Letters to the editor with pictures since 0202. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
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 [Eye Witness] Regarding the lady with medical issues who was falsely arrested for DUI outside Paradise Burgers. I was there and no one at the restaurant or the owners encouraged the arrest of this woman. The mob attitude of people ready to blame others for something they didn’t do before getting the facts is horrible. The owners of Paradise Burgers are locals and care about everyone in this community and anyone who enters their restaurant. The police were called by the person whose vehicle was hit. The restaurant owners nor their employees had anything to do with it. Know the facts before you try to falsely ruin a business! |
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| [“Marathon Airport 75th “Celebration”] There was no celebration of any sort.”] What a nice review. What impressed me most was the writer’s lack of hate and innuendo after a disappointing adventure, common to most negative opinions these days. |
This is what your great-grandparents’ caravan looked like. |
| [They All Suck] Rick Scott and nearly all of his like-minded Republican electorate passed a bill allowing oil and gas fracking in Florida. Reportedly, only 7 Republicans opposed fracking in the 73 to 45 vote. I very much dislike much of the Democratic platform and the bulk of the Democratic candidates. What I dislike even more is the Republican candidates’ claims of environmental concern when I see them voting for fracking, and allowing the discharge of fracking chemicals into the Floridian Aquifer. It just doesn’t get much more environmentally reckless (and downright stupid) than that. Basically, I once again I have no candidate at the State or Federal level that I would want representing me. Link |
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| [“Sick woman arrested for DUI”] If you saw the arm in the attached photo [no photo attached] on someone who still had their hospital wrist band on, would you think she was a “hard stick” with deep and tiny veins who just got through a very harrowing stay in hospital or a street drug junkie who has just about run out of places to inject? I watched many of those hospital sticks for multiple blood tests per day, plus replacement IVs for those that plugged or blew out. I watched the veins blow out as different super confident phlebotomists tried their best but failed. They even called for an ultrasound to guide the IV needle. It required a surgeon to insert an IV in her jugular when they gave up elsewhere, and he failed on the first side and had to stick the other side of her neck.
The local cops ignored the hospital band, fresh hospital prescriptions and what she told them, and concluded she was a junkie who was injecting into her neck. I told her, “I hope you at least had a mirror since it took a surgeon two tries to get the needle in the vein.” It’s all about the money and a DUI bust brings in a lot of it, plus it looks good on the cop’s achievement record. False charges do not look so good on the victim’s police record, nor their bank account. A little common sense and compassion should be required before a badge is issued. |
 [My First Day of Fly Fishing] Dad told me to pack my things as we were going on a trip. He wouldn’t tell me where. He might not have known. The VW microbus was packed with camping gear, food, and tackle. Westward we went. powered by that infamous 39 horse-power engine.
There were a number of memorable adventures on this trip, including discovering horse racing in Billings, which led me to my other passion, and ultimately my vocation, breeding and training Thorough-bred racehorses in Saratoga. But the most memorable experience was the discovery of fly fishing. The week before the trip l had the job of soaking our lawn each evening so I could pick night-crawlers after it became dark. Dad was the quintessential bait fisherman. He followed in his father’s foot steps. I can’t remember one time in all the years of him releasing a fish alive. We had a large can of crawlers. with Dad’s favorite homemade bedding to keep them fresh. When we pulled into the gates of Yellowstone Park I knew we were someplace very special. The first morning we set-up on a big rock on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. After a while l became quite bored as I only reeled-in one small cutthroat while dad reeled in five with his short bait casting rods and Pflueger reels. The next day while riding around and looking at the amazing sites. Dad pulled over on the side of a road close to one of the beautiful rivers. What drew his attention was an angler with a spinning rod and reel fighting a good fish. I was excited watching the spectacle of this cowboy-hat-festooned elderly man, so I made a bee-line to stand near him as he waded, asking him a plethora of questions. He was kind and generous with his attention, as we all should be with