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Archives of Old Kudos and Whiners

January 2006

Tuesday January 31, 2006
(Ed: State of the Website Message. We have new settings on our spam blocker and unless your comment says Kudos and Whiners [the handy link above writes it in automatically] in the subject line it gets deleted. We need all your comments so please write only Kudos and Whiners in the subject line to have your comment posted in this column. We hate to lose any comment or submissions.)
I wish that rain that preceded this morning's cold front lasted longer. We need it to flush the salt from our gardens.
I'm always surprised at how so many people who live here don't like it. So many of you want BPK to be like Miami, but you just won't admit to that. Publix, Wal-Mart, Wendy's, Movie Theater, etc. You want all these changes, buy when they do happen, you're the first people who will tell others how nice and simple it used to be here. You don't know what you've got until it's gone.
Thank you to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church for a wonderful time at the Revive Her Meeting on Monday night. You did a great job.
Big Pine Inn. Arson job for insurance? Everyone seems to believe that all restaurant fires are arson.
Investigative reporter. I just sent an email and I think my pen name was on the bottom of it please do not include my name for in the next few days I will have several more post with some pictures of the wrongful things that go on at Winn Dixie. I have proof and I will reveal my name then.
Re: Restaurant chain review. Stick it.

Jimi Hendrix used to turn the amplifier all the way up and then control the volume through the guitar. It was sort of like scuba tanks. There's 3,000 pounds of air in the bottle and the regulator controls what is coming at you.
I cannot believe that an arrest warrant was issued to Tom Fletcher for just using his bobcat to remove some debris from his property.  He told me that the debris was accumulated from the hurricane.  As for the marijuana, I know that Tom has allergies and that could be detrimental to his health.  His eyesight is waning as well.  Tom has done so much for the community by providing affordable housing for the residents of Big Pine.
Re: Scanning errors are inevitable. Think about it. Winn-Dixie sends down loads of price changes twice a week. You see several ladies running around with hands full of changed yellow price stickers constantly trying to locate that specific item and put the new sticker on it. I don't know when the computer linked to the scanners gets updated, but that is irrelevant. In theory, you could come up with a process to update the computer the instant the lady put the new price tag (raising or lowering the price) on the shelf. But what about the poor shopper that picked that item up 5 minutes ago and is now at the other end of the store. To that shopper, there is a "scanner error" when the price comes up different.

The only way to eliminate errors is to not change the prices. I know its marketing to change prices constantly, but us consumers have to live with the errors. Maybe if you shut the whole store down while they updated all those prices you could get around the problem. It's not just Winn-Dixie, but anybody that uses scanners. And when did you last complain because something scanned lower than the shelf tag? And I'm retired and don't work for Winn-Dixie or anybody else.

If you get the web camera working, consider strapping it to an oscillating fan so we get a better look. (Ed: that's not a bad idea.)
The defender of the SnowBirds said, "Tourists do not bring more money into the Keys per person than snowbirds do."

The defender of the SnowBirds was basically right. I just have to have a little laugh here, as I pay my $17,000 this year in property taxes to Monroe on the two apartments in Key West and the house on BPK (and no, I actually bought the first KW one in 1988) not to mention good ol' Monroe sales tax. This is without my food, my gas, my car, my every other everyday thing for every day I'm here. My dollar would keep a tourist couple on about a three-month first class vacation, or 15 tourist couples for two weeks.

Yes, snowbirds have their rights. So (gasp) do tourists (God knows, they pay enough.) Many snowbirds consider themselves more local than a lot of the so-called locals, and they are. Hell, 80% of the locals wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for the snowbirds and tourists. The former with their homes, cars, etc., and the latter with all their recreational doings. What also makes me laugh about these loudmouth so-called locals is that about 90% of them have moved to the Keys in the last 15 years or less, become immediate locals and experts, and then run their stupid mouths endlessly. Many of the original Keys' locals were snowbirds in the seasonal sense. Many of the businesses operated only seasonally in those days, and both owners and employees would come and go with the tourists; as would many of the tradesmen and other support persons.

Before you whine about outsiders who want to change things and tell your Joe/Jane local what to do, reflect on several things. You and other Johnny-come-lately so-called locals have changed things already far more than the snowbirds and tourists ever have/will. Many snowbirds are even more against change than you are, and in fact wish you had never come. Also, you and your ten kids put, and have put, far more strain on the local infrastructure than they ever have and they'll be paying the lion's share of the bills over the years.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Mangrove Mama's this past Saturday evening, to enjoy the evening with Mile Marker 24.  Be sure to check out the web pages at www.Milemarker24.com  There are many pictures of the event posted there.
Re: Old Faithful. It's great to see we have some free spirited gals around Big Pine. As for the guy at the bar, I guess his farther never told him that all ladies should be treated with respect and dignity. There are a few understanding nice guys still around here you know. I've even bought a lady a few drinks and dinner to have some fun and still do. I thought it was called a date, what a concept.
How about you go kiss my tush, Mr. or Mrs. word police.
This year, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address fall on the same time. As Air America Radio pointed out, "It is an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, and the other involves a groundhog."
Regarding the crisis occurring at Venture Out Saturday mornings. What is one person's calamity is another's "never really noticed." However, realizing your extreme pain and knowing that mommy is probably no longer here, what else is a poor fellow to do but seek satisfaction from your surrogate mother, i.e. the Governor. Yet I see your point to a point. When the ambulance goes by and they turn their siren on it makes me so mad.
"Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change Some Experts on Global Warming Foresee 'Tipping Point' When It Is Too Late to Act." This subject is finally making it to the front page of the major papers suggesting it is more than the usual piece of science fluff. I can't help but feel like we are racing toward an inevitable and very unpleasant outcome.
Married men? To the girls who need a little. There a lot  of wives who have given up on sex and a lot of married men who could offer a lot. What do you think?
Nothing to bitch about. No complaints. Hell, I might, just as well, head back to Michigan! 

Nice graphic for the Chinese New Year banner on Sundays post.  The wording reminded me of something you hear at the Cow Palace on Friday night.  “Go Home Fat Chicks!”
When you go by House of Music, hold your nose because there's a new dump in town.  I'm not really sure, but isn't it mandatory for restaurants to have a dumpster?  Can someone please do something about this problem? It is unsanitary, not to mention disgusting. I mean how big do you think the maggots and rats are?
When people are being interviewed on the tube they always seem to say, "That's a good question." And then they answer a questions by saying, "Absolutely!"

Doesn’t the old Conch & Stein property look nice?  Another eyesore on Big Pine sitting vacant and abandoned!
Re: Black lab found in Eden Pines. He has been returned to his owner.


Postal worker goes postal in California. Killing seven co-workers. I hope the Big Pine mail people don't catch that disease (especially while I'm in there).
I think it's great that a few women down here are being serviced by their own personal "man whore." It is only fair. We men have Teasers and the Scrub Club. I wonder if the man-whore accepts tips? And does he have a health card?
The Staghorn Coral Restoration Project is a program of The Nature Conservancy that aims to restore degraded reefs in the Upper Keys by transplanting fragments of wild staghorn coral.  The Conservancy is collecting wild staghorn colonies to be grown out, fragmented, and then transplanted to multiple restoration sites that will be monitored by staff and volunteers.  They are looking for eager and dedicated volunteers to serve as both boat operators and divers.  A presentation on the project will be given at the Key Largo Library on February 10th at 7pm.  For more details, please contact Meaghan Johnson at (305) 745-8402. 
I agree with the person who wrote re: BellSouth.  I work from home, that is how I make my living,  but I need phone lines and I have been without work now for two weeks.  I'm borrowing a computer today to check e-mails.  Everyone else and every other utility company has been wonderful.  Wish BellSouth would jump on the band wagon.



Re: "Girls let's unite and go hook up with the Classified Hook Up Guy..."
Why do I get the feeling that this was written by Mr. Hook Up?
A poster made the comment: "If anyone thinks that there is any chance that the County or its money grubbing bureaucrats will ever ease the burden of excessive taxation, fees etc. for the little guy--their dreaming."
I'm not sure what you're talking about. Since 2001 the millage (rate of taxation) has been going down in Monroe county. That means that if you homestead, your taxes have been going down each year. Most places in Florida, the millage has been going up. If you don't homestead, you're probably screwed because the cost of housing has gone up a lot. So, if the 3 county commissioners you're complaining about are responsible for my taxes going down, I just want to say thanks and keep up the good work!
What’s up IndiSota?

Tuesday January 31, 2006

 

Monday January 30, 2006
Re: Dead Dog. Dear Ed: I can only conclude that you have never had the pleasure of being chosen to share the life and death of (wo)man's best friend. I found the graphic attached to Sunday's lethal injection post not only inappropriate but extremely insensitive. I know from posts on this site that many readers enjoy the graphics. Frequently, though, I feel they change the mood and or meaning of the post. My heart goes out to the poster and the subjectee of the lethal injection post.
To whoever posted the link for Monroe Counties Ordnances. Thanks. I am one of the few who read them. It sure did open my eyes. Now I can do something about all the dog shit from my neighbors monsters.
People complain about the new changes that are coming to the Keys. Like everywhere else, what was, is gone, and the new generations will never know the beauty and freedom we had in the old days. Too many people, without any respect for what was. It's a damn shame!


Today begins the trial of Ken Lay and Jeffery Skilling the poster boys for corporate greed.
"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot,"  says Bierstock, who plays harmonica.  "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day.  I thought we  needed to thank them." Before You Go does more than salute those who fought in WWII.  It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.
Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Blues Band (music)

Free beginners' computer class will take place Saturday February 4 at 10am at the Senior Center located behind the fire station. Call Betz at 872-2656 or email her at betzzz@hotmail.com to register. This introductory class is presented by the Big Pine Computer Club.
There is a program to allow viewing and censoring of emails and all other communications. It's called unspeack.exe and is available though Pres. Bush's office, for $29.95, plus $7,598.00 S&H. www.big bro.gov/unspeak/repress/control.com
That was Pubicx as in the fuzzes found in most of their products.
Regarding putting your pet down. Over the years my husband and I have had to have our Vets put down three beloved dogs and three cats during our twenty-four years together.  This is always an extremely hard  decision to make, but usually the animal is so sick and literally tells you with his eyes that it's OK.  Our animals are so special and are definitely part of our family.  We feel we were so lucky to be part of their lives.  They all touched so many people and were adored by a numerous world of friends.  When we had to put down our much loved "Fred" last year, we couldn't stand the empty animal feeling in the house when he was gone. After looking in Marathon and on Big Pine at the shelters and not finding just the right dog, we found a classic loveable 3 month old lug on the internet and drove up to Second Chance Rescue in New Smyrna Beach to adopt him.  When we evacuated from Hurricane Wilma, we ended up bringing home another abandoned dog, so now we have two.
I was the first one way back when to write in about enjoying the company of the guy who placed that famous "Let's Hook Up" ad and passed him on to a few of my girl friends. Three of us that I know of enjoy his company on a regular basis.

Today I was talking to a girlfriend of mine at the Tiki Bar. One who has not met him. I was suggesting she looked him up. She recently split up with her boy friend so I figured it would help her get over the break up and make her feel good at the same time. Some jerk sitting next to us was listening to our conversation. He leaned over and said, "Don't you feel cheap?" How is it that when a guy goes out and hooks up just because he needs sex, he's a hero and the girl is cheap?

Guys, ever notice that if you're hooking up with a one-nighter one of us girls is there with you? It takes two to tango and we girls need to get ours too. After telling that jerk off what I thought of him and leaving I'm thinking about calling my Booty Call Guy just so I can go do him and go back to Tiki Bar and tell that jerk who is probably still sitting at the bar alone that I just got laid and it wasn't with him. I hope he reads this so he will know I was horny today and he was hitting on both my friend and I. If he had been a nice guy he might be in my bed right now. Girls let's unite and go hook up with the Classified "Hook Up" Guy and write in about it every time we do so the jerk at Tiki Bar today can read it as he dates his left hand. I'll call my "Friend" and ask him to put his ad back in so we all have access to an Old Faithful.
 
When you find a mistake on your bill at W/D they will always give you back your money.
By the way it is not the store's fault. It is their corporate not caring employees.
Food line scanning errors can easily be corrected, just have the clerk do it by hand.  I'm joking, of course!
Let me tell you a little story that our Vet told us once.  A family had to put their much loved dog down due to a severe illness.  The Vet came over to the house and with the Mom and Dad and their little boy they all sat down in a circle with their dog laying in front of them.  The Vet administered the "pink" shot and their beloved dog went to sleep with all their arms around him.  They all sat there awhile with the three adults talking, saying, "It's just not fair. They just don't live long enough. Why? We don't understand why."  When all of a sudden the little boy spoke up saying, "I know why. God puts you here on this Earth to learn to love one another and be nice to one another, and dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Re: Suggestions on new format and number of submissions.  Do what is easier for you, but please do not limit the number of posts.  Variety is the spice of life.  I say the more the merrier.

Re:  “new development on US1. Big Pine will look like another Marathon.”  Reply:  No, it won’t.  It will, however, look like a nicely landscaped, well maintained business corridor with a few nice, complimentary designed buildings to replace the abandoned, rundown, trash strewn appearance that is creeping along U.S. 1.  It just might also create a few jobs. 

Re: Plugged canals are there for a reason. They control the flow of water between the Gulf and the Atlantic, and also stop the onslaught of snooping tourists, sticking their noses into my back door, while bouncing their oversized attack crafts off my fishing boat.



Re: Scooter repair.  The Lawnmowerman has worked on my scooter twice and I’ve been happy with their service and price.  They are located on Quail Roost and their phone no. is 872-1349.  I think the owners name is John. Business Directory>Scooters

Someone posting on this site suggested on Saturday, “How about sending local taxpayers a monthly share of the collected taxes?”  You must be very new to Monroe County.   We have three County Commissioners who can’t waste money fast enough while ignoring the excessive financial burdens on the working taxpayer. (Fortunately, here in District 2, Commissioner Neugent is not one of them). Not to mention being played like puppets by the big developers. 

Then we have a County Administrator who already makes in excess of $150,000 per year constantly making grabs for the taxpayer wallet at every opportunity demanding bonus money, overtime pay etc. that he, by his contract, is not entitled to.  His car allowance alone is more than some service industry workers make in salary a year.  Let’s not forget the County bureaucracy that has its hand in your pocket every chance it gets.  Do you really think that the County should rob you of a permit fee to paint your bathroom or affect other minor maintenance or repair jobs around your home?  Well, they do, although most people ignore them, automatically violating ridiculous County ordnances.  If anyone thinks that there is any chance that the County or its money grubbing bureaucrats will ever ease the burden of excessive taxation, fees etc. for the little guy--their dreaming.  Let’s not even talk about the insurance companies.
Dr. Edie Clark is the one to call to put your pet down. She is great. You are doing the right thing, but it is better to do it at home. I had to put mine to sleep 10 months ago. I cried for 6 months every morning. The only thing that healed my broken heart was another cutie.

Restaurant Chain Review. My favorite chain restaurants in order are:  Carrabbas Italian (dinner), Outback (dinner), Romano’s Macaroni Grill (lunch and dinner) and Olive Garden (unlimited soup, salad, breadstick lunch).  Fast food places are: Wendy’s, Quizno’s Subs, Taco Bell and, McDonald’s.  Hopefully, if the Publix deal is real and actually happens we will see a Carrabba’s and a Taco Bell right here in little ol’ Big Pine.  Deer and Tree Huggers need not comment because it’s not likely to happen in your narrow minded lifetime.

Non-chains. I also frequently enjoy Big Pine Restaurant (coffee shop - lunch), Parrotdise (lunch and dinner), Square Grouper (lunch and dinner), Square One (KW - dinner and Sunday breakfast), Chico’s (KW - lunch), Salsa Loca (KW - lunch) and Key Colony Inn (Marathon – lunch and dinner).  I just love to eat out!

Re: electric guitar converted to a bass guitar. It’s not that simple. It’s possible, but to do it properly would cost more than a cheap bass. Bass strings will put too much tension on the neck and the instrument probably won’t hold up to the stress. You’d also have to change the bridge, pickup and nut. Intonation would probably be an issue.

I’d say just go buy a cheap bass.
Putting down a pet is a tough decision. I have done it twice for my little buddies. There was a pill available through my Vet, in New York, that I put into the pets favorite treat and sleep came as normally as though it was real.  No pain, no scare, no forgiving stare.  Ask your Vet if they have it in Florida.

How much fun would this be in front of the USFW propaganda center at Winn Dixie?
Key Deer on Hood This is pretty funny.



Found Black Labrador in Eden Pines Subdivision. Call 305-395-8783
I would like to see some new blood in Big Pine. Publix? Hell, yes. Dunkin Donuts? Mmm, yes. Have you ever had real coffee around here? Wendy's?  Ok, where else can you get some food in under 20 minutes? Walgreens? Yes, please. Id like to see a Wal-Mart or a movie theater. How about a new hotel? A park? Something... anything? I doubt it. This place wants to die out.
Those plugged canals suck. It's just not fair that they plug them and try to forget about them. How about fixing the problem you started 40+ years ago. Fill them in so they're 5 feet deep or all the way. But do something. Big Brother doesn't have a clue does he?
Word Police. To the person who keeps using "you go" as an adjective to emphasize support and exuberance for individuals whose politics or policies they agree with, you are so obvious as to which postings are yours.  I must tell you that you sound very red neck by using such juvenile slang and ought to refrain from using it.  Perhaps ain't is in your vocabulary as well.  Classes are available at FKCC that could help you immensely.  You go, please!
To all you complaining about too much postings here go to the Citizens' Voice and watch what that rag does to your freedom of the press/speech. 

If you can't make your point in one sentence, you probably don't know what you are talking about. 
Taco Bell in marathon now charges for soda fountain refills. That's a first. Times must be tight. I hope that's not the start of a new trend.
Has anyone seen the trash pile behind the House of Music? They don't have a dumpster (that's a code violation I'm sure). They probably think its cheaper to haul it to the dump themselves.  I have to drive past that dump every day. We got rid of Classic Carpet. That was a start, now lets see the house leave too.


The Big Pine Inn burned in 1976. I washed dishes there in '75. It is widely believed to be an arson job for insurance.
Plugged canals. It's not a new cause, it's already been tried. Thanks to the Army Corps and DEP it was squashed.
Where's my share? If Alaskan's get a cut from the pipe lines, I want some. All us Americans  paid for that oil crap so the Fed could sell the oil to foreigners. How long has this been going on, or is it that those who have the black gold make the rules?
Publix, etc. is just crap to stir you up. They're not coming to BPK.
Don't fill out those property appraiser cards. they are just another way of Monroe county to either tax you or coming on your property.  It's not in our best interest that's for sure.


The trouble with love is, it doesn't care how fast you fall,
The trouble with love is, you have no say in it at all.
(?)Looe-Key Tiki bar. So much for "we take care of our own".

Monday January 30, 2006

 

Sunday January 29, 2006




Happy New Year. This is the year of the dog.
Consumers lose 1 to 2.5 Billion dollars every year to scanning errors. Half of that total is the Winn Dixie on Big Pine Key.
Does anyone out there know where or who can repair scooters on BPK.  I appreciate the feed back. Business Directory>Scooters
I see there's been some recent interest in the history and condition of the canals. Commissioner Nugent is very concerned about cleaning them up after the hurricanes and that's good, but I never see any interest in getting the plugged canals open. Why is that?

Why aren't all of the people on plugged canals doing anything to get them open? Like most people in the Keys I have a boat and before Wilma I used to frequent the ramp on Pirates Road. Now it's been washed away and by the rules of the Army Corp of Engineers and DEP it cannot legally be rebuilt. As our open water access continues to decrease by development and natural disaster, why can't we have a plugged canal (on the same system with open canals) unplugged? Is there anybody out there interested in a new "cause."
Re: Digging of the canals. Great response. I, as a local learned some history. Thanks again thanks for the history on the Big Pine Inn. I have a chair from the Inn.
Ed., reference overwhelmed with submissions. There are a number of programs that would automate the posting of e-mails received at a specific e-mail address. Many would allow you to choose settings such as post every incoming e-mail when received or hold in queue waiting for review and release. Many would also automate archiving and post archive links. Some also have spam filters that watch for excessive links.
 
Using such software would allow you to actually work as an editor (and not have to daily build the page) and simply review, edit if needed and mark for release to the page.
 
One program I like is WordPress http://wordpress.org/ while this is blog software it can do so much more and it is well supported and FREE. You can see it in use here http://floridakeystreasures.com/keysblog/ (not just a shameless plug)
 
It can be formatted to work inside your frame and look exactly as the page does now or can easily (well I think it is easy) be configured to look any way you want through themes. This would allow quick seasonal or mood format changes.
 
If you would like to talk, I am available. (Ed: Thanks for your help. I'll check into it, but the thing I really need is to be able to open all my emails at once on one page. I use Outlook Pro and I can open them all at once, but not on one page.)



Re: Toll for all visitors.  It seems we've come to the point of charging for entry into areas of the United States of America, that used to be free for all. Oh? Profit for the lusting politicians who never get enough? What next, passports, shot records, body searches, ethnic cleansing?  Hey people, this is our country, lets take it back from the blood suckers before it's too late!
Lets incorporate this island from Sunshine Key to Bay Point. It really would be beneficial to our communities. Let our tax dollars stay here, in our back yards. Taxes wouldn't necessarily go up all that much, and little if any. Why all this "anti" incorporate anger? It's a good thing. Why do you want people from Key West or Key Largo telling you what we should be doing? What do they know anyway? Their islands suck. That's why we live here in the lower Keys. Peace out. Incorporate today.
You could get rid of Friday Funnies. Their not really all that funny.




Question to the shame on you posting involving Tom Fletcher and the Sheriffs Department.  I would like to be sure who you are shaming.  Was it the Sheriffs Department for doing its job or the Individual who broke two laws.
You are out of order. Octopuses Garden or I have never been on Key Deer Blvd. Jerk lackey for the county.
I lived on Big Pine around 1964. I lived in Port Pine Heights. My stepfather dug some of the canals in Port Pine. He drove a dragline and dug out for the canals. He took some off the stuff he dug up and made the end of Port Pine bigger. He also took some and dumped it to bring up the elevation in some places. They had to use dynamite to get the coral rock to bust up so they could dig it. I have heard that the Kyle brothers name is not what it used to be. I used to wash the crane and bulldozer and dump truck. I made money and would go to Marathon and go to the movies. When I lived there no one told anyone else what to do. Live and let live was the motto. The way you talk it sounds like it's not the paradise it was at one time. By the way, there were no iguanas on Big Pine in 1964. I used to walk all around the area and I never saw one the whole time we lived there. I saw some rattle snakes and alligators. Mosquitos were so thick that you could not look out the glass for them covering it. I slept by a window and you could hear them buzzing. When I lived there it was a little wilder then, but I still love my memories of Big Pine Key and Port Pine Heights. When I lived there the main road was almost empty; no stores except one little one ran by some older people (Jens). We used to ride our bikes from Port Pine to the store.

I always read this site every day so I can keep up with what is going on. Please post some pictures of the Keys. I'm dying to see what it is like now.



Congratulations on the Eagle Scout Award.
With all this talk of new  development on US1 like Publix, Outback Steak, Walgreens, etc. Big Pine will look like another Marathon or Key Largo. Too bad. I would not have moved there if I wanted  that. This sounds like a mistake to me. One shopping plaza is enough and it has served us well for years. 
To the person wanting to convert an electric guitar to a bass guitar. Putting bass strings on and tuning down one octave will not work for a couple of reasons.
1. The scale or length of a bass neck is much longer than a guitar which means the tension of the strings will be too loose when tuned up to standard pitch.
2. The hardware such as the tuners, nut, and bridge will not accommodate the larger diameter of the bass strings.
3. A guitar neck is designed for the tension of guitar strings, the loose bass strings will cause backbow of the neck making the strings buzz on the frets.
I know a lot of people in Marathon that voted for incorporation. Now they wish they hadn't. They have the same police protection, same fire department, mostly the same services they had before. Nothing much has changed except for more taxes and more government. Just more big brother.
The county has no right of way on US1. That belongs to the Fla DOT. The county is hassling Octopuses' Garden on flag placements.
Lethal Injection: I was in the same position and the vet was very blunt with me. He explained how many years of joy the dog had given us and now it was our responsibility to do the right thing, stop the dog's suffering, and let him go. It will not be easy and my heart goes out to you and your family. I try to console myself with the thought that all will meet again in heaven and all my deceased family and pets are waiting for me there.  I would ask your vets advice about the children attending. You and your family and pet, will be in my prayers.
It really cracks me up on how gullible you people are. All this crap about this restaurant and that restaurant, is just free advertising. Don't you get it, are you really that dumb?


...and that's PUB-IX's  which fits much better!

I agree that the new changes at Key Deer Grill will be a noticeable improvement.  I think that Capt. Dan finally got rid of a few of his problem children and turned the reins over to the folks that can make the place run.  He just needs to let them do their jobs.

Big Pine women are all pining after a rock musician named  "Moose."  It ain't because he has big antlers, that's for sure!
Don't miss the chili cook off sponsored by ABATE  in the backyard at the Key Deer Bar & Grill today (Sunday) from noon till 3 p.m. Joe Mama will be on the big stage out back. It's another great party.
How come my bookmark for this site says Kudoes and Whiners but the name of the site is Kudos and whiners? (Ed: We're not too smart with dates, spelling and punctuation or facts.)
Tuff love. Putting your pet to sleep is tough . Call Edie at Mobile Vet she will come to your house so your pet can go in a home where it is comfortable instead of a ride to a place it probably already does not like. Business Directory>Pets

Check your receipts. $102.13 for two tomatoes? Surveys indicate that consumers lose $1 billion to $2.5 billion each year because of scanner pricing errors.

Many people have written here about extremely poor service and very serious pharmacy mistakes at CVS.  I have had to wait as much as three days for a prescription.  I have received incorrect medications, the wrong dosage, they have lost my prescriptions on two occasions and the customer service in the entire store in either rude or non-existent.  Seldom are there less than 6 people in line for the front cash register.  I also now go to Walgreens for everything.  The opening of Walgreens (hopefully soon) will either cause them to clean up their act or go away. 

Re: Elderly pet.  I had the Vet Mobile lady put my cat down a couple of months ago with a lethal injection.  She is very sympathetic to not only the pet, but all involved.  If you plan on being there, be prepared--it is one of the harshest things I have ever gone through; however she made it bearable with the way she prepared me and also my pet.  Believe it or not, it was done humanely, and the only one who suffered was me.  Should the kids be involved?  Depends on how you prepare them for the final outcome.  Should you go out and have a couple of stiff ones--you will need It.  The animal should be put under with those that love it close by, but also under familiar surroundings.
I know it must be quite a bit of work keeping this site together. Maybe you can take a cue from some other sites that have a PayPal donation link. At least, it will be added incentive (aside from advertising revenue). And, heck, if it's easier to archive everything older than a day or two- then by all means do so.

Putting your pet to sleep:  It’s a miserable experience that I don’t want to go through again.  I wouldn’t want kids to have to go through it either.  I’m usually a pretty tough, heartless person but when I had to put my best friend of 14 years down I turned into a blubbering mess.  I spent the rest of the day in a bar getting plastered and was depressed for a month.  It’s not easy so be prepared to feel pretty crummy for a while.  I can’t suggest any way to make it easier because I don’t think there are any.  Sorry for your loss.
I know someone who has a cat named Chuck Norris.

January 28, 1986 The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven crew members: flight commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee; pilot Michael J. Smith; Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka; Judith A. Resnik; Gregory B. Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
Dealing with the Monroe County Building Department is easy. Just bring money, lots of cash!
Mangrove Mama's Grand Re-Opening. Gee, I hope the new management had the sense to lower those ridicules drink prices and meal prices. Us locals can't afford that place.





Happy New Years to all my Asian friends. It is the year of the Dog.

Sunday January 29, 2006

 

Saturday January 28, 2006

Re: Octopuses Garden. If you would stop violating County ordinances they would leave you alone. When are you going to figure that out? You did the same thing at your other place on Key Deer Blvd. When you are so highly visible people are going to see you; and if you're not in compliance they're going to tell on you. In this case it's much easier for you to comply than it is for the whole island to succeed from the County.
I have an old, crappy electric guitar that I'd like to convert to a bass guitar. Can I just install four base strings and turn the tuning down one octave?
Happy to hear your doing so well with your site. Too many postings! That's a good thing. I will try to limit myself to just a few per month, it will be hard. Great site...Outback Steak House, I can't wait.

Someone asked about the digging of the canals. I do not know what year '61 or '62 (possibly) I watched some of the digging of the canals in Eden Pines.  I was too young to really remember much but the noise was horrific!  I (fuzzy memory) remember a big wheel about a foot wide with lots of teeth mounted on of a crawler tractor like a Cat D9 or such.  It went in straight lines down both sides (of our lot lines now) and then a big drag line or a big hoe like machine dug up the marl in between the two cuts and dumped it on both sides thus allowing the lots to then be above water level.  Before they did this the land looked just like the wetlands between Eden Pines and Watson's house (now the Key Deer Refuge).  There were no mangroves just swampy like soil because Donna had washed most mangroves away.

I remember Eden Pines looking very white with the new dirt and you could see from one end of it all the way down to where our boating exit is because there was only one house built that I remember and that was white and way in the back.  Sometimes when they hit an extra hard layer of rock the excavators had to use little chunks of dynamite to break it up and then they could spread it over the soon to be lots.  That's all I can remember. We had some pictures, but when some kids set our little house on fire down here one summer they all went up in smoke.  Maybe in the Keys History section you can find more? 

Re: Incorrect date for Friday. All day long I have been writing, sometimes on government documents, that the date for today is/ was Friday January 27th, 2006.  Did I miss a day of work, of the week, of the month, of the year?  I have been here living on Keys-time for more than sixteen years.  There is only one question left to ask: Where did the Time go? 

Keep in mind when talking about incorporation, your taxes would have to go up--way up.  Where do you think the money for the mayor's salary, the city staff, the council members, etc., plus the cost of City Hall would come from?  Not to mention you'd need your own garbage company, make some arrangement for police, fire and EMT service. Take a look at Marathon's taxes when the tax estimate comes out later in the year. It will be the highest in the keys. And you'd still have to deal with the county and the state.



That getting mad stuff is like drinking poison hoping the the person you're mad at will die It just doest work.

If we can agree that the greatest concentration of non-indigenous, I hate the term snowbird, people locally is Sunshine Key, then I invite you to go there and look around. Clean, orderly, some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. Then lets travel to Key Deer Blvd where people, local people, are still dumping their trash, not from the hurricane, but because the term "community"  isn't in their vocabulary. We might even go back a couple of months before that. When traveling through Eden Pines there were sections of jet skis, unusable boat trailers, derelict cars, and every form of debris scattered through an otherwise beautiful neighborhood. I doubt very much the "snowbirds" had much to do with it.

Every minute a seasonal person spends in the area improves the economy. The idea of anyone being able to spend any time in the Keys without spending money is absurd. I personally embrace the Keys way of life, at least the part where you are entitled to do pretty much as you please as long as it's legal, but to blame visitors for a shoddy neighborhood and bad economy is absurd.

To Editor: Make it easy on yourself, but the more I hear from the masses, the more I want.  P.S. Do we need to take up a collection to buy you a new web cam? (Ed: Thanks anyway, but the camera works fine. It just keeps getting knocked off line and I haven't had the time to track down the problem.)




If you were as musically gifted as Moose, they would be after you too Mr. Milli Vanilli.

I would think you can archive the previous day's stuff, if that will help the process.  I'd hate to see you limit the number of submissions, but it's what you can handle that counts.  Maybe limit the length per submission?

