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2020 April

Tuesday, April 21, 2020


Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.

[No Name Ferry] I read an article on the No Name Ferry with great interest. Some info I was really looking for could not be found. The ferry came in on the east side of No Name and continued onto BPK State Rd 4A. What I am searching for is the road and possible bridge on the west side of BPK. If you look at the navigational charts of North Pine Channel they show “buried piles” directly across the BPK – Little Torch Key channel where it seems the road would have gone across the channel. State Rd 4A  ( Now Watson Blvd) ends at the Key Deer Center on the west side. Looking at LTK, the road picks back up and there is a 90 degree turn in the road that leads directly from the water.
Do you know if there was a bridge there north of HWY 1?
The navigation chart for North Pine Channel shows “buried piles” running north and south from US1 to just north of what I think is the old road and possible bridge. I can only summarize it had something to do with the railroad coming through.I would like to snorkel the area where I think the old bridge may have been. Thank you in advance for info you may have.
[Running the Blockade] I’ve noticed a larger number of out of state license plates in the Winn Dixie parking lot this morning. I thought the sheriff was supposed to turn non-residents away. How are they getting in?

 

[Lyrid Meteor Shower] Mark your calendars! The first significant meteor shower in three months is almost here. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight, the night of April 21/22. Link

[“The bike paths”] They were bought and paid for by the America Bicycle Collation many years ago, but as with all funds, the politicians diverted that money to “more important projects” all over the country. I know this for a fact because my friends were the ones in Pa., that designed and initiated this project. Dog, I hate politicos!

 

 

Kudos to Big Pine Winn Dixie and Jay, their manager, for  paying for health workers’ and first responders’ groceries. Bravo! We need good stories like this now.

[Quarantine] The best thing about drinking at home is knowing the bartender isn’t going to short-pour you.

 

[Real Funny, Really!] Anyone can make a face mask. right? Easy-peasy tutorial in less than 5 minutes. But don’t do it how she does it. I think mommy’s been in the vino for a while. She pricks her finger, sews her shirt sleeve, her arm, and the elastic comes off from the finished mask. A Betsy Ross she isn’t! Video

[Prepare For the Apocalypse] Save half of your income for future happenings. Stock up on long term foods that won’t spoil. Stock up on TP and paper goods. Store quart bottles of water treated with a shot of alcohol. Keep all your tools in shape. Put security locks on every door and window. Buy weapons as needed. Store any hard to get supplies in sealed containers. Exchange cash for beans (dried foods, canned foods, etc.) Buy a generator and fuel. Keep bottles of water in your freezer. Buy and store batteries and oil lamps. Buy high end winter cloths if needed or move south. Have your septic tank cleaned and serviced. Fill your pool with fresh water and cover it. Service your vehicles. Buy a battery powered emergency radio/solar powered charger. Train your family for emergencies!

 

[Weather Mumbo Jumbo] Is it just me? or does anybody else have difficulty understanding what the weatherman for most of our radio stations, Allen Archer, says?  It’s all mumbo jumbo to me. You would think that clear and distinct clarity on a purely audio media would be a priority. Apparently it’s not.  Nothing personal, he is probably a great guy, but sometimes it’s time to hang-up your spikes.

[Mass Murder is Back] On Monday there was a mass shooting with 18 dead in Nova Scotia. We’re so used to it that it barely made the news. Finally, things are getting back to normal. Video

 

 

[Opening the Beaches] I think I understand the irrational thinking of people who want to open the beaches.  They want to look nice and tanned for their funerals.

[Healthy Military] Why haven’t we heard of the world’s military forces getting sick with this virus? Seems they should be high on the scale because of their live style and close quarters?

 

 

[Face Masks’ Missing Link] Everyone’s sending me videos of how to make a face mask. I thank them, but every video says to affix rubber bands or elastic to the mask. I have a sewing machine, thread, cloth, but no rubber bands and I’m not going out to get some.

What’s with the United Way of “Collier” and the Keys? What the hell does Collier County have to do with Key West or Big Pine? Where the hell is Collier County? Is that the only place that would pay for new stationery for United Way of the Florida Keys? How does merging two different geographical areas with two different sets of needs create an advantage? Did the head move to Collier County?
[Free Online Tax Prep] Due to the COVID-19 social distancing requirements and the closure of VITA tax preparation locations, United Way of Collier and the Keys is offering virtual tax preparation for Monroe County residents with limited income and a simple tax return. There is absolutely no charge to the taxpayer for this service.
This service is limited to residents whose household income was below $56,000 in 2019 and who have income from 3 or less W-2s and 1099s only – no self-employment or investment income.
[Meteor Shower to the East] The shower takes place between the 16th and 25th of April each year, and the Lyrid’s radiant (read: where it appears to emanate from) is the Lyra constellation — also known as the harp constellation. This year’s shower will peak in the early hours of Wednesday April 22nd. The Lyrids have been observed since at least 687 BCE, making them one of the oldest-known meteor showers; they’re fast, too, traveling up to 30 miles per second.

