This Week on the Island 08/01/2010

'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 picture this week (click to enlarge) is ‘A Key West Spiny Lobster’. They are known as ‘bugs’ and don’t have claws.

Weather: Beautiful. Sunny and in the low 90’s, hot and humid.

The book this week was ‘Zeppelins West’ by Joe R. Lansdale. Do not read, it was a waste of my time.

No oil yet. The people that are suppose to know what they are talking about (NOAA) said that south Florida and the Keys should not experience any problems with ‘surface oil.’ What ever that means.

No dogs in bars, still waiting to hear from the state government in Tallahassee.

I didn’t mention that last week I had some people from South Carolina (where I came from) stop by to visit. They were going to be in the Hemingway contest for something like the 12th or 13th time.

‘Lobster mini-season’ and the town is packed. This is 2 days (Wednesday and Thursday) of lobster catching for tourist before the lobster season starts. Most locals hate it because the tourist do not follow the rules and get lobster that are too small, get more than they are allowed, dive on private property, etc. Last weekend (before the season started) about a dozen people were arrested with lobster. Monday (2 days before mini lobster season started) a guy was arrested spear fishing for lobster, He had 39 in a bag (limit is 6 per person per day), some of them had tails less than 6 inches long (must be a minimum of 6 inches), some of them were just tails (all tails must be broken on land), and he ran from the authorities (a real no-no). The Discovery Channel caught it all on film.

Saturday the lobster fishermen were loading their boats down with traps to put into the water on the 1st. They can start pulling their traps next Friday. Next Saturday will be lobster fest on Duval Street.

Our banana tree has put out a new pod of bananas. As each leaf fall from the pod a new hand of baby bananas is exposed. In about a month they will grow and we will have plenty of bananas.

Sunday will be ‘Battle of the Bars’ on Lazy Lane behind Schooner Wharf. Each bar gets a team of people that will run an obstacle course and be timed. It starts at 1:00 PM Sunday until it is over, which is around 7 – 8 PM. More next week.

Captain Tony’s birthday celebration will be August 10th in front of his old bar on Green Street. Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band will play.

Key West, You have got to love it
'Living the life that others dream'
Doug Bennett
Lat 24.55967N, Long 81.80169W

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Sassi dancing to Schooner Wharf Bar Dog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbxD3D-rPqo