July 2, 2024 • 30 mins
Joy Nulisch, of Key West, is a true "Conch," as those born and raised on the island are known. She joined Gwen to talk about the legendary, near-professional level of the Key West High School Conch baseball program, the island's tight-knit, familial community that welcomes tourists and transplants without hesitation, adopting her dog, Tito, and what it's like retiring from the Monroe County School District after 35 years on the job.
Key West Side Tracks is hosted by Gwen Filosa, Keys Weekly digital editor and Pulitzer Prize winner for her part of covering the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. Keys Weekly is the only locally owned and operated news organization in the Florida Keys.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Key West Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa digital editor
at Keys weekly newspapers down here in beautiful Key West
Florida and my guest today. Well, Joy. It's just joy
to us in Key West. It's joy. Joy. Introduce yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm Joy. Nish. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
What, how are you? You just retired from 35 years
in the Monroe County school district. Our public schools in
the Keys.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, I'm like six hours into retirement. So I don't
even know how to answer that question right now and
I might cry if we talk about the kids too much,
but now I'm super excited. Um I've, I finished up
35 years. Friday was my last day. And um yeah,
I'm entering the world now to see what happens without
the school district guiding me.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
You also, we have so much to talk about. I'm
gonna just tell you, I, you know, I, I'm still
a transplant. I've been here 13 years. I, I,
I lovingly, I love, I, I heard in the olden
days conk would call people like me, the strangers and
I like that. I think it's respectful. I think it's factual.
Uh when I think of Key West. I think of you.
(01:10):
Oh, well,
born and raised the generations. How ba, how far back
do your, does your family
go?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I'm actually a first generation. Ok. I'm first generation but
raised by 1/4 generation.
So there's a, there's a Key West story there
Speaker 1 (01:23):
or what, um, what family names are you related to?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
So, George Carey was my stepfather and, uh, a lot
of people know George. He, he created the, he was
a Welding teacher for Key West High school auto body
teacher himself and him and his students built the tiger
in front of City Hall tiger. Everybody knows about the tiger,
the conch shell, the shark at Sugar Loaf. So
(01:48):
um that's, that's my dad that's who raised me and
um kept me here in the keys. So
Speaker 1 (01:54):
now that that tiger that tiger sits is perched outside
of Key West City Hall on White Street there and
and comes there from Glen Archer, right?
And but, but I remember when not everyone wanted it
outside the brand new rebuilt City Hall and you got
up there in front of the City Commission and said, look,
(02:16):
this is, this is part of Key West,
Speaker 2 (02:19):
right? It actually goes back even further than, than Glenn Archer.
So Douglas school, one of the first high schools that
was for our black students back when things were segregated,
they were the Douglas Tigers.
And so when Glenn Archer in the elementary school moved
to White Street, they became the Glenn Archer Tigers. So that,
(02:44):
that tiger goes way back in history and it belonged
to be on a corner so everybody could see it
not hidden anywhere else. So myself and actually Glenwood
Lopez got up and spoke about the history of that
and yeah, 4 to 3 vote and the tiger stayed,
Speaker 1 (03:00):
I wrote many
stories. I had a boss out of town boss. Very
nice man. He goes, can you stop writing about the tiger?
And I said, well, it is really a big, it
was not just a tiger, it was the and everyone's
entitled their opinion. There were a few people that just said,
no, tell me, remind me what, what you told people
about why it should be there.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Um So basically what I said was, it's, it's part
of the history, right? And even though it was originally
a school mascot and now the building was is City Hall,
you know, Key West, you expect to see something unexpected
around every corner. So I felt like it, it fit
right where it needed to be. It's bold and beautiful,
(03:43):
just like the people of Key West. It is scrap
parts that were all around Key West high school campus
and my dad and his students, everything from dumpsters to
car parts, spark plugs, the whole thing where the original
make and unfortunately, uh years and years it had some
wear and tear. And fortunately, uh Caman Smith. Martin was
(04:05):
able to put it back together. So he's probably put
some of his own parts in there. But, but yes,
22 generations of, of artists have put the tiger there
and kept it
and bold and beautiful like it is. And um whenever
I ride by it, um I always stop and, and
touch it, you know, for good luck that I should
(04:25):
try
Speaker 1 (04:25):
that. That's, you know how I've had no luck here
for 13 years
now. You know, the secret
to success pat. The T just say, hey Tiger, hey Tiger. Uh, now,
conch baseball, how long have you been following
know, living breathing. Uh Conk Key West baseball, high School.
(04:46):
We're talking about high school players a lot of, a
lot of the times, right? But it's all kids, it's
kids of all
ages
Speaker 2 (04:51):
because you, well, you say living and breathing and that's
about how long we've been rooting for the Conks, right?
Because it's, we have a rich history winning tradition. We've
been winning championships since the fifties. So you born and
raised on Conk baseball, you either play it or you're
in the stands rooting,
you know, for, for everybody to win and, and all
along Kennedy Drive, uh, the kids start playing T ball
(05:14):
and all the way up to high school and its
quality baseball is the, it's the best, one of the
most elite programs in the country. And, you know, you,
if you love baseball, you're gonna love being out there
and seeing the, the competitive uh game that's played the
high quality game.
But if you love Key West, that's a whole experience
(05:35):
too that you get at the Rex. That, to me,
the rex, which you know what the rex is, right?
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Rex Field
has it always been called that
Speaker 2 (05:44):
as long as I can remember,
Speaker 1 (05:45):
you
Speaker 2 (05:45):
know. Yeah. No, that's a
Speaker 1 (05:47):
good question. The rex, the RR,
Speaker 2 (05:50):
right? That's the diamond. If you google it, you'll see
a diamond and, and that's where it's at, right? And
you go through those gates and that's key.
You see everybody, you know all the people who care
about you. Everybody says hello, greets each other, get a
hot dog and hamburger, maybe some chicken and yellow rice.
You know, a big Matheson's cookie. You get up in
the stands, pick your spot, share your cookie through the
(06:12):
game and watch some good baseball. There's nothing like
Speaker 1 (06:15):
the, the level like
I got here and I go OK, the growing season
is year round. Of course, there's gonna be a lot
of baseball. We have, you know, the, the, the Cuban
connection or the, you know, the, the
boog Powell, the great players. Oh my gosh. It's like
professional level pitching game going on at Key West High school.
What the
heck?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah. No, it's, it's the real deal. We can't tell
all the secrets, you know. But for a little island
as remote as we are. To put out the talent
that we do is, is remarkable and it's a lot
of hard work and dedication from the young boys. I'm,
I'm wearing a Key West hat right now
with Jacob Burnham's autograph on it. He's going to play
(06:54):
for Boston College. We got Felix that's going to play
for Florida Gators. Anthony Larry is going to University of
Central Florida. You know, three of our pitchers going to
D one schools. That's, that's crazy. And on top of that,
our other seniors are also going on to play at,
at the next level. So, and that's been going on
since I was a kid, you know. So have you
(07:15):
been out to the wrecks?
