Catholic 1 Lexington, KY
Sherlock 1 Lexington, KY
Yellow Jacket 1 Dunwoody, GA
J Trigger 1 John’s Creek, GA
Farm Mom 1 Crawfordsville, FL
Forbes 1 Bulgaria
Heavy D 1 Cape Coral, FL
Mail Sweetie 1 Broussard, LA
Mr. Wonderful 1 Riverton, NJ
Purple Panda 1 Riverton, NJ
Showtime 69 Forest Hills, IL
Backwards Propell 11 Washington, DC
Propell Forward 9 Washington, DC
Medical Tourist 5 Canada
Vee Fish 3 Bosnia
Snots 3 Greenwich, CT
Bar Code 3 Philadelphia, PA
Death Defier 2 Clarksville, TN
Asthma 2 Ocean, NJ
Swiss Fries 2 Switzerland
Brick Top 1 Canada
Mahi Mahi 1 Canada
Blind Guy 1 Canada
Colorist 1 Canada
Shakespeare Love 1 UK
Zini 1 UK
Phish Bonez 1 Saratoga, FL
Bloodwork 1 Wellington, FL
Base Pace 1 Miami, FL
Salsa Brown 1 Washington, DC
Data Center 1 Miami, FL
Inmate Runner 1 Greensborough, PA
Blue Law 1 Miami, FL
Cobber 1 Philadelphia, PA
Tuxedo 1 Miami, FL
Chicken Market 1 Long Island, NY
Brownie Points 1 France
Major Minor 1 Indianapolis, IN
4 AM 1 Miami, FL
Keystone Cop 1 USA
Tchako 1 Chicago, IL
Surface Man 1 Loveland, CO
Fathead Daddy 1 Greenwich, CT
Dancing Queen 1 Connecticut
Pingu 1 Finland
Motor Man 1 Bolivia
Captain Charter 4 Solomons Island, MD
Let’s Play 2 3 Chicago, IL
Thin Lizzy 3 Tampa, FL
Duckwood 1 Marietta, GA
Listing 1 Indianapolis, IN
Kiko 1 Germany
Polar Pineapple 1 Appleton, MD
Polar Raspberry 1 Appleton, MD
Pot Shop 1 Denver, CO
World Trotter 1 Germany
Mowed Grass 1 Germany
Woodworker 1 Cleveland, OH
Hog Shooter 1 Miami, FL
Open Shell 1 Philadelphia, PA
Morning Kool-Aid 1 Annapolis, MD
Oregano 1 Annapolis, MD
Dizard 1 Boston, MA
Gypper 1 Philadelphia, PA
Fear Buster 1 Miami, FL
Sweedheart 1 Sweden
Balsamic 14 Italy
Tan Thru 6 Dartmouth, MA
Ferris Wheel 3 Switzerland
Book Face 2 Canada
Price Tag 2 Homestead, FL
Nutella 2 Homestead, FL
One Way Ticket 2 New Jersey
Mystic Pizza 2 Miami, FL
Wire Boat 1 Dartmouth, MA
Rubs 1 Kingsport, TN
Mountain Kid 1 Canada
Prairie Kid 1 Canada
Generac 1 Canada
Millennium 1 Canada
Broller 1 Shawnee, KS
Vi Andi 1 Hungary
Fix It 1 Colombia
Thermal 1 UK
Hoagan’s Heroes 21 Portland, OR
Roses N’ Guns 13 Colombia
Vinegar 3 Italy
Fiddle Sticks 2 Bloomington, IN
Chucky Smooth 2 Jamestown, NY
Suburban Spy 1 Nashville, TN
Banana Slug 1 Chapel Hill, NC
Somebody 1 Oakland, CA
Wilas 1 Louisville, KY
Turk 1 Albany, KY
Pacific Sunset 1 San Diego, CA
Wicked Pissa 1 Boston, MA
Correspondent 1 Dallas, TX
Soft Pillow 1 Colombia
Red Nebraska 5 Grand Island, NE
Zool 2 Chicago, IL
Chest Pounder 2 Highland Beach, FL
Brother Curly 1 Charlotte, NC
Turning Point 1 Tampa, FL
Princess Jasmine 1 South Brunswick, NJ
Loosely Grounded 1 UK
Lemon Drop 1 Hudson River, NY
