A Good Life All The Way

Some of it's magic and some of it's tragic …

I'm going through a Jimmy Buffett phase these days, capped off by the book Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way by Ryan White. I had read about his "Key West days" in the past, but never realized the almost Hemingway–esque friendships that existed. There were writers like Thomas McGuane and Jim Harrison and musicians like Jerry Jeff Walker — and eventually Jimmy Buffett. He arrived into this cultural movement way before Key West was overtaken by tourists and commercialism. My interest in Buffett began in the '70s when my parents would listen to JB vinyl albums like Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Latitudes and Son of a Son of a Sailor. It sounds like it must have been an interesting time in Key West in the early '70s as these writers and musicians were starting out their careers … and no one had any idea the fame that would result.