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Maybe? No, I, I always want to Fridays are hard
for me. I, I it, it, life hasn't made it
happen and last year because, you know, I joined Keys
Weekly and I'm working with locals now, first time in
years and I was always the some Miami person's, you know,
person which is fine home. I'm home now and I'm
working with locals and I'm, I'm so I'm more, you know,
(07:38):
seeing what's going on, on, on social and, and I
am just transfixed by the conch baseball there, there's social media,
but first of all is,
oh my gosh, it's professional, of course. And I'm like,
I'm gonna come Friday, I'm gonna come Friday, you know,
life just wouldn't make it happen. But I felt, um,
first of all, when you, when you, you know, the
players are these kids, you, you remember when he was seven,
(08:00):
Anthony was seven or, you know, you watch them come
up a
Speaker 2 (08:03):
lot of them. And I'll be honest, I remember when
their dads were seven. Nice. Right. So it's like multi generations,
you know, I was cheering for their dads when they
were playing.
And so that's, you know, that's how deep it is.
But look, you said life wouldn't make it happen for
you to go to the wrecks. Well, joy's gonna make
(08:23):
it happen. I was gonna say
Speaker 1 (08:24):
no, I mean, and I'm sitting here thinking and I'm
telling people, I'm telling guys that I work with, uh,
other adventures. I'm like, I'm like, people who love baseball go,
do you know about Key West and they go, well, what?
And I showed them and they're like, oh, my gosh.
And I go, I go, there, go, I'm going down
a while. I go, you gotta see this pitching game.
These are young men but they're, and then the experience
I have been to the football game, a whole different situation. Oh,
(08:46):
my gosh. It was the funnest thing I've ever
been to.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
There's, yeah, it's, it's the same thing. All, all, all
the sports, you know,
Speaker 1 (08:53):
I'm
gonna learn baseball. I don't know a lot. I like
watching it in person.
I don't really understand the mechanics but, but I'm a
football but I'll be both.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah, you can, we can do both. We root for
all the kids that rock the KW. Then it doesn't
matter what sport they play. If they keep us kids,
we reform and cheering for them and it's a whole
vibe like you say, you don't have to necessarily know the,
the rules of the game. You just gotta know to
show up and you're red and gray with a KW
hat on and, and root for the right team and
you'll be all right.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
You bring the, the letter Ks to, to line up the,
the strikeouts.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
No, absolutely. You know what that, you know what the strike.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Ok, good.
I, I live in the world but no, no, no,
you line them up and then now explain this, there's some,
there's a lot of, there's a lot going on at
these games. There are the, the young men who are
a little louder and they're out by what
Speaker 2 (09:44):
part Mike Stack and the boys, they out here
right field on the other side,
Speaker 1 (09:48):
right field and they,
Speaker 2 (09:49):
they stay on the other side of the fence
Speaker 1 (09:51):
and they're a little louder, a little doing their own thing.
But they're, they're over there and, and they're a little
wilder and then, um, and then people come, everybody goes,
Speaker 2 (10:00):
right. Everybody, I know, I like everybody. I know. I,
I laugh because we, we come in, I like to
get there about 30 minutes, maybe about 45 minutes before
the game.
Right, because that's what you wanna do. That's why I
say is Key West. Right? From the minute you walk
through those gates, you're seeing everybody, you're talking to everybody
making sure everybody had a good week. And I sit
(10:21):
next to Dennis Wardlow, who's the prime Minister of the
Conch Republic. He, him and his wife, Missan, they never
miss a game. Right. And, uh, his, his boy was
a state champion, his brother, the whole thing, they all
part of it and
it's just, you know, you turn around and it's, it's
a who's who of, of Key West, that's, you know,
(10:41):
real Key West, this side of white street, Key West,
you know, and we got the K crew and yeah,
we go out there and we hang K so every
time one of our pitchers strike out, one of the
other guys, we hold up, the K the fans go
crazy and we hang it up. I think we average
like eight Ks
game and, uh, you know, we've gone as many as
(11:02):
14 Ks, you know, and it just gets crazy. I
got 18 in the bag. So I can't wait to
run out, you know what I mean? That's the thing
I'm challenging next year's pitches to, I wanna run out
of K,
Speaker 1 (11:14):
well, where's your spot? Are you closer to the third
base line or dugout or what, where are you, where
do you have a seat? You have a section that
you sit in,
Speaker 2 (11:22):
were you sitting on the front row
behind home plate? Ah, you know, so we can help
the umpire with the cause if, if need be, you know,
they usually do a real good job. But, um, just
in case they miss a call, we, we make sure,
you know, they're not squeezing us too much. And,
Speaker 1 (11:40):
and
this is, these are, again, are my impressions. What, when
I'm reading and following, uh, the baseball, we had, um, uh,
coach Enriquez Baseball Hall of Fame, right?
Uh, un unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
He's close to 400 victories
and, and he played, he coached, also, he coached also
at the professional level. That's, that's the thing, right? And
we had, and, and his boy the same way, you know,
little Ralphie and, you know, Jack Niles Doug man Caz
was out there all, all the coaching,
you know, we, we can, how much time you say
(12:16):
we had all
Speaker 1 (12:17):
the time we're talking about coach Ralph Enriquez, the mayor,
the mayor. Congratulations. But, and then, and then, um, you mentioned, uh,
and now Jack Niles daughter hits like four home runs
every game.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
That's a real deal. She's going to play for,
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I
think we wrote about that too. The four home, I
think it was four home runs. And,
yeah, one day
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I saw, I saw two of them, I missed the
first one. I saw two of them went back to
the JV game and I'm watching on the game change
app and she hit another one, so four in one
Speaker 1 (12:49):
day to Dartmouth. And so, like you said, Qs, what
I see y'all root for everyone, boys, girls, different ages different. And,
but my perception was watching this, uh, especially Coach Ralph Enriquez,
learning a little bit about him.
Very professional. I mean, everyone works so hard. It's like the,
it's night and you're, you're, you're doing prac batting practice and, uh,
(13:12):
everyone works hard, but a very professional kind of approach
of like, yeah, we're gonna win if we don't, but
we're not gonna beat ourselves up or yell at kids. We're,
we're gonna very professional. I don't know if they, or maybe,
maybe it's just a family business kind of approach.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It is. And, and I'm sure that, you know, so,
like you said, the boys put in a lot of
hard work, you see them play in summer league, fall leagues,
you know, they play year round and so it's a
big commitment to be part of conk baseball and
it's a professional environment. Absolutely. And, and sure we, you know,
we wanna win. But that's the great thing about Key
(13:50):
West and Cork pride. Even if you lose, you can't really,
you can't really lose because somebody's there holding you up.
And that's a beautiful thing about Key West. You know, and, um,
you know, if you come out to a couple of
the games
you might want, you, you'll get to the point where
you could call coach 17. See, he's affectionately known as
Speaker 1 (14:09):
17.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Right. That's actual,
Speaker 1 (14:12):
like people say had 17. Sure. I
love that.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Now, I mean, if you just see him in a
grocery store and he doesn't know you,
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I, I wouldn't say 17
but
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I go to a couple of games, wear this hat
and, uh, yeah, and yeah, you could call him 17. But, yeah,
Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Hall
of Famer Joy. You brought me a Qs Conk baseball hat.
