably one of the best breakfasts quickly shifted to a kitchen that served an Upper...

How are you at playing the mental game

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 19, 2021. Posted in Columns, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Do you ever spend any time appreciating risks you have taken and how they have helped your confidence? So many people don’t. They put themselves in a spiral of negativity or unworthiness. In actuality, if they recognized something, at least one thing, they would have a positive mindset shift. It seems simple, right? Not always easy. I have heard various coaches over the years use the quote, “It doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger.” And it’s true. When I take the time to think about it and build up that bank of memories, none of the actions I took were “easy,” however they helped build...

SPORTS & MORE: HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH?

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 12, 2021. Posted in Columns, Opinion, Sports, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

My favorite soccer team is Barcelona (or Barça, as it’s commonly known). And it’s all because of Lionel Messi. But now, Messi, perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time, is moving to Paris Saint-Germain. He says he regrets going to a rival team. I and big-time Barça fans regret it, too. There was a time when I thought I needed to know more about soccer -— European soccer, or football to be exact. At the same time, I was reading an article on Messi and became a fan. Since then, I have followed both Messi and Barcelona. And European football. I mention this because I assume many of you are...

DOCKING FOR DUMMIES

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 12, 2021. Posted in Columns, Fun, Miles to Go, Opinion, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

“Honey, honey, get the fenders ready. Port side, PORT, that’s LEFT, no, MY left! Jesus, this slip’s tight. When did this wind kick up? And where did this current come from? Oh, forget it. I can’t back in with this wind. Other side, honey, OTHER SIDE. I SAID I’m not backing in. Can you not see which side we’re about to hit? I’m NOT yelling. I’m docking. And you’re not helping. As if you could do any better. Unlike your car, this boat doesn’t park itself. Let’s see YOU park something you can’t stop or steer. They’re too low....

ASK THE BIRD GEEK: ARE BIRDS REALLY JUST FANCY, LITTLE DINOSAURS?

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on July 30, 2021. Posted in Columns, Science, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Wild Things, Wildlife.

Are birds really just fancy little dinosaurs? — Bi-Residential Barry Yes! Yes, they are. I started to write about how all the birds we know can be traced to one ancient genus called archaeopteryx. They were these feathered dinosaur things, about the size of a crow, that could probably sorta fly. I mean, the whole point of doing an “Ask the Bird Geek” column is to answer a couple of quick bird questions off the top of my head without doing a lot of research. Because I’m trying to go on vacation. Because it’s been a long pandemic and I really need to go on a vacation road trip. Like,...

OPINION: ‘LOVE’ ISN’T A STRONG ENOUGH WORD FOR MOMS

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on May 9, 2021. Posted in Columns, Entertainment, Key West News, Miles to Go, Opinion, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

‘Love’ isn’t strong enough. Our language is woefully inadequate. How can the word that describes our affection for, say, a favorite sweatshirt, be the same one we use for the woman who is our everything? Not only is the word inadequate, but also shamefully overused. We need a stronger, better, more descriptive word for the love between a mother and child. Sure, “love” works for little kids drawing hearts with crayons. But as those kids become adults, we realize the sacrifices this woman has made. The worries we caused. The school projects we forgot until the night before and...

Tag: Columns