Re: Limit submissions.  I would say no! The more the better.  How would you do it anyway?  If you use FIFO (first in, first out) up to 30, then people that work all day would be out of luck. I think it is reasonable to ask people to limit the length of their comment to something less that 15 lines (except for BPK Funny Fridays of course).
Go Steelers! Hoo, Ha!


Budweiser Frogs. This is why middle-aged, out of town women should not drink at Fantasy Fest.

Lethal Injections.  Cruel and unusual?  We have to put an elderly pet to sleep soon. He is deteriorating despite life-extending efforts (well worth every dollar to the Marathon Vet).  How does one get thru this without totally losing it?  The kids want to be in attendance so we have to role-model properly.  But we may have to slip out to a watering hole for a couple of nice stiff ones and a taxicab ride home.  Suggestions, oh please? 

How many Steelers fans are down here?  Too many. Love your local neighborhood, die-hard, Browns fan.

Ed: To make the page load faster, consider posting only one day at a time, with 7 or so links at the bottom of the first page, one for each day of the past week.  Keysnews.com uses a similar tactic for the newspaper articles.

When I read about the proposals of constructing toll booths for visitors to the keys I was at first against it. But, upon further reflection, I think there may be kernel of good there.

If there is a toll, the county will of course add it to their bottomless pit of tax collections. Bad idea. It will be first the tourists and then everyone else. How about sending local taxpayers a monthly share of the collected taxes? Alaska does this to their residents from the oil revenues and it amounts to one or two thousand dollars a year to every man woman and child. If it works there it could work here.

Shame, shame, shame. Look what the Monroe County Sheriff's Dept just released to the press:  "The owner of property on Big Pine Key was arrested Thursday on an outstanding warrant for illegal dumping."

45 year old Tom Fletcher was booked into jail on charges that he dumped a large amount of debris from his property onto the right of way. A neighbor called to complain about the pile of debris on January 20th. Investigations by Deputy Juan Martin-Reyes indicated Fletcher had paid a company to clear his property in late December. He then used his own bobcat to push the resulting debris, including several large tree stumps, onto the right of way, where it stayed until the Sheriff's Office investigation was initiated on January 20th. On January 23rd, after a warrant had been issued for Fletcher's arrest, Fletcher finally removed most of the debris from the right of way. He was picked up on the warrant Thursday. He said he'd left the debris there so long because he didn't have time to take care of it.

As he was being taken into custody by Deputy David Chavka, he admitted to having marijuana in his possession. He was additionally charged with possession of a small amount of the illegal substance and was booked into the Monroe County Detention Center.

Dear Ed, per your request for input:  I think it's really up to you since you are the one who has to do all the work.  I like the way it has been going. I don't think there has been too many postings.  Why such an influx lately?
Re: 3 days posted on main page is enough? No!

Go to software something like vbulletin and all of those questions you are looking for feedback on are moot. http://www.vbulletin.com  Manually adding the comments to that page has got to get old fast and just as  important probably pretty time consuming.

Rude Rob, Bitchy Capt'n Dan, Winn-Dixie, B/P gas cards, Traffic congestion, Sponge divers, etc, etc. You people need to get a life and start enjoying yourselves in this tropical paradise. You don't realize just how lucky you are to be able to be here!

Re: When you go out to eat around here do you think your food is prepared by a real cook? The guy that is cooking your slop is being paid nothing! He lives in a trailer with five other people. I would not even open a can and put it in a pail for you to eat from. You pay big to eat; we get paid nothing to live decent. So cook your own food.

I'm here until April and I'm looking for a spin class or an aerobics class. Are there any on Big Pine?



Since you're taking suggestions, lets have a Weed report like High Times so we know just what island has the crippy and who has the swag. It sure would save time on the weekend driving up the Keys just to look at some rank-ass Mexican! Remember fight terror: smoke domestic weed.

Re: Key Deer Grill. I agree that Darrel is a great guy, and that it is a very good thing that John George is back in the kitchen. Now all the Captain needs to do is find someone who can get that good food out to the customers in less than an hour.

Too much BS. Ed, if someone doesn't want their name posted then it probably is a lie. Anything worth saying is worth putting your name behind. I went from a daily reader to monthly reader (if even). All you ever do on this site is cut down my friends, enemies, my employer, your employer, me, him, her and anyone else that exists. Not to mention that your judgment on when to add the name is a joke. The only thing to do now is add all writers' e-mail addresses. The only one who will object are the liars. This will help you limit the amount of comments and to stop insulting our community. (Name withheld by request.)

If visitors should be made to use a train to access the Keys, Keys residents should be made to do the same for egress.





I was all for incorporation, but look at Marathon: Condothon.

Suggestion for page when you have too many submissions. Break it into two sections, a Kudos Section and a Whiners Section. The Kudos section would be for good comments or general comments.  You would not  post senders' email. The Whiners section would be for whiners.  You would include email addresses on all complaints.  Rebuttals to whiners would be included on this page. My guess is that there are more whiners.  Posting senders' emails on the Whiners page would probably cut down on complaining in the short term.

On Jan. 21st I completed my Eagle Scout Project. The clean up of Wilder Road and parts of Key Deer Blvd of the removal of 9,000 pounds of Hurricane debris made my project a great success.. I would like to Thank John Coffin from Coffin Marine for donating his time and his clam truck to pick up all the debris. Mike Colasurdo for his time and the use of his Backhoe. Mark from Pepsi of Key West for donating all the drinks that kept all the hard workers hydrated. Marathon Home Depot for the donation of work gloves. DOT for the donation of trash bags and letting me use the men working signs and road cones. Cudjoe Key Transfer Station for letting us dump the 9,000 pounds of debris, Habitat for Humanity of the Lower Keys for the use of their shovels and racks. Kim Thompson for designing the flyers and all the local businesses for letting me hang flyers in their locations. The Barometer, Free Press, Citizen, Keynoter, US1 Radio Station and bigpinekey.com for putting the great advertisements out for me. Robert Keeley for the use of the extended reach trash pick-up tools which saved a lot of backs. Reef Light Tackle for donating ice. Hawaiian Tropic for the sunscreen. All my fellow scouts and leaders from Troup 573 and certainly my parents. All the people that I talked to on the phone that helped me get my Eagle Project on the road. Finally I want to give a big thank you to all of the 36 fantastic volunteers that came out to help clean up our community and make my Eagle Project a great success

Unfortunately for you it's more work, but I think all entries should be posted each day. The archives doesn't matter to me. Every day, every 3 days, every week, whatever. Now that you have people hooked (me too) you might have a one time fee for the gossip column to post and read. Even if it's only a dollar it may cut down the work load.

Hi, Staci. We miss and love you!

Saturday January 28, 2006


 

Friday January 26, 2006
9:04am
Kudos and Whiners will have to be posted in pieces today as we are overwhelmed with submissions.

Are there too many submissions printed each day? Should we limit the amount to about 30? How many days should we leave them on before we send them to the Archives Dept? (The fewer items on this page means that the page will load faster.) We sure could use your input. Stay tuned.
11:30pm


To Michigander: A freshwater conch is somebody who lives here full time, for a long time but was not born here. Not a snowbird or seasonal resident.
I live here and like to go to the Flea Market for the few months out of the year that there is some good stuff to buy. Shopping is tough in the Keys. 
Another picture from the Keynoter history page. The Big Pine Inn was a landmark on Big Pine Key located where TIB Bank of the Keys now lies. Built in 1919 by Big Pine pioneer Gussie Zeigner, the large wooden building had 12 rooms, a large dining room and a bar that was apparently open even during Prohibition. The Big Pine Inn burned in 1972.
-Photo from Brian Schmitt archives.
Rodney's taking a poll.  How many men out there really enjoy rubbing your significant other's back, feet, or body?  Or not?  And if not, why?
Re: Little Palm Island. Who really cares?  It's not worth a few hundred dollars to dine there.
Re: Toll. Screw the toll. They should use the old bridges to start running trains again and make people park in  Florida City and take the train down.
Yes. Publix is coming to BP. The property management company that is putting the deal together has also been contacted by Outback Steakhouse. To my knowledge they have not spoken with Taco Bell. They will have to decide soon on which ones come and which do not, as the plans do not call for that many units. As it stands now here are the plans:
One Publix 28,000 sq. ft.
Six 800 sq. ft. units joined (strip)
One 16,550. sq. ft. stand-alone unit
11:48am
I hear all this crap talked about Rob's and Rob himself.  I eat there very regularly and love the food, the service and Rob himself has never been anything but a complete gentleman to me.  I have even bumped into Rob out in Key West and he has bought me a drink and thanked me for coming into his place to eat.  I feel comfortable bringing my family into Robs knowing they will get a good meal, good service and will not be exposed to the undesirables Big Pine Key has.
 
I have a great suggestion to the people bad mouthing Rob and his staff.  Don't go there. The place is always packed.  I am sure they won't go out of business if you stop going there.
 
For those of you wondering, I do not work for Rob or Rob's.  I have no affiliation with the place other then being a customer.  I'm just one of their happy customers that is tired of reading people bad mouth a good businessman.
Re: BPK Magazine. I believe Willy will fisterbottom!
BPK Funny Fridays. Because it's been said that men of humor are always, in some degree, men of genius. Really? The other day, the wife and I were dining at a Thai restaurant. I requested my seafood plate extra hot. It was so spicy that my eyes welled up, and I proceeded to blot the tears with my napkin... the same napkin that I had been using to wipe the pepper sauce from my lips. Yup. Nothing screams 'genius' more than a man clutching his face and shrieking his way across a restaurant– blindly crashing into tables and people while in a mad dash for the restroom. I am currently filling out my application to MENSA as we speak. Perhaps I can get a reference from the young Asian waiter whom I inadvertently plastered with his tray of Gaeng Dang Gai, (I only know the name of the entrée because it wound up on my bill).

...I loathe myself.

My family isn't really Italian. We're more like Olive Garden Italian.
~Mike Birbiglia

Blueberry muffins. Oh my God. Sometimes, when I'm eating a blueberry muffin, it's so tasty and good that I think, 'Wow, this is better than sex.' And sometimes when I'm having sex, I think, 'Wow, this is really expensive... I should have just gotten some blueberry muffins.'
~Mitch Fatel

I shouldn't say bad things about the illiterate, though... I should WRITE IT. That way they won't find out.
~Mike Birbiglia

Couldn't ride the bus anymore. Hate the bus. Wouldn't be so bad if it didn't stop and pick up all those other people... Horrible people on the bus. Everyone has a limp, or a lazy eye, or a tail... It's like a garbage truck for human trash. I get the same feeling on the bus that I get when I shop at K-Mart. That I'm better than everyone else there. You know what I mean... you're in those crummy stores, you're like, "Well, I'm just here because it's a bargain... but these freaks... they have to shop here. I'm just buying a hammer, this guy's trying on a three piece suit."
~Tom Papa

How much do you smoke, sir? Two packs a day, is that right? P*ssy. I go through two lighters a day. That's right, two lighters! You're a health nut compared to me. You're like the Jack LaLanne of smokers compared to me.
~Bill Hicks

To my delight, I find that there is a different warning on each pack of cigarettes. Mine says: Warning: Smoking can cause fetal damage or premature birth. Screw it – I've found my brand! Just don't get the ones that say lung cancer, you know? Shop around.
~Bill Hicks

Every minute of parenting is like hostage negotiations: "Put the kitty down. Come out with your hands up... kicking the candy bar in front of you."
~Reno Goodale

Everyone should have kids. They are the greatest joy in the world. But they are also terrorists. You'll realize this as soon as they are born, and they start using sleep deprivation to break you.
~Ray Romano

When I went to college, my parents threw a going away party for me... according to the letter.
~Emo Phillips

I suffer from peroxide-aphobia. Every time I've gotten near a blonde woman, something of mine has disappeared. Jobs... boyfriends... once, an angora sweater just leapt right off my body.
~Rita Rudner

A recent police study found that you're much more likely to get shot by a fat cop if you run.
~Dennis Miller

The Republican Party should change their national emblem from an elephant to a prophylactic, because it stands for inflation, halts production, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives a false sense of security when one is being screwed.
~Robin Tyler

Every porno movie should be called, Stuff That Never Happens to You.
~Richard Jeni

Today a post office was shut down, but a vibrating box turned out to be a vibrator. Police suspect a single woman acting alone.
~Craig Kilborn

I deserve someone who likes me for who I am pretending to be.
~Arj Barker

I went to a Waffle House, I'm eating and I'm reading a book. Waitress walks over to me, "Tch, tch. Hey, what you readin' for?" Is that the weirdest question you've ever heard? Not what am I reading, but what am I reading for. I read for a lot of reasons, and the main one is so I don't end up being a f*cking waffle waitress.
~Bill Hicks

The difference between being in a relationship and being in prison is that in prison they let you play softball on the weekends.
~Bobby Kelton

I was raised an atheist. Every Sunday, we went nowhere. We prayed for nothing. And all our prayers were answered.
~Heidi Joyce

Our bombs are smarter than our high school students - at least they can find Kuwait on a world map.
~A. Whitney Brown

Was the Buddha married? His wife would say, "Are you just going to sit around like that all day?"
~Garry Shandling

I stepped into a confessional today and said, "You first."
~Dennis Miller

When I was a kid, I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord, in his wisdom, didn't work that way. So I stole one... and asked Him to forgive me.
~Emo Phillips

If it can't be fixed with duct tape or WD-40, it's a female problem.
~Jason Love

If you're a guy and you ask for the doggie bag on a date, you might as well have them wrap up your genitals, too. You're not going to be needing those for a while, either.
~Jerry Seinfeld

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fishburger and I realize, "Oh my God... I could be eating a slow learner."
~Lynda Montgomery

More Chuck Norris Facts!

≈When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes... ever.

≈There are only two things that can cut diamonds: other diamonds, and Chuck Norris.

≈Chuck Norris can hit you so hard that he can actually alter your DNA. Decades from now, your descendants will occasionally clutch their heads and yell "What the f*ck was that?"

≈While urinating, Chuck Norris is easily capable of welding titanium.

≈When taking the SAT, write "Chuck Norris" for every answer. You will score a 1600.

≈An anagram for Walker Texas Ranger is KARATE WRANGLER SEX. I don't know what that is, but it sounds AWESOME.

≈A study showed the leading causes of death in the United States are:
   1:Heart disease
   2:Chuck Norris
   3:Cancer

≈Chuck Norris is the only known mammal in history to have an opposable thumb... on his penis.

≈Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris... he finds you.

≈"Brokeback Mountain" is not just a movie. It's also what Chuck Norris calls the pile of dead ninjas in his front yard.

≈Chuck Norris does not eat. Food understands that the only safe haven from Chuck Norris' fists is inside his own body.

≈Chuck Norris qualified with a top speed of 324 mph at the Daytona 500... without a car.

≈Chuck Norris eats steak for every single meal. Most times he forgets to kill the cow.

≈Most people fear the Reaper. Chuck Norris considers him "a promising rookie".

www.chucknorrisfacts.com

Women are sexist?  I’m aghast!  Self-absorbed, egotistical, fashion obsessed, compulsive, petty, PMS-ing, complaining, bitchy, intolerant, small minded, jealous, silicone stuffed, ugly plastic finger nailed, dyed, frosted, over perfumed, over made-up and snotty, maybe.  But sexist?  Well, come to think of it, you’re right!
Re: Toll both. I do not when the picture of the toll was  taken. I found the picture on the Keynoter web site for Keys history. They have a lot of great pictures there. http://www.keynoter.com/keys_history/
12:43pm
Re: Toll.  While I would whole heartedly support a toll coming to the Keys, it will never happen because this is a federal highway with several military bases on it.  The subject was brought up several years ago, and was squashed for that reason. 
Re:  Sorry to offend. Well, hell, Ed, what good would this site be if people didn't say derogatory things about others? Why did you pick me out over all the others? As a matter of fact, there are many derogatory remarks about the same subject I mentioned and you failed to give out their identity. So what the hell is up with that?
(Ed: I only post the posters' email address when they post rotten things about a person. You can post anything you want about a place, but posting bad things about a person is a personal post.)
Does anyone know when the canals were dug and with what? I have heard that Flagler dug them so he could use the spoil for fill during the original bridge work, but I have no idea if that is true. If someone didn't use the material for fill, there must be one hell of a big pile of the stuff somewhere.
The flunked Keys living quote was a hoot!   It's still wonderful being down here, when, as long as you don't break the law you can do as you darn well please. The laid back Keys vacation is alive and well.  But, I do pity anyone who tries to run a business because that attitude just does not work when you serve others.  The Keys consumer is no longer the person that trades a service for another as in the old days (ahhh, the barter system was alive and well then). There is a huge group of local workers and business people who bend over backwards to help the customers.  You will notice when you put yourself in line for their services at how well they are doing and that they can charge a "Keys" rate in order to stay in business. 

The majority of snowbirds do laugh at some of the locals idea of work (the 1:30pm-to-3:00pm-every-other-day crowd) and just hire from the mainland.  Unfortunately, a lot of the few hard working locals get bypassed; because if one has a large job we defer to the larger companies from Key Largo and Marathon who hire from the mainland to get the work done.  Everyone knows a lot of qualified help has picked up stakes and moved to where they can afford to live.  So we have a situation of lots of people with lots of money needing services; and a few locals who think they have it made by ripping them off and taking a month to do a days' work.  Methinks that these might be the locals showing so much hatred for the snowbirds.  I guess the newer, brighter, wealthier crop of snowbirds sees through them.  All I can say is change is coming and I love to watch the ebb and flow.
While we all might have all been rug rats at one time, we were not all allowed to run around unescorted or to disturb others without being disciplined.
What is up with CVS. I have always had problems with them in the past i.e. Short on pills. Trying to charge me full price because they say my insurance denied it; only to find out that after they put it through again it goes through. That is why I travel to Marathon Walgreens for my scripts. Today I was ailing and my doctor called in a script at 2 pm. I did not feel up to going to Marathon so I asked that it be called in to CVS on BPK. When I showed up at 5:30 pm my script was not ready and would not be ready till the following afternoon at the earliest. If I could have waited till tomorrow I would not have called the doctor. What is it with CVS. Just the service I don't expect from a pharmacy on BPK. Kudos to you CVS. This is the very reason I don't recommend you. My kingdom for a Walgreens on BPK.
To the person who likes our hardware store thanks a bunch. I respect your opinion and will support your right to disagree with me or anyone else to the death. Much has be said about what is happening on Big Pine. The reality is that we have suffered from being overlooked by County officials for years on end; and when they finally woke up they foisted this Livable Community Plan on us. This plan hurts everyone on Big Pine. The only problem is that some of us are being negatively impacted now. The rest are going to find out that we should have been careful about what we wished for.
Why do golfers equate progress with how many golf courses are within driving distance? Here in the Keys we fish and party. My suggestion to all who need a course to play close to home is to sell your house in the Keys and move up to Myrtle Beach. You will no doubt be happier and have a handful of money left over to spend on your real passion. If you then find that you miss fishing, maybe you can lobby the locals to dig trout ponds next to the greens. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your cake.

Editor, thanks for providing a Business Directory.  To the ladies at Big Pine Medical Complex, thanks for helping me find a lab for my blood work when I visit.
1:34pm
Hey Rob, put me on your last square!
Just a note on the animal hater diatribe. I don't think most sane people (that means conservatives) hate animals.  We just know their place in the world and do not put their well being above man. I do not hate animals, I have many animals under my care, not for the money which is laughable but, just because I love it.  Animals are not here for humans to live in harmony with-----they are here on the most part for our consumption.  Animal skins keep us warm and in many parts of the world a whole communities survival revolves around the animals in their area.  The real paradise (if you really lived in it) is a pretty wild ride with each step up the pecking order another animal ready to rip apart its lesser counterpart for survival.

My one question to you who wants everything to remain the same is that one giant step into the future of our ocean being cleaned up would be a sewer system on Big Pine which would treat or even better truck the waste off the Key instead of into our canals.  Oh, but that would mean digging a ditch, (gasp!) concrete and plastic pipe would be used so I guess we just keep on polluting. Your quote, "kill all the wildlife along the 18 mile stretch to fit more people in the Keys and destroying all the beautiful ocean and wild life" is a tad melodramatic considering the bridges and roads that have been built just since I came down here the first time after Hurricane Donna.

Look around you, there is more wildlife than ever. Why, pretty soon we can hire people with pooper scoopers to go around after the Key Deer. Click on this link if you want to see how people moved coral rock to make temporary bridges in the Keys after a real Hurricane--Hurricane Donna  They didn't even use rip rap buffers or sediment ponds and the animals thrived!
http://www.keyshistory.org/HurrD-Hurr-Donna.html

Ed. You always amaze me. You go, man!
The only problem I have with snowbirds is they try to change things and then I have to live with it all year round. If you are a snowbird and come down to enjoy what is here and not try to change things. Welcome!
Update to CVS: I called my pharmacist in Marathon. After being on hold for 30 mins. He had my script transferred to his store. I had my script by the time I drove to Marathon. Great job Jerry! The pharmacist I can count on. Double kudos to you. Just another account of why not to shop at CVS.
I own the Octopuses Garden MM30. I have been constantly hassled by Monroe county code enforcement. I am sick and tired of this abuse. I would like to revisit incorporation. Email me at disa@aol.com Lets start anew without big brother.
I agree with the person who commented on Rob of Rob's wondering why his or her email was added when Rob and Robs and Capt Dan and Key Deer have been named 1000 times with no email. Then today someone wrote in about a public employee and didn't even mention a name but his email was added but people dump on County Officials, Senators, Mayors and The President by name but they don't get their email added. Looks to me like our Editor plays favorites for sure or is afraid of someone. This site was great at one time. Too bad that has changed.
(Ed: When people say anything nasty about a person we add their email unless we screw up, which I'm afraid, we often do.)
The defender of the Snow Birds said, "Tourists do not bring more money into the Keys per person than snowbirds do."  The Snow Birds do not spend a quarter what a tourist spends per given amount of time.



C.B. McQue   Man, I haven't heard that name in a long time.
Steelers are going to kick some butt in the Super Bowl. How many Steeler fans are down here?
2:07pm
I have witnessed children run wild in public. One minority woman had several children with her at the grocery store. I kid you not, one 10yr old fat son of hers actually laid down on the aisle floor screaming bloody murder and had a temper tantrum. The moo just ignored him and her other kids running wild.

Smashing into other people's carts seemed funny to these children. I can only imagine how these children will contribute to society. Any child of mine that acted in such a way would get their butt smacked, and on the next shopping trip they would be leashed. (Ed: Just don't bring 'em to the bars.)
To the person who misses the Rob’s bartender with the mini-toes:  Stop into Parrotdise Tues-Fri days!
Kudos to the people who cleaned up the pile of hurricane junk left over from Wilma, on the corner of Ships Way and Constitution.
Re: "We all owe Murray Nelson a debt of gratitude..." The only thing you forgot to say is, "We love you Murray" --from the developers.

Don’t make the mistake of evaluating a local restaurant (or two) or the character of the owners after just a couple of visits.  Full time residents have the opportunity to visit local places frequently and will eventually see how often the owners' unbelievably bad behavior, food and service will rear its ugly head.   I know a large number of locals, me included, who absolutely shun three local food and drink places due to the behavior of the owners and/or terrible food and service or both.  But, if you’ve found a place you like and suits your taste, go for it! 

Re: "I just have to believe the City of Big Pine could elect any number of people with minds way less confused."   Wrong. You actually believe having another layer of politicians is going to help the situation?  What planet are you from?  No, what we need to do is have qualified persons run for County Commission and get rid of the Terrible Three.
Re: derogatory comment about snowbirds. The reason for those comments is not because anyone begrudges snowbirds wanting to spend the winters down here. It's because so many of you are rude, arrogant and mean. Not to mention completely disrespectful towards locals and all the hardships incurred by the many hurricanes this year. Stop asking why this place is such a mess and get out there and help clean it up! If you don't want negative comments aimed your way, try being polite, respectful and nice. You're completely screwing up the karma.
I got one of them Esteban git-fiddles. Damndest thing happened, my fingers started moving like a duck on a June bug. Heck, before I knew it that Mal-a-gaine-ya or what ever it is came out of that ax. Then my feet started moving like never before. I think I was Fla-ming-go dancing or something like that. Then, this is no kidding, I heard my mom telling me I was, "a play mo-fo." My mom says that when she likes something. Be warned. You heard it first. That damm git-fiddle makes stuff happen. Boy, my feet are killing me.
The Ed has always had the policy of posting the name of people who do personal slams.  Sorry if you don't like that.
I'm looking for some help locating my cat. She's been missing 3 days. She's a long hair calico, 3 years old. She's peach, grey, and white. She's missing from Little Torch, down Powell Avenue. I'm just hoping someone in the neighborhood has seen her poking around. If you've seen her, or are holding her captive, let me know... Maybe I can buy you a drink or two! :) WARNING: She's a handful, and can be very cranky. Contact Beth at 849-2376 or at afraid2f4ll@yahoo.com. Thanks for your help.
If Murray Nelson is un-correct, isn't he wrong?
Tech Report. Comcast has perhaps the worst service reliability I have ever experienced.  When I had Comcast Cable TV I would lose service every time more than 2 drops of rain fell.  I would call for service and, three days later when every thing was dry again and working the so called technician would show up and inform me that there was nothing wrong with my service.  Their DSL service is a joke and their tech support staff must have been recruited from a home for the challenged.  I finally went to Dish Network for TV and rarely lose signal except during the most severe storms and then only for a few minutes while the storm cell passes.  I also use Bellsouth DSL and have excellent connectivity and speed and have had no problems

Rugrats and parents:  Sure, parents need to get out too.  But, leave your un-disciplined, mis-behaved, screaming, screeching, tantrum throwing brat with a sitter or at least have the decency to take the kid outside when he/she starts disrupting an entire restaurant and ruining the meal and enjoyment of every other person in the place.  Taking an infant or very young child who has no clue how to be quiet and behave in public to a nice restaurant is just plain ignorant. 

Until your crying, howling, little rugrat learns to behave stick to McDonald’s Play land and give the rest of us a break.  Parents who allow their kid to run around in a restaurant should be nicely asked by management to confine the kid or leave.  The place may lose the business of the two parents but will enjoy the gratitude of all of the other patrons not to mention the relief on the part of the servers who carry steaming hot food while trying to dodge an out of control 5 year old.

There are some big changes happening at the Key Deer Bar & Grill.  If you have been disappointed with the service or the food coming out of the kitchen after waiting forever and its not too good?  Go and give then another try.  After Wilma, everything's been in an uproar, not only there, but a lot of places. I think maybe things have gone full circle and its time to go back.  The bartender, Darrell is a great guy, John George is back in the kitchen.  Life is Good.
Someone suggested that managers need to ask the parent to confine the child or nicely ask them to leave. Some restaurant in Chicago tried that. The manager put up a very polite sign asking parents to please keep their children under control or they would be asked to leave. Of course when he tried to enforce it, all hell broke loose. The mother appeared on TV calling for a boycott of the restaurant. She claimed that her little darling was just being a "normal" 2 year old and most people thought she was cute. The real problem is not the kids, it's the parents. As long as parents use the kids to attract attention to themselves, you'll never convince them their kid is a mis-behaved little brat.
The only way to get the Packers back in the Super Bowl is to bring back their lucky truck.

I don't owe Murray Nelson one thing.  In fact, I would request that he refund my contribution to his first campaign years ago.  Boy, did I make a mistake voting for him.  The problem was we would vote for anyone, to get rid of the female incumbent he was running against.
Finished, Whew!

Friday January 26, 2006

Thursday January 25, 2006
We all owe Murray Nelson a debt of gratitude for taking a stand against the radical environmentalists. He is a brave public servant who isn't afraid to be un-politically-correct when necessary. Real environmentalists are concerned about wildlife, but don't place animals above humans in their priorities. Radical environmentalists want to freeze all growth; and if they could have their way, all humans would be evicted from the Keys and forced to live in Philadelphia or Boston or Manhattan. You go, Murray Nelson!
 
Re: Why do they call them jewfish? C.B. McQue, the last Conch sponge fisherman in the Keys told me about thirty years ago that they called them Jewfish because, "they're hard to skin and hang around the banks." That's the truth. That's what his father told him.
Toll Both. What year was that photo taken? Was the toll booth placed there in 1935 or later? Great photo.
Re: CocoNetKey internet cafe. The lady flunked Keys living and went back to Europe was the last word I heard. We should have another internet cafe.
That airhead yesterday wants Oleander instead of mangroves and four lanes instead of Key Deer. Is he from Michigan or Space?
Ironically, they renamed the Jewfish the Goliath Grouper. The fact that Goliath was a mortal enemy of the Jews obviously was overlooked by some PC correct liberal-minded government worker. They might as well have named it the Hitler Fish.
I can only assume that everyone with a derogatory comment about snowbirds is a full blown Conch. Just because someone is trying to make their way down to the Keys and can't live here full time yet, shouldn't automatically put them in some lower order. Heck, I'll bet 90% of the people bitching are from somewhere else. Where does that holier than thou attitude come from anyway? Non resident taxes are paying for your services and you don't have to put up with excess traffic all summer. Tourists do not bring more money into the Keys per person than snowbirds, it's just that it goes to the County instead of the businesses.
Someone explain to me why the Big Pine women are all pining after a rock musician named  "Moose."
To the "Dear anti-Cross-Island Road" commenter.  I'm not living in a make believe world.  I went to all the meetings and workshops when this was brought up a couple years ago.  The anti cross-island road supporters showed up in droves, compared to the few who showed up to put the roads in and remove the barricades. 

