Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
 LGBT now has a Q added. For the sake of convenience why can’t we continue to call them gay? I don’t think that is prejudice. A 5 syllable name for anything else would be shortened, but I recon those people are too insecure with their sexuality not to have their own letter in their special category of gender identification. If so, they should add one more letter, C for confused. Why classify other minorities such as we classify Blacks as, African-Americans, maroons, Negroes, etc? Should we now refer to them as BAAMN? Silly isn’t it. It seems to me we’ve taken political correctness to the extreme in the case of gay people by trying to include and differentiate every little subgroup so nobody feels bad. Hell, I feel bad every time I get up. |
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| [Save Our Septic Systems (SOS)] If you are familiar with typical septic tank and leach field construction, you may know that your house plumbing drains into the tank where grease and grit are separated, some secondary treatment occurs, and effluent leaves the tank to a leach field where horizontal pipes with holes or slots are laid in a bed of gravel to spread the effluent out over an area that may be bigger than your house. Soil microbes in the biomas that forms around the leach field denitrify the effluent and kill pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Typically, vegetation sucks up the fresh water- much of which is drawn upward by capillary action rather than draining down. If there is salt water below, then its higher density floats the fresh water on top where tree roots are thirsty for it. With our new central sewer, raw sewage is ground up and pushed under pressure through pipes that are not supposed to have holes but are laid in a gravel bed just like your old septic leachfield. However, these pipes are usually laid below the high tide level and often below low tide level. When, not “if”, there is a leak, then raw sewage is injected under pressure into the pipe’s gravel bedding where it is forced to mix with the tidal ground water. The gravel bedding allows the raw sewage-contaminated water to travel easily down the trench line and intersecting trench lines like a huge septic leachfield. Wherever there are fractures or holes in the trench wall, the contaminated water can escape to canals or open water. Now you understand why our nearshore waters deteriorated instead of improved with central sewer. It will get much worse and you are forced to pay for the problem. Leaks under these conditions are very difficult to find. But as one FKAA manager told me, “We want it to leak out instead of in, less to treat!” Nice work FKAA |
[Floating R/V]At some point I believe alcohol was involved in its design. |
| [Home Elevator] Does anyone have the advertisement that was in the papers (until I needed it) for an outside home lift. I think it was a local company. If you do, please email me the phone number. b33043@outlook.com |
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 [Cripple Police] Please remove the blue handicap parking tag from your mirror before driving off. It says so right on the top of it in capital letters. Are you aware you can be sighted for obstructed vision. It’s a moving violation with points. I mean seriously, if you object to following the directions then why don’t you get a metal license plate with the wheelchair symbol at no extra charge. Then you won’t have to worry about putting the tag up and taking it down. |
| [Feeding Key Deer] Keys tourists and visitors likely don’t have a clue that they are causing health problems, or even death, for the Key Deer by feeding them bread, chips, etc. I see it happening all the time. The “dead deer sign” definitely catches your attention and educates the public on the dangers of feeding. If that sign saves even one innocent deer from suffering (or dying) then it’s worth the small amount of discomfort from looking at it. Just think about what that poor animal went through! Many thanks to the resident or organization that had the courage to install it. |
How close to the boat should the float-on guide rails be to the hull? Should they be touching? |
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Ginger Baker, the drummer from the 70’s super group Cream, is dead at 80. Who’d have thought he’d live past 30. I guess no more twenty minute drum solos. I listened last night to his performance on Cream’s Spoonful live and how his creative banging fueled Clapton’s fiery guitar and pushed him to create great riffs and solos. What an incredible drummer! Who’s better, Baker, Bonham or John Paul Jones? |
| [Stuff The Bus] With the community’s support, UWFK’s ‘Stuff the Bus’ campaign raised $17,058, and an additional $26,260 was raised through the Publix ‘Tools for Back to School’ campaign in their checkout lines in Monroe County…that means $43,318 was raised to purchase supplies that students need to succeed! You can find additional photos from 2018 and 2019 Stuff the Bus campaigns in our photo galleries at Link |
I wonder if the No Name Pub would consider donating I estimate the 40 K $ they have on their walls to the Bahamas? |
| [Duh!] I just found out the Great Lakes are fresh water! The largest body of fresh water in the world. |
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| [Full Moon Kayak Excursion] We’d like to alert readers we have a full moon kayak excursion coming up Thursday Oct 10 from 5-7pm. This is the first paddle for the 2019-2020 season, starting a month earlier than usual. Please call/text 305-872-7474 for reservations. |
