Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
 [Knowing Betty Brothers] I met her decades ago. She was cool. I was in my 20’s & I think she may have been in her 60’s? My memory fades a bit. Lol I’m 60 now. She still had the RE office@ the time. It was an old wooden building between Little Palm Island’s shore station & “Dolphin Marina” . At that time Charlie & Jean Lovering owned the marina & apts. They sold it to LPI in the 90’s. Her dolphins names were Dal & Suwa. They would follow us when we went tubing and skiing in Pine Channel. They roamed freely & would hang by the boat. I still have her paperback Dolphin Love, I got at her office. Rick’s marine was next to her office. I think Hurricane George’s took out the buildings. Their pen and lagoon was on the other side of the hard ledge to your starboard heading in to the marina. You could go & watch them feed the Dolphins in the am & pm. My girlfriend & I used to go over & watch them a lot. They wouldn’t go under the bridge. They had gotten lost in the 60’s & were afraid. They had almost starved when they were lost as the story goes. They would go out to end of Jolly Roger estates & hang out in the channel. I looked forward to seeing them & a big sea turtle that used to hang in the channel too on the weekends.
Dal died of old age, late 20’s. It was sad. Suwa was so heart broken & lonely. He’d try to get the wild dolphins that used to roam in the channel to join him but they just cruised around & split. You could talk to him & he hang near to the boat. They was big. We were always were cautious getting in & out of the raft when they would just dangle theirselves in an upright position, there tails gracefully just hovering there. They had their space & there was mutual respect. You would see Suwa when you pulled up for gas at the marina. He swim through the canal at the time. There was a guy that jumped off dock at the marina one day. Story goes he was drunk & tried to play flipper with Suwa. butted him & broke his rib or something. Idiot should have known better. So they had to keep Suwa penned from then on. Suwa was caught in a mackerel net when he was around 4. He was hauled out in the trawler & taken to Marathon by a fisherman named Santini. Santini had a rep of being a captor & handler of dolphin. His pet Dolphin Mitzi was the star of the first “Flipper” movie. Eventually they brought Suwa to Betty’s as a pal for Dal. It’s definitely a piece of our lower Keys history. As i ventured around the Keys through the years. I always grab the local writings. They’re the cool stories that disappear. You don’t find them in a book on Amazon. Thanks for asking about this. It brought back a lot of good memories for me! So much has changed, in what seems like not that long ago. |
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Truck bed. |
| [Sewers] There are many in the Cudjoe Regional sewer collection system that suspect that FKAA’s high pressure pumps being used with their medium pressure pipes have caused leaks that are contaminating nearshore and canal waters with raw sewage. How to prove it? A number of property owners will be flushing EPA approved water tracing dyes that will color the sewage water either red or yellow for maybe two days if in good concentration. Even at very low concentration, the invisibly tinted water will fluoresce under ultraviolet light (a so-called “black light”). A good source for the dye is Link in Philadelphia (215) 627-1864. The powder is cheaper to ship than the liquid. Minimum order is 3 lbs at $45 per lb. plus shipping At about 20 pounds, there is a price break. There is a red dye that will show best in green water but may be absorbed by the limestone, yielding a false negative. The yellow will travel for many miles unaffected in limestone but may not show well. The yellow dye was reportedly used in initial testing of the shallow wells at the Cudjoe Regional sewer plant. You probably did not hear that the dye appeared near the blimp site and in Bow Channel, but FWC and the Marine Patrol employees were told to keep quiet about what they saw. More denial, as expected. An ultraviolet light that fits a standard 120v light socket can be had from Amazon for about $16 for two. Just search for “black light 100w” A CFL bulb may use 24 W but the light is equivalent to a 100 w incandescent bulb. A pair of yellow “blue-blocker” sunglasses will enhance the detection of fluorescence and protect your eyes from UV. The light needs to be close to the water and I think it may be easiest and safest to bring the water to the light rather than the light to the water. Use a clean glass bottle to take a sample. The fish are gone from many canals. Let’s prove what is happening with lots of dyed sewage |
Kim Kardashian custom toilet seat by Kohler. |
| [Prayer Service] The prayer service at the White House was a joyous call for unity. We also discovered that this president begins all cabinet meetings with a prayer. We didn’t know that. We’d never been told. Mr. Trump clearly doesn’t wear his religion on his sleeve. I’m not going to make a big deal out of this but we saw a side of the president that most of us didn’t know. Video |
