Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
[Comet] How to see the comet NEOWISE. Look up at the north-west skies about an hour and a half after sunset. Find the Big Dipper and follow its ladle as it arcs in the direction of the horizon. NEOWISE will appear under the Big Dipper about 10 degrees above the horizon and be about as bright as that constellation’s stars. If you hold out your arm, 10 degrees is roughly the part of the sky covered by your fist. This week, NEOWISE will move higher in the sky and be easier to spot, reaching its apex yesterday, Thursday, when it makes its closest approach to Earth. Good binoculars will allow you to see more of the comet and its spectacular dust tail. Lucky viewers may even catch the fainter blue ion tail, made from charged particles flying off the comet’s icy nucleus. NEOWISE is visible only to observers in the North- ern Hemisphere and should remain bright enough to spot into mid-August. NEOWISE won’t make it back to the inner solar system for 6,800 years, so enjoy it while you can. |
We take about 25,000 breaths a day. |
[Karma] I cannot believe the authorities did not cancel lobster mini season. I cannot wish ill on anyone, but it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if the ones responsible for not canceling it get the virus from the influx of the masses. |
[“Price gouging”] Everybody’s doing it and it should stop. Taking advantage of our helplessness during a situation we couldn’t avoid is totally wrong, you greedy bastards. $4 for an eighty cent mask, $4 for a gallon of bleach. Wrong, wrong, wrong! |
At the store there was a big X by the register for me to stand on. I’ve seen too many Road Runner cartoons to fall for that one! |
[USPS] Sometimes in the near past the post office started charging for everything but the basic tracking. When you put in the tracking numbers what you get is the date shipped, a statement that the item is in route and if it is late or on time. You are then offered to purchase Premier Tracking, which is what we used to get regularly. |
Legalize marijuana for recreational use. The medical marijuana program is a joke. Everyone is pretending they are taking it for pain. The Kafkaesque system amounts to little more than a drug cartel, but without the killing. It took me over month before actually being able to buy pot in Key West. It cost hundreds of bucks and the bureaucracy is as bad as any third world government. I won’t go into the convoluted process I went through and will have to go through again after a few months. |
[Friday Joke] I was at Walmart and a lady was looking at frozen turkeys, but she couldn’t find one big enough. She asked the stock boy, “Do these turkeys get any bigger?” He replied with a straight face, “No ma’am, they’re dead.” |
I just had a tele-visit with my doctor. He texted me and when I clicked on the link he included, and I gave my several approvals, he appeared on the screen and a smaller me appeared in the upper right corner. Clarity and sound were both excellent. It was fun and easy. The best part is there was no sitting in his office waiting. He called at exactly the time scheduled and told me I’m healthy-ish. |
Just wait until conspiracy theorist discover they’re part of a conspiracy to use conspiracy theorist to spread disinformation via conspiracy theories. |
This is the most dangerous species on earth. They eat just about anything and destroy their surroundings mercilessly. When they are done with the destruction, they simply move on and start over again, consuming without any regard for limits. The other one is just a fish with really big teeth. |
[Deaths] Florida reached a new milestone Thursday with 173 reported coronavirus deaths and pushed the total number of cases in the state past 389,000, the state health department reported. There were 10,249 new coronavirus cases reported Thursday. The latest death count brings the seven-day average to about 121 deaths per day in Florida. |
[Goombay Festival Canceled in Key West] Deer friends and partners, it is with a heavy heart that we are announcing the cancellation of Goombay 2020. |
[Teachers Sue] Florida teachers sued Monday to block what they call the “reckless and unsafe reopening” of public school campuses for face-to-face instruction. The Florida Education Association lawsuit argues that reopening this fall would put students and school employees at risk — as well as accelerate the spread of the coronavirus. The lawsuit, filed in state Circuit Court in Miami, names as defendants Gov. Ron DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. |
[Coronavirus Cases] Can you put an inquiry out to your readership to locate a graph of cumulative coronavirus cases by day? I’m especially interested in how the curve looks after June 1. Thanks. Be safe, wear a mask and social distance. |
[Protests] The clueless don’t like protests because they disrupt their lives. Duh, what do they think the purpose of a protest is? To disrupt life. |
Blood drive Monday 7/27 at Beall’s. One Blood does antibody testing. Appointments are required & must be made 12 hours in advance of the drive start time. July 27th Monday 12:00pm-5:00pm. Link |
Federal troops in Portland. The Governor is no opposing the support of federal troops. He just doesn’t want them patrolling the streets stiring up further unrest. |
[Benefits Of Dragon Fruit] 6 health reasons to eat more of the exotic fruit. Link |
[COVID Testing] What test do they do? If it’s one with a several day wait for results—forget it! Don’t make me go through the hassle and inconvenience for such a useless test. |
[“My northern city had riots”] While we’re on the subject of racism, I feel there will never be complete respect for all black people until they start respecting themselves and stop referring to themselves as niggas. |
[Quarantine] I don’t know what’s worse, waiting for happy hour or waiting for the UPS driver with my daily Amazon order. |
[School] Stuff The Bus Stuff the BUS Flier UWCK 7-2020 |
[Tropical Storm] Gonzalo is hands down the best name for a tropical storm system yet. And it is a great name for a monster, kid, dog or band. |
[Stupid Waste] A city in Florida is spending $14,000 on a committee to study race relations. What a waste of money. They’ve been studying race since the Civil Rights movement and not one thing has changed. Better to spend that money on teaching police to restrain themselves in their fury at black criminals while arresting them. That would be money well spent instead of putting lipstick on a pig and pretending that the races will someday like each other. We don’t have to like each other but we do have to live in harmony and respect each other. That we can do. |
When you’re trying to get out of 2020 and your flux capacitor explodes … |
[Stop Protests I Don’t Agree With] I don’t know why people are whining about the anarchists being arrested under cover and hopefully gotten rid of . Damn it people! This used to be your/my country and you support these thugs and their idiot puppets. Just remember, after every revolution ALL these people get rounded up and executed. The new powers to be don’t want them, even tho they were useful idiots. Wake up, this is not about race, this is anarchy. Thanks, I needed that. |
The BPR[?] Association is proud to endorse Joe Walsh for President 2020. Make America rock again! |
[Friday Joke] Sale: I have a 1.5ct total weight engagement rind set in 14K white gold. The ring is in like new condition, only worn for a short period of time by Satan herself. Comes with original box. Very pretty ring with lower setting so all the diamonds won’t snag on everything. Diamonds along the sides and in the channel setting show off light from all sides. Originally purchased from Littman’s for a sum of money far greater than I am comfortable admitting. WARNING: Ring may be cursed as it tends to leave a path of destruction behind it. Possible events associated with this ring include but are not limited to: damage sustained to house, vehicle, heart, downed power lines, fallen trees and swarms of locus. I would highly recommend taking action to counter the whirlwind of bad mojo that surround this piece of jewelry. Should consider having curse removed by voodoo priest or something before presenting to loved one. Other than that a very nice piece of jewelry. Looking to sell this soon before it brings any more bad luck into my life and I’d rather have cash. If not sold by Halloween I plan to throw it into the fires of Mordor. |