I have always wanted a proper baseball cap. It's I
couldn't have picked it out better. Uh from Ramona's beautiful
stitching with the, I don't know what you call it,
the mesh in the back like the back so I
can put it around. My enormous hair, snap back, my
(14:49):
enormous hair A K dub K dub right there. II I,
I don't wanna start crying but it would be tears
of joy.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
But I I'm all
about, I'm saying, tell me, tell me you just said
it because there's a public enemy lyric where he says
about basketball is like, don't let a win get to
your head or a loss to your heart. Like it's
just like just play the game you play the game
is the game, we play the game. We love the game.
Like don't let it get to you. And um I,
(15:19):
I just love watching being that spectator, that observer. That's like,
oh my gosh, I gotta win. It's, it's just not
like some programs and what winning is, I'm all about
play to win. It's not, I don't feel like it's
that like you're gonna win no matter what and if
you don't, we're gonna rip you apart. You know, it's,
it's this, let's do
it.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
That, that's the thing about going out there. That's it.
We have a big, I say we like, I'm part
of it but there, there's a, there's a fundraiser in
February and this past February 4 of the, uh con coaches,
Dr Fraga, Otto Toinon Brooks, Carey and Russ Milliken. Uh
they all spoke, they joined 17 and spoke and sure
(15:57):
they talked about the winning tradition. But what they talked
about is raising good young men that could move into
the community and support the, the next generation growing up
and be successful, business people and, and be successful as
they move about their life after baseball.
And, and you see that you see that with the
players that have gone through over the years, you know,
(16:19):
they may not continue to play baseball but they're successful
in life and, and have, you know, happiness in life.
And that's what I always tell the boys when they graduate,
you know, and I, you know, see him after graduation,
I always tell them to make sure that
happiness is part of their measurement for success. Right? There's,
there's plenty of ways to measure success and, and baseball
(16:41):
itself is a game where you're failing more than you're
succeeding in terms of statistics, right? Um
That's, that's going a little deep down, but that's
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Roger Federer said something. He made a big splash on
Tik Tok with a commencement speech, the tennis player, fella
amazing fellow. He said something like he goes, he did
some math, which I don't do. And it was about,
I've lost more points than I've won even though like,
or maybe 50% more like it was, he was trying
to say what you just said, like you're gonna miss
more shots than you win,
(17:13):
even if you're a champ. That
Speaker 2 (17:15):
was cool. That's a beautiful thing about it. You gotta
just get, get ready to swing
Speaker 1 (17:19):
again, you gotta get, and you gotta get up. I,
I love the, the, the to me, um, I never
played team sports for real. I, I kind of wish
I had but whatever it all worked out. But I
grew up with this basketball and, uh, the, the, the
image of, you know, you step up at the plate,
you stand tall in the paint, you take a hit,
you take a loss, you take a win, you, you know, and,
and that, uh, to me sports is courage to watch someone.
(17:42):
I don't know if you saw it like Caitlin Clark
did something re recently. She's amazing but something like she fouled,
then she dropped the ball, then it was a turnover.
Then it was a and I'm watching this and I'm
like this woman, everything horrible that can happen just happened
and she has to, she dusts herself off and walks
up and plays again. And that to me is,
I just, I can't imagine having that as a young person, but,
(18:04):
but learning it that way on the field in front
of it. It's like, ok, then here we go.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Yeah, that's the beauty of sport. You just, you said
it right there. That's the heart of a champion.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
You, you gotta get and, and that helps me with my,
you know, little hopes and dreams of like, it's like I,
I make, I don't know if you know that in
my business you make mistakes in public. Like I have
a bad day, 50,000 people could know and,
and uh in Key West, I was able to just
kind of put it, you know, it's face, it's, it's fun,
it's social media, it's not, but it's work and it's
(18:34):
important to people and I'll just go, I started one day,
I just went, you know what y'all, I just got
this all wrong and I own it and I, I
do apologize and I'm, I'm gonna do better in the
near future.
I woke up to like hundreds of comments like Gwen,
you're just a, you, you do, you OK? Wait for you.
Good for you to admit it. And it was just
the most loving thing because I thought, I thought I
(18:55):
just thought I'm gonna wake up. I, I'm from the,
you can't always just take stuff down. You gotta leave
it up if you make a mistake. You know, and, and,
and people were just, that's Key West.
They're just like, hey, cuz as you would say, that's it,
they're like, good for you to just take it on
the chimp. But they're like, you're a human being like
it was just such a nice uh I love it here.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Joy. Well, that's why the people love you here because
you are, you, you're, you know, authentic, you and you
bring you your human self
to the online space, right? Because we're living in a
world that's very critical. We're real hard on each other
and everybody has, you know, a keyboard, you know, they
call them keyboard warriors, I guess is the, the phrase.
(19:37):
But people are really hateful.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I have really had to recalibrate. I've always been a
shy person growing up. I, I don't know why I
became a reporter, thin skinned, big self conscious. And I've
learned a lot, I think from New Orleans was, you know,
raised me up.
But Key West, I've been here 13 years and I
think I've just learned how to enjoy my life as
a priority with, with earning a living and working hard.
(20:01):
Key West reminds me in New Orleans, but Key West
is its own. We are here for family and friends first.
This thing called life helping out people being, and then
we go to work, we work hard, we work. But I,
I don't know. Can you talk a little bit about
the values because, I mean, it in Key West? Oh,
let me ask you this. Let me back up.
Um, you're born and raised here. What age are you
(20:23):
when you realize? Oh, people spend all this money to
come here to party and, or go on fancy, you know, sailboat.
How old are you when you realize your hometown has another,
uh, purpose for other people?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Yeah. I'm, I'm more amazed by that every day, you know, still,
I mean, definitely when you're a kid you don't realize that.
And when I was a kid it wasn't what it,
you know, I was growing up in the eighties so
it wasn't what it is now. But, but, yeah, every
day I'm driving and there's so many
people and e even now I was late getting here
(20:57):
and it's like, because where are all these people coming from?
You know, it's two o'clock on a Monday, right? But, um,
but no, it's special and, and I love the fact
that people wanna be where I live. You know, I
feel like I was,
you know, um, very lucky and, and I don't wanna
use the word privilege but, uh, I'll just say blessed to,
(21:18):
to be born here in Key West and to be
able to stay, that's why my career at the school.
District means so much to me that it's afforded me
the opportunity to, to stay and, um, buy a little
house and, and be able to stay here and, you know, that, that,
that matters because so many people are leaving. But I
think the, the thing that I would say about,
(21:39):
you know, being a local and, and what this community is,
I don't get too caught up on whether you're born
here or not. To me, anybody that, that chooses to
come here and live here, right? Because the average person can't, can't,
the average person wants to be here, but the average
person can't stay, you gotta be tough. You gotta be
part prior to live here. You, you know, you got
(22:01):
hustle, you know, sometimes two and three hustles to make
it work. So if you stay through all of that
and then on top of that, you know, you go
through a storm or two and you keep coming back then,
then you're good, you know, and you could call yourself
a conker, whatever, you know, you call yourself a local
and you're, you're part of the community, you're a winner. So,
(22:23):
so let's go. But
Speaker 1 (22:24):
I love what you just said. Why are you so eloquent?