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| [Naming Things] If the person who named Walkie Talkies named everything. Stamps – Lickie Stickie Defibrillators – Hearty Starty Bumble bees – Fuzzy Buzzy Pregnancy test – Maybe Baby Bra — Breastie Nestie Fork – Stabby Grabby Socks — Feetie Heatie Hippo — Floatie Bloatie Nightmare — Screamy Dreamy |
[Nose Ring] My 13 year old daughter wants a nose ring for her birthday. I can hardly wait. |
| Truck soccer and a real big ball. Video |
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| [Guns] South Dakota becomes latest state to allow concealed handguns without permit. Link |
Describe this cake using only one word. |
| A closed mind will keep you safe from having your ignorance challenged. |
It’s too wet to work the fields in MN. |
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[Up North] It still happens that people from “up north” retire to the Keys and want the Keys to be like it was where they lived “up north” and made big money. But more and more Keys people that I know who have worked two or more jobs to struggle to live in the Keys are retiring to “up north” because they can’t afford to stay and don’t like what the Keys are becoming anyway. Irma helped make the decision to leave for many, at least partly because of County policies that claim to support workforce housing, but in actuality ensure that it all disappears. |
| Got pulled over by a cop, last night for erratic driving, and I immediately jumped out of the car slapping my face and shoulders yelling, “BEES, BEES!,” an old trick my Dad taught me. Officer shot me. |
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| You tell the stories about people — human beings — that changes everything. We know we have the facts and the figures, but when you get the emotion on your side, and the stories on your side, it’s over. You’re going to win. We are more than algorithms in a cloud.” ~Article quoting Koch |
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| [Kentucky Derby] The winner who didn’t win! If you did not see it on TV here it is, all glorious two minutes! Video |
This is the first “walking stick” bug I’ve ever seen down here. It was about six inches long. |
| Deer Ed, My “email came up phony“? It wasn’t when I signed up many years ago. Would you like me to update you with a fresh email? While I appreciate your understanding of the old Keys colloquialisms – I don’t think adding “killing” to my post was appropriate. If the newbies (especially the haters) don’t get it – let it go. Thanks for years of enjoyable reading. I miss the Keys of old, back when the seafood was fresh, local and bought from our neighbors. Keep up the good work on the site.
(Ed: You’re email didn’t come up phony, just not secure. You’re right adding “killing” to your post was not appropriate. I shouldn’t have, but when I see people making empty threats, especially the old gun nut people, who threaten to shoot anyone for minor slights. It’s often hard to keep the personal me separate from the Deer Ed me. The major difference between the Keys of old and now is that we were young, and rents were almost non-existent.) |
You know you’re not in the city any longer when all the vehicles at the bar are pickup trucks! |
| [“National healthcare”] If you don’t like long wait times, pay extra for better service if you want it. I have Medicare which is socialized medicine and had to wait a month to see the heart doctor (who’s the best in this area); and with no insurance I had to wait three weeks to see the dentist. It’s about the same wait times whether it’s socialized medicine or private practice. You’re finding extreme cases of long waits on extremist websites. Just who is against expanding Medicare? Follow the money and see who? — the healthcare executives — that’s who. |
The Madagascar lizard likes the hummingbird’s sweet water more than the hummingbirds. (crappy photo taken through screens.) |
| [Granny Olympics] Don’t try this at home! Video |
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| Two year old Russian plane burns. At least 13 dead. Video |
The black diamonds on your measuring tape. The black diamonds represent the middle of the wall studs. Video |
| Does anyone recall anything related to “Paradise” and the push to incorporate Big Pine Key? (Ed: We’re still trying to forget.) |
[Blind Can See] Did a miracle just happen? |
| [Cisterns] Why doesn’t the Florida government make all homes (new or rebuilt) have flat roofs to collect rain water into cisterns? That would help in summer. |
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| [Talent] Unchained Melody by René Bishop – The Voice Of Holland Senior. Video |
[It’s a Boy] Meghan Markle Just gave birth to her first child with Prince Harry. Video |
| [Crooks] We have received reports that customers are receiving text messages claiming to come from “Centennial-Bank security team.” Please be aware that these texts are NOT from Centennial Bank and you should NOT CLICK on the URL link in these text messages. |
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