You are in a make believe world.  Did you even go to one meeting or workshop?  This issue was a slam dunk, closed case.  I guess you don't live down Ships Way where traffic would have been rerouted.  I do live down there.  It is our neighborhood's choice to have U.S. 1 road directed through our neighborhood or not.  And the majority of us voted no.  So get over it.
I have never noticed anything but good natured banter between bar tender and patrons at Rob's. It's a sports bar for cripes sake. I have seen people drink too much then take that banter personally, as some belligerent people will, but by and large, the atmosphere is friendly and entertaining and I'll continue to spend my Michigan dollars there. By the way, we prefer to be called fresh water Conchs!
Re: "Wakey, wakey" announcements at Venture Out. A little research showed that the amplified announcement before 8 AM is in violation of the Monroe County noise ordinance. The noise ordinance is found under Chapter 13 Offenses & Misc.   Article III Noise Control on the county ordinance web site. This is a second degree misdemeanor with up to a $500 fine per violation. Code enforcement will be notified, in addition to the sheriff if the announcements begin before 8 AM.  It's a shame that it's come to this and that common sense and good fellowship doesn't prevail at Venture Out.
We miss you Toni. Please come home.
My peeve at W/D is the bulletin board. It should be on the outside wall where it was for many years. The new  area is too small; and please stop removing ads that are not your own. I see people taking down an ad just to replace it with there own.
Re: Ride from Chicago to BPK. If they needs a ride , why do we want them down here?
Publix. They have no plans for coming here,
Much to ponder. Rob's: go there on a Sunday at noon and watch even the snowbirds leave when ignored.  Flea market replaced by Publix or anything--thank god. We who live here do not patronize it in the summertime.  It is a place for snowbirds to go on Sunday after breakfast and before church.  Side roads, yes we need them, especially those of us who are contractors and spend all day in our vehicles from place to place in BPK.  Bigots? Watch Wife Swapping.  Why is it that on the last 4 shows I watched, all the blacks are rich and the whites are rednecks and stupid? Will Little Palm Island rebound? Why do we drive on a parkway, and park on a driveway? This happened today:  A tourists comes in to a local clothing store (duh, we only have one) and asks, "Where is the city? BPK clerk responds, "What city?" Tourists says Big Pine City. Clerk laughs and says, "Your in it, darlin'."  My beautiful wife bought a pedometer today and when I came home she was sitting on the couch and said, "Honey it doesn't work! (this is also true) I immediately got up and walked 10 ft and it registered 10 ft. My response was, "Honey, you've got to move for it to work. P.S. she is a blonde.
Ed, are you and Rob ( Rob's Sports Bar that is ) the same person or did you just put my screen name on this site for money paid to you by the owner of the business? Do you understand sue?
I don't know who you are, Ed, but you owe me now! You have always kept these remarks unknown to the people who trusted this site to voice their opinions without revealing the source. Have you violated someone's civil rites? (Ed: I'm sorry to offend you, but you said derogatory things about a person and that it's only fair for them to have the opportunity to respond to you and know who their detractor is.)
Anyone know what happened to the Sugarloaf Sports Club?  Are they closed because of Wilma damage?
A toll to enter the Keys would help tremendously with our economy and rampant traffic congestion. It will greatly reduce traffic throughout the Keys, especially on weekends and holidays when we need relief the most. Mainly, it will stem the tide of day-trippers driving down the Keys in ever increasing numbers especially with the skyrocketing population growth stretching down from south Miami-Dade. They spend little or no money here so there should be no objection from the powerful tourist development lobbies. Economically, it would also provide a huge revenue stream paid almost entirely by visitors. The tolls paid by truck drivers may cost us a few bucks a year in increased prices, but it will raise hundreds of dollars from visitors for every dollar it costs us.
I'm contemplating buying a boat from some folks called Pam and Bob Herman who have a fictitious named company called "Boatco" with an address in Big Pine Key. They apparently now reside in Weeki Wachee. Does anyone have any knowledge of these folks and particularly their business dealings--positive or negative in Big Pine Key? Thanks for any help. Rick Smith. ricksmithm3@yahoo.com
God bless the mother of the so called "retarded child"  God only gives those children to blessed people that can love them and give them what they need.  Next time the schmuck that had the audacity to say it was ugly, looks in the mirror, I hope he wonders if his parents were blessed for having such a hateful piece of crap.
Ditto on the picture accompanying the Nasty-gram about the mentally challenged.  Come on Ed. have a heart! 
Abortion. (1) There’s a preacher and wife who are very, very, poor. They already have 14 kids. Now she finds out she’s pregnant with number 15. They’re living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, would you consider recommending she get an abortion?
(2) The father is sick with syphilis, the mother has TB. They have four children. The first is blind, the second is dead, the third is deaf, and the fourth has TB. She finds she’s pregnant again. Given the extreme situation, would you consider recommending abortion?
(3) A white man raped a 13-year-old black girl, and she got pregnant. If you were her parents, would you considering recommending abortion?

In the first case, you have just killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists in the 19th century.
In the second case, you have killed Beethoven.
In the third case, you have killed Ethel Waters, the great black gospel singer.
Has anyone had the displeasure of dealing with the Monroe County Building Department lately?  It has always been difficult but it seems they get worse by the day.  I was there today for the fifth time in a week.  I wish I could remember the woman's name I dealt with but I am sure anyone who has been there knows her.  She has been there for years and gets more and more nasty as time goes on.  She is the thin one with the straight brownish hair with teeth the size of Mr. Ed and a very whiney voice.  I hate to compare her to Mr. Ed because a horse is far more intelligent than her.  The only time this woman isn't lying is when she isn't speaking.  She is so awful I'm surprised Monroe County hasn't promoted her. [keysfisherman@hotmail.com]
Re: Pearle Vision. I was coming out of Office Max yesterday, and noticed there is a new Visionworks next to Stick N Stein. You may want to give them a try.
You wont want to miss  Mangrove Mama's Grand Re-Opening Saturday January 28, 2006 Mile Marker 24 will be playing at 8:00 pm.
Re: Real local. Obviously you haven't been here long enough to be a real local because if you were, you would have remembered when the cross island road was initially an issue many years ago before you came here and we all wanted it.  A "real" local isn't somebody that has spent a season or two here.  There used to be a 10 year rule on whether a person is local or not. I vote for making that a 25 year living here full time before you are considered a local.
I am middle aged, divorced and my mother is long gone. What a great thing it is not having a female person trying to tell me what to do and where I can and cannot "smear my business". God Bless BigPineKey.com!  At least I am not dumb enough to buy an Esteban Guitar.
To "Marine Girl", thank you for returning my Gripmaster. I never really gave it to you to keep but thought it would help your hands.  I am not sure what you are talking about in part of your note about calling you. But in the long run I still don't think you and I  share the same concept of what love is and I guess for you the truth must really hurt regarding what you did. What you did is what you did. Please don't try to shift blame. Honesty and Loyalty are the two most important things to me in a relationship and you seemed to fail on both counts.  You are a fairly confused individual. But I still wish you peace and happiness.  You have a tendency to bring on your own hurt.
All you animal haters out there. Where the hell do all you butt-holes come from? I have lived here for thirty years and in the past we all lived in harmony with the Key Deer, iguanas, people, birds, etc. Now that all you people (whom we had all moved away from up north) decided to move into are paradise and destroy it with your cement jungles, condos, kill all the wildlife along the 18 mile stretch to fit more people in the Keys and destroying all the beautiful ocean and wild life. For all you blind ignorant environmentally insensitive  people that can't see beyond your cell phones and IPods. Why don’t you put all your gadgets down and get in to tune with nature. If we abuse it and ignore it, it will be the death of us all.
You can use the Winn Dixie BP cards at the Dions in Marathon across from Herbies. I found it online. I went there and had no problem and it's not that far.
Monroe County's Ordinances. Chapter 3: Sec. 3-2. Definitions. (a) Animal means any living dumb creature. Hmmm, that about says it all. Why is it you snowbirds, especially the ones from large metropolitan areas, need so many rules? What are you so afraid of?
This Walgreen thing is nearing and end. This week the BOCC are trying to make a deal with the management of Walgreens; and if they can't come together Walgreens has a court date on Jan.30. If Walgreens wins the court case they will be able to build up to the 26000 square feet that is there now. Remember they asked for only 16000, but the planning commission said, "No." If all else fails, Walgreens will open in that beat up old steel building. They have stated that they will make it look the best they can, but they will open. CVS is a mess. Walgreens will help fix that. Publix will help Winn-Dixie be a better store as well. And a well landscaped Mickey D's would do just fine.
You say Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are bigots? Whoda' thunk it? Next thing you know, you'll be telling us that women are sexists!
I've never been to Rob's Island Grill, but now I'm really curious. Can this guy Rob be as bad as everyone says he is? Someone once told me that Captain Dan was a bad guy too, but when I met him I found him to be intelligent, charming and witty. When I asked him about recent accusations that he was holding card games in his establishment, he quickly summed up his restaurant's credo: "Liquor in the front, Poker in the rear." That just about says it all. 
I just got back from my yearly visit to the lower Keys and enjoyed it as usual. I need the recipe for grilled iguana. Wild chicken is good but a little tough and bony. Why can't I get a venison sandwich at the Key Deer Grill. Next year, I would like to try using iguana and stray cats for bait. Just drifting over the reef with the critter swimming behind should be good for shark and barracuda. I assume that these critters are not protected because they are not native or not purposely introduced. In Iowa, stray cats make great targets for .22 rim fire.
Power Point. For those whose systems wouldn't let an exe file through; Download details: PowerPoint Viewer 2003 this link will take you to a download to let you view pps files. This is a simple download from Microsoft.
Welcome to the 20th Annual Woman drivers of the year awards.
"Fetal Mass" sounds like a great name for a rock band. I'd go hear them
Re: women blocking aisles it W/D. I agree, but they are just around the corner from their lard ass husbands who are doing the same thing. Move it, will ya?
Yes, I would definitely abort a retarded child. I don't think any child deserves to live a tortured life of misery in a dysfunctioning body and mind. I prefer the soul of that child stay in heaven where we are all created.
optus_tennis_site_edited If you like tennis this will keep your balls in the air.
Listen to what Mother Nature is trying to tell you. When you have three miscarriages, take the hint and don't continue to get pregnant. No one "made fun" of the retarded. It was a statement of fact. Not all retarded children are able to learn to function. Many live a tortured life, wetting and defecating on themselves, cannot even wipe themselves.
 
I saw one run amok in traffic. This same child tortures and kills small animals (chokes dogs, steps on frogs to smash them, etc) because he doesn't know what he is doing. At age 12, he is as the size of an adult. The other children in the family spend their time looking after and cleaning up after the retarded one. He is so disruptive that the parents have had to change schools four times. (Yes, he is sent to school which is just a free babysitting service so the parents can work) Their neighbors avoid the whole family.

How would you like to be trapped in a body where you cannot walk without tripping over yourself? You cannot express any ideas; much less understand anything? You can never write your own name nor count to two. When the parents die it's time for an institution. Get real. If it makes you happy to see one of these unfortunate children, then adopt a few.
Beware. John Ashcroft is watching you!
What's up with Classic Carpet? Are they staying in business or what? I heard their warehouses have been closed and their crap is all over Ave. B instead of in a dumpster.
7 years next month and not a single glitch with my BellSouth DSL. After Wilma I was back up and running 3 weeks before any of my Comcast neighbors. BellSouth rocks!
Rugrats in bars, restaurants and shopping carts:  Remember we were all rugrats at one time.  We as parents need to get out once in a while too.
Foot fetish. I miss the bartender with the mini toes that used to work at Rob's
Is a Publix really coming to Big Pine?  Where do you get your information?
Re: Crossroads on Big Pine. What I think should be a simple rule of thumb; if it's on the map, it should be paved or packed dirt without potholes that can total my car. I know that takes money, but I have a job where I use maps to find addresses on a regular basis and it is frustrating when you get to a road and it is barely there. Or when you round a corner and are stopped by barricades just so I am not honestly risking my life 20 times a day trying to turn left on US 1.
With regard to all the stores going into the Publix plaza, don't forget Taco Bell.
I have been reading with amusement all the nonsense about soda versus pop. If you look at a dictionary, you will find that they are one and the same.  Soda is any of various compounds of sodium. Soda water is made effervescent by impregnation with carbon dioxide under pressure and used to make drinks. The ensuing bubbles from the carbon dioxide, pop when reaching the surface of the drink, ergo soda pop.  Oh, and as an aside, if those of your contributors who find it difficult to spell all their words correctly,  open the tools menu and click spelling.  This only gives you American English, but that is Ok for the US.
 
I now await the inevitable diatribes.
I like the idea of a toll for all visitors to gain access to the Keys.  However to be fair, there should also be a tax of equivalent value to enable people from the Keys to leave, with non-key dwellers having the same subsidies. 

Like most of us, I have been a victim of a mis-behaved little brats screaming and screeching or running all over a restaurant banging into everything in sight.  The parents don’t do a thing about a screaming child and don’t care that everyone else in the place is having their meal ruined by having to listen to it. 

Managers should politely tell the parent they would be happy to box-up the rest of their meal and nicely ask the parent to take the child outside. If an employee says something to the child the parent gets indignant, but if the kid slams into something and gets hurt or runs into a server and gets burned or cut with a broken glass the parents will want to sue.  Again, managers need to ask the parent to confine the child or nicely ask them to leave. 

Re: the Retail Formula Ordinance.  Yesterday a writer asked a very simple question which I hope expose's their newness to the area instead of the less desirable alternatives. Let's work backwards to the answer.
 
Opinions expressed on many issues here often appear to be black and white, for or against. BPK.com is great fun and very useful but the truth is our real thoughts, beliefs and opinions are discussed daily at the Post Office or the Bank or anywhere we see someone we know. Yesterday a writer said no-one smiles at or has eye contact with him in Winn Dixie. Sometimes it takes me an hour to pick up some milk after work because taking time to talk to some of the many friends I see there is just one of the reasons I choose to live in a small town. I wish we were in a position here on Big Pine to control our own destiny. Many issues discussed here are the direct result of the answer to that simple question.
 
Big Pine residents are now realizing the proverbial "got what you asked for" when they allowed short term rentals to dominate the vote against incorporation. You made it impossible for families to enjoy a week or two in the Keys as they'd done for three or four generations. You ignored the businesses when they told you loosing this critical chunk of income would effect everyone, one way or another. A spike in real estate artificially inflated an otherwise dismal Keys economy, but that too is now on a downslide. Those that sold out and left are now living in big houses on acres of land with money in the bank in a place they don't want to be. Time thins the rest of the herd. Many in real estate will return to bartending or waiting tables. Sorry.
 
The Tru Value is my favorite hardware store and I really like John and enjoy his perspective on things. I disagree with him about Publix, which does not belong here but the insanity that spawned that decision also allowed Walgreens to buy property they can't improve while reducing the size. Dunkin Donuts could sell donuts but could not bake them even though a donut shop did exist on the other side of Winn Dixie a while back. I just have to believe the City of Big Pine could elect any number of people with minds way less confused. 
 
The question was "Why don't the Big Pine people just vote about it?" We did vote on the future of Big Pine a few years back and Big Pine lost. Maybe we should try again.

Actually, that particular issue of BPK Magazine was originally mine. It was just altered by someone else. Clever as it was, I can't take credit for another's work. But, here's a little something else anyhow.

Thursday January 25, 2006

 

 

Wednesday January 25, 2005
What happened to CocoNetKey, and what broadband options are there in Big Pine?

Mile Marker 24 plays Saturday at Mangrove Mamas. Where it all began!
Let's Get Retarded. Okay, now we'll pick on retarded kids.  I work in a federal government building in Key West.  We have a group of "kids" that are in the TIES program affiliated with the high school.  They are developmentally and mentally disabled.  The group comes in daily and recycles, cleans, empties the trash etc.  This teaches them how to work and function and eventually how to hold a job and live independently.   They too have a place on this Earth.  They are innocent.  They may look a little different but they are the light of my day when I see them coming up the walkway.  They have a wonderful outlook and any little achievement is celebrated. Their reward is  time to exercise on our fitness equipment.  They are loved by their parents and looked at as a gift. I too have fell in love with each and every one of them.  The writer calling these humans names should be ashamed of themselves.  Lord help you.

What is all the fuss about Rob's Island Grill?  My husband and I have been to Rob's many times and we never had a problem with Rob or his wonderful staff, except finding a table, because Rob's is packed.   We are, as you all call us, Snow Birds, but we do come to the Key's in the Summer also.  Rob is number one on our place to eat and we enjoy meeting new and old friends.  Rob is an "hands on person".  He is very friendly and works his butt off so his customers are happy.  Hat's off to you Rob! 
The only reason tourists, snowbirds that is, go to Robs' is because they are used to the rude and abusive treatment he dishes out. Where do you think he learned to do business that way. He lives here but hasn't got the Keys disease. He has the rude disease, BAD. And the greed disease too. He would love to sit in his bar and be surrounded by himself, but his prices are to high to pay himself.  --Ntd4880@aol.com

Re: Toll $20.00 per additional axel.
Then you moron Piner Whiners will be paying a little extra for everything that is trucked into the Keys to sustain your whining butts. Another  rocket scientist at work.
A poster noted that we can't have a cross-Island road or Publix (or anything else for the good of the people) because "Increase in traffic, equals increase in deer kills". If traffic is so detrimental to Key Deer then can someone tell me why the simpletons at the Refuge are sending tourists out into the neighborhoods to cruise for Key Deer? Why isn't Fish and Wildlife ticketing tourists that feed the Key Deer and encourage them, not only to come out to the road, but also go up to cars?
(Don't follow this link. It locked up the corporate computer. I've disabled the link.)
Why is George Bush Awesome?  http://www.rocketboom.com/vlog/archives/2006/01/rb_06_jan_20.html
Re: Gas cards.  The Amoco next to McDonalds in Key West  was a B P.  You should be able to use it there.  Good luck!

This is just something for the good people out there that are trying to preserve the plant life and landscaping and killing the iguanas. I went on the internet and bought some steel muskrat traps, and put them in my planters. All I ended up with were a bunch of green legs. So keep  up the good work with the pellet guns, your doing a great service for BPK.
I vote to take the existing US 1 and four lane it!  It's about time that peoples' safety is put ahead of the Key Deer's safety. We will continue to drive around at 35 miles per hour and the deer will not be mowed down in droves. I cannot believe anyone would want to look at the existing Flea Market over a tastefully and heavily landscaped Publix shopping complex with some Palm trees and Oleander dotted about. They are so much prettier than mangrove swamps. If you want to go back to nature go "out back" and exist with the bugs and deer on one of the outer mangrove islands.  Change is happening all around you, its a fact of life and you cannot keep everything the same! Go with it and enjoy life instead of trying to run everyone else's life.  Its also a fact of life that there are low end grocery stores and high end grocery stores. Winn Dixie is fine and much cleaner than before but, a Publix would be appreciated where one could purchase a different array of items.  Unfortunately Albertsons has just been purchased by one of the rabid cost cutting groups, so look for a slick path downwards in those stores.  Good luck to all and try to have fun and enjoy life.


One thing you won't hear from Denture Out: "Wakey, Wakey, get your hand off of snakey!
There is a BP gas station in Key Largo!
Nelson, who has arguably been the county’s most vocal critic against the environmentalists, said Henry Morgenstern’s (advocate for environmentalists) latest actions amounted to, “fundraising for the environmental organizations."
I disagree with the writers that say that Bill Cosby is a bigot.  His television shows portrayed educated back people living productive, decent lives as compared to other black sitcoms that portrayed blacks as stereotypical ghetto-jive fools.  He is very outspoken about, and publicly criticizes, the black welfare junkies, black men who abandon their families, out of wedlock babies and the drugs and violence that swarms through most black segments of society.  His message is that blacks will only succeed when they take charge of their lives, get an education and become productive members of society.  Of course blacks criticize him for telling the truth while embracing welfare pimps like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who still sing the worn out message:  Hold your hand out, collect your welfare, demand more for nothing and when you don’t get enough it’s all the white mans fault.   If you really want to see a couple of bigots take a close look at Jesse and Al.  They both make great livings promoting racial hatred.
Big Pine Toll. The railroad right-of-way was converted to a vehicular highway after the 1935 hurricane destroyed 40 miles of track. A $3.6 million bond issue was repaid with two tollbooths. The tollbooth shown above was at mile marker 32.7 on Big Pine Key about a quarter of a mile south of the Spanish Harbor Bridge. It was as far north as possible so the Key West property owners on Big Pine Keys would not have to pay the toll. The toll was $1 and 25 cents for each passenger other than the driver.

In 1953, Monroe County residents were issued a free toll pass (windshield decal) and the tolls lifted on April 15, 1954. Today the tollbooth would have been located about where the Key Deer underpass is.
Regarding the comment on the woman you know who had miscarriages and then a disabled child. You are lovely.  Thanks for sharing.

No, Cody the dog doesn’t have to stay at home.  He is an exception because he’s so mellow.
About  the Winn Dixie BP gas cards. I called the W/D home office customer service dept. They arranged for a credit to show up on my  bill on one of my next shopping trips to BPK when I used my W/D card.

The person who wrote the unbelievable nasty remark about a “nitwit” who gave birth to a “retarded girl” and went on to say “the child has a face only a mother could love” is obviously a heartless ass without concern for another persons feelings.  Too bad we still have people who would think, let alone put in writing, something that low and nasty about a woman and her handicapped child.  And, Bigpinekey.com Editor, you need a spanking for acknowledging the remark with the picture you attached.  You both would have a much different outlook if it was you life and child.  Shame on both of you.

Winn-Dixie gasoline cards:  Not all BP stations would accept the gas cards.  I found one station on the mainland and used up the card just to get rid of it.  Not a good move on Winn-Dixie’s part down here in the Keys where there was no place to redeem them.
To the lady who wrote that most of the people that left are the ones that didn't want the cross road to happen is totally wrong and is obviously not a true local herself. You all can bitch and complain but it will never happen and that is the fact. The real locals are the ones totally against that, but we do want nice new business and company's in hope to clean this place up which we should of done a long time ago. It's the people against that who are bringing the Keys down. People who are just content with just crappy old Big Pine.





Thanks for the BP advice. I found one at Looe Key Reef.
Dear anti-Cross-Island-Road: You have some facts wrong.  The cross island road was overwhelmingly supported by the community when it was attempted to be but in. The refuge bought up some key lots next to the prison and our now indited  county commissioner Jack London made some kind of deal, after promising Big Piners the road would be built.  Then he had the barricades put up so the people over on Ships Way have to come out on US 1. Go back in your make believe world, were what you say is the truth and what everyone else wants.
I understand that Rob of Robs Island Grill has bought the MontegoBay property. Rob has had the good fortune to pick the right parents. It will cost several million bucks to put that deal together. My point is how in the world can Mom and Pop swing a deal like that? The players in this game have changed, the key word here is change. Mom and pop are out. Big bucks are in. The ship has sailed. Best of luck to Rob who is willing to put up the kind of bucks it takes to play here.

 

I just got the latest issue. Here's the cover. (Ed: These most excellent graphics are from our renowned Comical Editor Dan Schwab and his magic keys.)
Here's the link to Monroe County's Ordinances. http://www.municode.com/services/mcsgateway.asp?sid=9&pid=11270  Look at Chapter 3, Animals and fowl. Read it and obey it! Then read what else you can and cannot do in Monroe County, which includes Key West! "If you don't know the laws, keep your mouth shut!"
--R. Nixon

There’s a BP station in Key Largo. It’s The first station on the right after the junction of Card sound Road and US 1 heading South. It paid for my trip to Wal-Mart.

Can anyone give me a ride to Big Pine Key? I am in the Chicago area and know many of you Islanders travel back and forth. Howard, Alan, Anyone!  Please I miss the Sun!
Hey everyone, check out our new MySpace link: http://www.myspace.com/milemarker24   Anyone can join, there are tons of great bands and artists and best of all, it's free!  It's also a great way to meet new friends.
Corruption. Big Pine Beach?  At last there is someone else as honest as Mr. Boston!
Re: Islamthedoora? Obj: Poetic license producing a jocularity.  To write a sentence with more than one point. To display intellect. 
Re: Why do they call them jewfish? Look at one! Calling the fish that name, is now politically incorrect. It is officially now called a Israeli Grouper.
Re: Dogs and bars.  I have the same problems with rug rats in bars, restaurants, and in shopping carts.

Seahawks Rule! How's everything going? We're going to the Super Bowl, that's how it's going! Finally, something to be ecstatic about.
Publix. Right now Publix is not the only store planning on opening at the Flea Market site. The current plan is for a shopping center that will contain the following stores: Yes a Publix, also Pier One, Wendy's, Olive Garden, Dunkin Donuts, plus a few empty store fronts that are going to fill up fast.
Re: Miscarriage. May you never be in the position of having a Doctor recommend a termination of a child due to difficulties.  I am thinking by your post that perhaps you should have been terminated at some point.  Some people are born butt ugly--some just end up that way. Which are you?
Ebony and Ivory Bigots, Ha! Wait until the (?)Yellow Birds take over, if you want to see bigots.  It's happening in South America right now.

Has any of you genius's thought of using Eric Cartman's anti-hippy music fest remedy on the Denture Out crowd? It's really easy. You get a couple of trucks with boom systems parked outside and play some Slayer or Metallica really loud while having a friend sit home checking the online cad(?).  As soon as the sheriff gets a call;  turn it down. Wait until they clear the call then blast the hell out of the Metal again. A couple of mornings of that and they will turn down the bullhorn.  Bet on it!
As long as we're pointing out what a Bigot Bill Cosby is, shouldn't we also point out The Reverent Jessie Jackson? He's as bigoted as Bill Cosby but twice as vocal. Cosby at least has some style and class, Jackson is the type of person that makes people look down upon blacks. It is my feeling that The Reverent Jackson has killed any chance of us seeing a black president within the next 50 years. A great man named Martin Luther King made forward motion towards equality for all people and Jessie "The Donkey" Jackson pushed all that motion backwards. Jessie is mad at the white man because he's black. He must be the pride of his race.
A few years back a failed Incorporation attempt for BPK resulted in getting the attention of the County Commissioners. There were a lot of inequities and a lot of people were getting fed up with it. For a few months we saw street sweepers on the island. We were promised a park for the kids, and to have our roads repaved. Guess what? No park, a promise to repave the Avenues has been going on for three years and over ten million bucks of state money went to deer proofing US1 (which still has a 35 mile per hour restriction). The only benefit, the majority of those opposed to the Incorporation, The Big Pine Civic Association in general, have sold out and fled. I am not advocating Incorporation, but I think a thorough cleansing of the Board of Commissioners can only be beneficial.




Way to go Steelers!
The Geiger Key Park. (better known as the Kick-Back Park) must be a joke for sure. If there is that kind of extra money laying around, give it back to us tax payers. We are getting sick and tired of you politicians playing God!
You're right; It is Paradise.
Ever notice how some older women behave in the grocery store.  They will meet in the aisle and stop to chit chat.  Between their shopping carts and two broad beam behinds they will block an aisle so no one else can get by.  If you need to pass and say “excuse me” you get a dirty look and one of them might move three or four inches still not leaving enough room to pass by.  After trying to squeeze your cart between lard ass and the shelves (hoping that you don’t take out a display of canned goods) you will get another dirty look.  And it gets way worse during tourist season when the professionally rude people get here


If the fetal mass is not yet a person, please show me the woman who has a puppy or a kitten or an oak tree instead of a human baby. Human cells are human and not another species. I wouldn’t tell another person what to do with their bodies, but at least realize what an abortion is, which is murder.

Mystery creature. Any ideas?  This is the Jersey woman unshaven that day.  Probably prowling for yard sales.

Abortion: Next time I see a pregnant woman, I'll be sure to ask her how many months that "fetal mass" is.  I guess women should stop saying they lost their baby if they have a miscarriage.  They should say they lost their fetal mass. Hey genius, where's your scientific data supporting when a soul "enters" the body? If you can't prove it, how can you assume it?

Wednesday January 25, 2005

 

Tuesday January 23, 2006


We used our BP gas card on the way to Jacksonville for Thanksgiving. It paid for half the trip. You need to get off the rock more you mollusk
You must be a new owner on Spanish Main Dr. with a hangover on Saturday morning! I lived in Venture Out 15 years ago and they used to kill me on Saturday morning, "Wakey, wakey, rise and shine..." Get use to it. It's been going on for 20+ years and it will never stop.
Winn Dixie gasoline cards.  I got one of these cards also, leave it to Winn Dixie to pass out gas cards for stations that don't exist down here. I gave mine to my sister who was visiting just before Wilma came roaring through. She was able to use it on the way home.
Big Kudos to the person who pointed out Bill Cosby being the biggest Bigot on Earth.  Even the Jell-O Pudding Pops he advertises are Chocolate.  The spin-off of The Cosby Show was called A Different World and was about an all black college.  The only time I remember a white student on it was one that flunked out of school.  Someone should make that bigot spend a month living with David Duke supervised by the LA Police.
Re: Tolls $1.00 per 2 axels.  No. It should be $20.00 per additional axel.
If you are from Maine and want to live here year round, come on down, we could use some more help from permanent residents.
How do those idiots feel riding in the golf carts with their recorders blaring out, "Get your hot pancakes and  coffee." I'm a long time resident and I talked my brother into buying a place in Venture Out. Last week I told him to sell.
Miscarriage is when the soul of the child is not ready to be born. Abortion is when the mother is not ready for a child to be born. I knew a woman who had two children, then three miscarriages, duh; and kept on trying to conceive. Finally, she gave birth to a retarded girl. Obviously, Mother Nature was trying to tell this nitwit something. And the child, well, let's just say has a face only a mother could love. Whew! Pitiful, and too scary.
Re: Mobile USA Flood Claims:  First call 1-800-356-6326 give your policy number and they will check when your claim check was forwarded to Mobile USA. Then call 1-800-759-8656 to see  when Mobile USA received your check. My check was received by Mobile on  Dec. 3rd and they tell me it is still being processed and do not have any idea when I can expect payment.  I plan on checking with them once a week.  If more people keep pressure on Mobile USA we may see results.  Thank you Rebecca Horan of Atlantic-Pacific for your diligent help.

It's the birthday of actor Humphrey Bogart, born in New York City (1899). He was expelled from Massachusetts' Phillips Academy and immediately joined the Navy to fight in World War I serving as a ship's gunner. One day, while roughhousing on the ship's wooden stairway, he tripped and fell, and a splinter became lodged in his upper lip; the result was a scar as well as partial paralysis of the lip, resulting in the tight-set mouth and lisp that became one of his most distinctive onscreen qualities.
Re: Lost Cat. Around 9:15 pm Monday night I did one last walk about looking for my handsome boy. And, guess what, Giacomo was found crying at his front door. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the person who finally checked his ground floor enclosure and let him out. I fixed his favorite dinner and set his favorite beverage out. Now, he is waiting for me to jump into bed with him. I have got to go. Can't keep a good man waiting. Thank you, mystery person. Bigpinekey.com is his life saver.



Weird Moments in Comics. Wow. I've never heard of this particular conflict. And I watch the History Channel.
Abortion: The fetal mass is not yet a person until late enough in the pregnancy that the fetus can live outside the womb. The spirit of this person-to-be does not enter the fetus at the time of conception. I can think of many reasons that abortion should be legal without any hassle from the gubment.
1. This is a woman's body, owned only by her.
2. Those who can't afford to raise a child, shouldn't .
3. Rape
4. Incest
5. A pregnancy used to entrap a man.
6. Genetic inferiority
7. Severe birth defects
8. Babies giving birth to babies
9. Mo' welfare food stamps
10. When the gubment tells men what they can do with their sperm.
11. People like Jeffrey Dahmer, Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, Charles Manson, Jack the ripper, serial killers, criminals, murderers, etc. Yep, those losers needed to be aborted at the get-go.

You know, when a child finds amusement in torturing and killing small animals...don't you think there must be something seriously wrong with the little monster? Better left unborn.



Keep practicing your guitar and working on getting along with others. One day you may get into a real band, but I doubt it.
Island Review.  1. If you allow one chain store in, anywhere, then you have to allow all of them in. Once you open that door you can't close it. BPK would soon look like "Everywhere USA." The USF&W and FLDOT will not allow anything that will increase traffic. US-1 through BPK is already over burdened. Increase in traffic, equals increase in deer kills, not to mention the long traffic lines. Just look at the flea market on weekends and picture that 7 days a week going to Publix. I know folks that would come from Bay Point just to stay out of Key West. Email www.winndixie.com (several times) with your complaints, I did and it works.
  2. I doubt if a cross island road will happen for the same reasons as above, it will increase the deer kills. It comes up every 3 or 4 years and then it dies down again.
  3. The Blue Hole is an old rock quarry that was dug in the 1930's for fill on the roads. It filled in with fresh water and here comes the critters. BPK is the only key with natural fresh water on it, there's still a few old Indian wells to be found if you know where to look. So unless some treasure ship ran aground in the Blue Hold, since the 1930's, I doubt there's any treasure there. But it's a neat story to tell the tourist, tell them it's okay to treasure dive there, the 'gators love divers (They taste like chicken but the damn wet suites get caught in their teeth.)
  4.When I hear people complaining about the deer, I just ask them, "why would anyone move to Big Pine if they don't like the Key Deer?" Then I say, "perhaps you would be happier living in Summerland or Marathon, I mean if you don't like animals, why live here?" At that point I usually get a blank stare and I just walk away and tell them to have a nice day.

Guess what, I love Big Pine and it's life style!  