neophytes to our sport. His lure was a fly that he cast with the aid of a clear plastic bubble filled with water. I was enthralled watching him catch several big cutthroats with that feathered fly, while Dad and I struggled with live worms anchored to the bottom with lead. After hounding my dad to give me a fly to fish with, he dug into his big tackle box and retrieved a fly with a snelled leader. I tied it to the end of my black braided line and attempted to cast it. It didn’t go very far, but I soon learned to loft it above my head and let the wind carry it onto the water. As we had no hip boots, I stood on the bank and let the fly make a short drift time and again in a small pool. The defining moment in the birth of this fly fisherman came when a small trout appeared from the bottom to look at my fly. He never ate it, and I did not see another fish that day. However, the thrill of watching that one trout emerge from nowhere, to inspect my fly in that gin-clear water, was enough to instantaneously make a fly fishing fanatic out of me. ~Edward Michaels |
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| What will happen if one of the illegal aliens wins the Megs or Power Ball? I bet we’ll welcome him then. |
 [Gulf Stream Warming] In my Geology classes at the U of Illinois (Navy Pier) in ‘64 & 65 we were discussing ice ages, and the thoughts at the time was that one of the primary causes was the shutdown of the Global Conveyor. The Gulf Stream is a part of that. The causes, mainly, was from fresh water melt in the Artic Russia and Siberia. I remember my geology professor claiming that we were in a glacial transitional period in between advancements of the ice. His thoughts were that historically volcanic activities created this global warming. Whatever the cause, it’s prudent to break out the sunglasses, sell the snow shovels and wax up the water skis. |
| [Cost, Community & Conservation] I’ve explained why I’m the most relevantly qualified and community involved candidate, but please let me tell you why I’m running and what I want to do. I want to help lower your monthly electric bill because I want you to be able to afford to live here. I want to give our community the involved representation we deserve, and I want to expand conservation efforts and programs to protect our Keys environment.
These things can’t be done by just showing up for a short board meeting in Key West. These things can only be done by showing up and being involved in Our Community. I’m Beth Ramsay-Vickrey, your BPK neighbor and candidate for the KW Utility Board Seat D, and I’m asking for your support and your vote for our costs, for our community, and for the conservation of our Keys! |
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| [Don’t Elect Bubbas] I never thought I would say thanks to a Toppino, but at the Rockland concrete plant entrance, they have political signs of all the bubbas so I know who not to vote for. If we have a bubba or bubbete in every position of power in the Keys, there will be no just treatment of the rest of us, and every little decision will only serve to benefit one or more bubbas. Think about why the bubba candidates have the largest and most signs. When in doubt, vote for the candidate whose sign you have not seen. An unmarked Sheriff’s Dept car was witnessed removing Dennis Ward signs from among all the others along US1 prior to that election in which he was removed from office after prosecuting the bubba Azevedo’s for spending hundreds of thousands of school dollars on personal stuff. I, for one, will vote to disrupt the bubba network–unlikely as it may be. |
How snowfall affects different regions of the country. Having spent most of my life in the Midwest, I know this to be true. |
| [Pretend Cops] 3,000 civilian officers operate with no state oversight. They look like cops, but they’re not. And they’re all over Michigan. It mentions Calif and Nevada too. I wonder how many nationwide. We need RoboCop! Link |
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| What is the big deal with Utility Board Seat D? There must be some hidden benefits to winning this seat that I don’t know about. Maybe they get free healthcare for life or a company car. I learned a long time ago that the majority of politicians say they are doing something for the people, but really are doing it for their bank account. Take away the juicy perks and see who runs! |
Next Tuesday is election day, don’t miss it! |
| [First Norther of the Year] This weather change is really invigoration. I finally got up off the couch and did something yesterday. Isn’t it odd how we go from summer to winter in one day and then three days later it’s summer again. |
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| [“Marathon Airport 75th “Celebration. There was no celebration of any sort.”] That was like going to the Underwater Music Festival. There’s no way you know there’s a celebration going on. It’s just a bunch of people diving from boats tied to mooring balls. Just another day on the reef except with more boats. And the underwater sound is atrociously tinny. |
