Key West in the 1970s held a slower pace, relaxed yet still purposeful, with the purpose primarily being colorful glasses packed with shaved ice and plentiful rum, perhaps the tiniest splash of RC Cola, often from a vending machine. On the western end of the main island, where cruise ships took occupancy before the anomaly time-shifted everything back forty years, ships and subs once docked at the same naval base. There, Charlie Clarke would continue to visit the commissary and surrounding taverns long after he permanently relocated to the island, swapping stories both true and fabricated with men still in uniform. These same men often regaled him with tales that made Charlie regret his retirement from service, especially after Josephine scrapped him for a younger man without even attempting to mask her indiscretion from her heartbroken husband.
Lots of poetic descriptions in this chapter!
1.
…nor was he intimidated by the squander and lore…
Squander is a verb. Maybe squalor?
2.
…no longer than the sign for the airport, itself.
I believe the comma before “itself” is unnecessary.
3.
…with the skyscrapers that abrogated the skyline,…
Not sure “abrogated” is used correctly here.
4.
…were too proliferous to ignore.
I believe “prolific” would be correct here.