The best way to take part in this spectacle is simple: go outside in the predawn hours of April 22, preferably as far from light pollution as possible (while still being mindful of social distancing, of course), and find a comfortable spot to lie flat on your back. Don’t use a telescope, as the Lyrids are best observed via the naked eye. Bring a blanket for comfort, point your feet eastward, and allow some time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness — that’s when you’ll really start seeing the meteors, which last until dawn.
I watched it from my dock some years ago.  The cats would be pleased to wake me before dawn. I might step outside this time, but I won’t lie on the dock.
Kathy Young & The Innocents – A Thousand Stars

[Getting Coronavirus Big & Fat] I started a diet today. I have to lose 65 pounds of fat or die of heart failure just because I am forced to eat and drink in confinement due to the virus and my political party not helping to cure this thing.

 

[“Free food”] I suspect the big wigs in Winn Dixie’s ivory tower appreciated the fact that we’re all in the same boat and they can get sick and die just like the hourly minority worker who travels by bus three hours every day for a few bucks to bag our groceries and unload the trucks.

[Virus Is Over] And they want to open the Florida beaches and the Keys to tourist? Stupid is that stupid does. We’re all going to die for political greed. Virus Map

 

 

 

Well, that stimulus check didn’t go as far as I thought it would!

 

[“12 Channels in the 80s”] What’s even worse was in the 60s there were only three channels and no remote control. I had a stick with a split in one end that I used to change channels on my 13” tv  by slipping the slit over the dial on the channel control. There was a long, narrow raised plastic piece inside the dial and I could fit the stick over it and turn the dial to change channels without getting up. When a remote finally did come it was connected by a cord that snaked across the carpet from the tv to the couch. The control was big.

[Great Loss to Farmers] Another side effect of the Covid-19 quarantine is the massive cost to farmers. Just one Florida farmer plowed under 100 acres of green beans, around 2 million pounds, and 60 acres of cabbage, being about 5 million pounds. Huge fields of ripe tomatoes are also being plowed under. The produce of Florida farmers mostly goes to restaurants, which have been reduced to just some take-out or closed completely. This article out of Immokalee, FL will blow you away! Link

 

[“Meteor shower tonight”] I have predicted when it will finally rain. And you can bet the kids’ college fund on it. It will rain before dawn on Wednesday! That’s elementary because that’s when viewing the meteor shower will be at its best.

[New Rule] Virus shaming ~Real Time with Bill Maher. Video

 

[Trailering] What in the world is going on here?

[Healthcare Selection] Years ago someone wise shared this with me regarding healthcare, “You can have any two. Fast, good, or cheap. You can never have all three.
[Oh, oh] They deny pandemics. They deny climate science. They deny life sciences (evolution, stem cell therapies). A pandemic wreaks devastation and death, and they demand their “right” to join with others in close-knit orgies of worship, protest, ad hoc rallies and the sharing of infections.
The evangelical megachurches — the dinosaurs of the 21st Century — that are still holding massive, densely-crowded services are death cults every bit as much as Jim Jones (Jonestown Kool-Aid massacre) and David Koresh (Waco). These Branch Covidians can use grape flavored Kool-Aid for their communion. And these death-cult Grim Reapers know exactly what they are doing. One “pastor” even came right out and said, “Christians should be willing to die for their faith.”
Anti-science superstitionists will be the ones disproportionately impacted, because those who respect science and heed its warnings and recommendations will be the ones to survive. The deniers and hoaxers self-select for evolutionary elimination as they compete for the next round of Darwin awards. They can deny Darwin but they cannot escape Darwin.

 

 

[The Killer At Home] House cats have more impact on local wildlife than wild predators. Link

[Bailout] We’re going to bail out the airlines? Screw ‘em! Do you think they’ll give us cheaper flights even though fuel is at its lowest price in, since, like, forever? Do you think they’ll give us more leg room? A few extra nuts?
[“Endless repair on the Old 7 Mile Bridge”] No, these guys are not have difficulty with keeping 6’ apart, except in the bank deposit line! What a racket that job is. My taxes at play.

 

 

Oh, no, they’re dropping the quarantine while the virus still kills!

[Public Accounting] With all the money being given out to us citizens, I wonder what ways the junta will think up to divert their ill-gotten gain into their coffers and stick it to the citizens? The money we are supposed to get will definitely be eaten up by inflated market prices, fuel costs, Monroe expenses, and taxation! Same as always. How’s it feel to be a peasant?

 

 

Business, business, business is the only important thing. People’s lives and the planet are always secondary to making f**king greedy profits. 90% of all businesses are BS and totally unnecessary. It is time to reevaluate what is important on this rock and cull out the useless eaters and cons.
Cabaret — Money

[Chauvinism Alive & Well] The most sought after answer in the universe is to the question of ‘how to understand women!’ The answer is, “Don’t bother, just smack them and leash them.” This is what man should have done in the apple grove.

 

 

 

[Virus Fashion] The trikini.

[There Is No Pandemic] Some politicians are starting to worry about the backlash as a result of their draconian coronavirus decrees. People are fed up with being under virtual house arrest and are starting to see the authoritarian power grabs as just that. Protests sprang up this week in Wyoming, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin and Virginia, and more are planned next week across the country. Meanwhile, the media is pushing you to embrace what they call “the new normal” for after the lock down is lifted. If it ever lifted.