Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
[“Fifteen dollar cocktail”] Life in the Keys is not cheap, neither is life in Miami, Naples, Sarasota, Tampa, Orlando, West Palm yada yada – Florida is not like up north. Locals have to pay what the tourists are charged. We have sunshine, warm weather and can live outside almost everyday. You think a four buck draft beer is high? Price health insurance in the Keys (we pay more for rehab in the policies) price flood and wind insurance. The Keys were cheap before we got Tourist Development. Tourists are like iguanas, you can’t get rid of either. |
Why did Bella Luna on Cudjoe Key close? Was it because they couldn’t get a liquor license or is it because there were two married couples trying to work together? I thought the food was good but not good enough to justify the prices. |
[Wetstock] I was curious if you had any information on the dates for the Wetstock concert this year. I know it has been Labor Day weekend in the past, but I cannot find any confirmation of this online. |
Very few things upset my wife. So it makes me feel rather special to be one of them. |
New “city” coming into Marathon as seen from the 7-Mile Bridge. Yes, that is the old Knight’s Key campground. Marathon is really changing. There are luxury hotels all over the place and someday it may even have airline service at the always empty airport. |
[“Fifteen dollar cocktail”] What restaurant is that? I’m not trying to badmouth them, whoever it is, but don’t want to embarrass myself either when ordering a cocktail. I’ll still go there, but only order beer. |
If you always dreamed of traveling the earth to see the sights, go to Google Earth Pro and search every spot you think you would like to go to and go all the way down to Street View if it is offered. You will save a lot of money and not waste time going to most places which are at poverty level and not worth going to. There are lots of these. Do your research before spending your fortune. Also be aware of the war zones and places you are not welcomed. The world is not a happy place right now for Americans so be prepared. |
[Two-sided Cellphones] Soon there will be two sided cellphones so when you are talking to someone you can look up info on the other screen. |
[The Screwing of America] 8 ounce packages of sliced cheese are no 6.67 ounces, but sell for the same price |
1957 ad for car wax. |
[Canals] Be on the lookout for red canal water or seawater this Memorial Day weekend. It is not red tide algae, it’s EPA approved water tracing dye flushed into Big Pine Key’s raw sewage. Hopefully there is enough dye to show where the sewage forcemains are pumping raw sewage into our waters. Most likely to show are the waters close to the forcemain path: Cahill Pines & Palms plugged canals? Constitution Ave? Niles Channel? Or the dye might be pushed through an underground limestone conduit and pop up anywhere. Hopefully not Picnic Island. There may also be red showing on the road shoulder. The color will not last long, so get a photo, note the location, and report it to friends, Facebook, homeowner associations, the media (including Editor@TheBluePaper.com where they actually report embarrassing events), and environmental groups besides the governmental authorities who will otherwise try to bury the report and deny the evidence. A red sewage water photo posted here with the location would be very cool! |
[Termite Shit] What we call termite shit is actually termite “frass”. |
Don’t run over kids! |
[Death From Abortion] That is a relatively rare event. This basic fact tends to be obscured in all the fan-fare and statistics. The statistics, like the fanfare, are emotional and imprecise. Estimates vary widely, but most people agree that about a million illegal abortions are performed each year, and about 5,000 women die as a result of them. This means that the operative mortality is about 500/ 100,000. This is a very high figure, especially in the light of mortality in hospital abortions. Death in legal hospital abortions ranges from 0-18/100,000, which makes it, at worst, about as dangerous as a tonsillectomy. “You have to look at the volume of business,” he once said. “A million women is a meaningless number. What it comes down to is one illegal abortion every thirty seconds, day in, day out, year after year. That makes it a very common operation, and for better or worse, it’s safe |
[Fever] In Roman mythology, Febris (“fever”) was the goddess who embodied, but also protected people from fever and malaria. Febris had three temples in ancient Rome. |
[For Sale] “Project” boat, needs a little TLC. Serious inquiries only. |
Uber starts up July 1 in Key West. That’s good, they should allow AirBnB too, and break up the hotel monopoly. Link |
[Winn Dixie] Shop online, pickup in parking lot. Link |
[Diver Down] Man dies while snorkeling off John Pennekamp Park in the Keys. Video |
[Reality Shows] It seems they’ve run out of ideas for reality shows. The newest is meat cutters competing on “Butchers”. |
[Adrift] Like Bligh’s men, they whetted their shirts in salt water to cool themselves by evaporation, but found that the absorption through the skin tainted the fluids of the body with salt so that the saliva became intolerable in the mouth. The young bore the want of water better than the old, but all alike became excessively irritable. |
[“Post office closing”] There will be a meeting about post office closings Thursday, May 30 at the Baptist Church on Key Deer Blvd. |
[Lewis and Clark’s Journal 1804] “Came to on the left side to dine and rest a short time, a snake bit Jo Fields on the side of his foot which swelled much, apply barks to the wound, pass a creek on the left side about 15 yards wide cuming out of an extensive prarie. Saw in a pond which we passed yesterday a number of young swans. One man verry sick, struck with the Sun, Capt. Lewis bled him and gave Niter which has revived him much. Set out early this morning, the Sick man much better.” |
[Robots] Amazon’s new fulfillment center packs boxes 5 times faster than humans. Video |
[“Where can I buy a seeded watermelon”] C’mon up! The farms in Central Florida have them and so do the produce markets. We got so many blueberries, the fields are offering “YOU PICK – $6 for 5 lbs” They’re $3 a pint in the stores. Strawberries are done until next year – you may be seeing California grown strawberries in the Keys now – we’re paying $10 a flat for local grown. We freeze them for shakes. A flat is 8 containers. Melons, peppers, onions, potatoes, tomatoes – there’s a blessed abundance. |
[2019 Hurricane Names] Is your name on the list? The Atlantic hurricane season is June 1-Nov. 30. Is your name Andrea, Fernand or Sebastien? If so, there’s a storm with your moniker. Video |
I saw Wayne Newton interviewed on TV. He’s had so much plastic surgery that his face looks like cardboard. His hair looked like a black carpet. |
[“Fuel on Big Pine canal”] I don’t think that’s such a good idea. To create more traffic on a residential canal is awful. It was a shame they let any commercial operation on that canal in the first place. Imagine being one of the residents who bought their dream house and retired, only to have a noisy business and big boats constantly disturbing their paradise. |
I’m told yesterday was a holiday. I don’t know which one and don’t care to look it up because it was such a non-event. |
[Masters Degree in Government Subsidies] I would get this degree if it is offered because to learn all the ins and outs that some people learn in big cities is very profitable. A few years ago a lady in Detroit that had no job or husband and had 11 children was making $110,000 total with all the Government handouts. Not too bad for a loser. |
[Agricultural Robot] Virgo 1, can detect & pick ripe tomatoes! Video |