Hemingway's Cats and his Last Penny

We had only one rainy morning on our South Florida exploration trip and we spent it at Hemingway’s house in Key West. It was great to wander the home that housed Ernest, fan or not. He was a fan of cats and the great, great, great, great grand kittens still hang at the house, 49 of them. Archie the eldest can be found cuddled up on Hem’s bed and Susan Hayward curled up in the ticket takers cottage. Over 2 tons of cat food is used in a year and the cats have a vet visit once a week at around $50,000 a year.

The guide told some great stories and my favorite was about the pool. Hem mentioned one day that he wished he had a pool. When he was in Spain for a few months his wife, Pauline, had one put in at a great cost. On his return after he learned what it cost he exploded. He took a penny out of his khakis and chucked it in the pool screaming,” you might as well take my last goddamn penny.” Pauline dove in and got the penny. After they divorced she had the penny set in concrete by the pool. She loved showing Hem’s last penny. It is still there.