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Key West FL is the southernmost city in the Continental United States. Key West is a city and an island by the same name near the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys and encompasses the namesake island, the part of Stock Island north of US 1, Sigsbee Park and Sunset Key.

Many passenger cruise ships utilize Key West as a seaport. Key West International Airport also serves the area. Naval Air Station Key West offers a training site for Naval Aviation.

Key West is officially known for having the nation’s first and oldest continuous gay and lesbian chamber of commerce. Thus the city’s motto “One Human Family”

Kay West was inhabited by ancient peoples known as the Calusa People in Pre-Columbian times. Juan Ponce De Leon was the first European to visit the area and the island was known as Cayo Hueso. It was established as a fishing and salvage village with a small fort to protect the Spanish colony.

Cayo Hueso literally means “bone key” as it is said that the island is littered with the bones from an Indian battlefield or burial ground. It is thought that the name changed to Key West is an Anglicization of the word “Hueso” that could mean west in English. Many businesses on the island use the name.

Great Britain took control of Florida in the late 1700’s and relocated the Spaniards and Indians to Havana. Florida passed back to the Spanish 20 years later but they did not formally resettle. The island was used by fishermen from Cuba and joined by fishermen from the United States.

The island was deeded to Juan Pablo Salis in 1815 but when Florida was transferred to the United States Salas was eager to sell the island. First he sold it for a sloop valued at 5 and then to a US businessman named Simonton for about ,000. The sloop trader sold it to a man named Geddes who could not secure rights to the property because Simonton had help from influential friends in Washington and gained clear title. Simonton bought the island because he had learned of the opportunities presented by the strategic location. Simonton’s friend John Whitehead, once stranded on the islands by a shipwreck had seen the deep harbor.

Lying 90 in a strategic location on the deep shipping lane Straits of Florida the harbor was considered the “Gibraltar of the West”. Matthew Perry said into the harbor in 1822 and physically planted the US flag to claim it as US property. He reported on the piracy problems and renamed it “Thompson’s Island” and named the harbor “Port Rodgers”. Neither name stuck. In 1823 Commodore David Porter took charge and tried to rule the island as a military dictator under martial law.

Simonton soon subdivided the island into plots and sold 3 undivided quarters of each plot to private individuals. Simonton spent the winter in Key West and then the summer in Washington to lobby for development of the island and for the establishment of a naval base. Among other first founders are Pardon Green who moved there permanently and became a prominent businessman. John Whitehead lived there for 8 years and partnered with Greene in the firm of “P.C. Greene and Company”. He left the island for good in 1832 returning only once during the Civil War. John Fleeming, active in the mercantile business in Alabama was a friend of Simonton. He spent only a few months in Key West before leaving to marry in Massachusetts. He returned to Key West intending to develop the slat manufacturing of the island but died soon after. The names of these founding fathers of modern Key West used as names for the main arteries of the island.

Many residents of Key West emigrated from the Bahamas. They were known as Counch. They arrived in ever increasing numbers after 1830. Sons and daughters of Loyalists fled to the nearest British soil during the American Revelation. Many of residents of Key West refer to themselves as Conchs and the term is now generally applied to all residents of Key West. The term “Fresh Water Counch” refers to a resident not “native born” but who has lived there for more than seven years. The name is derived from the tradition of placing a conch shell on a pole at the home of a new born baby.

“Bahama Village” is an area of Old town next to the Truman Annex largely inhabited by Bahaman immigrants.

Fishing, salt production and ocean salvage were major industries in the early 19th century. The salvage operations made Key West the largest and richest city in Florida and residents had a high concentration of fine furniture and fancy chandeliers which the locals used in their homes after taking them from shipwrecks on the Florida reefs.

During the Civil War Fort Zachary Taylor was established in Key West after Florida seceded and joined the confederate States of America. It was an important outpost and now contains the largest collection of Civil War cannons ever discovered in a single location.

In 1912 Key West was connected to the Florida mainland via the Overseas Railway extension. The railway created a landfill at Trumbon Point for rail yards. In 1935 the Labor Day Hurricane destroyed much of the railroad and hilled hundreds. About 400 World War I veterans living in camps there working on federal road projects and mosquito control projects in the Middle Keys were also killed. It was too expensive to restore the railroad. In 1938 The Federal Government rebuilt the rail lines as an automobile highway. Completed in 1938 it became an extension of the US Highway 1. The portion of US 1 running though the Keys is called the Overseas Highway.

Numerous artists and writers have come to the Keys but the two most associated with the island are Ernest Hemmingway and Tennessee Williams. Hemmingway reportedly wrote 2 novels “A Farewell to Arms” and “To Have and Have Not” while living in the Keys. The Ernest Hemingway House and Sloppy Joes Bar have become important tourist’s attractions. The Hemingway House is currently inhabited by six or seven toed polydactyl cats descended form Hemingway’s original pert named “Snowball”. The cats live on the grounds and are cared for by the Hemingway House even though the USDA complains about the number of them housed there. The Key West City Commission exempted the house from a law prohibiting more than four domestic animals per household.