Gas Card. W/D thought there were BP gas stations here because they thought BP meant Big Pine.
Mystery creature. At first glance, I though it might be a Jersey woman in her natural habitat. But upon closer inspection it looks like a member of the Northeastern Pompous Ass species. Is that you Mr. Boston?
Re: Winn Dixie Gas card; We're screwed. I've had main for months and don't want to go to the mainland to redeem it.
Re: Keep your dogs home. Keep your Kids home. If they are not behaved enough to sit still and be quiet long enough to eat a meal it makes it rough for anyone else in the place. People will just set their kid on the ground, (as if it were a dog) and let it run around terrorizing the other customers while the parent can sit and talk to their friend or spouse.

As a child, if I got a reprimand from another adult, my parents would agree I must have done something wrong. But the other day I watched as a child, far from his table, sprinted helter-skelter around the restaurant and then ran into a server carrying food. Things could have gone terribly awry, but the server managed to hold on to the platter and subsequently told the kid that he should go back to his table. He said it in a grumbling tone, not that I could blame him. The kid went running back to his mother who immediately admonished the waiter for reprimanding her son. Although the poor server tried to explain that her child was nearly covered in piping hot food due to her negligence, she wouldn't hear of it.

If this were not just a drop in the bucket I wouldn't bother posting this. But, I have seen this sort of bad parenting more than just a couple times. Parents are either lazy, inconsiderate, or both. Sometimes it's the fact that people want to be, "best pals" with their kids. Children need parents not pals.

Book Review of 1776. (Here's something for you culturally shallow Piners) I just read that book about Washington. The bottom line is that he was a lousy general, but a great leader. In related stuff, A full length portrait of George Washington at Princeton by Peale just sold for over 21 million dollars. That's the most expensive picture ever sold by an American artist.
There are many of us who do want a cross island road aside from US 1. Has anybody else noticed that most of the people that were so vocal against the cross island connection have sold out and moved away? Meanwhile, the rest of us are still here, not being got-miners like all those sellouts.  If you want an alternative route call the planning department everyday and let the planners know your desires. We lost the last time because of Big Pine's famous complacency.
To the Albertson's in Key West shopper.  Aw, looks like I must have stepped on a nerve.

BP Amoco was bought out by Mobil, so if you had a gas card for BP or Amoco you could use it there until they get you a new card.
Buyer beware of Albertsons. They spent one day cleaning up after hurricane Wilma. Why is it that all the other stores in the Kmart plaza had to replace their dry wall (and everything else) and Albertson's didn't? Many who worked cleaning up the mess in surrounding stores say that the back side of Albertson's walls are covered with mold. Mold! And you are buying food and eating it from a store that couldn't have done a proper job getting rid of the hurricane bacteria and (whatever). I used to like shopping there for variety. I will never even go into that store again. I don't want to get sick.
Change. How many of you have had fresh, hot donuts made at Islands Jims, meat cut at Cash & Carry, shopped at Judd's, a giant roast beef or turkey sandwich at the Big Pine Inn, breakfast at the Sharecropper? My point is change. It has been going on forever. We have more Key Deer, Marsh Rabbits and Wood Rats now than ever before. Looe Key is in much better shape now than it was. Fishing is the best it has been in years. Change is not all bad.
Want to have some fun? Say hello and smile at everyone that is shopping at Winn-Dixie. What a cranky bunch of people. Most of them won't make eye contact, let alone say hello. I am guessing they are from up north. It is a wonder that those people even reproduce, considering how cold they are. I think their concept of foreplay is "brace yourself."
To the person who sent an e-mail about Rob and Rob's Bar & Grill. Thank you! I have read more slam about poor Capt. Dan (who is a perfect gentleman) that it makes me want to puke! This "man" at Rob's had the audacity to tell my wife to "suck his d**k" when she expressed her devotion to a particular sports team. Let me tell you he's very lucky I was not present on this occasion, or Rob would definitely not be with us right now (or at least in a severely disabled state). I have not frequented his establishment out of fear of doing so. Don't worry, people like him don't last long down here. It's a long hot summer without tourists to abuse. I just hope he makes a few improvements to his establishment before he looses his shirt. Disrespectful bastards like him have no place here in the keys especially as a business man. --kvicci@yahoo.com



Yankees rule!
Re: FEMA help. (Oxymoron) The only person I know that received money from FEMA was unemployed (by choice) and uninsured (house is paid for). He lives in a stilted home and the only "damage" was water up to the wheel well of the vehicle he still drives. Your tax dollars at work for those who don't.
Please don't tell me the BPK Flea Market is sold! It is the only place to shop and hangout on Saturday morning and see everyone you know. Will it just relocate or is out of here?
One dollar for a toll into the Keys is ridiculous.  Twenty dollars is more like it.  If a tourist is dissuaded from traveling to the Keys they were not likely to add much to the economy and so good riddance.  Season passes could be sold to the locals to end the discussion of the poor locals not getting a break. 

Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement.
In reply to Formula Retail Ordinance.  Bull crap. Most of the people here would like to see a Publix, Walgreens, Dunkin Donuts, etc on Big Pine.
Gas cards. We were able to use ours at the Amoco in Marathon across from Herbie's
Re: toll on US1. That is a great idea and have a pass so residents don't have to pay. This would keep our taxes low and also pay for the day trippers who fish and use our county services.
With regard to Walgreens, Publix, formula retail, McDonalds, the cross-island connector and to ascertain that the overwhelming majority do not support them. How about having a vote, even a non-binding one, so that somebody besides the screaming unemployed people that have time to go to meetings can express their opinion. Then we'd all know for sure just what the majority did want.
Re: Nautical Flea Market on Saturday; how was it?  You didn't miss too much.

Re: Albertson's food store. As nice as Albertson’s is I think Publix is even better.  A Publix on Big Pine would be a welcome change from the meager-at-best Winn-Dixie.  I have had so many bad pieces of meat and chicken I no longer purchase meat products from them.  I try to stock up when I can go to Publix in Marathon or go to Murray’s.  And yes, it is nice to hear employees speaking English.



I don't understand all you people who complain and such. This is a great place to live and work. And all the ethnic diversities here. It is a wonderful life here. Let's all try to be grateful and try to get along.
This is a music video of what our troops do when they're not getting shot at. Army Frolic

Re: Mobile Insurance. Have you called Johnson’s Insurance for help?  My guess is that you’re female and blond.
Obviously your a jackass!  I may be dumb, at times, but I'm not stupid! And yes, I'm a female and no, I'm not blonde.



I wish Kinky Freidman was running for  Governor of Florida instead of Texas Governor. He'd get my vote
People like Rob aka "Rob's Bar & Grill" that treat their help and their customers like crap don't last long. The man's fuse is about 1/4 inch long and he explodes daily. He has no business dealing with the public. He will "self destruct" in a small town like Big Pine. Most small business want every dime they can get, the locals are their bread and butter and the tourist are the gravy. Sooner or later Rob's Dad will get tired of sending him money and he'll be forced to close up and leave. Then he'll bad mouth the locals for not supporting him.  --LOCALGOSS@aol.com
Re: Dogs should stay home. Should Cody stay home?


I knew what a johnnycake was already, but I didn't realize the a flapjack and a pancake are different.

Tuesday January 23, 2006

 

Monday January 23, 2006
Girl's softball. Any girls form the ages 13 the 17 want to play softball be at Watson Field This Wednesday at 6 pm to sign up. Please help by spreading the word about Wednesday's  signup to anyone that may have an interest in some good clean family fun. Bulletin Board>Wednesday
Re: Formula Retail Ordinance. I don't think you understand the ramifications of allowing fast food and big box on BPK. These outfits have deep pockets and one is never enough for them. If you want BPK to turn into Marathon or Key West, than allow formula retail. If you treasure the uniqueness of BPK as the only key left with any semblance of what the Keys are truly about, you will understand the reason that formula retail will not work on BPK. The majority of folks that seem to want Formula retail are trying to sell their property AND then leave the Keys. This type of atmosphere does not foster good zoning decisions.



Wow, what a nightmare Sunday. Please we need another grocery store in Big Pine.  The lines were back in the freezer section.
Don't even bring the subject up of a cross-island road.  We already went down that road, and Big Piners overwhelmingly favored no cross-island road.  Think of all the traffic that would be rerouted through neighborhoods.  Talk about lives being injured or lost (people, children and pets).  Neighborhoods should remain a quiet, safe haven from U.S. 1.  And when have you heard about a loss of life because a victim couldn't get on U.S.1?  Get a grip.
No, you are not the only one with Mobile Insurance. It is owned by Liberty Insurance of Philadelphia.  I have the same insurance. I make my check out to MHIA. Go to your agent who should be able to help you get in touch with the Co.
Some guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: "Free to good home. You want it, you take it". For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. He eventually decided that people were too un-trusting of this deal. It looked to good to be true, so he changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale $50". The next day someone stole it.
Rumor Mill. Publix is going in BP flea market space being bought by the county and the true value is going to be sold for low income housing developed by county
Re: loud speaker at Venture Out. Isn't it a damn shame RPG's are against the law for civilian use.
Don't buy a used vehicle without checking to see if it has been flooded. Go to:
Business Directory>Government>Flooded Vehicle Registry
Re: Mourning a miscarriage. You stated: A miscarriage is an unfortunate ending of a wanted pregnancy. An abortion is the fortunate ending of an unwanted pregnancy. Let's substitute the word, pregnancy, with the word, life. A miscarriage is an unfortunate ending of a wanted "life." An abortion is the fortunate ending of an unwanted "life." You could honestly stand before your maker and justify that? At the end of 9 months, it's a person. Don't mess with that process and it's a person. What's your logic?


I visited Big Pine Key in October.  We have a son that lives there.  We are from Maine, and we loved it.  What a gorgeous place!  I'm coming back.
It was proven in the last traffic study that the cross island road would do nothing to improve service on BPK. What is really needed are the long awaited FDOT traffic improvements on US 1. Hey, supporters of the cross island road! Can we run it by your house?
Our ground level home Behind those trucks pictured in Saturday's Wilma photo did not have sufficient damage for FEMA help? Go figure, huh?

Put the toll at the beginning of Key Largo $1.00 per 2 axles $2.50 Per additional axle.
Re: pop vs soda map. The map is pretty cool. I am from Maryland, and having always said soda, I never heard anyone call it pop until I moved to Washington state.

Diving up Atocha Gold out of the Blue Hole:  Sure, Atocha gold in the blue hole and I think Capt. Kidd’s treasure, and maybe the Treasure of the Sierra Madre too.  This is one rumor that will probably entice some moron to check it out and get eaten by the nice big crock that lives there.
Quite a few people have been looking for Ginger Root Beer.  They have it at W/D aisle 7, right hand side, the first section made by the Stewart Co. 4-pack carton.

I missed the Nautical Flea Market at the Chamber grounds on Saturday.  One comment I heard was that it wasn’t very good.  How was it really?

Re: Mobile Ins. I went to ask.com and it brought up the website. The bad news is it said, "If you're the owner of this site contact us immediately."
Re: verbatim articles.  Pony up and bear with it.
Someone made a great suggestion today saying every flag pole should have a Conch Republic flag flying.  I have had mine up for many years.  Maybe we can do something to remove the Rainbow flags too.
Winn Dixie gasoline cards. A few months back, Winn Dixie was giving away $25 gasoline cards if you spent a certain amount on groceries. I have yet to find a gas station that will accept the card. Does anyone know where the nearest BP gas station is? It seems that all of the Amoco/BP stations in Marathon and K West have been sold to Citco, and the stations that might have been honoring the cards are no longer doing so.


It's called a jewfish from the story of Jonah and the whale. It was actually a grouper.
Parrotdise. Sorry to have started the thing about the dogs at your great place.  There are too many bad dog owners than good dog owners and it wouldn't work, especially when folks bring their Pit bulls and Rottweilers.  Let's just go with a once-a-month singles happy hour.  Doggies stay home and I won't bring another one back from Happy Hour that's for sure, dude.

Mystery creature near Port Pine Heights. Any ideas?
Dogs and all retail business. When you allow any dogs in your business you are inviting a law suit, of this I am sure. Bars are at the top of the list. As a rule dogs don't like folks that are drinking, they tend to get on there hands and knees and stick there face in the dogs face, most often blocking any way for the dog to get away. The dog will nip or in some cases bite. There you go new owner. There is no defense for it. So don't be to hard on the business owner. I love dogs, its their owners I have trouble with. Bow-wow.
People who don't like dogs have no soul. And, if some people knew what was really happening to their food, (even in the nicest of restaurants... I know because I worked in the kitchen of a 4-star eatery) they would probably prefer to wipe their steak on a Labrador's butt.
Re: Formula Retail Ordinance. I don't think you understand. 1st and last we can not look like Marathon or Key West, ever. Most of the US1 highway frontage is owned by the federal gov. Thats right, the feds. Next the banks, Tom Thumb and Dion's are her to stay. Father Tony's not selling. Do you get it yet? There is so little that can be used that is zoned to be used that can get through all the red tape.

Do you know that we lose every tax penny that is spent in the city of Marathon and Key West? That's a bunch of pennies. They are a city, we are part of Monroe County. Are you getting any of this? You are talking about a flea market that is owned by a church and pays no taxes on all that land. True Value, Skeeter's, Big Pine Storage all have a very low tax base. (I am sure they don't thinks so.) What a great spot for a motel/hotel. Big Pine could use a hotel/motel that is up-scale and well landscaped to keep some of that money here and a bunch of tax dollars. And its zoned for it too.

Would you would take away their rights? You sound like Hitler taking the rights away from hard-working folks would have spent a lifetime working here. One of us is living in the wrong country. By God, this is America.


Keep your dogs home. That's where I keep mine. Not everyone likes our dogs. Not everyone likes to have them around. Dogs do not belong in public places.
Keys TV. The Keys need there own TV or Satellite channel. The TDC, cities, and county can put in our tax dollars and lease out time slots for complete 24 hour Keys Entertainment.
Mobile Ins. Co. Why do you think they call it mobile?
If you're celebrating a birthday in the next month, congratulations on being The Kookiest sign of the zodiac. Aquarius are way-out there and most would benefit from psych-evaluations, pharmaceutical assistance and laying off the booze.
Pritim Singh didn't buy the Sunshine Key property. Someone else beat him to it.
I applaud the person who wrote in about "Ebony and Ivory Bigots."  That is such a true statement.  The black race is the largest group of bigots around but it is accepted from them.  

The biggest bigot I have ever seen is praised on TV. His name is Bill Cosby.  Has anyone ever seen a white person on The Cosby Show that was not a janitor or a garbage man?  Yet the show is about a black doctor and black lawyer. What would happen if someone started The United White College Fund?  Can we create a scholarship and make one of the requirements to receive it that the student must be white?  Daytona Beach has Black Spring Break every year. Can we start White Spring Break? 

“Formula retail ordinance. The only people who want those kinds of stores are the US1 property owners….”  I’m not a U.S. 1 business or property owner and I do not oppose redevelopment of existing commercial property along the highway.  No one proposes that we pave over every inch of Big Pine.  I would welcome a Wendy’s or Dunkin Donuts at Winn-Dixie, a Publix at the True Value location, a nice new Walgreens at Scotty’s or an Outback Steakhouse to replace Conch & Stink.  At least the landscaping would be professional, attractive and well maintained.  This is one argument however that will never end.  For every person who has no objection there will be someone with the opposing view.  Such is the process of free opinion.  Hopefully our County Commissioners and the Planning Commission will make the right choice before all of the business corridor through Big Pine is dead.



That's $1500 a day for female lap dancers; or real close to it.  That's what my ex is knocking down at Bare Assets!
To the Albertson's in Key West shopper.  Be sure to use that store for your emergency hurricane supplies; also for that nice "change of scenery". Oh, and the best part, since they all speak English, you'll be able to understand them when they tell you to get lost.

To the person looking for Mobile Insurance. You say that, “That's the company Johnson Insurance has me paying for my flood insurance.”  Well, (duh!) have you called Johnson’s Insurance for help?  My guess is that you’re female and blond.

Weird Moments in Comics. Seriously,  can you guess what the Joker's preoccupation is?
Corruption. Big Pine Beach? You want something done? Find a local politician's brother-in-law, cousin, uncle, niece, drinking buddy, etc. who would stand to make a ton of money off the project and it will happen tomorrow! Of course it will go over budget, and on "Keys Time" will take forever to finish.
To the person who is wondering about the Atocha gold being found at the Blue Hole: I have never really thought about it, but after a nasty and disastrous divorce from my wife three years ago she did the most horrible thing. In a fit of rage, after not receiving the '69 VW bug in the settlement, she took my most precious thing in the world, my Atocha coin, and tossed it as far as she could into the Blue Hole. I always hoped that when she realized the value of it she would attempt to retrieve it and meet her demise in the jaws of an alligator. See ya later alligator!
Fool, Schooner Wharf quit allowing dogs months ago!
Cheers to the University of Miami Health Fair Saturday. Thank God to all of you for coming down here! Signed a very grateful under-appreciated, uninsured  hospitality worker.
To whomever is complaining about pancake breakfast at Venture Out, I understand your pain, but you must get the hours right. You are asking if the people at V.O. are so stupid that they don't know pancake breakfast is at nine o'clock, but you just typed out the "saying" yourself that says "pancake breakfast from 8-9" , but you wrote that it starts at 9:00. This is why they ride around at 7:45 and do that, just for people like you-who can't get it right. Flapjacks forever!
Re: Wakey, wakey! Rise and shine pancake breakfast. I am telling you that crap has gone on long enough at Denture Out. Not only does the man announcing it sound so moronic that you would think you're in a prison being subjected to some offbeat propaganda, on and on. It is a wonder he hasn't been taken out while on his golf cart. I would also like to mention that since I walk my dog down Spanish Main, now that it is the winter, I spend most of my time head to the ground dodging dog poop. It wasn't like that in the summer, so it seems to me the fault has to rest on the Denture Outers. Your dog poops, you scoop it. It is not to difficult, take a Winn Dixie plastic bag with you. I had to get this off my chest (and shoes).
Return freaking shopping carts. This is something I've tried to do and been told by the staff that I was taking a job away from the bag people!
One of the longest natural beaches in the Keys can be found on Big Pine along Long Beach Road. A recent walk along the coarse sand beach revealed sponges, coral, conch shells along with tons of seaweed and broken crab traps washed ashore by Wilma. I'm not sure if the county owns any of the vacant waterfront lots on this beach, but with a county road and utilities already in place, this location would be a no-brainier for a public beach on BPK.
The correct name is the correct name is Mobile USA Insurance Company. Even though your flood insurance has been placed with them by your agent, they are only a servicing agent for the National Flood Insurance Program, as all the other servicing agents, such a Fidelity, American Strategic, Hartford. if you are having a problem getting your claim paid, call your agent and have them follow up for you.

I can tell you, as a local insurance agent, that it has been a very slow process, due to the extreme volume of flood claims throughout the country.






Happy birthday Michelle D.

Monday January 23, 2006


 

Sunday January 22, 2006

Every flagpole in the Keys should have a Conch Republic flag proudly flying beneath the American flag. Where's their show of patriotism for the marvelous Conch Republic? Plus it's very good for tourism for us to promote our differences.
Hey Piner its time to think about the cross Island road. Littons way. Once again we have folks from up north enjoying our Island and the only road is U.S.1. It sure would make it a bunch better for all of us if we could get around Big Pine Key and stay off U.S.1. There will be a fire, heart attack, some 911 stuff that will cost a life because U.S.1 will not allow service to the party needing it. Now is the time. Think about it. This no growth, not on my Island BS. It will cost someone their life. I hope it's not yours or someone you love.

I just returned from Little League tryouts at Watson Field. The turnout was not much to brag about. Enrollment has been decreasing over the years for obvious reasons. There is an auxiliary tryout on this Tuesday at 6:00 PM for anyone that missed today's tryout. Please help support our Big Pine Little League by spreading the word about Tuesday's tryout to anyone that may have an interest in some good clean family fun.
I don't like the verbatim articles that are cut and pasted here. I like it when the writer gives his own take on the article. I want to read the Piners' opinion of the story, not the actual story.
Saturday's photo of Wilma is the most representative photo of that whole hurricane I think.

Campbell's Select Clam Chowder plus a half teaspoon of fresh cilantro makes a very tasty bowl of soup.
I had to go to Key West this morning on business and decided to stop and try Albertson's food store out. What a difference from Winn Dixie. The Isles are a little smaller but I found the prices better and selection more varied with lots of it in stock. I will be shopping there from now on. It gives me a nice change of scenery. Oh and I forgot the best part, everyone I dealt with spoke and understood English. What a concept.
I Googled Mobile Ins. Co. and came up empty!




Thursday I saw a Morning Dove and Saturday I heard the first Cardinal.
build a beach.   We could call it Fantasy Beach because anyone that thinks that Army Corps will let you put sand on a coastline is defiantly living in fantasy land.
I have been reading the replies to the comment this Boston person made, and I noticed only stuff against it.  I guess there isn't anyone down here on his side. Makes you think that maybe he's right or nobody outside of BPK reads this stuff! 

Is the rumor I heard about someone diving up Atocha Gold out of the Blue hole true?
Re: A toll before the Seven Mile Bridge. Are you kidding? Tolls are the most disgusting money grabbing con job any state can condone. If they stick a toll up our butts they'd better let locals off with a sticker on the windshield. The 35 mph speed limit going into Marathon from the 7 mile bridge is stupid too.
Re: Formula retail ordinance. The only people who want those kinds of stores are the US1 property owners who are looking to sell out and the snowbirds--so BPK will look "just like up north."
Re: $1500 a week. If I find a job that pays that I will call you and let you know as long as there are two positions available.


Re: A Sub is a Sub. When the Sub is cooked in the pizza oven it becomes a Grinder. Now how about a Spukie?

A County beach on Big Pine?  You’ve got to be joking!  Take a look at the ball field parking project.  If that’s not enough consider the miserable mess the Mariner Resort/County Park project is in.  We may never see that fiasco completed no matter how much it would benefit the citizens of Big Pine.  As for a Big Pine Beach, don’t forget having to deal with the environmental wacko nuts, the NIMBY folks, the ‘protect the mangroves’ group, the Citizens Against Virtually Everything crowd, the Key Deer huggers, the Army Corps of Engineers, the FWC, the County bureaucracy and perhaps another half dozen groups that I have failed to mention.  It’ll never happen.

Pop vs Soda. Sometimes you don't have to look very far for answers. http://www.popvssoda.com/
To the person that wrote; "The next time some lazy nitwit fights me to get through a store front double... ". Repeat after me, "serenity now, serenity now, serenity now! If that doesn't work, at least take a picture cause I'd really like to see that.
Hello, Mr. Boston. What exactly was your point? All I got from your posting was that you have no character, poor manners and sound as if you are lower than any of the people you claim "drain on your patience." Was there a hidden message that I missed?

"Is that all there is" by the Black Eyed Peas is a great song. Just to hear that girl moaning is worth the listen.
Let’s see, do we want to stay in our cozy happy house with the family or hang-out with some crack heads who have three teeth, chain smoke and abuse alcohol?  How about those happy hour people who are just drunks-in-a-bar?  Is this who we want to associate with?  We have nothing in common and if you step in crap, you smell.  Many of us do not desire popularity since we graduated High School. Agreeing with the Boston people that many of the locals are undesirables and like them, we keep good company or none at all. 
Reports of a whale sighting in a local canal was proven to be false by investigators who determined that the creature was not, as originally thought, a humpback whale but rather a Jersey woman out for a swim.  A spokesperson said late yesterday that the sighting by locals was an easy mistake to make until close inspection saw the woman breach and revealed her gold lame’ swim fins.
Sunshine Key will soon be condos also, brought to you by Pritim Singh

Re: job that pays $1500 a month.  Female:  Lap dancing at teasers.   Male: Lap dancing at 801 Bourbon Bar. 

Dogs and bars:  I don’t have too much problem with a dog at an outside bar as long as the owner keeps the pooch leashed and makes sure the mutt is cleaned-up after if needed.  But I do have a problem with a dog inside a bar that serves food.  I have seen employees greet an incoming hound with a big ear and belly scratch and then go right back to handling food and drink with their dirty doggie hands.  And I have seen dogs on top of the bar where people want to sit and eat their lunch.  I have also seen dog owners bring their doggie into a bar and the little woofer immediately starts marking its territory or takes a nice big crap in the corner.  Just leave the dog at home.  You won’t be distracted during your happy hour and Muttley will have a great time taking a nice whiz behind the sofa, scooting his butt across the rug and chewing the leg on the end table.  Oh, that’s why you take him with you!



Weird Moments in Comics. Everybody has their own preoccupations. See if you can guess the Joker's.
Re: Where can I find a job that pays $1500.00 a week.   If your a female your sitting on a fortune
Re: Mobile Ins. That's the company Johnson Insurance has me paying for my flood insurance on my mobile home.  What am I the only person in the keys with an account with this company?
I just spent ten minutes looking for the house of music phone number. It is not in the phone book. I found it in ten seconds on the bigpinekey.com Business Directory. Keep up the good work bigpinekey.com. Business Directory>Bars
Good to see the cam back! (Ed: Sorry, but by the time you read this it will be off again. There's trouble in paradise.)



Sorry to get your hopes up. There's no BPK Magazine. This BPK Gazette doesn't exist either.
It's 7:45 AM Saturday morning on Cudjoe Key. Instead of being able to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee on the porch, I'm being bombarded by some nitwit on a loud speaker at Venture Out, (Dentures Out) shouting "Wakey, wakey rise and shine, pancake breakfast, eight to nine." Are the people there so stupid that they don't know that there is a pancake breakfast at 9?
I was in Boston once, 6 years ago for a business meeting. We stayed in a hotel for around $120.00.  I was awake all night listening to trains that passed within 100 ft of my room.  Finally around 6 am I decided to go get coffee since I could not sleep. When walking out the front door I had to step over drunks sleeping on the sidewalk; and this was supposedly the good side of town.  Never again.
I hope Parrotdise does put a Tiki bar down stairs so I can bring my dog. I like to take him with me to bars that allow dogs. I wish more of them allowed pets. I took him last night to Dockside in Marathon it was so enjoyable we were not the only ones that had a pet there. So if you don't like pets at an outside bar, then stay away! You make me so mad just because you don't like dogs at an outside bar.  He is a lot cleaner then most of the cooks I have seen around here and probably gets more baths then you do.  Schooners wharf in KW makes a lot of money, and sometimes there are twenty dogs in there.  This is another small part of what the Keys are about (the laid back, we do it our way, attitude). And if you don't like it, go back to Michigan/Ohio/NJ.
Soda vs pop. My guess (I am a good guesser) is Soda was first used to name carbonated non-alcoholic drinks (which produced Soda Fountains and Soda Jerks) and when they bottled them the name Soda Pop was used since opening the bottle created a pop. OK, OK, let's put the meaningless to rest. Here is a link to a site on the The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy http://www.popvssoda.com/ you can continue your discussion there.
 
Now we can get back to controversies that mean something to us such as; Dolphin vs Mahi Mahi, Jewfish vs Goliath Grouper, Manatee vs Sea Cow, Great White Heron vs White morph of Great Blue Heron , Island vs Key, Big Pine Key vs Big Iguana Key and finally Queen Conch vs Pink Conch.
 
I prefer Dolphin, Jewfish, Manatee, White Morph, Key (I don't live in the Florida Islands), Big Iguana Key (There aren't any really big Pines on the Key) and Queen Conch.
 


Re: "Where else besides Schooners and Mangrove Mamas can I party with my dog?"  Try home.
Ebony and Ivory Bigots. There are just as many blacks that are bigoted as there are white people. it's just that they get away with it. Whites don't. Imagine if a white mayor said that, "We're going to rebuild New Orleans as a Vanilla town."
First case of Bird Flu in France. this follows 15 cases in Turkey. Stay tuned for a plague near you.
You used to be able to turn in old flares at the sheriffs substation on Cudjoe
Re: Update on Formula Retail Ordinance. I don't think you understand the ramifications of allowing fast food and big box on BPK. These outfits have deep pockets and one is never enough for them. If you want BPk to turn into Marathon or Key West, than allow formula retail. If you treasure the uniqueness of BPK as the only key left with any semblance of what the Keys are truly about, you will understand the reason that formula retail will not work on BPK. The majority of folks that seem to want Formula retail are trying to sell their property and then leave the Keys. This type of atmosphere does not foster good zoning decisions.


To the defender of DUI you should have been on the flight to Pluto.

Re: Islamthedoora? (Ed: Another foible of editing. People yell at me for changing their words, so I didn't. I didn't know about the hackers downing the Islamorada City web site at press time.)

Big Grouper Revealed. Who guessed Warsaw? You got it. 52.5 pounds! Electric reels don’t count. Uh, who’s counting? I’ve caught big grouper on light weight spinners and deep drop rigs and they taste the same when you fry them up. Yum, yum--that’s what counts.
Why do they call them jewfish?
Lost cat. Please help find my gray and white tuxedoed boy, a neutered cat, last seen Friday afternoon on Mango Lane, south side of Eden Pines. His left ear is cauliflowered and he is micro chipped. I would attach a photo, but my real computer, full of pictures, won't boot up. Just watch for the handsomest cat out there, Giacomo. His momma misses him. Please call 872-4314.
You Go Moondogs!
Am I the only one here that thinks Rob's Bar and Grill (Rob himself) sucks.  What a rude person.  The customer is never right, only himself.  Of course he says he doesn't need the locals business, he has enough with the tourists.  Hopefully some tourists read this web site. --kennasnana5@hotmail.com

Sunday January 22, 2006

 

Saturday January 21, 2006
10:09am Ed: Check back around 1pm today for today's gossip. I must have invoked the wrath of the computer gods somehow and have lost all of this morning's work (three hours so far). Thanks to the Miami Herald's article this was the largest bunch of submissions we have ever received, but that's not the reason I lost all this morning's work. It's my internet connection through BellSouth.

There is no good reason that us computer geeks have to spend so much time keeping them running. It's like if you buy electricity and you have to keep the generator running and do all the mechanical work on it just to use their wires. We should just be able to have a keyboard and monitor connected to a wire and all the rest should be done online by them. That is Steve Jobs' idea not mine.

I'll keep posting and publishing a few Kudos at a time every few minutes to give you news junkies something to satisfy the urge. I should be done by 1pm.
Free Willy!
10:43am


Big Pine is ready for a beach?  Are you kidding? BPK has the most Sun-of-a-Beaches in the Keys!  What BPK really needs is Mt. Trashmore #3 with a ski lift.  
Yes, the Charter school is indeed having another bake sale today on Saturday morning.  We will probably do so for the next few months!  Thanks for visiting us!  Now I have to figure out who made the macadamia nut cookies and request them again. And don't forget, we have Baby's Coffee! 

Update. The planning Commission "slapped down the Formula Retail Ordinance" a couple of months ago. Now the Board of County Commissioners  sent it back to staff.  "Back to staff" is a great way to put something to rest...it will be years,  maybe longer, before we hear about anything like that again.  The Formula Retail Ordinance was very poorly written and was not good for Big Pine or any place else for that matter. We here in Monroe County have enough Government Restrictions including  the DCA (don't forget we are an Area of Critical State Concern),  the BOCC,  the Planning Commission, Fish and Wildlife, and Building and Zoning Departments,  to name a few.  To allow U.S. 1  to be used for business that meets all of the requirements already in place is the right and legal way to go and will benefit Big Pine in the years to come. A big thank you to the B.O.C.C.

I propose a National law that makes it mandatory to return freaking shopping carts to the store or else you don't get your divers license back.

The next time some lazy nitwit fights me to get through a store front double, so they don't have to open their own door, I'm going to punch the crap out of them.

Dear W/D. It just might be a good idea to redo your parking lot and scrape off all the junk, trees, curbs, and other unnecessary debris, so we can see where we're going!  Diagonal parking is a better idea too.

