Since 2002. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays
Submit anything of a positive nature, unless it’s breakthrough stuff to island@bigpinekey.com
(Ed: Although all advertisers’ contracts have expired I’m still going to display their ads for free until they get used to the new CT. Hopefully they will all want to keep advertising.)
| [Haack] That is indeed one of our trucks parked across the handicapped space. If you notice the work just beyond that vehicle, there were holes where grease tanks had been set and sewer line work in progress. This was not to block any spaces but to block any accidental injury due to the construction. Sincere apologies. |
 [Sculptor Dies] Well known around Key West for his mostly whimsical sculpture, Orvelo Wood passed away on June 29 at the age of 98. His forte was creating welded iron sculptures from discarded scraps of metal. The result was usually an animal or bird, and often whimsical; humor played an important part in his creative process. Among his favorite subjects were animals that he had loved and had raised, such as horses and goats. After a trip to Africa he began to sculpt the graceful kudu and impala, and the dumpy hippo. Down here in the keys his models were often the tall wading birds, and of course the ubiquitous Key West chickens.After many years as a jewelry craftsman in new York’s Greenwich Village, Orvelo’s work merely changed in scale. From tiny bits of precious metal to be worn on the ear or the finger, he went to pieces the size of a breadbox, to almost as big as a refrigerator, the obvious problem here being one of portability. His sculpture was exhibited in many galleries and group shows from New York to Florida, the most prestigious being a one-man show, probably the only one of its kind, in the Museum of natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.Finding materials was no problem; people were always contributing discards. Old shears became birds’ beaks, pipe fittings their necks, and shovels their backs. Torsion bars, reinforcing rods and railroad spikes made wonderful legs. A claw hammer became a horse’s head, and a pipe wrench served as a knight in armor. One creature was created out of parts of an old riding mower, while a defunct Suzuki motor bike was transformed into a rock musician.
Orvelo was born in Kansas, and grew up there in the Depression. Those early struggles to use what was available and to “make do” were echoed in his use of discarded materials. No point in throwing it out if it can be recycled into something aesthetic or useful. After completing his studies at the Kansas City Art Institute and The Three Arts Conservatory, he worked as staff artist for the Wichita Eagle, and did window display for a department store. At the end of World War II he migrated to New York city where he opened a small craft shop. “Small” was the operative word. It was only four feet wide, and customers patiently lined up outside to be waited on. Also a talented writer, Orvelo collaborated with his wife Louise on two craft books: “make it with Paper”, and “Make your own Jewelry”. He provided most of the drawings and much of the creative input. When they were writing a chapter on lost wax casting he devised several ways for a hobbyist to cast metal without the need for expensive equipment. If an unusual job needed to be done, he could usually figure out a way to do it, and devise the necessary tool. A wonderful hands-on problem-solver, he was always ready to help others solve theirs, whether artistic or mechanical. Orvelo also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Rivertown Boys, in which he told of growing up during the Depression. He is survived by Louise, his wife for 64 years |
| [Trust] I am starting to get errors in replies of emails when the reply includes my original message, such as misspelled words or added in words I did not type. The fonts are either the same as I used or different and the font color changes sometimes. It has to be the ISP or some ‘filter’ changing the emails. Who, where, why? Goes to show how dangerous it is to trust computers especially with a doctor’s computer and my blood type! Scary huh? |
 Turkey farm and processing plant tour. Leading animal welfare expert Temple Grandin PhD, professor of animal science at Colorado State University, guides the viewing public with an expert eye on the growth and delivery of 253 million turkeys each year. Video |
| Re: Those punks who bashed the mail boxes, isn’t that a Federal offence? |
 The Florida Keys Southernmost Car Club holds its monthly Show & Shine and Ice Cream Social this Saturday, July 18, 5pm till 8pm. This event is for the lovers of classic, custom, and street rod automobiles and trucks of all years and makes. If it cool and on wheels it will be there. The fun early evening event as always is at the Sugarloaf Lodge, on Sugarloaf Key, MM17. Prizes & free ice cream bars. New car club T-shirts, caps and tank tops will be for sale. Good food and cold beverages are for sale at the Tiki Bar.The Club’s sound system will provide 50′s and 60′s music. Bring the kids to enjoy these beautiful relics of the auto world. This is a free event.Club members are seeking new members for a full schedule of shows & events. Join Saturday and get the new Club hat!