Were you, did you grow up? Were you very talkative
at a young age? What did you, did? You, were
you raised like, I don't know, in the, in a
book club?
Oh And you also do amazing reviews of books, novels.
I appreciate them. And you have your, your own podcast
and you are, um, you, you do, uh, you, you, uh, efficient.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I was very shy and like you like you, I
was crippled
Speaker 1 (22:53):
with shyness
Speaker 2 (22:55):
and a lot of people that, that know me
since I was a little kid. They're surprised at the
joy who has grown. Right? Um, I am very nervous.
My heart is beating really fast right now talking to you.
But that being said, I just speak from my heart
and try to not get too caught up in the
right words. Or sometimes I get a little embarrassed about
my accent, you know, because it can get thick, the
(23:16):
more excited I, I get.
But, um, like, like you, I, I try not to
worry too much about that and just be myself.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
It, it's the coolest
accent ever if I, I didn't know if it were
an accent or more of a,
uh, you, you, that's just you, it's Qs, that is
the most Qs. It's like New Orleans. You don't hear
there's a certain, uh, if you want to say accent right?
Way of talking in Key West. You don't hear it
all the time. But when you do it is the
real deal.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It is the real deal.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I
Speaker 2 (23:42):
mean,
Speaker 1 (23:42):
it
is the, like, you're like, wow. And, um, and, and
now also don't want to forget Tito.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Puppy.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah. Serge
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Sergio is good. Thank you. He's nine months. He just
keeps getting larger. His head is too big.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Ok. So I show a picture of him recently and
I double checked to make sure that was the right dog.
He's growing really fast.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
He's, I,
I, I, he was 50 the last time I looked. Um,
he's a, he's a mixed breed. Looks a little bit mixy.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Was it the best kind?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Is
he gonna stop Pedro? Was my, my first boy. He,
he just grew in a year and he was fine.
This dog gets bigger and stronger
and softer.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Feeding the black beans and rice. I don't know what
Speaker 1 (24:25):
he's always hungry and he's not begging, I just can tell.
So
Speaker 2 (24:29):
he's a growing boy. He's a growing boy. Yeah, we'll
see how Tito likes me being home all the time.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Ok. So Tito, now tell me about Tito. Beautiful boy.
You got
him uh how many years ago?
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Four years, four years ago, the story of finding him,
there's a whole story. I have a podcast episode about it.
But uh but yeah, I got him from uh Paradise
Pet Rescue. Yes. Yes. And uh that, that's like Disney
World for dogs right there, right? But very, very fortunate
that um I had actually got denied one other dog
(25:03):
who happened to also be named Tito
and I was pretty much heartbroken. And two weeks later
she posted Tito online and he was the perfect scruffy,
serious looking fella. And I'm like, that's my dog and
she agreed and we've been together for four years now
and he just talk about bring joy. He, he brings
(25:25):
joy to my, it's a
Speaker 1 (25:26):
classic dog
face.
A, a bluish gray or grayish. What is he? Smoke? Gray? Gray?
Doesn't describe it
Speaker 2 (25:34):
like smoke.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
He has a, he has a very distinctive Tito now.
Is he named Tito? Because of
Speaker 2 (25:42):
no, he, he was named Tito when I got him,
that was, his name was his name. And I thought
it was a perfect name for, for Key West dog.
So I didn't ask him too many questions. I don't
know
all of his back story. That's, you know, what happened
then happened and now it's me and him and we're
moving forward, you know, you're
Speaker 1 (25:59):
a good team. I like, I like the, um, the,
the Tito. And so you'll be, yeah, you get to
be with Tito is gonna have to be like, what's
going on. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (26:08):
we're gonna, we're gonna do more writing. We're gonna put
more episodes out on my podcast. Bring Joy and check
out my podcast. If you haven't heard it, you should listen. I,
I got a couple of really good episodes about KK
baseball that I just
Speaker 1 (26:19):
check it out.
You've been doing the podcast
for a while.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
I have about four years. It's great, but I haven't
been able to add as much content that I would
like to. But now that I'm retired I'm gonna write
more and tell more stories. Is, is
Speaker 1 (26:31):
bring joy. The, that, that's your, that's your brand, that's
your
slogan.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
That's what we're doing. We're bringing joy to the world
one story at a time.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
And
I guess the, the last thing I wanted to, to
say because again, uh I, I could talk to you
all day. I,
I wanted to ask, um, not getting into specifics, you know,
keys has taken some body blows over the past few
years losing um some younger people, tragedy. Uh There is
something about this island. People just do what has to
(27:00):
be done and take care of each other and, but,
but personally what gets you through,
you know, how do you get through 24 hours when
something like that happens, losing somebody,
Speaker 2 (27:13):
you remember your connections and that you're not alone. That's what,
that's really what being a con is all about, right?
Is that we're all connected in some way, whether we're
family or, or cousins or coworkers or classmates or, you know,
we all have connections to each other. We all know
somebody that connects us to the other. I, I say
(27:35):
we have zero degrees of separation and at the hardest
time like we experienced back in March,
we need to be together, you know, in places like
the rex or our schools,
there's safe places where we can go and uh ask
for a hug and, and be in good company and,
(27:56):
and that's the beauty of Key West. You don't ever
have to be alone. We're too close to be alone. So,
open your windows, open your door and uh step out.
Do you know
Speaker 1 (28:05):
this
is a very wholesome town? Of course, there is beer drinking,
but I mean, this is a wholesome. I want, I,
I will explain this to me, my friends, uh my,
my landlord is phenomenal. My neighbor, I live on, I
live in Staples
and I'll say, well, you know, every once in a
while I'll get a text like, oh gwen your tires were,
were looked low. So I aired them up and checked them.
You might want to take a left 10, that's ok.
(28:26):
And I was like, oh my God, I love you.
And I don't even know what to say, but they
just did it because it had to be done. It
wasn't like they just saw a tire and let's face it.
They know me
and they thought, you know, and, and, and I think
it almost catches on because I've, I, um, and one
day I had someone find my wallet. Yes, I'm a mess. Uh,
(28:46):
phoning in here the keys weekly drops it off. I
didn't even have to check the wallet when I got it,
but I thought it was, and this woman biked it
over to my house and then a fella is chasing
me down
um, south street down downtown. And I'm like, oh, no,
what's happening. So I pull over and he's like your,
your tire is gone. And I looked, and I'm like, oh,
I thought I just drove over a bag and it
(29:07):
would just burn off
and, and I looked at him and he is hot
as he goes and gets, he fixes the fly, he
airs it up. He's doing this. I'm like, can I
Venmo for your time? He's like, no, he's a young
guy from Mississippi. But I mean, that still is the
most key thing of like people. I need the kindness
of strangers.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
We all do and you know what? None of us
are strangers.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Nothing is gonna be said after that. That is more
beautiful joy. Nish. Thank you for coming on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Thanks
for having me because see
Speaker 1 (29:37):
you around
and thank you for joining Qs Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa.