Link 1 Jackson, MS
Orange Mormon 1 Mims, FL
Wamps 1 Charlottesville, VA
Cinnamon Crunch 1 Rome, NY
Carry On 1 Rome, NY
Porsche 1 Germany
Stone Man 32 St. Louis, MO
Esmerald Hunter 5 St. Louis, MO
Wood U 2 Kendall, FL
Heart n Roses 1 Dallas, TX
Morning Chirper 1 Dripping Springs, TX
Presser 1 Bolivia
Nephew Suspension 1 Bolivia
Bitter Hops 1 Ronkonkoma, NY
Blooper 1 Toms River, NJ
PG Tips 1 UK
Dullsville 1 Fort Wayne, IN
Cow Horn 1 Ventnor, NJ
Scaler 1 Ventnor, NJ
Vegemite 1 Australia
Cattle Rancher 1 Austin, TX
Currency Exchange 1 Chile
Ground Fire 1 Brazil
Dessert Mold 1 Breaux Bridge, LA
Craw Lady 1 Breaux Bridge, LA
U Could 1 Kendall, FL
Wind Farm 1 Tiburon, CA
Ox Lady 3 Germany
Power Tool 2 Richmond, VA
Blackberry Circus 2 UK
Phone Booth 1 Richmond, VA
Splicer 1 Richmond, VA
7 and 1 1 Denver, CO
Prescription Fill 1 Charlotte, NC
Water Fowl 1 Charlotte, NC
Yorvick 1 UK
Lights On 1 Pinehurst, NC
Ice Gnat 1 Argentina
Lake Erie Monster 1 Cambridge, OH
Blockhead 1 Portugal
Pool Cage 1 Bradenton, FL
Tiger Eye 1 Bradenton, FL
Zanna 1 Italy
Jetlag 1 Pleasanton, CA
Fashion Reader 1 Terre Haute, IN
Xbox 1 Terre Haute, IN
Forehand 1 Finland
Backhand 1 Finland
Crappie 1 Terre Haute, IN
Psyched 4 West Palm Beach, FL
Home Stretch 3 Dallas, TX
Cookie Monster 1 Indianapolis, IN
Mooster 1 Indianapolis, IN
Peelstr 1 Indianapolis, IN
Do Something 1 Port Charlotte, FL
Kumquat 1 Germany
Hussy 1 Dayton, OH
Gender Traffic 1 Collingswood, NJ
Patuau 1 Bolivia
Banana Smoothie 1 Ireland
Newster 1 UK
Bee Sting 2 Germany
Spinal Tap 2 San Francisco, CA
Beet Red 1 Omaha, NE
AC/DC Electrical 1 Nicaragua
Powerless Vincent 1 Poland
Rouge 1 Poland
Conductor 1 Houston, TX
Litter Box 1 Sioux City, IA
Pies of Gato 1 Spain
Capper 1 Cincinnati, OH
Green Bean 1 Santa Barbara, CA
Agent Bunchie 1 Somerset, KY
Titos 1 Weimar, TX
White Cloud 3 Sacramento, CA
Hay Ride 3 Eldersburg, MD
Wall Blocker 2 Eldersburg, MD
Mars Man 1 Orlando, FL
German Mule 1 Germany
Hungry Dog 1 Buffalo, NY
Lovin’ Life 1 Colombia
Dr. Fun 1 Miami Beach, FL
Mood Swing 1 Miami Beach, FL
6 Seater 1 Houston, TX
Extra Points 1 Hialeah, FL
Cut Splitter 1 Utah
Buick Electra 1 Johnson City, TN
Rattler 1 Johnson City, TN
Noche 3 Spain
Papillon 2 Miami, FL
Outside the Box 2 Miami, FL
Cat Ears 1 UK
Gruyere 1 UK
Train Track 1 Miami, FL
Rollover 1 Atlanta, GA
Battlefield 1 Germany
Asbestos 1 Aberdeen, MD
Sunday School 1 Aberdeen, MD
Salt Pan 1 Curacao
Fahrenheit 69 1 Sykesville, MD
Dear Jerky 1 Richmond, KY
Traditional Country 1 London, KY
Public Corruption 1 Ezel, KY
Purdue Wings 1 Hazard, KY
Mint Recovery 1 Brooklyn, NY
Right Hook 1 Slovenia
Turbulance 1 Slovenia
