March 03, 2008 at 05:45am by Brad A Schenck
If you walk to the farthest end of South Beach, you will find a rock jetty that stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean. All day long, waves crash over the jetty, and there, molded into the rocks is one of the most scenic pieces of real estate on the entire Beach. No, I’m not talking about the Continuum or Portofino condominiums. Blending into the surrounding rocks is the home of a bohemian mystic local named, Justino.
Justino’s Home On The Jetty
At first glance, it might catch your eye as just pieces of discarded beach furniture strewn about the rocks, but upon closer inspection, it is a well laid home set into the jetty. The actual living quarters are the size of a cozy, one man tent. Peer inside and you will see a comfortable 8 inch mattress and homemade shelves of books, utensils, and food. The dome like shape has been designed to blend in with the natural surroundings and to break the wind and waves. Water crashes on the rocks and rolls down the back of the tent. There are two pull down canvass doors that protect the home through the seasons passing tropical storms.
When Justino first spotted this place there was a large hole where this house now is. Overtime, he brought in lumber he found to secures the base. He spent years in the military and built background scenery for a theater in Germany. So, he used the skills he had to construct a home on the rocks. The whole thing is lashed down by an intricate webbing of ropes. He must tighten the ropes everyday. There are also benches for his friends that come to visit and storage units that are well hidden in the rocks. Although waves never come in, sand is a constant intruder. Justino has to clean constantly to keep the sand off everything.
One Boys Dreams Are Another Man’s Reality
When I first started talking with Justino, I mentioned that his house evoked such a stirring in me that made think of my boyhood dreams of living in a tree house, or a secret cabin. He understood completely because his previous house was a tree house near where Nikki Beach now is. After a Spanish language television station did a story about it, he was bombarded with tourists. He ultimately had to leave and asked his friends at the City if they could cut the limbs and drop it to the ground.
The local police often stop by to check up on him at the jetty, sharing the same fascination many of us do. One Sergeant told Justino that he envied his courage, and wished he could drop out from the daily grind and join Justino there on the jetty.
How A South Beach Bohemian Spends his Day
So what is life like for a South Beach bohemian? Justino wakes up early before the sunrise around 4:30am. His outfit is already laid out from the night before. A sign of his years of military service and growing up in what he called his mom’s boot camp. Perched in his chair, he stares out to the open ocean to see glowing walls that are a cruise ships appear in stark silence. The ships put off enough light to cast a bright glow across the entire Jetty and beach beyond.
At around 5:30am he is off to walk the beach, looking for treasures left behind by beach goers and the sea. If he finds a wallet he tries to return it. Coffee at 7-11 is next on the list where he spends a little time talking to the clerk. Maybe then to the hardware store, or to the market then he goes back home to work on a crossword puzzle. By noon he he’s usually finished the NY Times and the Miami Herald puzzles. Then it’s time for some soup, talking with the tourists, or reading.
He also takes small jobs. Light plumbing or painting are gigs that he does in order to pay for the little necessities.
A Character Straight Out Of A Novel, Reading About Another
An interesting irony is that Justino is an adventurer who has left behind the world most of us conceive, but who enjoys reading mysteries and adventures of others. He has always had a love for mystery novels but the authors now hold little weight to the classics. Journeying away via the mind is a great pleasure of his with Pirates, Tarzan, classics like Robinson Crusoe or into others lives via biographies about people such as Winston Churchill. He doesn’t like all of these books where people tell others how to live. He has lived and traveled and where is some 20 something coming from telling him how to live?
Random Thoughts Of A Bohemian Mystique
“I have what I need. I want just what I have.”
“I am a bohemian or a gypsy if you will. I am not homeless.”
“Why do people always want to give street people clothing and food? We don’t need a lot of food and where are we going to keep the clothes? I understand they mean well but I only need a pair or two of pants and a couple of shirts.”
“I would rather listen to the waves than the radio. Somebody offered me a little TV that took batteries. As I told him I didn’t need it he told me he would buy the batteries. Man, if I come here and it his windy and dark I like the sound of the ocean, no TV or Radio.”
“Crystal Light (the powdered instant drink) is like psychological crush. Everything is a vice if you over do it. Crystal Light is going to be the thing that kills me.”
He told me about a time some rough teenagers showed up and started breaking bottles on the rocks. Justino came out to talk to them, “Hey man I have so many nieces and nephews and I am sure you do too. Just think if they came out here and glass was broken everywhere and they would cut themselves.” They cleaned up the glass and when they come here now they respect this place.
Making Friends With The Man Who Lives On The Jetty
When I went to see Justino on Christmas he was feeling a little ill. He had given another guy $20 to get him some ice, soup and medicine. The guy had been gone for a while. The day before, Justino had been given so many gifts by his local friends, some of whom live in those condos that tower over south point. He then gave some money to this other guy so he too could buy himself something for Christmas. But now with $20 would the other guy ever return…
Yes, he did and the honesty and purity of the season remained. Even as gawking tourists invaded Justino’s space.
If you find yourself down past the last lifeguard stand near the jetty and happen to run into Justno, say hello. If you want to take a picture of his home, make sure to give a donation. This marvelous look at a different way of living didn’t just wash up on the rocks, it took a lot of hours and manpower to make it grow. So help him keep the dreams of youthful adventure alive in all of us.