I'll be back next week with a new episode. Keys,
weekly newspapers. We are available online in print, check us out, keys, weekly.com.
No paywall. We don't make you sign in with your email.
It's all free and for the taking. And thank you
(29:58):
for supporting local journalism. Talk to you later.
Welcome to Key West Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa digital editor
at Keys weekly newspapers down here in beautiful Key West
Florida and my guest today. Well, Joy. It's just joy
to us in Key West. It's joy. Joy. Introduce yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm Joy. Nish. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
What, how are you? You just retired from 35 years
in the Monroe County school district. Our public schools in
the Keys.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, I'm like six hours into retirement. So I don't
even know how to answer that question right now and
I might cry if we talk about the kids too much,
but now I'm super excited. Um I've, I finished up
35 years. Friday was my last day. And um yeah,
I'm entering the world now to see what happens without
the school district guiding me.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
You also, we have so much to talk about. I'm
gonna just tell you, I, you know, I, I'm still
a transplant. I've been here 13 years. I, I,
I lovingly, I love, I, I heard in the olden
days conk would call people like me, the strangers and
I like that. I think it's respectful. I think it's factual.
Uh when I think of Key West. I think of you.
(01:10):
Oh, well,
born and raised the generations. How ba, how far back
do your, does your family
go?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I'm actually a first generation. Ok. I'm first generation but
raised by 1/4 generation.
So there's a, there's a Key West story there
Speaker 1 (01:23):
or what, um, what family names are you related to?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
So, George Carey was my stepfather and, uh, a lot
of people know George. He, he created the, he was
a Welding teacher for Key West High school auto body
teacher himself and him and his students built the tiger
in front of City Hall tiger. Everybody knows about the tiger,
the conch shell, the shark at Sugar Loaf. So
(01:48):
um that's, that's my dad that's who raised me and
um kept me here in the keys. So
Speaker 1 (01:54):
now that that tiger that tiger sits is perched outside
of Key West City Hall on White Street there and
and comes there from Glen Archer, right?
And but, but I remember when not everyone wanted it
outside the brand new rebuilt City Hall and you got
up there in front of the City Commission and said, look,
(02:16):
this is, this is part of Key West,
Speaker 2 (02:19):
right? It actually goes back even further than, than Glenn Archer.
So Douglas school, one of the first high schools that
was for our black students back when things were segregated,
they were the Douglas Tigers.
And so when Glenn Archer in the elementary school moved
to White Street, they became the Glenn Archer Tigers. So that,
(02:44):
that tiger goes way back in history and it belonged
to be on a corner so everybody could see it
not hidden anywhere else. So myself and actually Glenwood
Lopez got up and spoke about the history of that
and yeah, 4 to 3 vote and the tiger stayed,
Speaker 1 (03:00):
I wrote many
stories. I had a boss out of town boss. Very
nice man. He goes, can you stop writing about the tiger?
And I said, well, it is really a big, it
was not just a tiger, it was the and everyone's
entitled their opinion. There were a few people that just said,
no, tell me, remind me what, what you told people
about why it should be there.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Um So basically what I said was, it's, it's part
of the history, right? And even though it was originally
a school mascot and now the building was is City Hall,
you know, Key West, you expect to see something unexpected
around every corner. So I felt like it, it fit
right where it needed to be. It's bold and beautiful,
(03:43):
just like the people of Key West. It is scrap
parts that were all around Key West high school campus
and my dad and his students, everything from dumpsters to
car parts, spark plugs, the whole thing where the original
make and unfortunately, uh years and years it had some
wear and tear. And fortunately, uh Caman Smith. Martin was
(04:05):
able to put it back together. So he's probably put
some of his own parts in there. But, but yes,
22 generations of, of artists have put the tiger there
and kept it
and bold and beautiful like it is. And um whenever
I ride by it, um I always stop and, and
touch it, you know, for good luck that I should
(04:25):
try
Speaker 1 (04:25):
that. That's, you know how I've had no luck here
for 13 years
now. You know, the secret
to success pat. The T just say, hey Tiger, hey Tiger. Uh, now,
conch baseball, how long have you been following
know, living breathing. Uh Conk Key West baseball, high School.
(04:46):
We're talking about high school players a lot of, a
lot of the times, right? But it's all kids, it's
kids of all
ages
Speaker 2 (04:51):
because you, well, you say living and breathing and that's
about how long we've been rooting for the Conks, right?
Because it's, we have a rich history winning tradition. We've
been winning championships since the fifties. So you born and
raised on Conk baseball, you either play it or you're
in the stands rooting,
you know, for, for everybody to win and, and all
along Kennedy Drive, uh, the kids start playing T ball
(05:14):
and all the way up to high school and its
quality baseball is the, it's the best, one of the
most elite programs in the country. And, you know, you,
if you love baseball, you're gonna love being out there
and seeing the, the competitive uh game that's played the
high quality game.
But if you love Key West, that's a whole experience
(05:35):
too that you get at the Rex. That, to me,
the rex, which you know what the rex is, right?
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Rex Field
has it always been called that
Speaker 2 (05:44):
as long as I can remember,
Speaker 1 (05:45):
you
Speaker 2 (05:45):
know. Yeah. No, that's a
Speaker 1 (05:47):
good question. The rex, the RR,
Speaker 2 (05:50):
right? That's the diamond. If you google it, you'll see
a diamond and, and that's where it's at, right? And
you go through those gates and that's key.
You see everybody, you know all the people who care
about you. Everybody says hello, greets each other, get a
hot dog and hamburger, maybe some chicken and yellow rice.
You know, a big Matheson's cookie. You get up in
the stands, pick your spot, share your cookie through the
(06:12):
game and watch some good baseball. There's nothing like
Speaker 1 (06:15):
the, the level like
I got here and I go OK, the growing season
is year round. Of course, there's gonna be a lot
of baseball. We have, you know, the, the, the Cuban
connection or the, you know, the, the
boog Powell, the great players. Oh my gosh. It's like
professional level pitching game going on at Key West High school.
What the
heck?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah. No, it's, it's the real deal. We can't tell
all the secrets, you know. But for a little island
as remote as we are. To put out the talent
that we do is, is remarkable and it's a lot
of hard work and dedication from the young boys. I'm,
I'm wearing a Key West hat right now
with Jacob Burnham's autograph on it. He's going to play
(06:54):
for Boston College. We got Felix that's going to play
for Florida Gators. Anthony Larry is going to University of
Central Florida. You know, three of our pitchers going to
D one schools. That's, that's crazy. And on top of that,
our other seniors are also going on to play at,
at the next level. So, and that's been going on
since I was a kid, you know. So have you
(07:15):
been out to the wrecks?