Cabernet 1 New Orleans, LA
Young Sole 4 Weston, FL
Frozen Rope 3 Weston, FL
Mended 3 Tampa, FL
Farm Funk 2 Canada
Glorious 2 Tampa, FL
Checkpoint 2 Puerto Rico
Shooting Star 1 Bolivia
Pick 1 Madison, WI
Fish A Runi 1 Germany
Snow Ski 1 Austria
Downs 1 Austin, TX
Fun Puns 1 Philadelphia, PA
Boat Coach 1 Ridgefield, CT
Minnow 1 Ridgefield, CT
Lottery 44 1 Nashville, TN
Pub Crawl 1 Milwaukee, WI
Peak 1 Tampa, FL
Drumlyn Charity 1 Sansbury, CT
Nerd Master 1 Washington, DC
On Tap 2 Lascolinas, TX
Pimento 1 Baldwin, KS
Astra 1 Endora, KS
Double Stuffed 1 Lascolinas
Surrogate Mom 1 Canada
Transmitter 1 Canada
Cruisin’ Car 1 Westin, FL
Mind Finder 1 Denmark
Pint Glass 2 Lemmon, SD
Baltimore Chop 1 Baltimore, MD
Dirt Collector 1 Canada
Paleo Blue 1 Kirkwood, WA
Twitchy 3 Miami Beach, FL
Initiative 2 Greenwich, RI
Top Shelf 1 Irving, TX
Mover Maneuver 10 Schenectady, NY
Sovereign 1 Milwaukee, WI
Peanut Butter Cup 2 Japan
Chile Flamingo 1 Hungary
Strawberry Smoke 1 England
F-Stop 1 England
Chicago Brick 1 Chicago, IL
Easy Exit 1 Fall River, MA
Equilibrium 1 Lowell, MA
Black Honey 1 New Zealand
White Russian 1 Belarus
Former Fat Guy 1 Tampa, FL
Juice Cleanse 1 St. Paul, MN
Wonder Fit 1 St. Paul, MN
Two Way Radio 1 Lutz, FL
Buffalo Jack 1 Buffalo, NY
Shave Club 2 Chicago, IL
Epic Shooter 1 Miami, FL
Aerial Yoga 2 Jonesburo, GA
Slummer 1 York, Maine
Squirrel Fish 1 Argentina
Gold Rush 1 Nevada City, CA
Gingko 1 Germany
Nalgene 1 Baltimore, MD
Disastrous 1 Portland, OR
Ponch 1 Columbus, OH
Nu Skin 1 Spain
Rubber Face 1 Norway
Auto Pilot 2 Owings, MD
Pugs 2 Columbus, OH
Crazy Dater 1 Manhattan, NY
Pebble Hill 1 England
No Need 1 Thailand
Magneto 1 Italy
Alba 1 Italy
Dryer 1 Brooklyn, NY
El Bruce 1 Russia
KGB 1 Russia
Squeed 1 Russia
Exploser 3 Portugal
Defuse 3 Portugal
Sea Dragon 2 Yonkers, NY
Summer Slammer 1 Austria
Curly Girly 1 Hialeah, FL
Hopeful 4 Red Lodge, MT
Advance Man 2 Pleasanton, CA
Dabbler 3 Russia
Lo Lo 1 Venezuela
Openness 1 Rome, NY
Dreamness 1 Rome, NY
Hold ’Em 2 Marietta, GA
Empire State 1 New York, NY
High Steppin’ 1 Italy
Dabs 1 Miami, FL
Ring Tone 1 Miami, FL
Playah 1 Canada
Octane 1 India
Sopah 1 India
Kooshe 1 Slovakia
Sweet and Sour 1 Philippines
Realization 1 Lithuania
Slither 1 Atlanta, GA
Lychee 1 Atlanta, GA
Green Paper 1 Italy
Cuna 1 Italy
Crème Brulee 1 France
PPA 1 Jacksonville, FL
Geometry 1 Franklin, NC
Mzungu 3 St. Paul, MN
Orienteer 1 Poland
Applicator 21 Cuba
Risky 1 New York, NY
Dog Paddle 1 Rio Grande, CA
Iron King 1 Rio Grande, CA
Golden Boy 2 Cambridge, MA
Golden State 1 Wilmington, DE
Mixed Berry 1 Colombia
Early Bird 1 Russia
Apple Vodka 1 Poland
Yolo 1 Canada
