Charlie Boice, 56, of Palm Beach Gardens, won the annual Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest in Key West. (Damon Higgins/The Palm Beach Post)
Is that Ernest Hemingway or Kenny Rogers?
Neither. It’s Palm Beach Gardens’ Charlie Boice.
You can be forgiven for the mistake. He’s gotten that a lot since he grew out his beard more than 40 years ago, particularly after it turned white. He’s been stopped on cruise ships and asked to take a picture as Kenny Rogers. And friends suggested he would outright win the Papa Hemingway Look-Alike Contest in Key West.
His friends were right.
Boice, 56, won this year’s competition and now joins a special brotherhood of “Papas,” as the contestants are called. He’ll be a judge — and a drinking buddy for the other Papas — for life.
“It’s a brotherhood, there’s no doubt about it,” said Boice, 56, a retired air traffic controller from Pam Beach International Airport.