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Maybe? No, I, I always want to Fridays are hard
for me. I, I it, it, life hasn't made it
happen and last year because, you know, I joined Keys
Weekly and I'm working with locals now, first time in
years and I was always the some Miami person's, you know,
person which is fine home. I'm home now and I'm
working with locals and I'm, I'm so I'm more, you know,
(07:38):
seeing what's going on, on, on social and, and I
am just transfixed by the conch baseball there, there's social media,
but first of all is,
oh my gosh, it's professional, of course. And I'm like,
I'm gonna come Friday, I'm gonna come Friday, you know,
life just wouldn't make it happen. But I felt, um,
first of all, when you, when you, you know, the
players are these kids, you, you remember when he was seven,
(08:00):
Anthony was seven or, you know, you watch them come
up a
Speaker 2 (08:03):
lot of them. And I'll be honest, I remember when
their dads were seven. Nice. Right. So it's like multi generations,
you know, I was cheering for their dads when they
were playing.
And so that's, you know, that's how deep it is.
But look, you said life wouldn't make it happen for
you to go to the wrecks. Well, joy's gonna make
(08:23):
it happen. I was gonna say
Speaker 1 (08:24):
no, I mean, and I'm sitting here thinking and I'm
telling people, I'm telling guys that I work with, uh,
other adventures. I'm like, I'm like, people who love baseball go,
do you know about Key West and they go, well, what?
And I showed them and they're like, oh, my gosh.
And I go, I go, there, go, I'm going down
a while. I go, you gotta see this pitching game.
These are young men but they're, and then the experience
I have been to the football game, a whole different situation. Oh,
(08:46):
my gosh. It was the funnest thing I've ever
been to.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
There's, yeah, it's, it's the same thing. All, all, all
the sports, you know,
Speaker 1 (08:53):
I'm
gonna learn baseball. I don't know a lot. I like
watching it in person.
I don't really understand the mechanics but, but I'm a
football but I'll be both.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah, you can, we can do both. We root for
all the kids that rock the KW. Then it doesn't
matter what sport they play. If they keep us kids,
we reform and cheering for them and it's a whole
vibe like you say, you don't have to necessarily know the,
the rules of the game. You just gotta know to
show up and you're red and gray with a KW
hat on and, and root for the right team and
you'll be all right.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
You bring the, the letter Ks to, to line up the,
the strikeouts.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
No, absolutely. You know what that, you know what the strike.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Ok, good.
I, I live in the world but no, no, no,
you line them up and then now explain this, there's some,
there's a lot of, there's a lot going on at
these games. There are the, the young men who are
a little louder and they're out by what
Speaker 2 (09:44):
part Mike Stack and the boys, they out here
right field on the other side,
Speaker 1 (09:48):
right field and they,
Speaker 2 (09:49):
they stay on the other side of the fence
Speaker 1 (09:51):
and they're a little louder, a little doing their own thing.
But they're, they're over there and, and they're a little
wilder and then, um, and then people come, everybody goes,
Speaker 2 (10:00):
right. Everybody, I know, I like everybody. I know. I,
I laugh because we, we come in, I like to
get there about 30 minutes, maybe about 45 minutes before
the game.
Right, because that's what you wanna do. That's why I
say is Key West. Right? From the minute you walk
through those gates, you're seeing everybody, you're talking to everybody
making sure everybody had a good week. And I sit
(10:21):
next to Dennis Wardlow, who's the prime Minister of the
Conch Republic. He, him and his wife, Missan, they never
miss a game. Right. And, uh, his, his boy was
a state champion, his brother, the whole thing, they all
part of it and
it's just, you know, you turn around and it's, it's
a who's who of, of Key West, that's, you know,
(10:41):
real Key West, this side of white street, Key West,
you know, and we got the K crew and yeah,
we go out there and we hang K so every
time one of our pitchers strike out, one of the
other guys, we hold up, the K the fans go
crazy and we hang it up. I think we average
like eight Ks
game and, uh, you know, we've gone as many as
(11:02):
14 Ks, you know, and it just gets crazy. I
got 18 in the bag. So I can't wait to
run out, you know what I mean? That's the thing
I'm challenging next year's pitches to, I wanna run out
of K,
Speaker 1 (11:14):
well, where's your spot? Are you closer to the third
base line or dugout or what, where are you, where
do you have a seat? You have a section that
you sit in,
Speaker 2 (11:22):
were you sitting on the front row
behind home plate? Ah, you know, so we can help
the umpire with the cause if, if need be, you know,
they usually do a real good job. But, um, just
in case they miss a call, we, we make sure,
you know, they're not squeezing us too much. And,
Speaker 1 (11:40):
and
this is, these are, again, are my impressions. What, when
I'm reading and following, uh, the baseball, we had, um, uh,
coach Enriquez Baseball Hall of Fame, right?
Uh, un unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
He's close to 400 victories
and, and he played, he coached, also, he coached also
at the professional level. That's, that's the thing, right? And
we had, and, and his boy the same way, you know,
little Ralphie and, you know, Jack Niles Doug man Caz
was out there all, all the coaching,
you know, we, we can, how much time you say
(12:16):
we had all
Speaker 1 (12:17):
the time we're talking about coach Ralph Enriquez, the mayor,
the mayor. Congratulations. But, and then, and then, um, you mentioned, uh,
and now Jack Niles daughter hits like four home runs
every game.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
That's a real deal. She's going to play for,
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I
think we wrote about that too. The four home, I
think it was four home runs. And,
yeah, one day
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I saw, I saw two of them, I missed the
first one. I saw two of them went back to
the JV game and I'm watching on the game change
app and she hit another one, so four in one
Speaker 1 (12:49):
day to Dartmouth. And so, like you said, Qs, what
I see y'all root for everyone, boys, girls, different ages different. And,
but my perception was watching this, uh, especially Coach Ralph Enriquez,
learning a little bit about him.
Very professional. I mean, everyone works so hard. It's like the,
it's night and you're, you're, you're doing prac batting practice and, uh,
(13:12):
everyone works hard, but a very professional kind of approach
of like, yeah, we're gonna win if we don't, but
we're not gonna beat ourselves up or yell at kids. We're,
we're gonna very professional. I don't know if they, or maybe,
maybe it's just a family business kind of approach.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It is. And, and I'm sure that, you know, so,
like you said, the boys put in a lot of
hard work, you see them play in summer league, fall leagues,
you know, they play year round and so it's a
big commitment to be part of conk baseball and
it's a professional environment. Absolutely. And, and sure we, you know,
we wanna win. But that's the great thing about Key
(13:50):
West and Cork pride. Even if you lose, you can't really,
you can't really lose because somebody's there holding you up.
And that's a beautiful thing about Key West. You know, and, um,
you know, if you come out to a couple of
the games
you might want, you, you'll get to the point where
you could call coach 17. See, he's affectionately known as
Speaker 1 (14:09):
17.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Right. That's actual,
Speaker 1 (14:12):
like people say had 17. Sure. I
love that.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Now, I mean, if you just see him in a
grocery store and he doesn't know you,
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I, I wouldn't say 17
but
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I go to a couple of games, wear this hat
and, uh, yeah, and yeah, you could call him 17. But, yeah,
Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Hall
of Famer Joy. You brought me a Qs Conk baseball hat.