Choker 1 Washington, DC
Loaded Dice 1 Long Island, NY
Roasted 1 Phoenix, AZ
Vocalizer 1 Phoenix, AZ
Boiling Over 1 Columbus, IN
Saber 1 St. Louis, MO
Eighteen Moons 1 Italy
Grappa 1 Italy
Roundabout 1 Phoenix, AZ
Aggressively Boring 1 Miami, FL
Scarlett Carnation 1 Brooksville, OH
Snook 1 Troy, OH
River Pader 1 Germany
Peaceful Mind 1 France
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK the diverse collection of human beings that make up the Raven Run family for each one’s individuality and genuine spirit—particularly, the man himself, Robert “Raven” Kraft, who trusted me with his story and always did what he said. Every mile getting to know you all has been an honor, and I hope you recognize our stories within these pages.
There were many Raven Runners who absorbed my questions with exceptional grace and good humor. I want to especially thank Gringo, Hurricane, Dizzy, Hitter, Chocolate Chip, Giggler, Teen Idol, Poutine, Butcher, Hurdler, and Taxman. For opening the Raven Run up to anyone with a computer, Carlos “Spinner” Alvarez deserves praise and thanks for his work on RavenRun.net. For always asking how you can help and being a bright light everywhere you travel, I thank Bieke “Juris Prudence” Claes. To Miracle, for your wisdom, insight, and photography, thank you for helping me understand the world you share with Raven. Miracle once told me she imagined putting a book together to be like that scene in Sorcerer’s Apprentice, where Mickey is beginning to try his own sorcery powers. “He begins to direct the mop and the buckets and before you know it, there’s a million buckets of water, and they’re dancing, it completely gets away from him,” she recalled to me. “Is that how you feel writing this book?”
It is, sometimes, how I feel. But I am lucky to have friends who are also terrific readers and editors. For their commitment to me in person and for making me sound better in print, I’m grateful to Kaitlyn Gentile, Jocelyn Lebow, Annie McNamara, Lindsay Eriksson, Heather Kamins, Corey Ginsberg, Tanya Bhatt, and—as always—Theodore “Dr. Ted” and Dale Rosengarten. For his generosity in sharing his internal library that encompasses the history of South Florida, I also thank Paul George.
For her immense talent to capture an entire world between a camera’s shutter, I am in awe of Mary Beth Koeth. Together, we navigated the fantastic bizarreness of Miami Beach and found creative ways to afford the city and remain ourselves. One day we may be able to go to a restaurant outside of the happy hour menu but for now and forever, I am grateful for her friendship, kindness, and vision.