For more information contact Dick Moody at 305-942-1758 |
| I avoid social gatherings like the plague. And you know how the plague got started? A social gathering, probably. |
 The story of how our national anthem came to be, at the time it was written. Video |
| This news interview about police officer injured in crash is just so wrong! Another golden moment in American TV journalism. Video |
 [“Life in the homeless lane”] I wonder how Sloan can afford a laptop computer with Wi-Fi, yet still need to go to soup kitchens for free food (then criticize them). Those services are for people who are “truly” indigent. You are taking advantage of the disadvantaged — stop it! |
| Key West Orchid Society newsletter for July. Full Menu > Ongoing Events |
 It’s Tuesday morning in the WD parking lot and I don’t see the chickens running all over the place. Oh yah, yesterday was Chicken Monday at the Winn Dixie. |
| [Junk Mail] I’m very frustrated with the amount of unsolicited junk mail that piled up in my mailbox and my hauling pounds of unread, printed material directly to the recycle bin. I explored some options and found catalogchoice.org.Catalogchoice is free. Enter your address and the junk mail senders name and you are on the path to an uncluttered mailbox. It does take several months and print cycles to get your name off some lists, but as you review your junk mail and enter the senders names on line you begin to realize the regularity and magnitude of the quantity of junk mail that arrives in your mail box.It has been a year, I entered 169 different junk mail senders. Catalogchoice tracks your success and reports I have saved 6 fully grown trees, 2172 pounds of greenhouse gasses, 770 pounds of solid waste and 5229 gallons of water! (Environmental impacts calculated using the EPN Paper Calculator. Link)
It is great going to the mail box and not wasting my time sorting through junk mail to find the real mail! You can stop the flood of junk mail in your mailbox. Link |
 Coroner: No evidence B.B. King was poisoned before death. Video |
| Kids in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to join the free, fun-filled Discovery Saturday at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center (35 East Quay Road, Key West) on Saturday, July 18th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. With lobster season around the corner, it’s a great time for kids to explore the life of lobsters, shrimp, and crabs. Play a game of Crab Soccer and make a lobster hat to take home! For more information contact 305-809-4750.Learn more about the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center. Link |
| The two-day Sport Lobster Season is always the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July. Regular Season State and Federal Waters August 6 through March 31   Lobster season is one of the busiest times in the Florida Keys, as thousands of visitors and residents hit the waters in search of one of their favorite delicacies, the Florida spiny lobster. With smart choices, you can lower your impact on sensitive coral reefs and other natural resources that you are here to enjoy.Start by learning lobster regulations for the Florida Keys, as detailed in the Monroe County lobster brochure. It all boils down to being safe on the water and practicing respect — not only for the fishery rules that ensure sustainable harvest but also for fellow boaters and divers and the coral reefs and habitats that lobsters call home.
Must hold a valid Florida saltwater fishing license and lobster permit to harvest lobster. All female lobsters bearing eggs (usually bright orange) on the underside of their carapace must be released regardless of size. Do not harvest lobster without first using a lobster gauge to confirm its carapace is greater than three inches long. Check your vessel’s safety gear and familiarize yourself with the local waters where you plan to boat. Service your dive gear, practice your dive skills, plan your dives and follow good reef etiquette. Absolutely no touching or bumping coral! |
 What’s my favorite childhood memory? Not paying bills! |
| This video is a tear jerker with an amazing message. Video |
 [Duct Tape] Yup, I think I’ll be taking a different flight. |
| [“Acevedo should not be assistant coach”] The letters supporting Randy Acevedo from some of his friends are all warm and fuzzy, and are no doubt from a few well-intended citizens. Nevertheless, have we collectively drank the Kool-Aid which produces total memory loss? Or worse yet, are we simply returning the proverbial fox to his favorite hen house? It begs the question, why would Monroe County School Board commissioners even consider Randy Acevedo for this position as assistant coach to our vulnerable students, especially after he looked the other way while his wife virtually looted the school system, even stealing the cookie money raised by the children. His historic conviction was the worst case of ripping off and plundering the Monroe County school system that can be recalled and it would be unadulterated insanity to even allow this guy anywhere near the school grounds, not to mention the children. Come on, school board members, what are you thinking? Forgiving is one thing, but enabling a felon to return to his old stalking grounds is neither a good example of sound thinking nor American justice. Do we really want our kids exposed to and coached by a convicted school administrator or do we want a school board to keep its own credibility intact? We should think long and hard about this decision and have our voices heard. Randy Acevedo is not someone I would want my children to hold a high regard for or admire — do you? |
 [Attention Eden Pine Property Owners] The government funded canal clean up project for Eden Pines is in jeopardy. In order to proceed, 75% of the property owners must sign on and currently only about 50% have done so. How often do we complain that government money always seems to end up being used somewhere other than Big Pine? Now is our chance have at least $5 million used for our benefit for a change. Yes, there will be some follow up maintenance costs which will be borne by the individual owners, but try to think of it as if someone was paying for a house to be built for you with you getting to live there for only the cost of the utilities.My recollection is that the Eden Pines Colony Homeowners Association, back when it was active, looked into the idea of putting a culvert on the back side of the development to help flush the canals. I think the cost worked out to nearly a thousand dollars per lot, without any guarantee that it would even accomplish the goal cleaner canals.Don’t let this opportunity pass us by |
 I wish the sushi man at Winn Dixie, Big Pine, had a sushi list so I knew what to order. |
| The real threat posed by powerful computers isn’t artificial intelligence, but the stupidity of their assemblers not making them error proof. |
Do you know anything about Money Key, the original Money Key, just south of the 7 Mile Bridge? |
 Don’t forget to visit The From The Right Guy at our National Politics page where you can post a comment after signing in. |
| Submit anything of a positive nature, unless it’s breakthrough stuff to island@bigpinekey.com |