This Papa fishes from a kayak
Ernest Hemingway would have liked Wayne Raffesberger, whose life was broadened and transformed a few years ago when he took up kayak fishing.
Raffesberger’s return to fishing and his love of fishing alone in a Hobie kayak is the foundation for his plan to compete next month in a very special contest.
On July 21-23 Raffesberger will take his new fishing attitude and image and compete in the “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest at the famous Sloppy Joe’s Bar on Duval Street in Key West. Raffesberger will be judged by previous winners, champion look-alike Papas who will be looking for one guy who looks just like them. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Hemingway’s suicide on July 2, 1961.
“I’ve never been a Hemingway freak,” Raffesberger said. “But all of a sudden, a bunch of stuff came together, and I said, ‘Hey, this is fun. What the hell.’”
One of the things that sealed it for him was when his wife, Kaye, rescued a six-toed cat from an animal shelter. When he visited the Hemingway compound in Key West a few years ago, he saw descendants of the six-toed cat, polydactyls, that inhabited Hemingway’s compound.
“We named the cat, a female, Ernie,” Raffesberger said. “Kaye (his wife of 26 years) picked her out. The more I thought about it, the more I found myself driven to enter the contest.”
He’d been a fisherman before, but had moved on to other diversions that tested his adventurous spirit. And what a spirit it is. It helped him overcome polio after it struck him when he was 4 years old. He underwent painful orthopedic surgeries that allowed him to live a life Hemingway would have admired.
“I really like being six inches from the water surface and just feeling a little bit more natural,” said Raffesberger, whose 60th birthday is a few days after the “Papa” look-alike contest. “I don’t have a big diesel motor chugging behind me or have to get into a line and then pick up a trailer afterward. I just put it on top of my SUV myself and go where I want to go, local lakes, the bay, the ocean, even the Sierra.”
Win or lose, Raffesberger will dedicate his appearance in the contest to the late David Nuffer, a legendary public relations executive and civic leader in San Diego. Nuffer was a Hemingway expert who wrote a book, “The Best Friend I Ever Had,” “Revelations about Ernest Hemingway from those who knew him.”
Raffesberger will carry Nuffer’s book to the audition and show the judging Papas what Hemingway looked like in a 1952 LIFE Magazine that ran Hemingway’s entire “The Old Man and the Sea” inside. Kaye found the magazine among her mother’s treasures.
Six Toed Cats - News
The house has 44 cats on the premises, all of which are descended from Papa's cat, Snowball, who was polydactyl (ie has six toes). So there are a bunch of six-toed felines wandering around the property, sleeping in any nook and cranny they can find.
One of the things that sealed it for him was when his wife, Kaye, rescued a six-toed cat from an animal shelter. When he visited the Hemingway compound in Key West a few years ago, he saw descendants of the six-toed cat, polydactyls, that inhabited
It is wonderfully eccentric and overrun by his infamous six-toed cats, but it is woefully lacking in proper memorabilia; breakfast at the Six-Toed Café opposite was more impressive. Far from providing the grand finale, Key West was rather a damp squib.
Their basement is a shrine to Key West, right down to a six-toed cat and replicas of Papa Hemingway's favorite guns. They cranked up the Buffet-only jukebox — and the blenders — and soon we were merrily sipping our margaritas and boat drinks,
6. Lewis Carroll introduced us to this smiling creature in “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.” Name it. 7. This polydactyl (many-toed) cat is found in what American writer's museum in Key West? So easy! 8. A little harder.
Key West Six-Toed Cat Cam | Key West
Today Key West is launching a new TV spot to promote the wild and crazy nightlife in Key West. The spot, created by Tinsley Advertising Miami, begins with a cat wearing a special camera helmet as singers sing "Key West six-toed cat cam". We then see the cat running from bar to bar filming all the stuff on Duval Street from dining to dancing to friendly drag queens. "We actually got one of the descendants of Ernest Hemingway's six-toed cats and trained him to wear a helmet camera. " said Dorn Martell, Creative Director at Tinsley Advertising in Miami. "A lot of destinations roll up the sidewalks when the sun goes down" said John Underwood, Account Supervisor at Tinsley, "we wanted to get the message out that Key West comes alive at night." "We thought that seeing Key West from a cat's point of view would be different from what you would normally see in a tourism commercial and we all know Key West would never be accused of being normal" said Dorn Martell. The spot ends with the camera cat looking sly as he is petted by a group of young ladies in a club as the announcer says: "Key West, because you only have one life to live." The spot will run on national cable television as part of the Florida Keys "Come as You Are" campaign.
I am convinced that six-toed cats are plotting to take over the world. They’re just waaaaay smarter than even... 
Key west for the day. Playing with six-toed cats at the Hemingway house.?
"this song is called 'six toed cats'. it's about polydactyl cats." - a band from kansas or somewhere