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| Lots more Fantasy Fest parade photos including a marriage proposal. Key West, Saturday night – 10/27/18. Best theme ever: The Games People Play. Link |
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[Key West Citizen Candidate Recommendations] Key West Citizen October 27, 2018 The members of the Citizen Editorial Board met with all of the candidates for local offices — some in August before the primary and the remainder in October— in order to make recommendations before the election. Meeting one-on-one gave us the opportunity to get to know them, ask questions and form the basis for our recommendations.Mosquito Control Board, Dist. 2The incumbent, Phil Goodman, is extremely knowledgeable concerning all issues that the mosquito control board is facing, from the need for budget restraint to finding ways to fight the Aedes aegypti mosquito. His opponent, Ralph DePalma, is a former employee of Mosquito Control who appears to be running for more personal reasons, rather than for the good of the community. I am very proud of this recommendation. ~Phil Goodman |
| [Vote For One Of Our Own] After 75 years without representation on our Keys Energy Utility Board, we who live outside of Key West finally get one board member to represent us. Do you want your one representative to be our Big Pine neighbor who has spent more than 10 years advancing our local utility and conservation policies, who has a strong financial background, and who is actually involved in our community? Or would you prefer the Keys Energy insider who was born, raised, worked in, and lived most his life in Key West? After 75 years Key West finally “gave” us this seat, are you going to give it back to them? I’m not! I’m voting Beth! |
 I bought another small skirt steak from Winn Dixie on BP thinking this one might not be as tough as the last one, but it was so bad I couldn’t cut it or chew it. Same thing with a pot roast two weeks ago.After discovering that much of the meat on sale is from Mexico, I was able to find “Born & Raised In USA” on some, so I only bought those steaks. Lately though, I can’t find anywhere on the meat packaging where it’s from. The skirt steak & pot roast were not on sale and the little skirt steak was $12. I know this is not Kenny, manager’s fault, it’s corporate labeling the meat and that’s a shame coming from “The Meat People”. I had to break into the hurricane supplies to have a meal because of this steak I could not eat. The vegetables and fruit are great now, but I’ll have to buy meat somewhere else. |
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The Marine B-day ad in the Coconut Telegraph looks absolutely fantastic. We thank you so very much. However, I submitted a wrong number denoting the age of the Marine Corps. It should read the “243rd” Birthday. If you could make that correction I’d be extremely grateful. Thank you for a great ad. ~John Donnelly (Ed: What’s a year or two among two and a half centuries.) |
| [Fake News] I dream that someday the internet will right itself. People will remember about honor and truth, not telling fibs, lies, misdirection and exaggeration to spread their agenda. It’s okay to have an agenda, that’s how things get done, but fibbing a little to spread your agenda is wrong. If you have to do that maybe your agenda is wrong or it’s too soon for society. |
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| The AARP activities calendar is here. Full Menu > Ongoing Events |
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| [The News] Contrary to belief in some political circles, the news media is the only thing saving any democracy. To silence them one must first prove their stories false. Without investigative journalism Richard Nixon might still be president. It’s the talking heads that are the real media problem, not the reporters. The talking heads will say anything in order to fill air time. |
[Typewriter Artist] Oregon story about Paul Smith, born with severe Cerebral Palsy, in the Rose Haven Nursing Home since 1967. What a great story. The next time you have a bad day watch this again. You don’t have it too bad! Video |
| Old age comes at a bad time. You finally know everything just in time to forget about it. |
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| [Deaf Laptop] Deer Lousy Tech Support, My problem with the lack of sound is puzzling. I have Googled the problem and have not found an answer. After accidentally installing the offending program I was able to remove it with Revo, but the problem is still not solved. However I have narrowed it down. I can get YouTube Sound On Edge, but not on Google Chrome. So the problem is somewhere on Chrome I have updated drivers and found that everything is working properly except on Chrome. Maybe I have to reinstall it. Hmm. That’s not a bad idea.