I have always wanted a proper baseball cap. It's I
couldn't have picked it out better. Uh from Ramona's beautiful
stitching with the, I don't know what you call it,
the mesh in the back like the back so I
can put it around. My enormous hair, snap back, my
(14:49):
enormous hair A K dub K dub right there. II I,
I don't wanna start crying but it would be tears
of joy.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
But I I'm all
about, I'm saying, tell me, tell me you just said
it because there's a public enemy lyric where he says
about basketball is like, don't let a win get to
your head or a loss to your heart. Like it's
just like just play the game you play the game
is the game, we play the game. We love the game.
Like don't let it get to you. And um I,
(15:19):
I just love watching being that spectator, that observer. That's like,
oh my gosh, I gotta win. It's, it's just not
like some programs and what winning is, I'm all about
play to win. It's not, I don't feel like it's
that like you're gonna win no matter what and if
you don't, we're gonna rip you apart. You know, it's,
it's this, let's do
it.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
That, that's the thing about going out there. That's it.
We have a big, I say we like, I'm part
of it but there, there's a, there's a fundraiser in
February and this past February 4 of the, uh con coaches,
Dr Fraga, Otto Toinon Brooks, Carey and Russ Milliken. Uh
they all spoke, they joined 17 and spoke and sure
(15:57):
they talked about the winning tradition. But what they talked
about is raising good young men that could move into
the community and support the, the next generation growing up
and be successful, business people and, and be successful as
they move about their life after baseball.
And, and you see that you see that with the
players that have gone through over the years, you know,
(16:19):
they may not continue to play baseball but they're successful
in life and, and have, you know, happiness in life.
And that's what I always tell the boys when they graduate,
you know, and I, you know, see him after graduation,
I always tell them to make sure that
happiness is part of their measurement for success. Right? There's,
there's plenty of ways to measure success and, and baseball
(16:41):
itself is a game where you're failing more than you're
succeeding in terms of statistics, right? Um
That's, that's going a little deep down, but that's
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Roger Federer said something. He made a big splash on
Tik Tok with a commencement speech, the tennis player, fella
amazing fellow. He said something like he goes, he did
some math, which I don't do. And it was about,
I've lost more points than I've won even though like,
or maybe 50% more like it was, he was trying
to say what you just said, like you're gonna miss
more shots than you win,
(17:13):
even if you're a champ. That
Speaker 2 (17:15):
was cool. That's a beautiful thing about it. You gotta
just get, get ready to swing
Speaker 1 (17:19):
again, you gotta get, and you gotta get up. I,
I love the, the, the to me, um, I never
played team sports for real. I, I kind of wish
I had but whatever it all worked out. But I
grew up with this basketball and, uh, the, the, the
image of, you know, you step up at the plate,
you stand tall in the paint, you take a hit,
you take a loss, you take a win, you, you know, and,
and that, uh, to me sports is courage to watch someone.
(17:42):
I don't know if you saw it like Caitlin Clark
did something re recently. She's amazing but something like she fouled,
then she dropped the ball, then it was a turnover.
Then it was a and I'm watching this and I'm
like this woman, everything horrible that can happen just happened
and she has to, she dusts herself off and walks
up and plays again. And that to me is,
I just, I can't imagine having that as a young person, but,
(18:04):
but learning it that way on the field in front
of it. It's like, ok, then here we go.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Yeah, that's the beauty of sport. You just, you said
it right there. That's the heart of a champion.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
You, you gotta get and, and that helps me with my,
you know, little hopes and dreams of like, it's like I,
I make, I don't know if you know that in
my business you make mistakes in public. Like I have
a bad day, 50,000 people could know and,
and uh in Key West, I was able to just
kind of put it, you know, it's face, it's, it's fun,
it's social media, it's not, but it's work and it's
(18:34):
important to people and I'll just go, I started one day,
I just went, you know what y'all, I just got
this all wrong and I own it and I, I
do apologize and I'm, I'm gonna do better in the
near future.
I woke up to like hundreds of comments like Gwen,
you're just a, you, you do, you OK? Wait for you.
Good for you to admit it. And it was just
the most loving thing because I thought, I thought I
(18:55):
just thought I'm gonna wake up. I, I'm from the,
you can't always just take stuff down. You gotta leave
it up if you make a mistake. You know, and, and,
and people were just, that's Key West.
They're just like, hey, cuz as you would say, that's it,
they're like, good for you to just take it on
the chimp. But they're like, you're a human being like
it was just such a nice uh I love it here.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Joy. Well, that's why the people love you here because
you are, you, you're, you know, authentic, you and you
bring you your human self
to the online space, right? Because we're living in a
world that's very critical. We're real hard on each other
and everybody has, you know, a keyboard, you know, they
call them keyboard warriors, I guess is the, the phrase.
(19:37):
But people are really hateful.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I have really had to recalibrate. I've always been a
shy person growing up. I, I don't know why I
became a reporter, thin skinned, big self conscious. And I've
learned a lot, I think from New Orleans was, you know,
raised me up.
But Key West, I've been here 13 years and I
think I've just learned how to enjoy my life as
a priority with, with earning a living and working hard.
(20:01):
Key West reminds me in New Orleans, but Key West
is its own. We are here for family and friends first.
This thing called life helping out people being, and then
we go to work, we work hard, we work. But I,
I don't know. Can you talk a little bit about
the values because, I mean, it in Key West? Oh,
let me ask you this. Let me back up.
Um, you're born and raised here. What age are you
(20:23):
when you realize? Oh, people spend all this money to
come here to party and, or go on fancy, you know, sailboat.
How old are you when you realize your hometown has another,
uh, purpose for other people?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Yeah. I'm, I'm more amazed by that every day, you know, still,
I mean, definitely when you're a kid you don't realize that.
And when I was a kid it wasn't what it,
you know, I was growing up in the eighties so
it wasn't what it is now. But, but, yeah, every
day I'm driving and there's so many
people and e even now I was late getting here
(20:57):
and it's like, because where are all these people coming from?
You know, it's two o'clock on a Monday, right? But, um,
but no, it's special and, and I love the fact
that people wanna be where I live. You know, I
feel like I was,
you know, um, very lucky and, and I don't wanna
use the word privilege but, uh, I'll just say blessed to,
(21:18):
to be born here in Key West and to be
able to stay, that's why my career at the school.
District means so much to me that it's afforded me
the opportunity to, to stay and, um, buy a little
house and, and be able to stay here and, you know, that, that,
that matters because so many people are leaving. But I
think the, the thing that I would say about,
(21:39):
you know, being a local and, and what this community is,
I don't get too caught up on whether you're born
here or not. To me, anybody that, that chooses to
come here and live here, right? Because the average person can't, can't,
the average person wants to be here, but the average
person can't stay, you gotta be tough. You gotta be
part prior to live here. You, you know, you got
(22:01):
hustle, you know, sometimes two and three hustles to make
it work. So if you stay through all of that
and then on top of that, you know, you go
through a storm or two and you keep coming back then,
then you're good, you know, and you could call yourself
a conker, whatever, you know, you call yourself a local
and you're, you're part of the community, you're a winner. So,
(22:23):
so let's go. But
Speaker 1 (22:24):
I love what you just said. Why are you so eloquent?
Were you, did you grow up? Were you very talkative
at a young age? What did you, did? You, were
you raised like, I don't know, in the, in a
book club?