You hackers that wrecked the ISP on Islamthedoora. Why don't all you twits get together and I'll buy you a free lunch at Teasers. You guys need it bad. Maybe that will cure your real problems.

I love the post from the Boston person: "Lately it has become a drain on our patience having to dine or drink at places that cater to the lowest members of our society..."
This reminds me of many trips I have made to Boston, which is home to the most arrogant, nasty people in the world. I'll take a Michiganer any time. Bostonians: take your cover charge and hop on the next train north. Bye-bye!

In NY a Hoagie and Sub is a Hero.
For all of us internet junkies and technology lovers, there is something new to behold!  A "podcast" from the Keys!  This is a weekly show that you can listen to right from your computer or download it to your mp3 player or ipod!  This is a "must hear" especially for the old timers.  Check it out at www.keyscast.com

Weird Moments in Comics. I don't know what the plan is, but it may not be suitable for all audiences.

DUI is certainly not a victimless crime and I, for one, am glad that the cops are out there keeping your drunk ass off of the street.  Reply: I strongly suggest you look up the last Supreme Court argument concerning DUI. It is considered a Victimless Crime because no one or no property is damaged. It is considered a "may happen crime" in that you might do damage. This is what the problem is. If I wanted to, I could have your home searched and if I found anything I suspect may be used in any manner I deem dangerous, I can arrest you because you might do something bad. Do you own any rifles, handguns, knives, yo-yo's, rope, sharp finger nails, etc? Get the point?

Hello, Mr. Boston here. I appreciate all the replies to my message, and I see they prove my point! 

Whoa.  If you think that the dialoged about pop vs. soda was mundane, wait till we get all the comments about Hogie vs. Sub. 

Depending on where you are or where you grew up in this country this type of sandwich is called: Hogie, Sub, Grinder, Hero, Bomb, Po’boy, Foot-long, Rocket, Torpedo, Dagwood, Zeppelin or Italian.  (Forget Cuban press)  All the names refer to a similar type of sandwich.  My favorite is the Italian Sub from Aroma’s
Where can I find a job that pays $1500.00 a week so I can pay my damn rent!

I'm from in Rhode Island and we call those big sandwiches "Grinders". Go figure. 

I am always surprised by the comments people make about having a bad experience at Parrotdise.  While I know that any place can have an off day I have never had anything but good food and service there and I go there a lot.  I’m sure a manager would want to hear a legitimate comment concerning poor service or food so they could deal with it.  As far as dogs downstairs, I suppose it wouldn’t be too bad to have Rover around until he takes a huge dump where other people need to walk or sit and eat their burger and Rover’s owner simply walks away leaving the pile for someone to step in.  The problem is not so much with the dogs but with their owners. 

A single solution to two problems:  The person with the expired flares needs to get in touch with the person from Boston and give the Boston snob the flares.  Boston should then strap the flares around his body and run around the Miami airport yelling “praise Allah.”  Two problems solved!
I wrote about the pilgrimage to Mecca/ painting on the side of their homes. Please explain how on earth you think I "equated" the travel depictions to the wife and children having no shoes?  How can a wife and children be "equal" to anything in the Arab world? Why, they are no more valuable than a cow. How dare the Muslim family want to eat, or have shoes to protect their feet? What do they think they are? Human? Daddy needs an ego-trip,... er... I mean "airplane trip" to brag about!  
Try not to tie that rag around your head so tight, it cuts off circulation.
To the person that wrote; “Can I assume you are well versed in Black History and this is information you already know? Did you consider that reasonably I defend blacks due to the color of my chocolate skin?” I do know US History, but will admit that I missed that story, but I don't read the Washington Post. As for your “chocolate skin”, a tan and dreadlocks do not make one black. Did you consider that black people, or anyone else for that matter, don't need or want you over-privileged under-achievers defending them? And one more thing; pull up your pants, you look ridiculous!
If you want any newspaper to print the truth, you have to pay for the space, and write your own ad. I cannot believe what any paper reports. Their jaded, half-truths, and twisted interpretations are about as far from the truth as possible. And no, I do not know Cap. Dan.

Hey, Ed. I was just wondering how much time do you spend on the site?  Kudos to you.  Still doing a great job.  Your hard work shows! (Ed: 3-4 hours a day seven days a week for four years. Today everything is going wrong so I'll be on this machine for about 6 hours to get this thing out. Thanks for the nice comment.)
Weird Moments in Comics.  This person has way too much time on his/hers hands to be researching old comics.
Hello, Mckinnon. See you!
12:01pm

Hey, idiot that is trying to start trouble calling the big grouper a jewfish. If you don't know what you are talking about, please keep your mouth shut or your keyboard quiet. A jewfish has a curved tail and a grouper has a straight tail.  That fish clearely has a straight tail.

The government has obtained information on all Internet search requests made in a week through Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. Google is fighting a subpoena for similar information.

I believe in karma and certain persons who make a habitat in my neighborhood should remember that. She, who will remain nameless, will eventually get back everything that she gives.  Oh, but wait, she has no life to speak of and no friends so maybe she is getting back what she gives! 

Lookout they're here! I Almost got run over by an old blue hair battleaxe in a Cadillac.
As a Moondog, I am saddened by Wilson Pickett's death. Mustang Sally is a great tune and loved by just about everyone.

Old flares:  Once a year the Coast Guard Station will have a day when you can bring your old flares to the station.  Contact your closest Coast Guard Station and inquire as to the date.  They may take them upon your request since they are a hazard.  Business Directory>USCG
Do you support or oppose a county beach on BPK?   E-mail Commissioner Neugent your thoughts: Neugent-George@monroecounty-fl.gov

How about naming it "Neugent Beach"?
12:13pm

This is what Wilma was like a little more west of BPK.

This song is great. the new Battle of New Orleans.

So how did "get plucked" come about?

A very nice posters showing the different types of fish found in Florida waters can be obtained from Fl. Fish and wild life Dept. Someone needs to get one and study it  if they can't  distinguish a Snowy Grouper from a Jewfish.
I miss home. I'm glad to see BPK has not lost their wonderful color.

Goliath grouper? Is that anything like a jewfish?

Is there anyone in the lower Leys that resurfaces bathtubs and sinks?

Whoever compiles the Friday Funnies outdid themselves this week. The Chuck Norris list is a freakin' scream.

I just switched from AOL dial-up to hi-speed cable. It's like a whole new world. I didn't know what I was missing. I don't know how anybody can get by with Dial-up. I used to have time for coffee during downloads or uploads, now I don't even have time to fart. BPK.com is still first on my list every day. It keeps me in touch with my many old and dear friends on the Big Island from way out here in The Valley of the Sun. Keep on truckin' Ed, many days would start empty without your great work.




I  would like information as to how I can subscribe to BPK Magazine. It looks like a good read.

 

Fascinating story about the origin of "the Bird", but one can't help but wonder whether thelabiodental fricativeness was not actually a dose of rectopluperfect hemmeroidal postulation. (Ed: stop that, your overloading my spell check.)
Bring your old outdated flares to the fire dept.

Save your expired flares for the fourth of July and shoot them off with your illegal fireworks.

Who is Mobile Ins. Co.?

Re: Boston. If your friends think of you that way then why don't  you go back?
12:34pm
Dear Ed: Don't give out our headquarters location.
The Big grouper looked like a Warsau Grouper.

Just curious as to where you want to build a beach on Big Pine.  What are the odds that the Army Corps will let you put the sand in for a beach on our coastline After much calculation my computation comes out to slim to none.

A toll before the Seven Mile Bridge?  Can we put it further up the Key's? I work in Marathon and I can't afford two tolls a day.

Goliath Grouper.  Now, how did I know someone was going to bring that up?

When Sunshine Key is packed this time of year, it is not tourists, it is snow birds.  The money brought into the Keys per person for the economy would be about four times more if it were tourists,

My Bright Idea:  Parrotdise could have a “Pooch Corral” where the dogs could play in a fenced-off area.  I personally love to watch my dogs socialize and sometimes can find it very entertaining, especially at the Beach.  

It may be a big liability for Parrotdise, knowing there are always people who don’t follow the rules & ruin it for us good dog owners.  The establishment could post signs saying play at your own risk. 

They must be leashed to and from the fenced play area and picked-up after and that may be hard to do, in-between shots of Petron.  Here's where the Corral Dog Attendant comes in, for a gratuity, while we dance to the band. 

Some small doggies don’t play well with the big doggies and then it hits the fan all over the downstairs of Parrotdise.  Of course, if Fido hasn't been properly socialized, one would hope they would not make appearances at such functions.  Your average mean Big Pine chain link fenced dog who doesn't have any social graces would need gradual socialization before you take him out on the town.  Remember they are pack animals. 

Where else besides Schooners and Mangrove Mamas can I party with my dog?  
12:48pm (Ed: Done. We're sorry if your posting got lost in all this mess today. Would you please try to resend it if you haven't seen it. Inquiring minds want to know.)

Saturday January 21, 2006

 

Friday January 20, 2006
I went by Sunshine Key yesterday and the place was packed. If you haven't noticed it yet, the tourist are back in force.
Re: Big Grouper. Wow. What a great fish. Who was the fisherman? I love those pictures of caught fish. Send more.
It's a sad day for the Moondogs. Wilson Pickett, who wrote and preformed Mustang Sally died at 65.
That Grouper looks like a Goliath Grouper to me. Are they legal? Anyway it's a keeper!

History of Middle Finger. Well, now, here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?

Giving the finger before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").
Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! "Pluck Yew!"
Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually hanged to a labiodental fricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!
It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird." It is still an appropriate salute to the French today!
Someone wrote: "How can the writer equate painting a picture of a car on a house to his family having no shoes or food? Is this just hate?" I thought that worrying about a family (that you don't even know) going without food or shoes is a sign of compassion. Am I missing something? I have to admit, I'm confused. Oh wait, the light just came on (dim as it is). It's not what is said, it's who says it. If you say something, it's compassion. If someone that doesn't share your views says it, it's hate.
Has anybody in the Keys received a dime from Mobile USA Insurance company due to hurricane Rita?
Absolutely we need a beach. I use to go to Bahia Honda until I discovered Sombrero. I got tired of paying to walk a mile to a good stretch of the beach and hoping the sea weed was not to bad. Sombrero is beautiful. Has grills at all the pavilions and a playground for the kids; and the best part is that they clean it everyday of all the seaweed! Every time I go there I wonder why can't we have something like this between Big Pine and Sugarloaf Key.


Weird Moments in Comics. Robin will need so much therapy.
Re: "Places that cater to the lowest members of our society."  Naples, Florida sounds more like your kind of place. There are a lot of snobs there too.
A DUI is a "victimless crime". Yet another moronic statement. Tell it to the thousands of people yearly that get hit head on by drunks.
Re: A reputable reporter.  Now there's an oxymoron for you.
Re: We are from Boston. They referred to the good people of the keys as "lowest members of our society". Just curious, is that compassion or hate?
Just how do you get rid of outdated emergency flares. I failed to plan an emergency ahead of time and am stuck with a batch.
A pop machine is what's outside the old Edies Hallmark in the BPK shopping center. You can hear every day. I was told it is used to put holes in doughnuts, guess someone left the switch on.
Ball park parking update: Last month they moved the sawhorses and put up new yellow tape. I'm pleased to announce that there has been real progress this month. They've painted orange lines in the road.
Dear Bye, bye, 1. All servers, waiters, waitresses make their money from tips. 2. The burger you ate was Key Deer. 3. The iguanas came from Michigan.
What is the street address of the Big Pine Key Webcam location?
(Ed: It is in the center of the island. High atop corporate headquarters.)
Re: Big Grouper.  Electric Reels don't count. That's slaying. Please post fishing catches, professional or not.
Regarding "I once dated someone form Massachusetts..." Was that a man from Nantucket? Because if it was, I could tell you a few things about him. Of course if you dated him, you probably already know.

New Orleans mayor Nagin is just another incompetent idiot pandering for the cameras and voters.  He mis-spent millions of dollars earmarked for levee repair and used it to teach a bunch of black kids to play basketball.  He handled the disaster like most blacks by inaction and blaming Whitey and the government for the problems.  Now that the crisis has past he’s in front of the cameras again telling his black audience that NO will “be a chocolate city".  Of course he will want the state and the federal coffers to pay for his Willi Wonka dream and when it doesn’t happen it will once again be Whitey’s fault.  Typical.
BPK Funny Fridays. Because Percival Arland Ussher said humor is... despair trying to take itself seriously. Deep stuff.... coming from a guy named Percival. Irish philosopher, my ass! Go back to the pub, Percy... and contemplate a pint of Guinness Stout...
Sorry. I was just bullied by a beefy, Irish thug in grade school. Must still be some residual Gaelic resentment–
Damn you, Timmy Finnegan.

At home I have a map of the United States, actual size. 1 mile equals one mile. I spent all last summer folding it.
~Steven Wright

It's a good marriage, bit I think my wife has been fooling around. Because our parrot keeps saying, "Give to to me hard and fast before my husband Jonathan Katz comes home. And yes, I'd love another cracker."
~Jonathan Katz

I had general anesthesia. that's so weird. You go to sleep in one room, then you wake up four hours later in a totally different room. Just like college.
~Ross Shafer

My uncle was thrown out of a mime show for having a seizure. They thought he was heckling.
~Jeff Shaw

I've been married fourteen years, and I have three kids. Obviously I breed well in captivity.
~Roseanne Barr

I'm very loyal in a relationship... all relationships. When I'm with my mother, I don't look at other moms, "Wow, I wonder what her macaroni and cheese tastes like?"
~Garry Shandling

I was listening to rap music this afternoon. Not that I had a choice– it was coming out of a Jeep four miles away.
~Nick DiPaulo

I joined the Columbia House Compact Disc Club. So far they've sent me over three hundred CDs for just a penny.... plus court costs.
~Jeff Shaw

I'm a secretary. On a good day I type ninety-five words per minute; on a bad day I show up drunk in my pajamas.
~Mary Beth Cowan

I thought I wanted to become a fireman. But, as it turns out, I just like breaking windows with axes.
~Buzz Nutley

Forty-six percent of women surveyed answered "Yes" when asked if they ever faked an orgasm. Actually they said, "Yes, yes! Oh God, Yes!"
~Wayne Cotter

You have a baby, you have to clean up your act. You can't come in drunk and go, "Hey, here's a little switch... Daddy's going to throw up on you."
~Robin Williams

It's a myth that you will be able to help your children with their homework. I'm taking remedial math so I can help my son make it to the third grade.
~Sinbad

There's a product called Mr. Big Cream. Just rub it on your d*ck, and it gets bigger. Well, if it worked, then wouldn't your hands get bigger, too?
~Robert Schimmel

Freud accused women of having penis envy. I have no reason to be jealous of a penis. At least when I get out of the ocean, all my bodily parts are still the same size.
~Sheila Wenz

My brother had a hamster. He took it to see the vet– that's like bringing in a disposable lighter for repair.
~Wayne Cotter

I came across this picture in our family photo album, and I don't know what to make of it. My mom, pregnant, cigarette dangling, mowing the lawn, and my little sister in an overturned playpen with a rock on top of it. And then there's me, tied to a tree with a jump rope.
~Janeane Garofalo

A friend of mine got her clitoral hood pierced. I think that's disgusting. I would never do that. I'd get a clip-on.
~Sarah Silverman

The word "bipartisan" usually means some larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.
~George Carlin

I called the Psychic Friends hotline. We spoke for six hours, and she didn't realize that I wasn't going to pay the bill.
~Michael Aronin

I don't get no respect. I went to a massage parlor. It was self-service.
~Rodney Dangerfield

Relationships don't last anymore. When I meet a guy, the first question I ask myself is, "Is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?"
~Rita Rudner

As soon as it's warm, I plan to go spelunking with fifty million albino epileptics with tails... just to see how sperm feels.
~Brian Beatty

Top Ten Chuck Norris Facts:

1. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.

2. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

3. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

4. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.

5. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris, you may be only seconds away from death.

6. Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.

7. Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting implies
the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.

8. Chuck Norris' blood type is AK+. Ass-Kicking Positive. It is compatible only with heavy construction equipment, tanks, and fighter jets.

9. Chuck Norris is 1/8th Cherokee. This has nothing to do with ancestry, the man ate a f*cking Indian.

10. In fine print on the last page of the Guinness Book of World Records it notes that all world records are held by Chuck Norris, and those listed in the book are simply the closest anyone else has ever gotten.

And because Chuck wouldn't settle for only ten, that's for wussy talk-show hosts), here's an extra one...

11. There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.
Re: Bye Bye comment. I wish we had a toll before the Seven Mile Bridge to weed through the morons that come and try to ruin the Keys lifestyle we have enjoyed for 25+ years. I'll stick it out a few more years until I have the McDonalds/Walmart you want so bad in front of my home. I think you should take your luxury living back to where you came from and learn how to camp, or at least do without the comforts of commercialism.
To the poster complaining that the dissertation on black history was boring. Can I assume you are well versed in Black History and this is information you already know? Did you consider that reasonably I defend blacks due to the color of my chocolate skin?
We lost another legend. Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack at the age of 64 on Thursday. He along with the legendary Lou Rawls, who passed last week will be missed.

Little red flare bullets:  Those “little flare bullets” should have a date on them.  If they are past the date then they are expired and need to be replaced.  Chances are that unless you have kept them in a very dry place some of them may not work anyway.  Be aware that it is illegal to send a false distress signal by any means and that would include firing expired flares even three or more miles out.  The Coasties could receive one or more calls reporting an emergency flare discharge and you could be cited and fined if located.  Your safest bet is to call a Coast Guard station and ask them.  Don’t take the word of the guy down the dock or your fishing buddy.  In addition, that fired flare winds up back in the water in the form of pollution.  It’s not worth it. Business Directory>USCG

To “We are from Boston." It has become a drain on our patience having to dine or drink at places that cater to the lowest members of our society”
The obvious solution to your problem is to stay the hell out of the Keys and keep your Boston butt in Bean Town where you will feel more comfortable.  Then you can rub your blue nose with other snobs like yourself and not have to be bothered by the little people.  Go home!

Thursday 10am still can’t get on the webcam, says ready but nothing happens, been trying for a couple of days now. (Ed: It's fixed now.)
Does anyone know if the Charter School is having another Bake Sale? I would love some more of those Macadamia Nut Cookies.
Parrotdise. I love the idea of adding more seating especially if your staff can handle it. I had lunch there on Tuesday and for the first time ever our service was horrible.

If you do add seating downstairs please do not allow "pooches", my God what is with people and their dogs here? Dogs are not people. They are damn dogs! I don't want to see another picture of your precious little mutt laying on the couch or hear the story of the time he made a sad face at you when you didn't take him to the store. All most dogs care about in life is the fact that they can lick themselves. So leave them home while you have your dinner and let "Fluffy" enjoy his "alone time".
To the person who is missing the Jolly Roger Camp Ground, there is the Big Pine Fishing Lodge just as you get into Big Pine from the North.  They are a great family run resort.   
DUI. is certainly not a victimless crime and I, for one, am glad that the cops are out there keeping your drunk ass off of the street. 

Photo Op: Hurricane Wilma. Neighbors walk in In sewage. Big Pine Key, Eden Pines toilet water.
Since the Jolly Roger Campground is closing how about Knight's Key Park right at the 7 Mile Bridge in Marathon? A great place and great people, nice beach, snorkeling, and Tiki Bar. Enjoy it while you can because they are scheduled to close after this year to turn into condos.
I had the best Iguana lasagna!
While in the waiting area of a local business I was enjoying a TV ad of beautiful Keys scenery:  happy people having fun, etc.  Then came the tag line "Key West, the Fabulous Gay and Lesbian Destination".  This was on HGTV, by the way.
Lets start a grass roots campaign for a much needed beach for BPK.
The Selective Compassion post was one of two things to me, an alien; as in not from this star system; or a very funny joke.
Re: Some would argue that plants have feelings too. Yes we do. We don't run around the neighborhood, get DUI's, watch stupid TV, or think Rednecks are cool. They cut us down for fun!  Take a walk in our woods, we need the fertilizer.
To the Bostonians. Coming from Boston myself and retiring on Big Pine many years back I really don't know what part of Boston you come from, but that sure wasn't the way people thought when I lived there. They had compassion for there fellow man. My suggestion to you and your big ten dollars: Give it to the next person you think may be homeless or take it to Key Weird. They will be more than happy to relieve you of it. 
Okay, all ready. Enough about soda and pop. How about something different like the difference between a hoagie and a sub?
On the 18 mile stretch. Don't tell me that what they are building up there is all ready sinking into the sea?  Imagine what the next hurricane season will do to it?  Maybe we could ask the New Orleans Levee board to help us design it better?  "Florida vs New Orleans" was dead on target.  Still the main difference is that we have a Republican governor and they have total Democrat government.  The Democrat machine is cracked and broken.
The Domino theory.
On working around the house: My way is to try to do it myself first and if that doesn't work (Wonderful how often it does!) I do not give anyone money in advance for "materials".  If they are so inept that they have to have front money for materials then do one of two things:  Get a licensed contractor (not a dope head with a pick-up truck); or order the materials yourself and have them there for the worker. Remember you do not know if you can not fix it if you never try.  What? You're afraid you're going to break it again? Heck, it's already broken.  Give it a try.
Re: Capt Dan's Detractor.  Why should you make a recording to keep a journalist honest?  Shouldn't they report the news, facts and stories that actually happen?  You go, Capt Dan!
Go Ravens! It's the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Massachusetts (1809). He charmed possible sponsors for the rest of his life. Rich men and women would offer to help him, but they withdrew when he got drunk at the wrong time, or refused to say what they wanted him to, or squandered the funds they had given him.

He wrote pointed criticism at a time when reviews were supposed to be complimentary; when he was able to publish his own work, the writers he criticized took the opportunity to revenge themselves upon him. Nothing he published won him much attention until his poem "The Raven" appeared in the New York Evening Mirror in 1845. Children followed him down the street chanting "Nevermore, nevermore!" and he was asked to recite the poem at all sorts of gatherings.

To the Bostonites that were polite enough to let all of us Piners know how much we stink: Stay home!  How dare you criticize how anyone looks, or even smells.  Some people here don't even have a home thanks to all of the hurricanes this year.  Did you offer any help? Do you give a damn? If all you care about is your atmosphere, might I suggest trying New Orleans this season. I hear the people smell great and are real polite.
Campsites? How about the state park? We have several that offer camping and are much cheaper than private sector camping.
Best news. Osama called for a boycott of the Iraq elections--whoops, that didn't work. He failed. Better news. Today Osama sends out a tape saying he wants a truce and he can rebuild Iraq better than anybody. This guy is still in la la land.

Hot damn, we really blew up some of the higher-ups in his little clique in Pakistan. Scum-bags. Congratulations president Bush and our great military in getting better intelligence on yet another good hit. Knocking them down and making more headway in the war on terror.
Re: Oregon allowing assisted suicide: This is good. At least there are some people left in this country who are realists and not brain dead religious nuts. It is nobody's business, except yours, what you do with your body.  This goes for drugs, death, abortion, whatever. You are the only thing on this rock that matters. If you don't believe that, die and write us when you get to heaven!  Got that?
I am a local and I like to frequent the local taverns and eateries, but I hate when people from Boston come into the place and spill my water bowl. All I can do is just look at them and growl. I try not to splash too much and hell, I washed my clothes last month right after I took my December shower. Since I have been here I have no use for a wrist watch and I really do not have much patience for tourists that come here to our lovely islands and feel the need to criticize us for making guttural sounds when we eat or drink. 

You have won your world series for the 21st century so be patient, 100 years really is not that long to wait for the next one. Did you fly down or drive your "cah"? PS See remarks aimed at Michiganer recently and hope we will bid you adieu very soon.
Regarding Breathalyzers: You know, no matter what I write to this site, there is always one person who just cannot get it.  First of all why do you assume I am a lady?  Secondly, I said I had just finished working with the one guy and simply put, he was not drunk--no way. Thirdly, I said "while I do not know the details of the latter in defense of the public officials, etc." Which indicates that I had no details on what went on there, but they still treated my female friend more harshly than she deserved.   When you look at the written word do you experience some form of dyslexia? Simply put, these officers are looking for DUI's and in an area where there is no shortage of bars, they find people who may have had one beer and they blow .019 and they are in jail. Period. The cops should adjust their field sobriety testing equipment. Please.
I am from a mid-Atlantic state (no, not New Jersey), where we put our soda/groceries in a bag. Life was boringly uncomplicated until a family from Ohio moved to town and insisted that their pop/groceries be put in a sack. It was at that time that I realized I was bilingual.
Soda Vs. Pop. According to the Urban Dictionary. Soda is a word used by most people in Connecticut and many other parts of the U.S. for a carbonated beverage. Example: If you use the word Soda, chances are you're a 40 year old virgin who still lives with his geriatric mother and watches anime like Bottle Fairy or Bubblegum Crisis. I'm sticking with pop.
We cannot recall the gang of 3 and one of their terms runs to Nov 2008. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop there bulldozing of the Keys?



The Clinton's new dog.
Hi Ellis.

Friday January 20, 2006

 

Thursday January 18, 2006
Big Pine is ready for a beach. A beach of our own, where we can enjoy quiet sunsets and where our children can splash in the warm water without driving to Marathon. A place that we can experience firsthand the wonders of this magical island. We protect the island from ourselves with fences, chains and no trespassing signs. The wealthy come down to enjoy their waterfront property a few months each year, and the rest of us watch for wildlife on the web cam.

We have the vision to build deer overpasses. We have the vision to fill basins with rubble and top them off with asphalt and outdoor lighting. Some even dream of adding another drugstore and supermarket. Change may be inevitable, but Big Pine can do better. A beach would bring people closer to nature and to each other. It would be an asset that our children and grandchildren could be proud of for generations to come. All we need is the vision and the will to make it happen.
My favorite place in the Keys isn't going to reopen. That's the "Tiki Shack" behind The Quay (about MM55) They used to give you a full pound of hamburg in their burger plus mixed drinks were always $2 and draft beer $1. It was right on the water and the sliding glass doors were always dirty so you couldn't take in the view all that well, but for the price you could bring Windex.
Defending Capt. Dan. I think his remarks about Michiganers were said at night, at the bar, after a few and the Capt. was just trying to be funny. He forgot he was talking to a reporter and that his humor would be taken literally. It's his mistake not the reporters. I personally know that Dan doesn't disparage people from Michigan.
Re: breathalyzers. How can the lady yesterday second guess the police on two incidents that she didn't witness?
Re: "How many of us here are members of the Country Club?" You're suggesting that Commissioner Neugent should be disposed of because he asked a question? Are you kidding?
New Orleans Mayor. Ray Nagin said that, "It's time to rebuild NO...this city will be chocolate at the end of the day." Is he Willi Wonka or just another bigot?
Re: Statue of Freedom and day off. I liked that story about Philip Reid and the slaves that built the Capitol, but I think that only undermines the point you're trying to make. It reinforces the original MLK Day writer's point. I deduced that the only time Blacks would work is as slaves. I totally disagree, but that story seems to point that way. (It's hard to talk about race without seeming like a bigot.)
Bushism of the Day. "You took an oath to defend our flag and our freedom, and you kept that oath underseas and under fire."-- Jan. 10, 2006
Can one of the people tell me why you do this?  Run a stop sign to pull out in front of someone, causing them to have to slow down, then drive less than the speed limit?  Driving less than the speed limit usually means that you are not in a hurry to get were you are going.  Fine, but why run a stop sign, like your are in a big hurry.  Or maybe driving slow means you are unsure of your ability to go faster, Fine, then why risk running the stop sign and bulling out in front of someone.  This has puzzled me for years.  Please give me a good answer.
Re: Open letter from Capt Dan. The Miami Herald journalist who wrote the article about Big Pine Key is a friend and someone I deal with regularly regarding news issues in my line of work. After 20+ years in the media relations business, I’d say she is one of the more reputable reporters in the area. From experience, I believe she recorded your comments accurately and you disparaged Michiganders whether you meant to or not. Rather than blame the journalist for "getting it incorrect" maybe you should apologize for saying something that could’ve been quoted the wrong way. If this happened with the Keynoter in the past, perhaps you’re not being clear or being too cavalier. In the future, remember there’s a difference between what you say, what you thought you said and what you meant to say. It also helps if you tape record your interviews so you have an accurate record of what was said and the context in which your comments were made. Recordings also keep good journalists honest.
Once again some people at Denture's Out are demonstrating what good neighbors they are by dumping their trailer on Spanish Main on Cudjoe Key. See photo, you might know where it came from.
Re: Oregon passed a law allowing assisted suicide. Oregon passed the Death With Dignity Law several years ago. This week, the Supreme Court decided to uphold that law. It allows physicians to prescribe lethal drugs for certain terminally ill patients that request it.
Re: Bye, bye. Yes, it's time for you to get your cheap tush out of here. Bye, bye.
Free Kevorkian!
Re: Breathalyzers can be adjusted, and they can be fixed too!  This is a racket for money making and nothing else. A DUI is a "victimless crime". It is a con job!  Go get the drug lords, the rapists, the thieves, and any other real criminals. Leave us locals alone, you hear!
The Sheriffs' office website probably isn't the best place to see the person you gave money to do work on your house.
Stop! Your killing me!
Re: Capt. Dan. Relax. We all know what the media can do to an interview and you aren't the first one to be burned.  Thanks for putting it straight.  Too bad the Miami Herald can't do a retraction.  Why there are so many Michigan people in the Keys is another question.
As long as you are in international waters you can shoot any weapon you care to except nuclear.
We are from Boston. We like to visit the Florida Keys every year. Lately it has become a drain on our patience having to dine or drink at places that cater to the lowest members of our society.  Members who seem homeless, eat like animals, smell like animals and act like animals. We would gladly pay a cover charge of ten dollars or more, to be free of this menace.
Re: Bye, bye. See you.  Please don't look back when you cross the Seven Mile Bridge.  If we could get more of the 25+ year residents out of here we just might be able to get some progress done around here.  And take the Key Deer with you so the deer hunters will be glad to see you when you get home. Bye, bye baby!
I have no doubt that Captain Dan was misquoted. In my work I deal with reporters from the local Keys newspapers, and many of them have no problem misquoting people if it makes their story more sensational or slants it toward their liberal-left agenda. I believe in the freedom of the press, but I think that these jokers should be prosecuted for twisting the news and misquoting people. The Citizen, Herald and Keynoter are the worst, and the Free Press, Barometer and Weekly are not as bad.



Cobia is great, but I like big grouper sandwiches!
The mayor of New Orleans needs to be replaced. To say that New Orleans is going to come back as a "chocolate city" is an affront to diversity. He is so ghetto. Really!
Assisted suicide is a kind alternative to having a painful, terminal disease. Rather than lie in wait, drugged, agonizing in pain, or a brain-dead coma let me die in dignity. All one leaves behind after years in a hospital ward is debt in the millions. Drawn out agony is not dignified. The "Other Side", or heaven (where we pass to, unless you are evil) is disease-free bliss, and we can be with our blessed maker where we are loved unconditionally. (Ed: Don't forget the seven virgins.)
Yes, yes!  I second that motion. Set up an area downstairs where we can eat, drink and be merry with our pooches.  Please do that Parrotdise. There is nowhere else we can go with good food anymore, except to Key West.
Re: W/D parking lot. I just want to say, "Thank you" to the person that does the clean up. I have seen a difference, at least, in the back side of the lot. God bless you for doing this nasty job and having to clean up after people who are to lazy to throw their trash in a trash can or take it home and dump it. Keep up the good work. Have a blessed day.
Re: Shifty-Eyed Dog. You mean there is actually a Florida band that does not play Mustang Sally?  That would take away half of the Bow-wow's song list if they did not play that.

