This Week on the Island 03/13/2005
'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Weather: We have had some rain, lots of rain. The temperature cooled down to 58 degrees and I had to put my 'big boy pants' back on. The sun came back out on Wednesday and it warmed back up. It will be sunny and in the high 70's today.
We had some friends (the Vennings) from the Palmetto Parrot Head Club in Columbia, SC drop by to say hi. It is always good to see old friends. The Palmetto Parrot Head Club was the first Parrot Head club that I joined.
Later in the week we had some friends from the Sarasota Parrot Head Club (Kevin and Kathie) drop by. They now live in Ft Lauderdale.
One of the situations in Key West that could use some improvement is low cost rentals for the working people. Everything, especially real estate, in Key West is unbelievable. Most people work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. The house next to me rents 1 bedroom apts for $1,500 a month. These apts have basically 3 rooms. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, and one room that is kitchen/living room. Many people are converting their apts into condos. This means that instead of selling one house, you can sell 4 condos. The real estate people love it and they are making a lot of money. It means there are less and less places for the working class to live.
Another situation we have is the homeless. There are places to bath and get clean clothing, there are places for free food, there are places for free shelter. These places do not allow drinking, and if you get all cleaned up, the tourist won't give you any money. I wish Key West would make it against the law to give money to the homeless, and put donation boxes on each corner. That way the people that do take care of the homeless would have money to fund their operations.
It was bike week in Daytona, but lots of bikers ended up in Key West. It has been very noisy. I enjoy the bikes and the riders are good people but I could do without the noise.
Spring Break: The University of Florida and the University of Miami had spring break this week. These two plus the other colleges in the US having Spring Break this week have created a crowd. Many people are coming here because of the damage caused by the hurricanes in other cities.
Key West, You have got to love it
'Meet me at the end of the road' - Conch Token's- Jimmy Buffett
Doug Bennett
We had some friends (the Vennings) from the Palmetto Parrot Head Club in Columbia, SC drop by to say hi. It is always good to see old friends. The Palmetto Parrot Head Club was the first Parrot Head club that I joined.
Later in the week we had some friends from the Sarasota Parrot Head Club (Kevin and Kathie) drop by. They now live in Ft Lauderdale.
One of the situations in Key West that could use some improvement is low cost rentals for the working people. Everything, especially real estate, in Key West is unbelievable. Most people work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. The house next to me rents 1 bedroom apts for $1,500 a month. These apts have basically 3 rooms. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, and one room that is kitchen/living room. Many people are converting their apts into condos. This means that instead of selling one house, you can sell 4 condos. The real estate people love it and they are making a lot of money. It means there are less and less places for the working class to live.
Another situation we have is the homeless. There are places to bath and get clean clothing, there are places for free food, there are places for free shelter. These places do not allow drinking, and if you get all cleaned up, the tourist won't give you any money. I wish Key West would make it against the law to give money to the homeless, and put donation boxes on each corner. That way the people that do take care of the homeless would have money to fund their operations.
It was bike week in Daytona, but lots of bikers ended up in Key West. It has been very noisy. I enjoy the bikes and the riders are good people but I could do without the noise.
Spring Break: The University of Florida and the University of Miami had spring break this week. These two plus the other colleges in the US having Spring Break this week have created a crowd. Many people are coming here because of the damage caused by the hurricanes in other cities.
Key West, You have got to love it
'Meet me at the end of the road' - Conch Token's- Jimmy Buffett
Doug Bennett
posted by Doug Bennett at 9:37 AM
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