Oh And you also do amazing reviews of books, novels.
I appreciate them. And you have your, your own podcast
and you are, um, you, you do, uh, you, you, uh, efficient.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I was very shy and like you like you, I
was crippled
Speaker 1 (22:53):
with shyness
Speaker 2 (22:55):
and a lot of people that, that know me
since I was a little kid. They're surprised at the
joy who has grown. Right? Um, I am very nervous.
My heart is beating really fast right now talking to you.
But that being said, I just speak from my heart
and try to not get too caught up in the
right words. Or sometimes I get a little embarrassed about
my accent, you know, because it can get thick, the
(23:16):
more excited I, I get.
But, um, like, like you, I, I try not to
worry too much about that and just be myself.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
It, it's the coolest
accent ever if I, I didn't know if it were
an accent or more of a,
uh, you, you, that's just you, it's Qs, that is
the most Qs. It's like New Orleans. You don't hear
there's a certain, uh, if you want to say accent right?
Way of talking in Key West. You don't hear it
all the time. But when you do it is the
real deal.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It is the real deal.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I
Speaker 2 (23:42):
mean,
Speaker 1 (23:42):
it
is the, like, you're like, wow. And, um, and, and
now also don't want to forget Tito.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Puppy.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah. Serge
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Sergio is good. Thank you. He's nine months. He just
keeps getting larger. His head is too big.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Ok. So I show a picture of him recently and
I double checked to make sure that was the right dog.
He's growing really fast.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
He's, I,
I, I, he was 50 the last time I looked. Um,
he's a, he's a mixed breed. Looks a little bit mixy.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Was it the best kind?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Is
he gonna stop Pedro? Was my, my first boy. He,
he just grew in a year and he was fine.
This dog gets bigger and stronger
and softer.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Feeding the black beans and rice. I don't know what
Speaker 1 (24:25):
he's always hungry and he's not begging, I just can tell.
So
Speaker 2 (24:29):
he's a growing boy. He's a growing boy. Yeah, we'll
see how Tito likes me being home all the time.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Ok. So Tito, now tell me about Tito. Beautiful boy.
You got
him uh how many years ago?
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Four years, four years ago, the story of finding him,
there's a whole story. I have a podcast episode about it.
But uh but yeah, I got him from uh Paradise
Pet Rescue. Yes. Yes. And uh that, that's like Disney
World for dogs right there, right? But very, very fortunate
that um I had actually got denied one other dog
(25:03):
who happened to also be named Tito
and I was pretty much heartbroken. And two weeks later
she posted Tito online and he was the perfect scruffy,
serious looking fella. And I'm like, that's my dog and
she agreed and we've been together for four years now
and he just talk about bring joy. He, he brings
(25:25):
joy to my, it's a
Speaker 1 (25:26):
classic dog
face.
A, a bluish gray or grayish. What is he? Smoke? Gray? Gray?
Doesn't describe it
Speaker 2 (25:34):
like smoke.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
He has a, he has a very distinctive Tito now.
Is he named Tito? Because of
Speaker 2 (25:42):
no, he, he was named Tito when I got him,
that was, his name was his name. And I thought
it was a perfect name for, for Key West dog.
So I didn't ask him too many questions. I don't
know
all of his back story. That's, you know, what happened
then happened and now it's me and him and we're
moving forward, you know, you're
Speaker 1 (25:59):
a good team. I like, I like the, um, the,
the Tito. And so you'll be, yeah, you get to
be with Tito is gonna have to be like, what's
going on. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (26:08):
we're gonna, we're gonna do more writing. We're gonna put
more episodes out on my podcast. Bring Joy and check
out my podcast. If you haven't heard it, you should listen. I,
I got a couple of really good episodes about KK
baseball that I just
Speaker 1 (26:19):
check it out.
You've been doing the podcast
for a while.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
I have about four years. It's great, but I haven't
been able to add as much content that I would
like to. But now that I'm retired I'm gonna write
more and tell more stories. Is, is
Speaker 1 (26:31):
bring joy. The, that, that's your, that's your brand, that's
your
slogan.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
That's what we're doing. We're bringing joy to the world
one story at a time.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
And
I guess the, the last thing I wanted to, to
say because again, uh I, I could talk to you
all day. I,
I wanted to ask, um, not getting into specifics, you know,
keys has taken some body blows over the past few
years losing um some younger people, tragedy. Uh There is
something about this island. People just do what has to
(27:00):
be done and take care of each other and, but,
but personally what gets you through,
you know, how do you get through 24 hours when
something like that happens, losing somebody,
Speaker 2 (27:13):
you remember your connections and that you're not alone. That's what,
that's really what being a con is all about, right?
Is that we're all connected in some way, whether we're
family or, or cousins or coworkers or classmates or, you know,
we all have connections to each other. We all know
somebody that connects us to the other. I, I say
(27:35):
we have zero degrees of separation and at the hardest
time like we experienced back in March,
we need to be together, you know, in places like
the rex or our schools,
there's safe places where we can go and uh ask
for a hug and, and be in good company and,
(27:56):
and that's the beauty of Key West. You don't ever
have to be alone. We're too close to be alone. So,
open your windows, open your door and uh step out.
Do you know
Speaker 1 (28:05):
this
is a very wholesome town? Of course, there is beer drinking,
but I mean, this is a wholesome. I want, I,
I will explain this to me, my friends, uh my,
my landlord is phenomenal. My neighbor, I live on, I
live in Staples
and I'll say, well, you know, every once in a
while I'll get a text like, oh gwen your tires were,
were looked low. So I aired them up and checked them.
You might want to take a left 10, that's ok.
(28:26):
And I was like, oh my God, I love you.
And I don't even know what to say, but they
just did it because it had to be done. It
wasn't like they just saw a tire and let's face it.
They know me
and they thought, you know, and, and, and I think
it almost catches on because I've, I, um, and one
day I had someone find my wallet. Yes, I'm a mess. Uh,
(28:46):
phoning in here the keys weekly drops it off. I
didn't even have to check the wallet when I got it,
but I thought it was, and this woman biked it
over to my house and then a fella is chasing
me down
um, south street down downtown. And I'm like, oh, no,
what's happening. So I pull over and he's like your,
your tire is gone. And I looked, and I'm like, oh,
I thought I just drove over a bag and it
(29:07):
would just burn off
and, and I looked at him and he is hot
as he goes and gets, he fixes the fly, he
airs it up. He's doing this. I'm like, can I
Venmo for your time? He's like, no, he's a young
guy from Mississippi. But I mean, that still is the
most key thing of like people. I need the kindness
of strangers.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
We all do and you know what? None of us
are strangers.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Nothing is gonna be said after that. That is more
beautiful joy. Nish. Thank you for coming on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Thanks
for having me because see
Speaker 1 (29:37):
you around
and thank you for joining Qs Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa.
I'll be back next week with a new episode. Keys,
weekly newspapers. We are available online in print, check us out, keys, weekly.com.
No paywall. We don't make you sign in with your email.
It's all free and for the taking. And thank you
(29:58):
for supporting local journalism. Talk to you later.
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