Fins up: how Bob Haslett sustains the sunny spirit of Jimmy Buffett

Like most Parrot Heads, I haven’t fully processed it yet – the Sept. 1, 2023, death of Jimmy Buffett.

A sort of “tropical depression” sunk in once heartbreaking headlines detailed the demise of the mogul of Margaritaville at 76, colorful parrot feathers falling from a September sky, like a rainbow’s collapse.

That he lived three-quarters of a century easily brought to mind lyrics from one of his finest Key West tunes, “Nautical Wheelers”: “… that’s ‘cause everyone here is just more than contented, to be livin’ and dyin’ in three-quarter time …”

This 1974 song was one of the earliest examples of Buffett’s clever, laid-back lyrics making landfall on the beaches of our musical landscape. For musicians, “three-quarter time” refers to three beats per measure, but to non-musicians like me, it was interpreted as sage advice guiding us to live life to the fullest – for you never knew when your time would come to walk the plank and plunge into a feeding frenzy of “fins to the left, fins to the right, and you’re the only bait in town.”

Living and dying in ¾ time. Part time signature, part Parrot Head philosophy.

My favorite Jimmy songs celebrate all things the sun, the very thing that did him in, our Sunny Jim dying from a deadly form of skin cancer.

Still, we Parrot Heads know the importance of sustaining a “fins up” attitude. I play his music even more now, lost in the turntable’s rotation of tropical travelogues, time-proven seaworthy, story songs, mostly from the ‘70s, each “gospel from the coast” providing much-need mental escapism, his salt-rimmed songs nothing short of postcards postmarked in the lower latitudes and tossed, like ring buoys, from a passing, ghostly mailboat of the mind.

Conversing with other Parrot Heads is another way to work through the passing of our popular poet. Recently, I participated in a one-on-one, virtual squawk with the “Surfpirate” (a.k.a. Bob Haslett), an administrator for the public Parrot Head Facebook page, BuffettNews, which went live 15 years ago. Bob and the three other admins, Jeff Melia, Bob Geist and CJ Caracciolo, call themselves “Los Cutro Caballeros.” Last summer, BuffettNews hailed 75,000 members, growing to 231,000 in the wake of Buffett’s passing.

“My Jimmy Buffett experiences have given me decades of fun and lasting friendships,” says Bob, an old surfer and “early” retired corporate IT executive, who is enjoying his mid-60s while living on the Delaware coast. “Jimmy may be gone physically, but spiritually he inspires me still.”

Bob is the author and illustrator of a Parrot Head-themed comic strip, “BN Critters,” which includes a cast of characters, mostly of anthropomorphistic makeup, wasting away their days inside a tiki bar. A collection of his witty strip, The BN Critters Collection, can be ordered via Amazon or through his surfpirates.com online surf shop.

His latest passion project involves the online preservation of all 185 issues of The Coconut Telegraph, a newsletter/fanzine/mail-order merchandise catalogue published out of Jimmy’s Key West Margaritaville store, starting in 1985. The last paper edition was released in 2014 when the publication migrated online.

Currently, Bob has 182 issues scanned and uploaded, many mailed to him by BuffettNews members. The official “Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefers” Facebook page boosted interest in his endeavor by sharing it with their 1.7 million members, enabling him to fill in most of the missing pieces of his puzzle.

Bob’s Coconut Telegraph project is near and dear to me. In 1986, a college journalism essay of mine was published in it. Headlined “Are You A Parrot Head?”, it marked my first byline ever and inspired me to become a humor columnist.

“The Coconut Telegraph is a historical record of what things were like pre-Internet, how Jimmy communicated with all of us, the stories that were written, the ads for things being sold at the time, lists of upcoming concerts, profiles of individual Coral Reefer band members, past and present, stories of what Jimmy has been doing since the last issue was published. It’s a nice little historical reference,” he says.

Like me, Bob earned his PhD (Parrot Head Degree) in the 1970s, long before the Parrot Head name was coined and tattooed on our psyche. He has attended more than 100 Jimmy concerts – way, way more than me. He also met Jimmy a few times – a few times more than me. He bought his first Buffett album, 1974’s A1A, in 8-track form, from a Virginia Beach record store discount bin. Other Buffett albums followed. “Soon, I also had A White Sports Coat and a Pink Crustacean and Living and Dying in ¾ Time blaring from my car’s speakers. Those three 8-track tapes became my soundtrack for that surfing summer, and I became a Jimmy Buffett fan.”

Posts made by Facebook users speculating on Jimmy’s poor health appeared on BuffettNews throughout 2023, up until news of his death, which then led to thousands, if not tens of thousands, of comments posted by grieving Parrot Heads.

“That was a gut punch,” says Bob. “I don’t think I ever cried but there was a big hole.”

Bob offers the best solution we can take while coping with Jimmy’s death.

“(As reportedly said on his deathbed) Keep the party going,” says Bob.

We mere Parrot Head earthlings continue to orbit our spinning sun that was – and still is – Jimmy Buffett. We will keep the party going.

Email Scott at scottsaalman@gmail.com.