(Lousy Tech Support: Google Chrome has an option that will reset itself to its default settings. To find this option, click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the upper-right corner of the browser window and select “Settings”. Start typing “reset settings” in the search box. Link |
 What’s with the time change? What might have been relevant 100 years ago continues to plague the people today. Don’t they understand that it’s irrelevant in today’s lifestyle or are they just to stubborn to admit that the population doesn’t want to be plagued with changing clocks back and forth twice a year. And having to readjust our lifestyle every time. As the people in power are very old perhaps back when they were kids the time change was relevant for saving energy, but this is now and it has run it’s course. Even Morocco, a backward third world country, decided enough is enough and they’ll not be changing their clocks |
| [Immigrant Caravan] What you are looking at here is the worst possible scenario that can hit these borders. This was done once by the Mariel boat lift when Fidel opened his jails and asylums and loaded 125,000 dirt bags into every boat he could. Crime soared above historical figures in weeks. Miami had to make cops out of whoever they could, hence the corrupt police force in the 80’s. Going forward, todays political and ideological leaders are much more lax, with even bigger hearts and overly generous with the money that does not belong to them, now multiply this by the 5,000 thousand more that are invading and this country will be a disaster if this exodus of Latino immigrants hit our soil in these numbers. |
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 What’s wrong with Jews? Why do Godless people, who swear that they are God fearing, hate Jews so much that they kill them while the Jews are praying to the same God. Why then? I can just imagine how the haters feel about Muslims who actually do do us harm. Some say it’s because Jews run banks. So do Italians, Irish, Conchs and Germans. The Italian, Irish, Conch and German bankers foreclose on loans and evict landowners every day, but when a Jewish banker forecloses, the landowner thinks he lost his farm because the banker was a Jew, not because the farmer didn’t pay his mortgage. Some say the hate is because Jews are clannish. So are Blacks and Asians, and Conchs. The Bubba system is alive and well. You don’t think Conchs are clannish and try to do business with other Conch’s first? Do the haters shoot a bubba because he evicted them for not paying their rent? I’ve been ripped-off and screwed by many people of different heritages over the years, but I can’t remember any of them being Jewish. That’s because I always pay my debts. I must admit that the Yiddish accent does drive me up the wall; that’s the only negative thing I can think of. I don’t like the redneck accent either, but I don’t often kill them. |
| [Artificial Aurora] A group of scientists want to launch a satellite to make an artificial aurora. The proposed satellite would probe the connections between Earth’s upper atmosphere and its magnetic field. Can we really believe what we see? A hologram projected into the sky could look very real. Link |
[Love One Another] A man, a dog, and a hummingbird. This story has been out a couple years and it’s still great! Too cute not to share. Video |
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| [Golf Trick Off the Boobs] Might be time to volunteer for the LPGA Tour. Video |
I will never play the Lottery again, except for buying one ticket with my birthday numbers once a week! With 300 million-to-one odds, fuhgeddaboudit! |
| [Popularity Breeds Contempt] I see that Walt Drabinski has endorsed Robert Barrios for Utility Board seat D. Even if Mr Barrios’ opponent was not the Sheriff’s sister and a KW Conch Bubbette (and therefore automatically on my do-not-vote-for list because there are already too many pulling the strings of government), Barrios would still get my vote because I bet he will accept advice from Walt who actually understands the business instead of just “attended meetings”. Look around, there is way too much money funding scads of signs for the Bubba candidates for there not to be a payback on the investment when that candidate is elected. ~halloween@contractor.net |
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| All these sexual assault claims for ass grabbing and “quickie” attempts will only drive guys to go to professionals for relaxation and entertainment. You bimbos will have to do it yourselves very soon! Legalize prostitution (which already is in most countries) and that ends that bimbo/lawyer war! |
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