Re: "Bye, Bye. My friends and I are from Michigan."  Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out of the state!  Make sure you have enough gas so you won’t have to stop and be mean to anymore of the hard working people who have to wait on you.

Re: Pilgrimage to Mecca. How can the writer equate painting a picture of a car on a house to his family having no shoes or food? Is this just hate?
To the person that wrote a long and rather boring dissertation on black history that included: "I am going to assume you are male because you show no compassion whatsoever."

You don't sound compassionate to me, you sound condescending. The only reason you feel the need to defend blacks is because you think they are beneath you and it makes you feel better about yourself. Get a clue. While some of us may have more teeth than others, we're all pretty much equal.
Regarding the great soda vs pop debate. I'm afraid that it's even more complicated than that. Are you aware that in many places in the South, all sodas (or pops, or soda pops) are often referred to as "cokes"? Yes, it's a complicated world that we live in. It's not easy being us.
Two of four Keys representatives did not attend the South Florida Regional Planning Council meeting where they could have cast a swing vote on moving the County boundary. Key West has not yet named its replacement on the council since former Mayor Jimmy Weekley was ousted in November's election. The other missing player was Monroe County Commissioner Murray Nelson.

County Commissioner George Neugent, who sat on the council for six years until the commission voted last spring to hand his seat to Nelson, says Nelson's absence has cost the county its say in the issue. He says Nelson has not attended a meeting since June.

“There are important decision that are made there for Monroe County, and we need to take advantage of our opportunity to be represented there,” said Commissioner David Rice, who also sits on the council. The fourth Keys representative is Sandra Walters, a Key West consultant.

 
 
“There's a tremendous amount of pressure for growth,” Rice said. “The general feeling of one group - and that group includes the Keys - is that until we see adequate road infrastructure, the south Dade expansion will further complicate our [hurricane] evacuation. These are issues that Monroe County needs to be represented on.”

“The thing about it is it's only a recommendation anyway,” Nelson said. “[The vote] is not binding in any way. They have a contingent from Miami-Dade and Broward that far outweighs our votes.”

Weird Moments in Comics. Wonder Woman digs the kink.
Washington Post Travel Section Sunday, January 15 (multiple pages ) has a big thing on the Fla. Keys:
All Keyed Up. Although the beaches of the Florida Keys are few and small, they have a Caribbean feel and centuries of history that ranges from prehistoric tribes and pirates to dolphin encounters and pub crawls. On Lower and middle Keys:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301550.html
Re: Port Pine Heights A/C. I noticed the A/C unit disappeared yesterday afternoon. Thank you.
To end all the confusion over Soda or Pop do like I and most other sensible people do.  Order your drink by name.  If you want a Pepsi say Pepsi. Coke, say "Coke." When just referring to a soft drink in general all of us southern gals just say, "coke."  Every true southerner knows a coke covers it all.  We'd say, "Lets go to the store and get a coke." We all know you go to the "Coke" machine.  You may get a Yoohoo but it comes from a coke machine here in the south. Hope this helps all you misplaced northerners.  I just love this site!  Great job Ed!
Big Pine TV. I'm your other regular viewer and I'm still getting "ready". (Ed: Oh, no. My other computer setup is off line and I haven't been able to check on the Camera from another location. I'll see what the problem is today.)
Re: Selective compassionate individual.  You don't kill anything?  What do you do about Noseeums or mosquitoes?  Do you let ants crawl around your kitchen too?  You're to weird even for the Keys.  Some would argue that plants have feelings too.
I once dated someone form Massachusetts who insisted it's not pop or soda; it's tonic.
To the person from Michigan that "lost most of our Key deer that used to live in our neighborhoods". Please, feel free to come to my neighborhood and take as many Key Deer back to your yard that you want. In fact, take them All! While you're at it, please take the tourist and snowbirds that spend endless hours and fuel trolling for them too.
To the Bye, By Michigander: Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
My brother-in-law annually takes his family camping at Grassy Key's "Jolly Roger" for a week of snorkeling, etc. Of course he recently discovered what we all know that "Jolly Roger" is no more.

Does anyone know of campsites within that general area, or further down, that may still be available? I can understand his frustration with having to forgo familiar waters, and his favorite spots. Any ideas amongst the "Piners?" He's a socially responsible type, so suggestions of Sebastian, etc. aren't necessary.

Thursday January 18, 2006

 

Wednesday January 18, 2006
(Ed: Oops! Yesterday we announced that Big Pine TV was back, but I forgot to turn on the camera.)
After all this negative Michigan stuff I was impatiently waiting behind two old dudes at Napa who were trying to decide if they should spend ten dollars on a part they needed. (What other choice did they have?) Just before I was ready to pour oil on them both one of them said to the patient clerk, "We're from Michigan and we can buy the same part there for two dollars." I calmed down realizing that they were from another planet.
Re: Emergency flares. The expiration date is written on them. No, you can't go off-shore and shoot them off. That's why they're called emergency flares.
Open letter from Capt Dan. The Miami Herald quote mentioned yesterday was very inaccurate. I would never knock anyone from Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin or any where else. Most of my friends are from up there in the north or have lived up there and are now locals here. There's no way would I would single out a state and say they're nasty.  I now live on Big Pine Key and love the area.

In the interview I did say, "On an island where for many years time seemed to stop, an influx of out-of-towners has caused quite a stir. Why even the politicians are  battling about residential and commercial building". Then I was asked more questions which they didn't include. Then I was asked how were my customers. I answered, "I have a great bunch of customers and I try to greet each one and try to make sure each one is served correctly; which isn't easy right now since I lost  some of my staff after Wilma, due to them loosing their homes and transportation,  but my crew still tries to please."

I did say "A small minority of the transients are a little rough on my servers, demanding to be served first and running the legs off the server on a very busy nite when we don't have enough help cause the help is just not around. And of course these are the same people that leave a 5 or 10% tip 'cause they are moving on and won't be in the area again." Yup, all this I said. Then this reporter asked me where most of my customers come from? I said, "Most are locals, but the biggest from one area would be from Michigan and Wisconsin. In fact I have two fine young men who work for me and are from Michigan."

So if I'm ever asked by a reporter for an interview they will have to come in the office between 7 and 11 a.m. when I do my morning work. All the others who have interviewed me and got their stories straight--do correct interviews. A year ago the "Keynoter" did an incorrect article and they got quite a rebuttal from the local population for which I am grateful.

My crew and I put our hearts and soul into the Key Deer. I'm proud of what I have accomplished in my 3 years of ownership and I'm not done yet. Any questions, just stop in and ask. I'm here 7 days a week except between 2 and 6.
Thanks,
Capt. Dan (100 ton license) 27 yr. charter captain in the Keys.
Danny McLaughlin, retired NASCAR driver 1953-1979.

Re: Pilgrimage to Mecca. It is interesting to note that the proud Muslim men paint on the sides of their humble homes the means by which they made their pilgrimage to Mecca. They depict airplanes, autos or whatever for their fellow Muslims to see and admire. All the while, their own wives and children go hungry and have no shoes.
I think the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and the FHP need to get their breathalyzers calibrated.  I had two friends get DUI's within the last two weeks.  One fellow I worked with that same night and I know for a fact he was totally sober; and a lady friend who has more sense than to drive drunk also got popped. While I do not know the details of the latter in the official's defense; they apparently treated her with excessive force and she is a frail girl. I used to be a deputy back in my home state and some of the guy's I worked with were real cowboys. Sounds like a little of the same going on here in the Keys. Perhaps it would be nice if they would spend more time trying to apprehend the crack-head burglars that have been hitting Big Pine with some regularity.
That smiling dog in the picture posted yesterday could not possibly be from the Keys- too many teeth.
"Flare bullets" They all have an expiration date on them! Yes you can go out and shoot them off. But call the Coast Guard first. and tell them where and when you are going to shoot them off so they can come out and arrest your dumb ass!
Re: little red flare bullets. There's another clueless boater from Michigan.
To the person who thinks rape is worse than murder. Would you rather have your daughter raped or murdered? Preferably neither, but just think of the lifelong suffering of those who love someone who was murdered. I would personally rather have my daughter survive and be alive.

All the plans and dreams the murder victims had are ended unless others take up their cause. A rape victim (God bless them) can recover and do good with their lives. Some rape victims can even help others who have been violated.

Think of all we as a world have lost when the best of us are murdered. What more could the following people have accomplished, had their lives not been taken: Jesus, John the Baptist, President John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc, St. Paul (church founder), Bruce Clawson (who was building a church for those forgotten by society) etc., just to name a few.
Monroe County finally came by and picked up the last of Wilma debris on County Road on Big Pine. No more than fifteen minutes later some lowlife dumped six tires in the exact spot. I didn't get his plate number I wish I had. What the hell is wrong with the people down here. I'm a local and am really mad.
Bye, Bye. My friends and us are from Michigan and have lived here on Big Pine for over 25 years. We resent what was said by Captain Dan and what was written by the Herald reporter. A good reporter would never print an article where a group of people were put down. It's unfortunate because we have been going to Key Deer restaurant for many years (even before Capt. Dan). We have always felt at home there an d have always paid at least a 20% tip.

We always liked this place and feel perhaps it's time for us to move north where prices are lower and we can enjoy other activities like golf, crafts, swimming in pools which is much cleaner than the ocean. We used to be able to swim in our canals, but not now because of weeds (which we are not allowed to put up barriers to keep them out). We have lost most of our Key deer that used to live in our neighborhoods. We used to co-exist with them, but because of a new road and lots of fences they no longer run in freedom.

Now we have the iguanas that eat all our plants and flowers. We no longer have freedom to grow what we like. We love to have tomatoes grown for the winter, but no more because of the new pests.

I'm sure many of us old folks in our 80's are very unhappy in Big Pine. I'm sure there are others that feel the same and now we feel that we aren't welcome in the restaurants because we are mean and don't tip enough. If the restaurants paid their servers more they wouldn't have to beg for tips. Enough for now and we will be out of here as soon as we can go.
New Orleans Back to Normal! Their Unity Parade had three gunshot victims just like the pre-Katrina days. I wonder if they were poor uneducated white folks?
I also gave Mike Maxheleau a deposit for work. He never showed up. The work is now done by someone else I paid and I am looking for Maxheleau's address. I emailed the first person who gave their address and they have not responded. If anyone else knows where he is please respond. His last addresses were Airport Drive on Summerland and La Croix on Ramrod, according to the sheriffs' office website.
To the lazy bum who dumped the A/C unit, please put it a the end of Palmetto Street. I'll get it that same day after I get off work and I'll dispose of it properly. You can still dump for free at the landfill until the end of the month. (Ed: We had some one from corporate take it to the dump yesterday.)
To the guy who said; "Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day and I had the day off. It's about time that race of people did something good for us. I'm not complaining, but isn't it ironic that the blacks are responsible for the country not having to work?"

I am going to assume you are male because you show no compassion whatsoever. Perhaps you missed something in history class? The U.S. Capitol was built with the labor of slaves who cut the logs, laid the stones and baked the bricks. Decades of backbreaking labor had come down to one very important moment — pouring copper, tin and zinc into the mold of the Statue of Freedom that would be lifted atop the newly built U.S. Capitol dome in December 1863. Right then, the superintendent in charge of the process complained that his $8-per-day wage was too low and quit. He told his bosses that he alone knew how to do his job.

He was wrong. He probably didn't notice Philip Reid — a slave assigned to feed the fires under the mold — itching to take charge. "The Negro took the striker's place as superintendent and the work went on," said a Dec. 2, 1863, article. Reid was just one of hundreds of black slaves and freemen who helped build the U.S. Capitol and White House, two monuments of liberty in a nation that espoused freedom. Like most slaves, Reid got no money for his work; his owner, Clark Mills, was compensated for his slave's labor. Reid and the others got no praise, no plaudits, no plaques. I think they are well deserving of a day off, whilst you reap the benefits and have the audacity to complain.

Re: Best eating fish. I'll trade you 2 hog fish and 1 grouper for a legal size Cobia. I will be glad to give you my phone number.
Ed, why do the people keep trying to tell you how to run your website? You have to spend a ton of time on this site that most of us love. If they don't like it don't log on. The wimps can't, they have to see what's happening. (Ed: Thanks for your support, but we welcome suggestions.)
Re: flares. Better get more than flares, if you're asking that question.
Re: air conditioner dumping.  Even after the free hurricane dumping is over Waste Management will still pick it up curbside for free if you just take a minute to call them.
Business Directory>Trash Pickup
To the gentleman who thinks that cobia taste lousy. I invite him to leave all of his unwanted cobia at my dock on his way home.  I promise to suffer through every bite.
Mean people suck.
I am one of the two regular viewers of Big Pine TV.  I got to hand it to you for the brilliant marketing strategy.  For the first time ever I was denied access with the elusive READY. I also send a belated thank you for fixing the bus schedule.  I have a friend that lives in KW who has to travel to Marathon 3 days a week for dialysis.  Not feeling up to par, the bus suits him just fine and is saving a bundle in gas.  Thanks for being here.
Kudos to whoever made the Macadamia Nut Cookies at the Charter Schools Bake Sale- They were great!
Re: Selective compassion. Are you supposed to know me?  Obviously not, since I am a vegetarian and don't kill any animals, not even millipedes.  Exactly who threatened these iguana killers? You have a river of iguanas flowing through your yard and flooding your home?   What have you been smoking?  Why don't you just give it a rest and change the boring subject.
I would love to help with the clean up on Key Deer and Watson, but like many of us who have to work Monday thru Saturday we can not make it. How about having one on a Sunday when most people have off. We will be there with rake in hand.
While interviewing an anonymous US Special Forces sniper, a Reuters News agent asked the soldier what he felt when shooting members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The soldier shrugged and simply replied, "Recoil."






I see "Big Things" in Howard Livingston's future.
Florida: We have a plan.
New Orleans: We got us a plan, too.
Florida: We have trucks waiting on higher ground to move food, ect.
New Orleans: We gots our trucks parked, too. Just in 6 feets of water.
Florida. Police will be back on patrol as soon as we can move around.
New Orleans: Cops loot Wal-Mart
Florida: Home owners begin clearing debris by themselves.
New Orleans: Who's gonna clean up this mess?
Florida: It'll cost me some savings to rebuild, but...
New Orleans: Where's the damn govenment with the debit cards?
Florida: We are partners with FEMA, but it starts here first.
New Orleans: Damn FEMA, why wasn't they ready?
Florida: It was worse than I believed. I should have evacuated.
New Orleans: They didn't send nobody to gets me.
Florida: Leaders: we have work to do, let's get started.
New Orleans: Leaders: let's go to Las Vegas and party.
Florida: We made a few mistakes, but we learned.
New Orleans: It was ______ (fill in the blank) who was at fault.

And you wonder why Florida isn't getting the news coverage New Orleans got? The media doesn't want to see a state with it's act together or watch people work to rebuild. Whining, complaining and infighting. That's news, Baby!
A "pop machine" is a coin operated vending machine which dispenses soda pop. In Ohio, soda pop is referred to as just "pop". If you order a "soda" in Ohio you will probably get soda water. People in Ohio also refer to a shopping cart as a "buggy". Anyway, hope I have answered your question.
You people!
Pop vs. Soda. I find it interesting the geographic boundaries that have been mentioned.  Minnesota and Wisconsin folk call it pop but Illinois folk call it soda.  I grew up in Ohio and my dad's side of the family was from New Jersey (which I always considered a suburb of New York.)  In Ohio it was pop but Jersey was definitely soda.  If you asked for a soda in Ohio you would get an ice cream soda, if you asked for pop in Jersey you would just get smacked in the face.  But if you wanted an ice cream soda I think you needed to ask for an egg-cream.  Can't we all get along and just call it soda-pop? I had a dream...
Everyone should check out the band Shifty Eyed Dog at Looe Key this weekend. They play songs other than "Mustang Sally", like Sublime, Chili Peppers and other good stuff. We saw them last time they came, they rock.
Weird Moments in Comics. Superman engages in some "heavy-handed" politics.
From the Miami Herald  ''Numerous people on Big Pine are members of Sombrero Country Club in Marathon so there is a degree of sophistication among some of the Big Piners,'' George Neugent, a Monroe County commissioner whose district includes the island, said. "How many of us here are members of the Country Club?"  I think it is time for Neugent to go. I gather the rest of us really don't matter much to him. I think we should go and picket the Country Club in bare feet, t-shirts and cut offs. Maybe we can all pull up in pick up trucks filled with people. We should have  music, someone playing the washboard while another is blowing into an empty jug. We should show him that the non members of the Country Club, are the majority here on Big Pine.
Oregon passed a law allowing assisted suicide.

It seems more and more that Murray Nelson and Tom Willi are doing much more than political back scratching.  Nelson was the front man for recruiting Willi from the City of Davie and has tried, in the not to distant past, and on more than one occasion, to support giving money to Willi that, according to his contract, he is not entitled to.  Nelson supported Willi’s money grubbing request for overtime pay while Willi was at the County Emergency Operations Center and has also tried to get Willi bonus pay on at least one previous occasion. 

Something really stinks about the Nelson/Willi connection. The Nelson and Willi team represent the worst in County government and dirty, bubba-boy politics.  Willi should get not one cent more than his extremely generous contract calls for.  Hopefully Nelson will be out of office after the next election and we can also hope that the voters make their wishes known when Willi’s contract is up for renewal and demand his replacement.   
Re: Deer Ed. I don't mind when you censor. Tit figures, you do live on Big Wine Kre, right?
Uh, Ed, the date thingy is back.
Pop? Soda? I ask for a soft drink.
Re: "Comment on the demanding, overbearing, loud and obnoxious Jerseyite touristas in general." Ha, ha. You ought to hear how the complainers at the Jersey Shore talk about those driving around with Florida tags during the NJ tourist season! News Flash: the Keys aren't the only tourist attraction in the universe; although you would think it is from some of the whiners in this column.
(I just want to apologize in advance for what I'm about to post here; but it couldn't be helped) Re: The Great Boston Molasses Flood. Sounds like a sticky situation.
Am I being shallow because I refuse to date the toothless men? That's a deal-killer.  But if Captain Aries Man is still around, how about your trailer this weekend?  Or, you could come over after happy hour.
Re: the little flare bullets. They should have an expiration date on them. And no.

Wednesday January 18, 2006

 

Tuesday January 16, 2006
(Ed: The web cam is back for both of you who use it. We had a port access problem connecting to the DNS from our ISP.)
Hurricane clean-up volunteers needed this Sat. 1-21-06. Come join me (Willy Dominicak) and the Boy Scout Troup 573 in completing my Eagle Scout Project. We will be cleaning up the side of Wilder Road on Big Pine Key of all the trash left from the last hurricane season. If I have enough volunteers I would also like to clean up Key Deer Blvd. We will be meeting at the Blue Herron Park on Lyttons Way at 8:00 a.m. We will be working till 12:00P.M. Refreshments will be provided.
Re: "Most of the trouble seems to be in the people from Michigan,''--Miami Herald. They changed my words around.  I was speaking about a specific couple from Michigan who insulted my staff because they didn't have a home  due to Wilma. They said they should be served with a much higher class  of server plus they wanted  their order placed in front of others who were here before they were.  I didn't say it, but I thought  perhaps they should have ate at McDonalds.
We have a wonderful bunch down from Michigan , but there is an occasional thorn in the bush. Thanks, Capt. Dan
That 38" Cobia yesterday was one good looking fish. I must say to the lady who was so pleased with the taste of her first Cobia that she compared it to Hogfish and Grouper that she is way off the mark. Cobia is lousy. I release them.




What is a pop machine? I've seen soda machines.
Re: Giant Cat. I love that one! If anybody needs the story behind this picture go to http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blgiantcat3.htm
Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day and I had the day off.  It's about time that race of people did something good for us.  I'm not complaining, but isn't it ironic that the blacks are responsible for the country not having to work?
The last time I was with a woman I, too, was accused of having an undersized "Cobia".
I am in the process of starting a new band and I am tempted to name it Mile Marker 31, so I could be "miles ahead" of the other band also known as the Root band plus 3.
I was there today for the excellent speech by Former Vice President Al Gore. He said that recent revelations that the Bush administration monitored domestic telephone conversations without obtaining warrants "virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently." In an hour-long speech during which he grew animated and frequently raised his voice, Mr. Gore called on the attorney general to appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter and recommended that Congress hold "comprehensive - not just superficial - hearings." He also said telecommunications companies that provided access to their networks to the government should stop doing so.
I have some bad news for the guy who thought he picked up Jessica Simpson at the Cow Palace. What you saw through beer goggles was a guy who gets off on dressing up like celebrities. If you or the MM 24 band bothered to do a "Crocodile Dundee" check on he/she, you would have been in for a big surprise. 
What do you do with the other five cans of beer from the Iguana tails recipe?
(Ed: You can figure that one out, after all this is the Keys! Check out the Recipe page for the new meatloaf recipe. It's the simplest and quickest and tastiest meatloaf yet. Recipes>Meatloaf)
The selective compassion post was pretty amusing to me!  It had to be a woman and I think she was serious!
Re: Selective compassion. I think that guy was right on and made me laugh at myself for my selective compassion.
Re: Stealth police. They’re not stealth; they use a cloaking device. They confiscated it from some illegal aliens found drifting off of Looe key by Fish and Wildlife.
Greetings cantankerous ones!  Wisconsinites call it pop, as do Minnesotans. The folks in Illinois call it soda. If you travel to Illinois, don't ask for a pop, they will look at you as if you had two heads. I have heard New Yorkers call it pop. Floridians call it whatever the hell they want.
Re: Tatum O'Neal. What kind of a name is Tatum for a girl? Is it a Native American name, or maybe Latin for potato? They might as well have named her "Tater Salad." 


Weird Moments in Comics.
To the a**wipe who dumped a flooded window unit air conditioner on Key Deer Blvd by Kyle Ave yesterday.

Are you so freaking inept that you are incapable of properly disposing of your own trash? A number of people spent a lot of time (anonymously) cleaning up the end of Key Deer Blvd and it was a pleasure to drive down the last mile and be able to enjoy nature once again - until last night when you needed to trash it up.

Here's a tip. Do us all a favor and pick up the phone, dial 296-8297, and confess to the nice person from Waste Management who answers that you were too F***ing lazy to dispose of your A/C unit when FEMA was picking up anything with no questions asked. Then politely ask them how you might dispose of it now - other than dumping it somewhere we all have to look at it. In case you ignorantly thought that the FWS would collect it to prevent a deer from tripping over it or accidentally inhaling Freon should it leak, here's another tip: next time dump it in front of their door at the office in the W/D Plaza so they see it. (To the Editor... sorry, please edit as needed... I feel better now.)
(Ed: There is still free dumping until the end of this month at all county dumps.)
Re: Date with Jessica. Once again, step away from the pipe.
 
(?)Reading your e-mail.  Just keep your password to yourself.
Re: Selective compassion. I bought some property in Sebring in 1970, and had the occasion to ask a boat dealer there what the folks who lived there were like. He told me: "I could have these people carrying me around on their shoulders one minute, and running me out of town on a rail in tar and feathers the next, they're that stupid".

The point I was making the other day was that if one is happy to go fishing, or stuff their face with burgers, where does the same one get off threatening folks that are holding the iguana numbers down. Exterminate the mouse or rat, or kill all the fish you care care to, or hapless millipedes that hurt nothing, where does it follow that I dare not touch the river of iguanas that is flowing through my yard and flooding my home? Some folks here understood, but a few of you must be down from Sebring.
Thailand. Severe floods that washed away homes, bridges and lives apparently have compensated hapless villagers in southern Thailand with a treasure -- gold. Hundreds of fortune-seekers armed with shovels and pans are flocking to the stream of Tham Tha Mauk village in search of the precious metal, which surfaced from stream banks after the deluge.
 
Did anyone in the Keys find any Treasures after the storms?
I have become bored with the iguana talk but the iguana poems are hilarious. I love this site. You people are so not right!
Kudos to all those hardy Sugarloafers who braved the Saturday morning breezes to band together and clean up Crane Blvd. Like Elton John sang, "the boulevard is not that bad" anymore! 
The Flea Market was hopping with junk people buying junk as usual.  God, I hope April gets here fast!
Guess what? The Fed is thinking of imposing a Fat Tax on Junk Food to get Americans back in shape. Must be the insurance companies bitching they have to fix fatties and it costs too much.  They should tax the fatsos first, not the food manufactures.
Deer Ed. I don't mind when you censor curse words, they prove no point, but you are starting to cut peoples input so much, it changes the whole point of their email. Sometimes misspellings are meant to be, and maid up words say something, otherwise can't be said.  Please print the input as it is, not as you think it should be, like this forum was set to do!
(Ed: No. Because I have no way to know when a word is supposed to be misspelled. I'm not that smart. Sometimes in a very intelligent letter there'll be a phrase that I can't make sense of so I edit it. Sometimes I can't understand the entire message so I place a parenthesed question mark in front of it. I wish I could do it differently as I know I sometimes change someone's point.)
Does anyone out there with computer need a part time job selling skin care products? Looking for stay at home moms or chicks who know lots of other chicks. Look for my catalog at Winn Dixie.
Life Is Good.  Things could be worse; we could be living in a tiny Marathon Pod.  Big Pine really is a nice place to call Home.  Smile.
Definitive Solution. I am from the midwest and we called it pop. I moved here and heard northeasterners call it soda. I've been here since '79 so I call it soda pop.
We will be visiting Big Pine Key the month of February. Do you have a Public Library on this Key? Business Directory>library 
Re:  Tom Willi.  I agree with the posting stating that Murray Nelson should give Willi his $10,000 raise out of his own pocket.  If this guy thinks he needs a salary well into six figures to do whatever it is he does then he should go back to where he came from and take Murray Nelson with him.  I do like the idea of giving a divied up $10k to low paid county employees instead.  Doesn't Nelson know that 40 votes are better than just one?
How long do the little red flare bullets last on-board and can we go out-front three miles and shoot them off?
Sunday marked the anniversary of The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
The date was January 15, 1919, a Wednesday. It was about half-past noon. In Boston's industrial North End, folks were going about their business as usual. Only one small detail seemed out of the ordinary, and that was the temperature - unseasonably warm, in the mid-40s, up from a frigid two degrees above zero just three days before. The sudden thaw had lifted everyone's spirits. To anyone who was out on the street that day, it scarcely seemed a harbinger of disaster.
But trouble was brewing fifty feet above street level.

It took the form of two-and-a-half million gallons of crude molasses stored in a 90-foot-wide cast iron tank on the property of the United States Industrial Alcohol Company. The molasses was slated to be made into rum, but this particular batch would never make it to the distillery.
 
At about 12:40 p.m. the giant tank ruptured, emptying its entire contents into Commercial Street in the space of a few seconds. The result was a flash flood consisting of millions of gallons of sweet, sticky, deadly goo.

Once the low, rumbling sound was heard no one had a chance to escape. The buildings seemed to cringe up as though they were made of pasteboard.
The bulk of the devastation was caused by a "wall of molasses" at least eight feet high - 15 feet, according to some eyewitnesses - which rushed through the streets at a speed of 35 miles per hour. It demolished buildings, literally ripping them off their foundations. It upended vehicles, buried horses. People tried to outrun the torrent, but were overtaken and either hurled against solid objects or drowned where they fell. More than 150 people were injured. 21 were killed.
Parrotdise servers, managers and even the musicians seem to truly like people.  (Yes, even people from Michigan and New Jersey. Hee, hee.)  Too many people in the other restaurants just seem to want to turn your table over real fast and I find it very five-star to always see the smiling owner connecting with us patrons.  He even bused our table at lunch today.  Great cheeseburgers and view!  My vote would be to put a ping-pong table and dart board downstairs and maybe even let us bring our dogs.  How about a once-a-month Singles Happy Hour?  Downstairs DJ? 
(?)Poor Andrew! He is a confirmed gun-toting, career-criminal gangsta-wigger. Friday the 13th wasn't good for him. Bet his momma is proud. Maybe the guy who he does extra work for will bond him out and they can commit more crimes and poison any left-over feral cats. When you're that low-down people will do anything for money.
Cantankerous Piners? Who are they calling cantankerous for cripes sake! For their information, I always read this web site before the Sheriff's Office booking website.

I think that the remarks about the Jersey woman are meant to be a satirical, although somewhat harsh at times. Comment on the demanding, overbearing, loud and obnoxious Jerseyite touristas in general. 

Catch the fish and kill the lizards and while you're at it nuke the whales and wail the seals!

Tuesday January 16, 2006

 

Monday January 16, 2006


Martin Luther King Day
"I have a dream...Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Did you see the story on Big Pine in Sunday's Miami Herald, including this note:
"Cantankerous Piners are found in abundance on Bigpinekey.com, a local website that heralds spaghetti fundraisers, church socials, used items and a Kudos and Whiners gossip column that may be the most popular read here after the Sheriff's Office booking website."
Sunday's Key West Citizen has an article where Murray Nelson, citing a "gentleman's agreement" he claims to have made, wants to give Tom Willi a $10,000 bonus. Willi signed a contract. Give him only what it calls for. If Nelson wants to give him more, do it out of his own money. If he must spend $10,000 of our money, rather than giving an already highly paid employee even more, give 40 of the lowest paid employees $250? After all, they're the ones who do whatever work really gets done!
I'm not sure an Iguana is smart enough to know it is being abused.  I think they are just instinctive and lack enough brain power to realize the situation.  I really love Stone Crab claws. 
Regarding the local’s discount.  I also did some Christmas shopping downtown. Margaritaville and Coach were both still giving 10% local discounts. Bath and Body Works always have a big sale twice a year and I buy gifts and stocking stuffers then.



I have lived in the Key's a long time, I call it soda because I can.
Re: Dr. Oppenheimer. I'd rather go blind than be run through his clinic like my son was when we were there. The lady who picks out the frames and figures the insurance portion was condescending. I think they forget that everyone is a person, not a dollar sign. Thank God I'm back in Washington with real Doctors!



Re: Soda with scotch. Ice is what you mix with Scotch.
I have to admit that giving someone money on just a business card is pretty bad.
How do police learn stealth? they come up out of nowhere and then they are directly behind you.
Re: Selective compassion. Is it just me or this person sound a tad irked?
People, People, People...it's Tatum O'Neal, Ryan O'Neal. Not O'Neil.
Thanks for the words rhyming with iguana. See below:
 
The girl from New Jersey looks like an iguana
If you catch her in profile she could be a piranha
Some down here have had her but I don't wanna
Every time she asks me I say maňana
I'd do her if she looked like Lola Falana
But even I can't smoke that much marijuana.
Dear confused, I'll try to explain. In a certain part of the country (where pop is spoken) they tend to use the phrase "Do you want to go with?" when they really mean; "Do you want to go with me to the store/mall/wherever?". The first few times you hear it, it can be annoying. After awhile, it sounds normal. Before you know it, you're saying it also. That's when you know it's time to move back down here.

Re: Forensic photographic. Just curious, was that taken by one of the missing blimps? You know they're always watching.
Rhymes with Iguana.
On my deck smokin marijuana,
I spied a big green Iguana,
Yelled to my wife, "Honey do you wanna,
Have iguana with the piranha,
Shoot the thing she holla,
We'll eat em both Manana!
18 mile stretch. I got an idea. lets build a four lane highway to allow for better traffic flow in and out of the Keys. Then lets not build it well enough to handle traffic in the two outside lanes, and erect barriers so they are unusable. And the best part is let's get someone else to pay for it (read taxpayers).


An elderly Snow White will be depicted in an upcoming TV special titled “Aging Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs of Menopause" starring a moody actress and Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Crying and Nuts.
I have to disagree about murder being the lowest. Rapists and child molesters put their victims through a murder of sorts, but they remain alive to relive their agony over and over.