Tennessee Williams is said to have written the first draft of “A Streetcar Named Desire” while staying at the La Concha Hotel. He bought a permanent house and listed Key West as his permanent residence. Williams’ home in the “unfashionable” New Town neighborhood is quite the contrast to the elegant Hemingway house. It is a very modest bungalow. The house is privately owned and is not open to the public. The Tenn4essee Williams Theatre is located on the campus of Florida Keys Community College on Stock Island.

Key West is much closer to Havana than to Miami. In 1890 it had a population of nearly 18,800 which made it the richest and biggest city in Florida. The population was nearly half Cuban descent and the city had a succession of Cuban mayors. Cubans were reportedly active in nearly 200 factories in town producing cigars.

The Battleship Maine was blown up after sailing from Key West to Havana which ignited the Spanish American War.

Pan American Airlines was founded in Key West to fly visitors to Havana.

John Kennedy used the phrase “90 miles to Cuba” in his speeches against Fidel Castro.

There were regular ferry and airplane services between Key West and Havana until the revelation in 1959. Refugees flooded into Key West during the Mariel Boatlift and continue to come across the dangerous stretch of waters.

In 1982 Key West and the rest of the Keys tried to declare independence and become the “Conch Republic” in a protest over US Border Patrol blockades. The blockade was set up in response to the Mariel Boatlift. This blockade created a 17 mile traffic jam when the Border Patrol stopped every car to search for illegal immigrants. The Florida Keys were virtually paralyzed as tourism nearly ground to a halt. Couch Republic flags and T shirts are still popular souvenirs for visitors. The Counch Republic Independence Celebration is celebrated each April 23.

Key West was always an important military post. At the beginning of World War II the Navy built the first water line extending the length of the Keys to serve the Naval Air Station. The main facility on Boca Chica is where the navy trains pilots. There are 3400 civilians and 16oo active duty military personnel along with family members. The area next to the old For Taylor became a submarine pen and was used for the Fleet Sonar School.

A short, thin young man in a dirty kaki colored raincoat and badly scuffed faded brown shoes pushed his way through the crowd propelling a baby carriage in front of him like a weapon. He was sweating profusely, and had a straggly black beard.

“Get out of my way,” he shouted. “I have to get through, get away, move out of my way damn people. It’s your fault,” he cursed in a hoarse voice. The smell of liqueur was reeking from his breath as he continued up an entrance ramp spewing saliva and curses.

Two security guards who were lounging against the railing on the far wall of the entry way moved over to him to see what the commotion was about. Then the bomb went off.

The bomb blast killed thirty-two children and their parents on the way to the in store Ferris Wheel. Another one hundred and twenty four, many of whom were children, were injured as the blast slammed its way full of shrapnel and nails to the fourth floor and eventually the sheer force of the bomb blew a five foot hole in the roof as acrid black smoke forced its way out into a cold rainy night at the Toys Are Us toy store in Times Square in New York City. It was the first home made suicide bomb detonated in New York City by homegrown terrorists, and things would never be the same.

Fear griped the City of New York and the Nation as a wave of copycat bombings took place in retail department stores, malls, sports arenas, railroad and bus terminals and anywhere else these terrorists could strike fear into the hearts of the people. The first attacks were designed to scare the population, and convince them that no one was safe and nobody was sacred, not even the children. Sometimes the bomber blew himself up with the bomb and sometimes a remote triggering devise was used, but in all the cases where a suicide bomber caused the explosion, the police and the FBI had determined that the terrorists were home grown natives and citizens of the USA. It was almost too much to fathom. Who were these horrible people that hated this Country so that they would sacrifice themselves to kill innocent strangers and children? What had we done to create such hatred for our country by people who grew up and lived here? How could we fight terrorists who didn’t even value their own lives? Who would be next on the terrorists list? Where and when would they strike again?

John Stamper sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of his face contemplating these questions. He had few answers. Were the terrorist’s part of one large cell or did they operate independently? Who was calling the shots? Why had this started now, why now, and why the chain reaction of bombing after bombing? John was a tall thin man with an angular nose that was too big for the high cheek boned features of his face. He had prematurely grey hair that always looked like he had just been to a hairdresser. John had a penchant for wearing grey pin striped double-breasted suits that flattered his steely blue eyes. He looked like an agent of the law. In fact he was the number two man in the New York office of the FBI, and he was charged with the almost impossible task of getting these bombings under control. In the fortnight since the bombings started he had investigated all ten bombings. He had little to show for it. DNA had determined who most of the terrorists were (all had identity chips), which was a federal requirement starting in the year 2013 that allowed for immediate identification of all citizens. But there was no apparent link between the incidents in Grand Central Station, Macy’s, The Wolman’s Ice Rink, The Bus terminal at 42nd street, Saks Fifth Avenue Department Store, Madison Square Garden, Bloomingdales Department Store, Rockefeller Center, The Heralds Square Mall and the original bombing that started it all in Toys Are Us.