 [Ride Sharing] I just read the Oct. 1 edition (been busy) of the CT and must write to correct some real nonsense about Uber not being available in Key West. The information in that posting was from 2017. It makes no sense either saying Uber will start up in July when this is October. How do these people get through life? Uber has been operating since July 2017 and Lyft before that. For more than two years they have been operating in Key West. Someone is really clueless and obviously has not been on Duval Street in years. There was also more nonsense or fake news. It is impossible for someone to operate an Uber vehicle if the app is not working in Key West. What the operators can be ticketed for, perhaps arrested, is stopping to pick someone up who is flagging them down. Only a taxi cab can do that. Uber and Lyft drivers can only pickup people who have summoned them with the phone app. So, Key Westers, do not attempt to flag down an Uber or Lyft operator. |
What is going on with Office Max? I wanted to buy something, could not find a salesperson until I yelled loudly. Then the floor man chewed me out for yelling. Then the counter guy was very rude. That’s the last time I shop there. |
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[Tang Beer] Oh, what fresh hell is this? Are they trying to get astronauts drunk? Link |
| [Cheap Houses Available] Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys is accepting applications from interested homebuyers for our upcoming project of 16 new homes on Cudjoe Key with construction scheduled to begin in Spring 2020. The open application period will end on December 2nd at 5:00pm. Habitat homebuyers must be qualified under the Monroe County Affordable Workforce Housing Guidelines and Habitat for Humanity Guidelines. We will be holding informational meetings throughout the lower keys for potential candidates for the homebuyer program. Application packages are available at the Habitat administrative office at 471 Overseas Hwy/, #102 on Big Coppitt Key, and will also be available at informational meetings. The first meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 19th at 11am on Cudjoe Key. There will also be a meeting on Saturday, October 26th at 11am on Big Coppitt Key. We will be announcing additional meeting dates and times as they are confirmed. Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys partners with families in need to build affordable energy efficient homes, which are built using professional contractors and volunteer labor. Each homeowner family is required to invest a minimum of 350 hours of “sweat equity” to become eligible to purchase their home with an affordable mortgage. To register for a meeting or for additional information, contact Susan at familyservices@habitatlowerkeys.org or 305.294.9006 x 2. Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys is an equal housing lender. |
Edward, formerly a Guide from Summerland Key, moved to middle Florida where they have dirt. He’s in the process of securing his property from vampires which are common up there. |
| [Preventative Drugs] The United States Preventative Services Task Force, or USPSTF is supposedly comprised of top doctors, but when you research you find big ties to drug companies. No surprise then that the USPSTF has recommended that women with absolutely no sign of breast cancer (but considered to be at “high risk” for some undefined reason) be prescribed chemo drugs “as a precaution”. You got to be kidding! I suppose plenty of women will be scared into taking chemo without any cancer, just like many had their breasts removed out of fear. Big win for drug companies and doctors, though. First rule of medicine: do no harm. |
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| [“Dead deer sign”] I would much rather see a sign with a dead deer photo on it (that includes critically-important “don’t feed the deer” education) than see a deer actually dying in distress due to consuming simple carbs such as pizza, bread and French fries. The sign is educating droves of tourists on their way to No Name Pub, where we all know the deer are sadly fed those dangerous foods. The deer photo included on the sign is not at all gross or grotesque. It’s a powerful sign and message and it certainly caught your attention! |
One of the greatest drummers of all time, Ginger Baker is dead. Video |
| Did you know that if you mouth the word “vacuum” it looks like f**k you? You just tried it didn’t you. |
 [We Want Your Baby For A Medical Experiment] Off-label prescribing is risky when it’s used on grown adults like you and I… but now it’s being used on young children, too. A study out of Rutgers looked at 2 billion, yes, billion doctor visits involving children. In 19 percent of those visits, kids left with an off-label prescription; a prescription that was never tested or approved for their condition. Nineteen percent out of 2 billion? We’re talking about nearly 400 million prescriptions! And it gets even more shameful, if you can believe it. When researchers looked at prescriptions given to babies, they found that 83 percent of the time they were off-label. They’re literally experimenting on babies. I’m not exaggerating. Most of these drugs have never been tested on children and you can be darned sure they’ve never been tested on babies. Nobody knows what these meds will do. Our kids and grandkids are human guinea pigs. |
| [?] Why is every America citizen so complacent about being invaded by killers, thieves and terrorists? It seems to me we need to wake up and smell the battlefield. |
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