I am thankful to the authors of many works that have provided helpful context to our common elusive character, Miami Beach. Among them, I’d like to acknowledge John Rothchild’s Up for Grabs, Marty Stofik’s Saving South Beach, Marvin Dunn’s Black Miami in the Twentieth Century, Howard Kleinberg’s Miami Beach: A History, Mirta Ojita’s Finding Mañana, This Land Is Our Land: Immigrants and Power in Miami, by Alex Stepick et al., Gerald Posner’s Miami Babylon, Joan Didion’s Miami, Polly Redford’s Billion Dollar Sandbar, and Norman Mailer’s St. George and the Godfather.
For creating the space that first made Miami feel like home to me, I want to thank Mitchell Kaplan for his wonderful Books & Books and the Miami Book Fair International. You have made so many writers feel worthy, and I am f
ortunate to be but one beneficiary of your confidence and positive thinking. Every good thing that people say about Mitchell is true.
It was in the author’s lounge at the Miami Book Fair, in fact, that I happened to sit next to Ronald Goldfarb, who became my literary agent and Running with Raven champion. Thank you, Ron, for making me believe the sagacity of your old barber, Carmine from New Jersey, who said, “Ever ting gonna be more better soon.” Thanks to you and Gerrie Sturman, it is more better now.
Ron had the idea to send this book to Michaela Hamilton at Kensington’s Citadel Press, where Raven’s story has been respected and valued from page one. In my first conversation with Michaela, she promised me that, at Kensington, “We never let our authors go out with spinach in their teeth.” To you and Lulu Martinez and the entire Kensington team, thank you for your thoughtful and sensitive improvements to and care of this work.
Every day reminds me of how lucky I am to have three best friends whose DNA is linked to mine. To my brothers, Pat Huttenbach and Eric Huttenbach, and to my sister, Marisa Huttenbach Crawford, thank you for making sure I am never more than myself and for making me believe that myself is enough, or maybe sometimes a little too much. Thank you also for making me a grateful in-law to Yve and Chas and proud aunt to Steven, Amanda, Greg, Emma, and Charlie.
To my father, Dirk Huttenbach, for never tiring of my questions and instilling a deep interest in how history happens and is recorded, thank you. You were my original search engine, and I appreciate every meal that I share with you and Barbara. Last, but likely most valuable to my efforts, I thank my mother, Muriel Patterson Huttenbach, whose love and belief make me think I can accomplish anything in this big world.
Many people contributed in diverse and significant ways. Among them, I want to acknowledge a few generous Kickstarter Backers: John Edwin Mason, Anneke Strachan Herman, Marijke Strachan, Brent Shinall, Carolina Boechat Raimondi, Maxwell Bonnie, Hadi Irvani, Ben Tan, Carlos “Sergeant Comic,” Edward “Thunder” James Murphy, Amy “Preservationist” Tancig, Anne Marie and Billy Parker, Andrew Savysky, Laura and James Sheppard, Priscilla “Miracle” Ferguson, Ruth Van Maldegem, Terry Smith and Abby Bender, Jason Setchen, the Miami Ad School, Mike and Marlene Koeth, Mike “Boy Next Door” Czabator, Mark “Espionage” Macaluso, The Worley Family, Randy Eng, The Hurdler, Burger “Petroleum Man,” Jonathan Rosenthal, Robert Nelms, and John and Laurie Huseby.
I’ll end these thanks where I started, with Raven, who sings a song called “The Road Is Long.” The road is long, indeed, Raven, and I’m so glad you invited me and twenty-five hundred friends to run it with you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LAURA LEE HUTTENBACH, a graduate of the University of Virginia, has been a serious athlete since her older brothers taught her how to slide tackle in soccer when she was four. In high school as a four-sport star, she was named Female Athlete of the Year for the state of Georgia. She moved to South Beach in 2011 after finishing her first book—The Boy Is Gone, the life story of a Kenyan independence leader whom she met while backpacking in Africa. During her evening runs in Miami Beach, she met Raven and became fascinated by his story. While running with Raven, she learned Miami Beach history and met characters of the past and present who were unlike any she’d ever known. Currently, she lives in New York City, and her website is llhuttenbach.com. To find out more about the Raven Runs, visit www.ravenrun.net.
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