Poem by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Lillian Hoban.
I'm Gonna Tell mama I Want an Iguana

I'm gonna tell Mama
I want an iguana,
all blinky and scaly
just like a piranha.
I don't want some flora,
I'd rather have fauna.
I'm gonna tell Mama
I want an iguana.

But Commissioner Murray Nelson said he's got a plan figured out to protect the sewers and doesn't care what Key West or Islamorada wishes to do.
Q: How do you keep your husband from reading your e-mail?
A: Rename the mail folder "Instruction Manuals"
How come I haven't heard anything positive about the Cow Palace lately? OK, here's what happened. I stopped by there the other day and believe it or not, Jessica Simpson was sitting at the bar! I sat down and asked her what she was doing in a place like that and she said she was driving to a gig in Key West and just stopped for a beer. Said she was a little depressed over her recent divorce. So I took her across the street to the Looe Key Tiki Bar and the Mile Marker 24 Band was playing. Jessica and I danced all night long, drinking those free Margaritas from Howard Livingston's outboard motor mixer. Jessica said that she never had so much fun in her life. We went back to my place afterwards to be alone, but would you believe that the whole MM 24 band followed us home, dragging that machine with them! It kind of screwed up my plans for the rest of the evening, but Jessica said she would be back sometime to make up for it.




This is a big cat.
To the PETA looser who feels empathy for the fish and the rats. The world would benefit greatly from your absence.
Rapists, abusers, molesters, and murderers are all thieves they are just stealing more precious things than property.
I was born and raised in Minnesota and we drink Pop!
I made the Shrimp linguini with brie from the Recipe page last night. It had a few ingredients that were exotic to my kitchen but the recipe looked good so I went out and bought the stuff. Well, it sure was good! The whole thing didn't take more than 20-30 minutes to make. I'm going to make it again , but the next time I'm not going to put in the shrimp. It is so good you don't need anything else in it. I put the whole box of linguini in and increased the other ingredients too. That way I have enough so I can eat it for the next few days.
What is wrong with this statement?  "The fish lady should be hauled up on charges of unspeakable cruelty to defenseless animals." 

This is the Keys for crying out loud...we fish here. Not only that, but we work toward having the Keys attitude with no malice intended to anyone. What is wrong with those of you who have nothing better to do than try to make something bad out of good?  These people are right, quit with the bad vibes and try to enjoy the one life you have.
Mmmm...gin and tonic!


Don't vote for anybody named Nelson in the Keys, unless it's Ozzie or Harriet.
Last time I checked the Ten Commandments were not ranked. 
I agree. What is the difference from killing a fish or a lizard?
If it's soda why do they make pop machines?

Hey Ed. Where are you getting all the GIF files for the thumbnails? Your collection
must be in the millions! (Ed: I don't have a life.)
Re: Selective compassion. Did I fail to mention how compassionately I fried that Cobia up that night? And how delicious Cobia is? That was my first Cobia and I really top it up there with hogfish and grouper. For your info I don't keep anything I don't eat. Now is your problem that: A. You don't fish. or B. You don't know how to fish? Or perhaps you are scared to put a shrimp on a hook! Ha. We all know your measurements are off.
They're going to stop killing citrus trees because of the terrible canker that has been threatening the citrus crop in Florida. They say because of the hurricane the canker has spread to where they don't think that they can contain it any more. A lot of people had their orange trees cut down for nothing.
Nice quote in Sunday's Miami Herald: On an island where for many years time seemed to stop, an influx of new out-of-towners has caused a bit of a stir. Said Capt. Dan McLaughlin, owner of the Key Deer Bar & Grill... ''Most of the trouble seems to be in the people from Michigan,'' offered bar owner McLaughlin. ``The Michigan people are downright nasty. They make good money at home, they come down here, and they don't treat the servers and bartenders right.''  Guess I will steer clear.

Cobia perspective. (hope you can open the photo, ed) I recently caught a 38 inch Cobia. Measured to the inside of the V in the tail. The photo of the M.I.L.F. (just kidding) with the Cobia looks to be holding up an approximately 24 inch fish. She should have been more informed of the local fish regulations prior to posting her face with an obviously short pelagic species. I look at the photo and two things come to mind. Lucky – to catch a fish and Stupid – to post your face with an illegal fish. If I am wrong, I do apologize. Prove me wrong by posting a photo of a tape measure on the fish depicting its length.

(Ed: This was settled in yesterday's column with forensic photography, a singed affidavit by the fisherman and a testimonial by the official fisherhusband. [By the way that is a nice 38" fish you got!])
I just said that you Cobia looked undersize. I did not say your cobia was undersize. Don't get your panties in a bunch. With a limit of one per person and Cobia run with a few buddies, I just take a little bigger fish and let the small ones go, but then again I catch a lot of them. And don't forget "inside fork" not overall. But you knew that, didn't you? Now enjoy your fish. Tight lines and good knots. --Capt. Knowitall



363 of the faithful making the hajj to Mecca were crushed to death in a what has become the yearly human stamped. I'm waiting for Pat Roberts to determine if God is punishing them or not.

Monday January 16, 2006

 

Sunday January 15, 2006



I was at the Flee Market yesterday and man that wind blows.
I like the pop vs. soda jive a lot better than the iguana crap.
Someone posted that there is nothing lower than a thief. I disagree. Rapists, child molesters, and abusers are all lower than a thief. The one thing that is lowest of all actions on the face of this planet is: Murder. Nothing is lower than murder. Nothing.
I did a lot of last minute shopping in Key West before heading North for the holidays.  No one gives the local discount anymore.  They all say they have to recover after the hurricane.  Thanks a lot, like we don't have to?  I think it's BS.

If pop is a sound and soda is a sweetened carbonated drink. What does that make cola? (Ed: I know this one: cola is a sweetened carbonated drink.)
I would like to warn you guys of a scam artist lurking around town. His name is Michael Maxheleau. If anyone knows where this guy can be found please post back. I was dumb enough to give him money with only a business card for a reference. Since this time, I have never been contacted by this man to perform the services we had agreed upon. Please beware of unlicensed contractors, call the county to find out first, before you give any money. I would report this, but am quite embarrassed by my own stupidity and hope you will not have to suffer the same. --keysatheart@atlantic.net


Is this a big cat or a small toddler?
Re:  No words that rhyme with iguana?  How about marijuana or Lola Falana?  Don't forget piranha either.
I'm a real Yankee and never called or heard anyone in my area call soda, pop.
Rhyme with iguana. How about the slang, "wanna" as in "want to."
I'm an old New Englander and have only heard people from the south or Midwest call soda, pop.




Where can I get some palm oil? I'm not going to say what I want it for.
Re: "I say don't change a thing about this site. I love it. I am addicted. It's the first thing I do every night I come home from work. Don't change a thing."  I have to second this one.
Okay. I'm really confused. In the Re: Pop or Soda, someone made the observation that "'do you want to go with' was not a complete sentence." I'm curious, does "Go with where?" make sense in your world? What are you referring to anyway?
Re: soda or pop? I wasn't around in the 50's
I think the person who had the idea of posting email addresses is lame. Did you read that? I could care less if you know my email; I will still write what I feel.



Re: "For cripes sake." Who says that anyway? Grandpa was that you?
I'm from New England and we don't call it pop.  We call it soda or tonic.  Most of the old timers call it tonic.
Re: Rhymes with iguana? How about wanna?


Re: "Pop is a carbonated beverage."  Soda is what you mix with scotch.
Maňana (mon-ya-na) rhymes with Iguana, and I promise I will post no more about Iguanas, and hope you all will please do the same. Enough already, give Ed and the readers a freakin' Iguana break! Rhymes for Iguana
Re: Not a whore, just horney.  I have to agree with this woman, the ladies ought to be able to get their groove on as much as the guy's with  non-judgment.

You didn't look long enough.  I think marijuana rhymes with iguana.
"Yawanna" rhymes with iguana. As in, "If yawanna hug an iguana ya betta be pretty dang fast, cause they sure are.
Pop vs. soda. The way the Yankees pronounce pop through their nasal cavity sounds like "pap". Way behind the times.
Yankees referring to soda as pop:  I was visiting Ohio (which let me say was the worst place I ever visited,  boring) and they were calling it pop.  I am from NY and we call it soda.

Re: Cobia. Forensic photographic analysis shows that this fish is within legal limits plus or minus 0.75 inches.
The cobia was actually 37 inches long, but for you that have nothing better to do than try to make something bad out of good, the next time I'll call you to come measure for me.
I must have missed something. Who got their heart broken by a Jersey Girl? Why else would you constantly post rude remarks about Jersey Women? Is this Jersey woman who broke your heart someone we all know? Or is she back in Jersey?

While your trying to figure out whether to have a Pop, or a Soda. I'm going out to buy some Tonic!. And does anyone know where I can get a Chocolate Frappe or a Coffee Cabinet?
I made a return visit to Knuckleheads recently and the food was just as great as my first visit. I had the quesadilla for an appetizer and the crab cakes for dinner. The people at the table next to me had the ribs and said they were great, too. The service and the attention by the waitress and the hostess was excellent. All I ask from any server is that they come back and refill my drink. I got much more than that at Knuckleheads. We will be going back again very soon!
Re: Full Wolf Moon. they're only hungry in January?
Horney. I read the posting about the girl who went out for the "Booty Call" and it brings back memories. If you (the one who wrote the posting) are reading this now, was it the guy who wrote the "Let's Hook Up" classified ad on here? It sounded like that was who you are talking about. I also went out to get my "Attitude Adjusted" on a date with him. If that is who your talking about can you please email me with his contact info? I lost it and could use another visit. Gerry, if it was you she is talking about, or even if it wasn't, can you call or email me so we can get together again?
Re: Why does everyone here call pop soda?  Way back in the 1800's soda water, which is only carbonated water was served in bars as soda.  If you ever watch any old westerns you will recall a cowboy siding up to the bar and ordering soda water.  And then later, it was referred to as tonic water.  Pepsi Cola and coke, added caramel flavor and a few other ingredients to give it its dark appearance and sweeter taste.  In fact take a bottle of tonic water and a can of soda and look at the ingredients.
Cleaning W/D parking lot.  I'm glad someone's cleaning it nightly. I can't see it, but thank God they are.
Rhyming with iguana. I can't think of anything off-hand, but maybe I'm smoking too much marijuana while hunting the iguana.
Tired of not getting a human to talk to when you call major companies?  Attached you will find a cheat sheet created by Paul English.   It contains most major companies and tells you what keys to depress to get a human to answer. http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/
Re: Selective compassion. How is it there is no screaming and retching for the poor fish who died in a cruel, extended fight for it's life? Consider the terror it felt, being pulled uncontrollably through the water, to be hauled out, battling, writhing in agony, and finally suffocating to death?. The fish lady should be hauled up on charges of unspeakable cruelty to defenseless animals. Where's the outrage?

Compare this to the iguana being humanely instantly dispatched with a pellet to the brain, and the ensuing chorus of screams. Where's the outrage for the fish? And what's worse, she enjoyed it. Consumption is obviously secondary to the "sport". See how happy and proud she seems displaying the poor creature she's destroyed.

Also, why are the merchants allowed to sell horrible rodent poisons and death traps? I really think all this targeted sympathy for one out of millions of creatures demonstrates either a disingenuousness, or ignorance, or both.

Sunday January 15, 2006

 

Saturday January 14, 2006


Re: Pop or soda? One is a sound the other is a sweetened carbonated drink.
Boy, is it windy or what this morning?
Another bumper sticker: BU___ SH___ is President
Too late! My wife bought panties with built-in wireless remote vibrator for the 2004 FantasyFest. They have been a serious source of amusement and pleasure ever since. But playing in a pocket with a joystick still remains her favorite past time.
http://reference.aol.com/space/fullmoon
The Full Wolf Moon rises Jan. 14. Indian tribes gave this name to January's moon because hungry wolves used to howl outside villages at this time of year.
To the person praying for me for Googling iguanas, thanks for the prayers...always needed.  For your information, I was Googling the validity of the claims of all of the so-called "attacks" by iguanas.  I don't have to research the iguanas themselves, as I have raised them for many, many years.  But I do have to produce some proof sometimes to counter the lies being spread here.  So, the fact that people have been complaining for a very long time. So what's your point?  There have also been people defending them for a very long time.   And, by the way, I have spent many an hour out picking up debris that someone like you has thrown out, not just after the hurricane.
 
And to the person that saw the iguana kill the baby heron and eat eggs, again, what kind was it?  Did you get any pictures or video?  There are more than one species inhabiting our islands, and there is one species that is a bit more carnivorous.  If it was a green iguana (iguana iguana), there are always exceptions to the rules of nature (if you noticed, my original post said wild iguanas don't eat animal protein as a rule).  It could have been someone's pet that escaped, that had been previously fed a bad diet of meat, etc.  In my volunteer work out in the field, I have watched many iguanas sharing the same space with heron nests and have never seen one bother the eggs or the babies.



I think that female Big Pine Bigfoot has been answering those singles-ad booty calls. Guys are so lonely down here due to the skewed demographics that they will do almost anything.
Not a whore, just horney. The person who wrote in "Re: Wham Bam. You’re a whore." It sounds to me like someone who is cranky off because they are not getting any. This website often calls people Got Miners. You must a Not Getting Miner. I am not ashamed of answering that classified ad and getting myself some good loving. If you're not getting any don't call me a whore, call the guy who posted the ad and get yourself some too. It'll put a smile on my face.
Nothing better than a three day weekend. Yee haw!
To the lady who got the unlimited gift certificate for Key West. Go to the Pier House Spa. ask for Thekla. She is awesome, she is a massage therapist and an aesthetician. You'll be happy you did!


Sadly, Tatum O'Neil had a big problem with drugs. She's now on that Dancing with the Stars show. Looks great!
I for one would like to see Ms. Tia and the Rainstick Woman paired off in a Texas-cage-fight-to-the-death match. The winner would get a pair of custom-made iguana skin boots.

Butter over $4 per pound:  Try KY jelly. It’s cheaper and doesn’t stain the sheets.


That Cobia didn't look 33" nose to tail fork.
I say don't change a thing about this site. I love it. I am addicted. It's the first thing I do every night I come home from work. Don't change a thing. (And we don't care how you do it where you come from!)
Pop vs. Soda. Apparently you are from somewhere around the New England states.  In Pa we always called it pop and I have been laughed at ever since I moved here 13 years ago.  Some people have no idea what I am referring to.
Re: Thief.  Why waste our money with a trial when a .45 or .38 or a ball bat will do the job.

Re: Pop or soda. It's soda. It hasn't been called "pop" since the 50's. Also, "do you want to go with" is not a sentence. Go with what? Go with where? Geeze, use complete sentences when you speak and for cripes sake, stop calling it pop! There, I feel much better.
If you want to  know the real scoop on Dunkin Donuts. You need to ask the main man in charge. Ask Commish Neugent. He's the one trying to save this island. The other three are greedy, money hogs that want all the good stuff for their islands.
Iguanas eat meat too. I just wish they developed a taste for Cats, Dogs, Snowbirds, Greedy Merchants, Bums, God nuts, and other useless beasties!

Yea! That was my wife who caught that Cobia. Damn, I was working, but it sure was good for dinner. She can go fishing any time I'm working. I checked the GPS and she erased the track. OK, she can bring the fish home.
Annoying someone via the Internet: The law is for everyone, not just the web sites or ISP's. If you send unwanted email to me, I can sue or have you arrested. This is another step closer to changing the Constitution to what Big Brother and the religious nuts want for ruling this rock.  The politically correct are taking over for sure!

Only Yankees refer to soda as pop.

Just so everyone knows there is a problem with Cingular service in Big Pine Key. The problem is being rectified and the tower will be restored within a day or so.  That tower  is a co-located tower so everyone uses it. Cingular rocks Verizon sucks.    
If you recall the El Mason DePepe owners have always had complete disdain for locals.  Just remember what the did to the Island Reef Restaurant (Island Jim's) and how they treated the locals back then.



Don't let my husband see this.
To the person who is cleaning W/D parking lot. Get more garbage pails. also report to Robert the store manager the lazy push cart people. They are also too busy on there cell phones to even bother keeping the carts out of the drivers way. Only one lady, I think her name is Jane, who is the best cart person. She really should be inside the store as she speaks perfect English. Send the non-English speaking person back outside where  she would be more productive instead of hanging out in the store pretending to work.
Re: Flea Market info. Saturday and Sunday 8am -2pm I think in February it's open until 3:00 To rent a booth just show up on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn the line is getting longer each weekend.


I am not fat, I am just fluffy
As far as the Bus Schedule page goes http://www.bigpinekey.com/Pages/bus_sched_printable.htm it is fine to read online, but to print it out by using the Print function--the page is not printer friendly. It prints on two sheets and is very much over kill. I suggest setting up a Print button on the online page to give a very basic black and white, one sheet print out.

Bigfoot sighted on Big Pine:  Originally thought to be an actual Bigfoot, the Big Pine sighting was determined to be, after close examination of photographic evidence, simply the Jersey woman who did not shave that day.  The hairy appearance was reported to have frightened a small child and caused at least two adults to experience what they describe as “an unpleasant odor of garlic, lilac perfume and perspiration” emanating from the beast.  Any persons sighting the creature are advised to maintain a safe distance.
"Our comments being edited": Ya vole, mine hair, Ze vords muzt be correct by ze Big Brudda, or elze, Komrade!
I have found absolutely no word that rhymes with iguana and that irks me.

I would suggest that the food and beverage advertisers here indicate the start time as well as the date for their various bands, entertainment etc.  It’s good to know that the XXXBand is playing on a given date but it would be very helpful to know what time I should arrive.
Re: “Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy is bogus and should be stopped.”  I agree it should be stopped immediately.  These people risk their lives and often the lives of children too young to know better trying to cross the ocean in every conceivable type of floating debris.  It has also spawned a human smuggling industry.  The real point is every single Cuban who makes it to shore or nearly makes it should immediately be returned to Cuba.  They are illegal aliens with no right to be in this country.  Illegal is illegal and this country needs to get tough on illegal immigration and slam the door shut on our borders  Wet foot or dry foot they go back.  Period.  The same goes for the illegal Mexicans and any other illegal foreigner.  We can’t continue to encourage alien attempts with such an asinine policy (not surprisingly from the Clinton/Reno era).  If they don’t like their homeland let them work or revolt to change it.  I worked for Fidel.  And don’t bother to tell me how cruel and heartless I am.  I know it.


I think that it is time to leave the iguanas alone and go out and dispatch the thieves.
Putting one's name and email address in the message is great, but no one in this country, except for fools, would do it because no one here wants to take full responsibility for their actions.
At last... A bumper sticker for both parties. Someone has come out with a 100% bipartisan Political bumper sticker. The hottest selling bumper sticker comes from New York State: 2008 - "RUN HILLARY RUN" Democrats put it on the rear bumper. Republicans put it on the front bumper.
Re: Nice day fishing. I am happy spent a nice day fishing, but I must say that your Cobia looks undersize. I hope that I am wrong. I would hate to see the Fish Police at your house. Tight lines and good knots.
Re: Wilma. You are not alone. Not only have we not seen any insurance money from our flood carrier Fidelity. We just finally had a contractor come for our first walk through Friday 1/06/06 since WILMA  hit.

Imagine what would happen if we didn't pay our insurance this long? Or our Mortgage? So now we wait for them to play with the figures of our building loss. It just goes on and on. All the while the house sits, not fixed up because no money to fix it up.
Iguana problems? Here you go...
Beer Batter Iguana
6 cans of beer
l-l/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 large egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon pepper or Cajun spice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
3 to 4 pounds iguana tails & thighs, boned & cut into 2"- 3" pieces
l-l/2 teaspoons salt
Oil for frying, preferably canola

Combine 1 can of beer, flour, cornstarch, egg, baking powder, pepper or Cajun spice, paprika, and garlic in bowl and whisk lightly until smooth.
Reserve remaining beer for the Cook to consume.
Heat 2-3 inches cooking oil in large skillet to 375-400 degrees.
Pat tails dry with paper towel; lightly sprinkle with salt and coat with batter.
Fry tails on one side for 3-4 minutes; then turn to fry other side an additional 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
DO NOT OVERCOOK!
Drain on paper towel.
Note: It is NECESSARY to add either the paprika or Cajun spice, as this will impart the golden color without overcooking the tails!
Other hints: Keep both the batter & the iguana as cool as possible. If the batter doesn't stick, the iguana was probably wet or the batter too thin.

To the woman who wanted to be "Queen for a day", take the offer but go to the "Spa Atlantis" in Pompano. It will be everything you look for and some.
To all you givers to charities. Giving money to most, is stupid. The best way is to make some food or buy some food and hand it to the needy, unless that needy doesn't give a damn about working for a living. Check this link out before you get taken while given http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.alpha.htm
Know why we don't put our address in the email, it's because we don't want the government to drive up in them black 4x4's and do us in. And those God nuts who would do the same if you don't agree with them.
Re: Iguana abuse. Some people will do anything for piece of tail!
To all W/D employees who has Vision Care we now have Dr Oppenheimer back as a provider. He and Sears are the only provider in the Keys.
I disagree with the person who wrote in about the restaurant rules. It should not matter who serves you.  If the service is adequate there should be a tip.  It does not matter if it is the owner, family, or an employee. It sounds like the writer was just a cheep snow bird or even a Canadian! 



The Mars Rovers' Two-Year Anniversary sucks! If you look at the NASA pictures, you'd see the rovers tracks spell out "Eat at McDonald's", "Shop at K-Mart" and other Spam advertising.  What a rig off!  What's next? Space Writing over our Sunset?

Saturday January 14, 2006

 

Friday January 13, 2006




Today is Friday the Thirteenth. Don't leave home!
Butter is over four dollars a pound. Ouch.
Re: mourning a miscarriage. A miscarriage is an unfortunate ending of a wanted pregnancy. An abortion is the fortunate ending of an unwanted pregnancy.
Re: Iguana invasion gone bad. The lady who fought off the iguana and call for Gov't help should know that any time you involve the "man", he usually takes the situation to the extreme. Once you turn them on they go into action, usually preferring to take the situation to the max, and hopefully they might even get to use some of their fancy equipment. It's real hard to turn them off.
I just heard on the radio today that the Mile Marker 24 Band is playing at the Looe Key Tiki Bar on Saturday Night. If you have not heard these guys they are great. A lot of original Keys music and they have an old Johnson outboard motor that they have converted into a margarita machine. During the night they make batches of 'ritas and pass out to the crowds for free. Can't beat a good party!


The only real difference between a typical Jersey woman and an iguana is that the iguana doesn't smoke.
Well, Officer Tia... Long Winded tomes
I'm the person who cleans the Big Pine shopping center every night of the week, seven days a week. As far as the garbage, beer cans, etc. you can blame the bums. All the garbage flying around the center is do to the lazy shopping cart pushers who would rather throw garbage on the ground instead of the pails. I have never been one to complain about snow birds, but they have contributed to the disaster also. If you go late at night it has become the Big Pine KOA for Canadians and others who don't want to pay for a campsite. The back of the stores you could blame W/D for not knowing how to get garbage in a dumpster. Not that any of the other stores help. It has also become B&B recyclers on the Gulf side of the island for dumped cars. If anybody wants to help clean I will be there at 12:00 am.

Harry Belafonte:  Another ultra left-wing, liberal whack job that has nothing but contempt and hatred for the country that made him wealthy and famous enough to run around the world and condemn the United States before a dictator in a corrupt, third world, cesspool country.  I sure that Jane “The Commie” Fonda, Bill and Hillary, Ted “The Swimmer” Kennedy, Michael Moore and the rest of the media-elite, socialist agenda crowd are proud of him.  While his remarks were directed towards The President they in no way should be taken to be the opinion of the majority of Americans.  I don’t personally agree with all of the current administrations decisions, but I do love and support my country.  Mr. Belafonte should be glad he lives in an America that allows his type of free speech, vile as it may be, rather than throwing him in a prison dungeon for 30 years like would be the case in most countries he seems to embrace. 

I have a suggestion, for those people being bothered by iguanas. Trap them with humane traps and deliver them to your animal control office where those who love them so much can decide what to do with them. Don't forget, Iguanas like red flowers, so be sure to bait your traps with hibiscus or bougainvillea. If you don't have a trap, the shelters all have them to lend. They also work well with raccoons and chickens that may be over-running your environment. Lets make sure these animal lovers get their fill of iguana love every day until they scream uncle. Call the shelters for hours of business Big Pine Shelter 872-3412 and Marathon Shelter 743-3779 or simply deliver them to the property for release if it's after hours. I would assume this is legal since there are no local laws governing nuisance iguanas.
It sounds unbelievable—but did you know that anyone can go online and purchase cell or home phone records of people like you? Today, America blog was able to buy Gen. Wesley Clark's personal cell phone records with no problem. Phone companies and congressional leaders have known about this problem, but they've failed to address it. Even at a time when our right to privacy is under attack on multiple fronts, the idea that someone can simply go online and get these records is unacceptable.

I believe that the home burglars are most likely local crackhead teens or young adults.  I’m sure the Sheriff’s office is investigating and eventually they will make arrests.  In the meantime keep your home locked up as best as possible and lock your cars as well.  Justice would be best served if the thieves happened upon a home guarded by Mr. Colt or Mr. Glock; and got their thieving asses blown away.  No trial, no bleeding heart plea bargain and no whining, “They’re just mis-guided kids.”  A thief is a thief.  A couple of well placed .45s would do the job the cops and the courts sometimes can’t do.  There is nothing lower than a thief.

The eye doctor that was in Sears (Dr. Persons) ran an ad in the Citizen not to long ago saying he had opened his practice somewhere else in Key West. Might try 411 for a new number not in the phone book (unfortunately for a charge). I have no idea if he charges his previous low rates or not. Always ask first. Same with insurance coverage.

A black, lesbian for president.  Interesting idea but I would keep the concept as quiet as possible or for sure we will see Hillary in black face.  (With Janet Reno for Veep)
The cell tower on Big Pine was put in by and first used by Verizon. Cingular started using it about 6 months later.



I don't know anything about Wet Foot/Dry Foot immigration policy, but I do know there is a Big Foot living on Big Pine. And it's female
I just wanted to say hello to our follow islanders down in paradise. I hope every thing is well with you. It's just great up here in Ocala, but a bit chilly (last week 28 degrees ) brrrrrr. Ok, I've got to go feed the horses.
I have a suggestion for the person/people that want to change the format of this message board. Create a group on Yahoo (I think it's free) and set it up the way you want it. You can moderate it or not, require membership or not. Whatever makes you happy. Personally, I like this message board just way it is. If while reading an entry I encounter some ridiculous annoying BS, I can skip over it or respond to it. I certainly would not want to eliminate the BS - that's what makes this page fun to read. PS. Who gets to decide what's BS and what's not?
Bareback, I mean Brokeback Mountain:  The story of two Rump Rangers roaming the wild west searching for true love whilst riding their pink ponies to the tune of Stand Behind Your Man.  What a load of trash from the garbage generator formally known as Hollywood.  It doesn’t surprise me that it got some sort of critical acclaim.  Seems the critics think that the more violent or disgusting the theme and the movie the better.  I’ll bet John Wayne, wherever he is, just shook his head and rode away.

To the Cancer Patient throwing up. Please talk with your doctor and caregivers.  Most deaths from cancer come from other things--not the actual cancer.  The biggest among the killers is malnutrition and patients who stop treatment because the treatment makes them feel so bad.  My mother had stage 4 lung cancer nearly five years ago. When I discussed the vomiting with her nurses and doctors at a big hospital up North the nurse said, ”Throwing up is so five years ago!”  There are  lots of medications to help you with the nausea, the vomiting, etc.  My mother had a very heavy course of radiation and chemo. I took her to every one and cared for her throughout. She lost only 8 lbs and was never nauseous.  Ask your doctor. Help is out there.  Also, the Cancer Society didn’t do anything for my mother.  They didn’t even send her one of those turbans when her hair fell out.  
Three rules in the restaurant business.
1- Don't work as a server at your own place.
2-Don't let your family or significant others work there either.
3- It's not proper to expect a tip if your the owner or related to the owner.
 
My grandparents owned the fist liquor license in Indiana and Red Skelton worked for my grandfather. My grandmother trained waitresses. This is the way I was raised. I learned you don't tip unless you are satisfied with the service provided whether it be policy or the attitude of your server. I remembered what I was taught. I try to be polite but it's hard when you look at the peoples attitudes who are supposed to be catering to me and others in my party.

What a great day! My husband had to work so I went fishing. Caught my limit on snapper and caught this nice Cobia.
I'm a Big Pine home owner and full time resident. Give Ed a break. I want to be able to read this column in the off season.
It seems to me that these politicians who keep questioning these Supreme Court nominees about their abortion policies are thinking they will get the child's' vote for their party. Could that be their case? They would have to wait at least 21 years to find out. Those who are deciding will most likely be dead by then. Except for the "honorable" Ted Kennedy. He will still be in office in a pickled state, Massachusetts.

My husband gave me an unlimited amount gift certificate to be pampered for the day anywhere I want in Key West.  Any suggestions? I was thinking about Ocean Key House or Pier House.
Has anyone been to those places to be treated like a Queen for the day?
Free Message Boards maintain threads on each subject making postings cohesive. You do lose that 'Letter to the Editor' feel however. Many can help you set one up. Almost all web hosting ISP's provide the necessary hooks into SQL based php forums. If you are shopping, look for a good php (free) forum. Look at phpbb.com, http://www.phpbb.com  for more information. You can also filter profanity, toggle registration or have none at all. Have forum administrators for different forums. Users can have 'nicknames'.

The more popular this site becomes the more you will become swamped and you will drown. Of course, that's silly. There is no way the measly population of the lower Keys could possibly swamp this website. There has to be outsiders infesting this forum. This site is popular because you provide a valuable soapbox for the bold and timid. They can hide their identity behind your web cloak and spew. But of course, 90% of what is on BPK.com is true and sincere. I do not doubt that. That's why I am afraid.



Regarding your statement "For your information, the ring necked dove is also considered invasive."
If you are referring to my post that said I had seen iguanas and doves sharing the same space on my sea wall, the doves I was referring to were Mourning Doves, which are native.
You have to call Caldwell Banker in Key West and complain about the W/D parking lot. The property manager is not interested in keeping W/D lot clean. Have you noticed there are no garbage cans except for the two closest to W/D and I do believe W/D is providing them. All Mr. Skump wants is your money and I think he is the one starting the rumors about Wendy's and Dunkin Donuts just to attract renters for all the empty stores. Soon W/D will be the only one left as everyone else is up for sale.
I'm looking for someone who calls himself "Wildheart33" and lives in Big Pine. If you're around, please post a message and let me know how to contact you.

I saw on the news that Levi's jean company has come out with a new pair of jeans called the Red Wire GLX (price a mere $200 a pair). Supposedly they are IPOD capable and come with a joystick built into the watch pocket. Now we are going to have a whole bunch of people running around looking like their are playing with themselves. Coming soon panties with a built in vibrator. 
To the person who wrote "a wild green iguana does not eat animal protein as a rule", I actually saw one take a baby green heron from a nest, drag it down to the ground and slam it from side to side repeatedly to kill it (or at least stop it's struggling) before swallowing it. I've also seen them take eggs from nests. I sympathize with the iguana's plight as it to struggles to survive in the Keys where so many of us are finding life more and more difficult every day. I couldn't possibly think of randomly killing them because they're invasive and not indigenous. But I am concerned with the long term ramifications of the impact on a sensitive environment where other species' survival may be threatened by the ever growing iguana population and their struggle to survive.