John was aware that time was running out. The people were scared. No one was going out in public. Tourists had stopped coming to the City, and the economy of the Country’s largest city was grinding to a halt as people refused to take public transportation to work. The MTA was forced to lay off workers temporarily as no one was riding the buses or the subways. The unions didn’t object. They wanted to keep their workers home and safe. As if matters couldn’t get any worse, John had just been sent a secured e-mail indicating that a bomb had just gone off in the Washington to New York airport terminal in Washington. This whole situation was racing out of control, and John knew it.

His secure phone line rang. It was his boss in Washington, Casey Orin, ordering him to come to Washington for an urgent meeting in the morning. As his boss got off the phone he cautioned John to drive his car to Washington rather than take the train or a plane. John sighed and said he understood.

As John entered the main conference room of the FBI, he was surprised to see that the Director of National Security was present as was the number one Under Secretary of State for internal affairs and The Under Secretary of Defense. In fact just about every major government agency involved with the Nations welfare and security including the Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control was in attendance.

Casey opened the meeting and immediately put John on the line by asking him to brief everyone on the current state of affairs. John got the sinking feeling that he was being offered up as a sacrificial lamb. His boss hadn’t even told him that he would be called on to give a report. He nervously cleared his throat, shuffled some papers and began.

“As of this morning there have been ten bombings in New York City and One in Washington. Eight of these terrorist acts have been by suicide bombers and three have been bombings detonated by remote control. We have ascertained from DNA evidence that all the suicide bombers were American citizens who were born in this country. Two of them were Moslems of Iranian decent, two were Hispanic, two were African American and two were Caucasian. We have not to date captured any of the people involved in the three remote control bombings or determined who the terrorists were that were involved in those cases. In fact we have no evidence as of now linking any of the bombers to any others, and have no way of determining if this is all part of a centrally controlled plot by one master cell of terrorists or a group of independent cells operating in a copycat fashion. However, all of the bomb fragments recovered so far indicate that the bombs were home made, of simple construction, and composed mostly of chemicals one could obtain at a local hardware store, but most of them seemed to have a common highly explosive agent included in each bomb package that was not obtainable locally. We do believe based on this that these bombers are acting in some sort of a coordinated plan even though we do not as yet have any direct proof that this is so. I want to assure all of you that our agents are working around the clock to identify the people involved in these insidious attacks and to prevent them from committing other bombings or other acts of terrorism. We are offering a ten million dollar reward for information leading to the capture of the terrorists involved. If you have any questions I will be glad to take them now?”

The moment John said that he was sorry that he had. The onslaught was without mercy.

The head of the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) said, “What other acts of terrorism are you talking about? Do you have any knowledge that they plan to use chemical poisons or toxic gases? Is our water supply safe? How do we protect the subways?”

John assured Tim Levings of the CDC that the FBI had absolutely no knowledge of any other terrorist threats.

The Under Secretary of Defense asked if the terrorist organization Al Quida was involved.

John said that there were no known ties to that organization as far as they knew and no terrorist organization had taken responsibility for the bombings.

Then the head of National Security asked, “Do you think they have nuclear suitcase bombs? Is this all a prelude to a much more terrifying explosion? Where the hell is the CIA in all of this? Are you guys working with them? Why aren’t they all at this meeting” I thought Homeland Security was supposed to be in control in a situation like this?”

John said, “I have no knowledge of any suitcase bombs, and will defer to Mr. Orin to fill you in on the CIA and Homeland Security.”

Casey said, “Thank you John, I’ll take it from here. You know gentleman that the CIA by mandate can’t get involved in domestic affairs, but rest assured that we are in close communication with them in case a foreign element like Al Quida is involved. We are the front line agency involved working directly for Homeland Security. We will keep you informed.”

At this point the Undersecretary of State for Internal Affairs, Ross Phalen, jumped to his feet and said, “The President wants this stopped. We don’t care what you have to do. Bring in the CIA. Bring in the National Guard. This cannot be allowed to continue. Do you understand me? This can’t wait. We need action now. Lock down the Capitol if you have to. We have to protect the Nation. If you need the President to declare Martial Law he will do so. If we have to suspend civil rights we will.”

Casey flushed and said, “I am fully aware of how dangerous this situation is. We will do what we have to do to bring this under control. I will let you know what type of additional action is indicated if any. Thank you for coming gentleman.” Then he stormed out of the room followed swiftly by John who wasn’t about to hang around to answer any more questions. This crisis of National Security was quickly spiraling out of control. John knew that he and Casey would have to work miracles or our democracy as we knew it would not be able to sustain itself. Our very freedom was on the line. Who would have thought that less than a dozen home grown terrorists could bring this country to its knees. Who was behind this diabolical plot? Why was this being left to the FBI to control? Where was Homeland Security in this whole mess? This should be their responsibility. They didn’t say a word at the meeting and only had their number two man in attendance. Why is it that no one even asked them a question?