Why does everyone in the Keys refer to pop as soda?
Re: Iguana's. An animal control officer somehow connected to iguana's and spare change seem to be the issues of concern here recently. I can not sit idly by while long time friends and neighbors become ever more distanced by this proverbial fence of opinion. Let our differing beliefs widen the road to agreement and solution.

I have an idea that could be a win-win for both sides. My plan needs a funding source and that's where the spare change problem becomes a solution. This will require a large depository and a secure location. Everyone will contribute since everyone will benefit. Our motto could be "spare change for change!" All those whose every waking moment is now dominated by discovering the "perfect" covert iguana extermination method will once again think only of killing fish, grabbing lobster and sex. Looking out towards the seawall means you're checking on the boat, not looking for targets. Now the pro-iguana people will be so happy and grateful that the end of the "iguana slaughter" of '05 happened on their watch, they'll eagerly agree to the conditions of the treaty.

They, and they're heirs forward, will volunteer their time and talents under the leadership of Ms AC Officer to clean all iguana "poop" from all surfaces and to replace (replant) all foliage destroyed by said iguanas. Funding will be by "spare change for change." And everyone lived happily ever after. Meanwhile, I'm stil thinking what someone could dust on plants to make an iguana infertle.
Maryland has become the first state in the nation to require Wal-Mart to spend a certain amount on health care or pay the difference in taxes. More such laws may be coming.
Yea Tia!  Way to go!
Can someone please tell me the official hours of the Flea Market; and who I need to contact to rent space? Business Directory>Flea Market
Re: Mouse on fire story must be true if it is on the real news?  Gee, I guess the real news doesn't make mistakes, ask the West Virginia miners' families if they agree.
When graphic artists get bored.
Big Pine Key TV seems to be increasing in popularity, I'm getting a lot more "ready" messages these days.
Dunkin Donuts decided against Big Pine because of two factors. Outrageous rent and lack of reliable labor.
My experience with Big Pine Animal Shelter...Long Winded tomes
BPK Funny Fridays. Because hopefully it will make you laugh so hard, milk will come out your nose... ideally while you're drinking milk. If milk comes out your nose and you haven't been drinking milk– you're just a freak.

There are a lot of people into body piercing. They get to where they look like they've been mugged by a staple gun. Fifteen earrings here... a little towel rack there...
~Robin Williams

My cousin accidentally swallowed some poison. So to induce vomiting, we gave him some beer and rushed him right to the nearest college fraternity.
~Wally Wang

If you ever see me getting beaten up by the police, please put your video camera down and help me.
~Bobcat Goldthwait

Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions. Conservatives feel they deserve everything they've stolen.
~Mort Sahl

A cop pulled me over the other day and scared me so bad I thought I stole my own car.
~Chris Rock

Men love to watch two women make love. I wonder, does this turn them on, or are they just trying to figure out how to do it right?
~Joy Behar

We need a president who's fluent in at least one language.
~Buck Henry

I'd like to see a nude opera, because when they hit the high notes, I bet you can really see it in those genitals.
~Jack Handey

Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo flying across in front of a beautiful sunset? And he has a beautiful rose in his beak. And also he is carrying a very beautiful painting in his feet. And also... you're drunk.
~Jack Handey

The story of Adam and Eve made no sense to me. Eve is responsible for the entire decline of humanity because she was tempted by an apple. Don't you think God overreacted just a tad? It's not like Eve ate God's last Oreo.
~Margot Black

You know how to tell if the teacher is hung over? Movie Day.
~Jay Mohr

What's the two things they tell you are healthiest to eat? Chicken and fish. You know what you should do? Combine them... eat a penguin.
~Dave Attell

It’s hard to satisfy a woman in bed because there are more parts down there than on a 10-speed bike.
~Mitch Fatel

It’s better when the girl breaks up with the guy because it's over in five minutes. The guy just says, ‘You suck!’ Whereas if the guy does the breaking, it takes all day -there's questioning, and witnesses, and forms to fill out.
~Mitch Fatel

Someone stole my wallet last week. The guy called me up and he was mad at me. He was like, "You gotta get your finances together. You got no cash, your credit cards are maxed out. You don't even have minutes on your calling card. I had to use my card to call you."
~Mike Birbiglia

I think my girlfriend's cats were gay too, because they were always licking each other and spooning in the window and criticizing the way I dress. I don't think it's a biological thing, like they're gay by birth. I think it's an environment thing, like they're prison gay. They don't see any female cats ever, and after a while it's like, "Look, Tony... we ain't getting any younger, buddy. This may be the catnip talking, but I really like the way your belly matches your paws."
~Mike Birbiglia

My first grade teacher said, "Okay Mark, tell us everything you know about the letter "H"." I said, "That's Jesus' middle name."
~Mark Lundholm

In elementary school, in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single-file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic? Do tall people burn slower?
~Warren Hutcherson

Safety was not a big thing when I was growing up. A seat belt was something that got in the way, "Ma, the seat belt is digging into my back." "Stuff it down into the seat. And roll those windows up, you're letting my cigarette smoke out."
~Margaret Smith

In high school my sister went out with the captain of the chess team. My parents loved him. They figured that any guy that took two hours to make a move was OK with them.
~Brian Kiley

In Germany, police are searching for a woman who holds men at gun point and forces them to have sex with her. Actually the gun isn't for the sex; it's to keep the guy around later to make him cuddle.
~Jay Leno

I'm celibate, and it ain't easy. I now know why Catholic nuns are so darn mean. I also want to hit people with a ruler for no apparent reason.
~René Hicks

If you believe that there is a God... a God that made your body, and yet you think that you can do anything with that body that's dirty– then the fault lies with the manufacturer.
~Lenny Bruce

Fish aren't that smart. For example, I once caught a fish by dangling a worm in the ocean. Shouldn't he have been suspicious when he saw it? I'm not saying I'm a genius, but if I dive into a swimming pool and there's a sausage in the drain, I don't care how hungry I am... I'm going to ask a question or two before I chow down.
~Richard Jeni

You know, people think I'm into sports just because I'm a man. I'm not into sports. I mean, I like Gatorade, but that's about as far as it goes. By the way, you don't have to be sweaty and holding a basketball to enjoy a Gatorade. You could just be a thirsty dude. Gatorade forgets about this demographic. I'm thirsty for absolutely no reason. Other than the fact that liquid has not touched my lips for some time. Can I have a Gatorade too, or does that lightning bolt mean "No"?
~Mitch Hedberg

Iguana. Fairchild Gardens in Miami has them too. (Glass in the water is from the Chihuly exhibit- fantastic)
I applaud the chick who called for a booty call and proudly admits it. Us girls get a bad name. If a guy wants a booty call it is OK. If we want one we're called sluts. I was the first one to post that I met her booty guy and I know of at least 2, 3 counting her, that followed suit and called too. A decent single guy is tough to come by here in Big Pine so we women have to stick together and share trade secrets when we find a good source for a booty call.
I don't know about the validity of that flaming mouse story, but my snowbird neighbor told me one just as strange. It seems he was partying with a few friends, and as the evening progressed they got into bragging about weird stuff they had done. My neighbor told them about how he used to light his farts, and when taunted, proceeded to demonstrate. He somehow (he didn't go into detail) managed to set his dog's tail on fire. The dog ran and set the curtains on fire which in turn almost burned down his house. The story never made the news, but it should have.   
To the person who has time to Google Iguanas? I'll pray for you. You obviously have too much time on your hands. Defend the iguanas, keep researching them and boring the rest of us on all you are learning about them. Have you ever heard of the one attacking a small infant in her yard? Google that. They are a nuisance, we are over them. Help! before they become the next protected species. For the record, people have been writing in complaining about them for a very long time. Google the archives, Google the Barometer or free press; or better yet, get your gloves on and a trash bag and start helping your fellow neighbors clean up after the hurricane, the iguanas won't mind.

I was working in the kitchen at Venture Out last weekend making the breakfast and lost my Preparation H applicator. It could have been in the gravy, eggs or the salad. If you find it, please return it to Jack, I will be riding around in the golf cart announcing the breakfast.
Planted story to stir things up. My poor little toy poodle "fluffy" was attacked by one of those vicious nasty reptiles you good people are talking about. We just arrived down in the Keys from New Jersey. I was waiting for the early bird breakfast before we went to the flea market and out for a nice drive around beautiful Big Pine Key when taking Fluffy for her early morning business just down the street on some nice grass. The nasty dangerous iguana came out of nowhere grabbing poor fluffy and dragging her, helpless, back into the bushes! I could hear her yelping, wanting me to come and help her, but I was frozen with fear. I will miss my poor little fluffy. Cant you people do something about these nasty reptiles?


I highly recommend Dr. Michael Norman he has worked miracles on my husband
Okay friend of officer Tia's, the gloves are off...Long Winded tomes
Iguanas have their place in this world, just like all god's creatures...right next to the taters and gravy!

Re: Wham Bam. You’re a whore.
Lets help the Ed. out and cut the Iguana crap.


Did you know that Sumo wrestlers can pull their testicles up into their bodies to prevent injury? I need to learn how to do this in case one of those nasty nut-gnashing iguanas starts stalking me.
What's up with the El Meson de Pepe restaurant on Mallory Square in Key West? They used to have great food, great salsa music, outstanding Mojitos, and, the best of all, a 20 percent discount to all Keys residents. I went there the other day and the waiter said the discount is history. He said that they wouldn't tell him why (yeah, right). Adios, Pepe.
To all who responded regarding a chiropractor, thank you.





This is National Blood Donors Month. More than 4 million lives are saved every year by receiving the gift of blood.  It only takes a few minutes and donations can be made at a blood mobile location or DePoo hospital in Key West.  Give the gift of life. Give blood.

Friday January 13, 2006

 

Thursday January 12, 2005
Editor, you should look into using a free message board that would eliminate your cutting and pasting of emails, allow an interactive discussion, and allow you to easily moderate. Also the forum boards tend to increase website traffic and links easily to your advertising pages.

(Ed: We're late publishing today because received the largest number of postings in our four year history and it took two more hours to get them edited. [more iguana crap].)
You can bicycle with commissioner Neugent today on sugarloaf Key. They are trying to see if it is ok to use the asphalt and fill from the old road that's blocked off at the end of Crane Blvd. They need the fill for a new ballpark at the High school. It will save us $350,000. If you want to ride along be at the end of Crane Blvd by 3pm today, Thursday.
Big Pine 29.  Actually the bust happened at a property on Warner Street, there was more than one boat and they weren't all Cubans. A few bales were liberated from the ocean that fine day too.
Re: Tia the Animal Control Officer. Very well said young lady. Remember as you go through your life and doing your job that you can only help and please those who are truly seeking and willing to accept the help and advice of those they call upon for it to begin with
The great iguana debate like abortion will never be resolved. I suggest that those that don't like them--shoot them. Those that like them--feed them. End of debate.


The bus schedule is now printable. Just go to the Business Directory >Bus Schedule >File >Print.
I see no nut sacks or cats or dogs in this diet. Recent studies indicated that the iguana iguana or known as the rainforest common green iguana is one of the few completely herbivorous (plant-eating) lizard in its natural habitat. Therefore, the information on iguana care and its food supply should be based on that aspect. It is important then, to consider physiology, environment and diet in order to keep an iguana in the picture of good health.

Iguana management is dependent on the understanding of the digestive system of a pet. They are considered Hind-Gut fermenters which means the general well being is directed by the lower intestinal tract. The lower intestinal tract is responsible for vitamin production, fatty acid production, water reabsorption, etc. It is essential then that, even in juvenile iguanas, a crude fiber of 14-16% should be observed to satisfy this requirement. Older iguanas should receive a greater proportion of 16-18% in their diets.

It is noteworthy to caution that many iguanas suffer for malnutrition and inappropriate management resulting in unwanted, sick or abandoned lizards. It is difficult to get an accurate guide for care since many recommendations are based on personal experience and not scientific research. So the best way to approach it is to examine the wild iguana's natural habitat and food supply.

One recent study conducted on 31 iguanas in Panama discovered that in all the subjects, the stomach contained only plant material which consisted of 26 varieties of plants. In 24 iguanas there was only leaves, in 4 there was leaves and flowers, in 2 only fruit, and in 1 only flowers.
Now that my home has been robbed I am hearing of many homes that have been robbed. Nothing like getting a little shin in the game to get one involved. Is there any information on how many homes have been robbed here on Big Pine Key in the last few months? Is there any special task force working on this? I believe the law has a very good idea who is behind most of these burglaries. I just wonder how many of us have had a home robbed of lots of money and personal stuff; some of which can not be replaced. So how many do you think? We were home when this happened!
Re: Iguanas are not vegetarians. This has been a misconception for many years.  Here is an excerpt from one of many websites on the subject:
 
According to scientist, iguanas are folivores (leaf eaters) in the wild. Iverson found, in his study of the intestinal contents of iguanas of all ages that, despite previous reports of their insectivorous and carnivorous natures as juveniles, they are in fact herbivorous from their very first meal. Though they may occasionally ingest bits of carrion or an insect perched on a leaf, animal protein consumption is accidental--it is not a conscious dietary choice. The iguana digestive system, like those of the other strictly herbivorous lizards, is structured to process a high-fiber plant diet, and to extract much (but not all) of their water needs from the foods they eat...The reason why no animal protein came to be recommended is that even very small amounts of animal protein seemed to cause serious problems.
 
Unfortunately, there are still books being published today which recommend feeding some protein foods, but this is no longer the current view by experts.  You have to understand that the behavior and eating habits of animals in captivity is much different from those in the wild!  If you have a pet iguana, and you feed it chicken, it will probably eat the chicken, but that doesn't mean it is good for it.  A wild iguana will not normally touch animal protein.
 
I agree with the person yesterday...let's give the iguana debate a rest.  There are far more important things to worry about in the Keys right now.

Re: Vitamin Beer. Budweiser makes B to the E. No vitamins but it has guarana, ginseng, and caffeine in it. It also has 6.6% alcohol, as compared to regular Bud at 5%. I don’t know if it is available here yet but I tried it up in Sebring, and it gave me quite a rush with all the stimulants in it. The website is www.btothee.com

Re: New Rule: Complicated the Starbucks order.  What happened to a good old fashioned cup of coffee?
Can somebody tell me the difference from mourning a miscarriage to accepting the act of abortion? Weren't they both unborn, could have beens, should have beens?
Well, I never! On this date in 1770, Benjamin Franklin introduced rhubarb to America. He was representing the American colonies as an ambassador in London, and sent a crate of rhubarb to his friend John Bartram. The plant, native to central Asia, had been introduced in Europe by traders; the rhubarb which Franklin sent to America had come to London from Siberia. Rhubarb first appeared in American seed catalogues in 1829, and soon became a popular ingredient in pies. John Bartram was also responsible for introducing kohlrabi and poinsettias to America.
Re: Harry Belafonte visited Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Kudos  for the above post.  As an addition I believe Harry "Liberal left bashing" Belafonte was also AARP's Man of the year. The good news is that this might be reported on CNN and the three other dying leftist news agencies ABC, NBC and CBS. I cannot believe they could get out of reporting it this time (Or can they?)  AARP sends me little love notes asking me to join and I politely return them with--no money in their prepaid envelope (at least it costs them .39 ).  They certainly do not represent me and they can go sit in the corner with Michael Moore and Moveon.org till Hell freezes over!

AARP = Just another extreme left leaning organization willing to take your money to promote the liberal agenda.  If you like Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy then send AARP your hard earned dollars.  Of course you better get your Muslim prayer rug and compass so you can be ready for your new masters when they allow them to bring America to her knees.
Wham, bam, thank you man. I've only been in The Keys about 4 months now and what a change from mainland life. This site gives a girl an easy to get hers. I am glad I saved the old classified guy's email address. Tonight was the third time I got together with him and the third time we both got what we wanted and didn't have to go through the crap about pretending we want to go to dinner, have a date or even like each other. Only in The Keys can I find a booty call guy who I can call or he call me to get together, get down to business, get dressed and leave. Every girl needs a buddy like that. God I love this place. It's not even 9:00 PM and I am satisfied, home and ready for bed. Tomorrow is a work day.
Re: "The iguana is invasive here, by virtue of their sheer explosive numbers, which are being held down (albeit precariously) by decent, determined, clear thinking, resourceful folks who know what needs to be done."
 
Decent?  Clear thinking?  Resourceful?  Not exactly the words I would use to describe you low life scum, that are killing animals that have done you no harm, other than maybe eat a few of your precious "exotic" plants and poop on your precious sea wall or boat.
I wish only the best for Ryan and his family and hope his life turns around for the best
To the Editor,  I have no idea who you are but I do thank you very much for all the hard work you must do to keep all of this going.  The graphics are fantastic and I love some of the links and have no fear to go to them as you said you gave them a test 1st.
 
I am sorry to read (if true) that you are being sued! (Ed: I'm not.) It seems, as soon as someone makes a mark anywhere now, someone is out there on the ready to take it away from you.  I hope you have great insurance (Get an umbrella policy to protect you; even against having an iguana leap from your yard and bite your neighbors unmentionables, because, if it came from your yard, you know you sent it after them.)
 
I just wanted to say that no matter what inane sentences I have written...you have faithfully (and with a few added witty comments) posted them on your site exactly as typed and for that I have faith that even though some of the posts are tongue in cheek (and immensely funny) they are posted as written and if any notations you make them and sign it. 
Good luck with the lawsuit,
I was sick to my stomach this morning watching the news about some picket line at a soldiers funeral.  Those people should be hung in Times Square. I'm so outraged and to think that brave men and women give there life up so these idiots have the right to spit on their grave.  God Bless America .
You bet the definition of "annoyance" will be left up to the annoyed.  Your rights end where someone else's begin.  Who better to define that admittedly fine line than the offended?
If people had to sign their posts here, they would diminish in number and the BS would stop.  I totally agree.  But what would be the point?  This forum would then be about as interesting to read as The Wall Street Journal!
Re: Tia, the Animal Control Officer. May the gods bless you, child, for the work you are doing. Ignore the ravings of ignorant people, for they do not know of what they speak. Most ignorant people speak ill of others out of fear; fear of being wrong, fear of disapproval, and so on. You just keep on doing what you're doing for your beautiful organization. Keep on helping the true innocents of this world for there are no creatures on this planet that know what malice is, except humans.  Bright Blessings to you and yours. Even though I may have posted this once before, I'd like to send it out again, just for Tia:
To Tia the Animal Control Officer, After many years as an ACO I learned that you can't let some opinions effect you. Nothing wrong with setting the record straight but don't worry about what may be said to or about you. You will find that most people you deal with are upset (either due to losing an animal, an animal bothering them, or you bothering them about an animal) and willing to take it out on anyone.
 
It is a tough career, keep acting professional and there will be enough good times to make up for the others.
Reference: There is no reason whatsoever to not include peoples email ID's with their posts. There is a huge reason it is called Spam.
Cruelty. I've been vegetarian for almost 25 years because of institutionalized / industrialized cruelty inherent in the modern food and drug industry. (Factory farming, laboratory animal testing; visit an abattoir sometime, you'll be scarred for life). If you are terribly concerned for the inhumanity perpetrated on the iguana, understand  that you're supporting cruelty you wouldn't even believe by patronizing the meat counters or burger joints, et al. And God doesn't like it. I am painfully concerned for the suffering of creatures, including those generally considered to be vermin. Honestly, well, except for parasites.

Now understand when a creature multiplies uncontrollably, measures must be taken, otherwise the quality of life for other creatures is severely impacted. The more they multiply, the more severely they must be dealt with. Keeping them from multiplying, means fewer will be subject to the cruelties of life. (For your information, the ring necked dove is also considered invasive, just as the wild pigs on Little Pine, or occasional feral dogs that tend to pack.) Understand that in the wild, few creatures are going to tolerate you invading their lodge, or den, or cave without being dealt with in a quite cruel manner. I believe I'm entitled to protect my residence, unmolested. I can't help it, it's the way your all knowing, all powerful God made us.

I've really tried keeping monosyllabic (oops) but fully expect the publisher to edit and substitute with misspellings and improper syntax. For god's sake, will  you ever pick up a dictionary? Why are you trying to be a dunce? I can appreciate perhaps a reason for expunging paragraphs and emasculating my angry, hate filled rant possibly to protect a child's feelings or something, but why even bother publishing the submission at all, instead of rewriting it as if by an infant? Why, why, why?  What does "let them run lose" mean?
Language is the medium with which you work, it wants to work for you - respect it, learn it, use it, rejoice in it!
To the person who suggested giving your change to the Cancer Foundation. I have Cancer and I am currently undergoing Chemo. Please tell me how the Cancer Foundation can help me? When my head isn't stuck in the toilet throwing my guts up I manage to get to work, but usually I am late. My husband practically has to push food in my mouth because swallowing it makes me want to gag. I clean my house but have to sit down every 5 to 10 minutes because chemo makes you feel like you are going to pass out all the time, but I still have to clean my house and do laundry. When I look in the mirror and brush my hair it is starting to fall out all over the place. When I was in the shower this morning I went to shave my legs and I realized I didn't have to cause it had come off on my wash cloth by itself. My desk is full of doctor and hospital bills and I'm one of the lucky ones who has insurance but my deductible is still going to be over $10,000.00.

The worst part is trying to figure out the bills and try and catch the doctors and hospitals that rip you of with phony charges to your bills. By the time I get better enough to figure it out the collection agencies will be calling me. With the beginning of the new year my deductible starts all over again. I am going to have to fight with the Chemo place that makes the medicine because they are going to want their money up front otherwise they won't send the chemo drugs down. So tell me how will the Cancer Foundation help me?


Nut sac should be scrotum.  Testes are the testicles, so are the gonads.  The sac is the scrotum.
What's with Classic Carpet and Tile? They moved to a new location and dumped all their shit on Ave B. I will call Code Enforcement tomorrow. Classic carpet, clean up your act.
The mouse story is true. It's on the real news.
Re: The sheriff's department really needs to look into this iguana abuse.
I think their time would be better spent looking into the increase in robberies and attempted robberies around Big Pine lately. Maybe they've been so inundated with nonsense calls they don't have time to adequately patrol the neighborhoods. Is it just a coincidence that crime goes up when the snowbirds come down?

About an hour after I sent the "flaming mouse" story the news came out that the guy made it up.
We would like to invite you to a party. The Mile Marker 24 Band will be playing at the Looe Key Tiki Bar on Ramrod Key, Florida on Saturday January 14, 2006. (That is this Saturday) If you are in the area please stop by and join us. As always, have a free margarita on the band and let's celebrate the wonderful Florida Keys. We have tons of new merchandise and a portion of the proceeds with be donated to the American Red Cross. Let's party!
How about instead of deciding between a black, woman or gay president we get all 3 in 1.  Anyone know of a black lesbian who wants to run?  We would be able to take gay pride week, black history month and Susan B. Anthony Day all off from work that way.  Who ever said blacks, gays and women aren't good for anything?
http://reference.aol.com/space/main_photos
Mars Rovers' Two-Year Anniversary. The Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on the Red Planet in January 2004. Both are still exploring two years later, even though they were designed to last for just three months.
To the guy griping about Verizon cell service. Who in their right mind would sign a 4 year contract for cell service?
Re: Crosswalk. There will be and overpass leading to the new park and Publix after it is build where the old flea market used to be. It will allow young and old people, bikes and carts to cross above US1 while allowing traffic to flow thru Big Pine Key. There are some big changes on the way. Speaking of changes. Has anyone had their rent increased yet?  Flood Insurance went thru the roof. It's going to be tough to make a living here, but Publix and Walgreens will help. See you on the overpass.
Darwin Awards. Here is this year's Darwin Award winner. The annual honor given to the person who most improved the "gene pool" by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way.

The winner: Overzealous zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt fed his constipated elephant Stefan 22 doses of animal laxative and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes before the plugged-up pachyderm finally let it fly, and suffocated the keeper under 200 pounds of elephant crap! Investigators say ill-fated Friedrich, 46, was giving the ailing beast an olive oil enema when the relieved beast unloaded on him. "The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr. Riesfeldt to the ground, where he struck his head on a rock and lay unconscious as the elephant continued to evacuate on top of him" said a flabbergasted police detective. "With no one there to help him, he lay under all that dung for at least an hour before a watchman came along, and during that time he suffocated.


Sorry to hear the story about Harry Belafonte.  I will Just have to move him into the same category with Jimmy Buffet and the other Artists that have political views that I find reprehensible. 

I sure would like to know what the facts are about Dunkin Donuts coming to Big Pine.  Winn-Dixie (or someone) put the Dunkin trade name on the Winn-Dixie billboard and I believe there was an article in the paper about the county not giving them permission to “cook” the donuts, only sell frozen or trucked in ones.  Yet someone posts here that a Dunkin donuts area manager says that they are not coming to Big Pine and it hasn’t anything to do with the county.  If anyone knows the real scoop, please let us know.
This Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy is bogus and should be stopped. It was part of a deal between Janet Reno and Fidel Castro, related to the Elian Gonzalez debacle. Castro got the kid back and we got stuck with a totally unfair immigration policy.

Families risk their lives to escape one of the last bastions of communism in the world, and we send them back to Cuba for who knows what awaits them there. The latest group got stranded on a bridge abutment, and before relatives could rescue them, our illustrious Coast Guard whisked them back to Castro's prisons. Whose side are we on, anyway? Bush should abolish the illegal deals from the Clinton administration and replace them with policies that are fair and humane.
When the new managers of the Winn Dixie Plaza took over, the place (parking lot) looked so much better with new plants and trash cans; and all the trash was being picked up off the ground. It is now a mess. What an eye sore that parking lot is. Have you all seen the back side of the parking lot? There is trash, beer and soda cans, papers, etc, all over the place. This is not storm trash, this is trash that people throw out. I hope they can find the time to clean it up again. Big Pine is not a slum area, or is it? Lets keep our Island clean.
Re: Day-Oh no!. Sorry I can not join in your impassioned boycott of Mr. Belafonte, as he has been noticeably absent from the charts in the past billion years. I will throw you a conciliatory bone, though. I shall cut back on my viewings of the movie Beetlejuice which features several tracks from this calypso commie. I wish you luck in this boycott, and hope you find many willing participants to hook up with your, ahem...worthy cause.

P.S. Should I boycott his daughter Shari Belafonte as well? Just in case I ever want to buy the TV series Hotel on DVD.
What planet did you just get off Department. Officer Tia was representing Monroe County when she and her girlfriend answered that call for help. First off you don't. You don't take your friend to work with you; as we all know that involves insurance in case of injury, etc. Not even presenting yourself in some kind of presentable dress code. The way I heard it, they showed up dressed like street walkers. And who called the lady a c--t? That's not nice. Right or wrong that never should have happened. Stand Up For Animals owes the tax payers an explanation as does the county.

When the Sheriff was called the SUFA people should have let them take care of it. So please spare us the bla, bla about how your friend has taken over the care and safety of our animals here on BPK. The people that do that job should be trained to deal with animals and people. To present themselves and be drug tested and back ground checked like all other county employees. 

Didn't a screaming match occur between the SUFA  and the deputy? Once and for all let's hear from SUFA . All the remarks made about who and where the lady used to work for was not a factor and should never have been made. It was a poor excuse for a defense on SUFA's part.

I looked across the canal yesterday and saw a huge greenish-gray, scaly, reptilian beast with a large head and thick, wide body grotesquely chewing on some sort of food.  At first I thought it was the biggest iguana anyone had ever seen but looking more closely I realized it was the Jersey woman who was renting the house. 

Hay ya'll, I'm new to the area. I don't want my KKK membership to expire down here in the islands. Can anyone direct me to the local KKK chapter meeting spot?
People don't take trips, trips take people. ~John Steinbeck
Many of you have missed the point the lady with the iguana in her home was trying to make. She called for help to our local animal shelter, no one could come, she tried on her own to get the iguana out, and told whoever she spoke to that she was trying to use her rainstick to get it out of her home. She had to call her husband away from his job to come with a net and get it out before it did any further damage. When the so called help finally arrived, they called her a very foul name and tried to re-catch the iguana to press charges against her for animal cruelty. The police were called.

Is this help? Our tax dollars at work? Now everyone seems to have lost focus. I agree the iguanas are a nuisance. But she was only trying to get it out of her home and called our local animal shelter for help. Now they are slandering this lady's name and character because she had the guts to post on this website and tell the rest of us her story. There were witnesses. She has photos of the very healthy iguana. Not torn up iguana. Anyone who knows this lady knows she is a true animal lover. She was in her own home, minding her own business when this intruder (iguana) came in.

I am appalled at the postings that have been written about her, it is slander. I have lived here a very long time, where did these girls that acted so unprofessionally come from? How long have they been here? Are they volunteers? Why would they treat her like this? Maybe to cover the fact of how wrong they were in handling this situation?
Pearle Vision in Marathon. If you go there be warned, they do not accept insurance (I was told this only after having an eye exam) and they wanted over $400 for a pair of glasses that I could have purchased at Sears in Key West for $300. I will tape the glasses I have back together and wait for Sears to re-open to get a new pair. Oh, well, one more place to add to the list of rip offs.
Cingular service is finally back! They must have fixed the tower since our service is great again. There is a consistently strong signal (4 bars) since the tower is right here on BPK (as far as I can tell, they are the only cellular provider to have a tower on BPK). It looks like I won't have to switch after all.

Thursday January 12, 2005

 

Wednesday January 11, 2005
To the Guys who Robbed my house last night in Doctors Arm. You got a bunch of good stuff. If you can find it in your heart to return my wife's pictures from her wallet it would be a good thing. They go all the way back to High School and they can not be replaced. I know that's asking a lot but she is really torn-up about it. Drop them in a mail box with some I.D. You can find something I am sure, you have everything.

Has anyone else noticed our comments being edited and completely turned around on here to make them match the Editor's point of view?  It seems that ever since some Jerk Off filed a lawsuit against this web site our editor has taken off his boots and put on a dress.  I am sure this will be edited to match his view too.
About Ryan. Ryan is your typical high school drop out. His rainbow was always around the corner though. He felt absolutely sure that life would be great if he could move back to BPK. He and my daughter left Virginia Beach a few months ago. As my husband and I predicted, they were too young and things fell apart. While not our choice for our daughter I could never wish anything bad for the boy. My daughter is still living there and is broken up. My husband and I are praying for Ryan and his family. To the person who “Prayed if he lived he would not breed. We need no more stupid children running around...” You cannot possibly believe in any God so who are you praying too? I will say a prayer for you though, that you find a God to sooth your empty soul. In the meantime I hope and pray my daughter does not live anywhere near you. Ryan did not have the best start in life, but he is still young and has time to make something of himself.

Did you really think before you wrote anything you did? Did you know that his grandfather’s brother died the same day Ryan was hit? Of course you did not, how could you be expected to? But these are the things that people need to think about. What is that person’s life like? What about his family? Will what you are thinking bring pain to the family if you say it out loud? What gives you the right to judge?

Freedom to speak. Yes you have that. Unfortunately I don’t think you were standing in the line that handed out good judgment or compassion.
81 days since Wilma. Still no insurance payoff. But they want their premiums paid on time; don't they? They make us live like pigs until the money arrives and we are hearing another 2 months maybe. Something is wrong with this picture.
What is annoyance (according to the new internet law)? My guess is it will be left to the discretion of the annoyed. Similar to another politically correct law - if he's cute it’s flirting, if he's not its sexual harassment.



Re: Nut Sac should be scrotum? How about testes, testicles, ball sack, nuts, gonads, sack or family jewels? The list goes on and on.
Re: Picture of iguana that invaded woman's house.  Come on lady you had to use a rainstick for that?  A feather could have done the trick. It's a baby for crying out loud. A two and a half footer "grand daddy iguana" of the Keys. Get real I have a 5 footer that's scare