Pearl Harbor Day...

Today is the 83rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the Japanese back in 1941, an attack which killed 2,403 Americans and resulted in the United States entering World War II. It also resulted in my father Nelson being drafted in 1943 at the age of 34 into the army and being sent to Okinawa, where I believe the photograph above was taken. He was a dentist and fought both teeth and typhoons before coming home in 1947. Fortunately, the fighting was about over on Okinawa by the time he arrived, and since he was not crazy about being a dentist, being on Okinawa was kind of like a break from the office for him. Believe it or not, he told me the experience was very much like the television show MASH. Hot Lips on Okinawa? Back when I was a kid, Pearl Harbor Day was a big deal, but it seems to get a lot less press these days. Events like September 11th, which killed 2,996 people and happened much more recently, have attracted more attention from the media when such anniversaries roll around. Horrible events keep on coming, after all, and probably always will. And by the way, in the photograph above my father is sitting in the back row, third from the right. I'd recognize him anywhere.

OK. OK. I Admit It. Yes Virgina, Manatees Do Exist...

It got down to 45 degrees here on the Treasure Coast a few nights ago, and as everyone knows, when it gets cold, manatees supposedly head to waters near the power plants to get warm. And so, I thought I would give it one more try to spot one and stopped by Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon.  I did not really believe I would see a manatee, but it turns out I saw not one, but at least eight or more manatees swimming in the waters right below the Florida Power and Light Power Plant, as seen in the photograph on the left. I believe it is called a herd of manatees, also known as sea cows. I don't know what I was expecting, but it appears manatees do not poke their heads up out of the water so you can take a portrait of them. They usually just stick their nose into the air and then submerge again. And so how do you take a good photograph of one? Good question.

The answer, I believe, is to take photographs of them under the water. And I think this could have been done yesterday if Manatee Lagoon had more foresight before they built their center. If they had put in a lower level that went below the waterline and featured a wall of glass windows featuring views below the surface of the lagoon, I might have taken a really great photograph. As it was, I took something like 154 photos of the damn things, and the best I could come up with was the manatee in the photograph on the right. It is a bit blurry, taken from a distance with a point and shoot camera, but at least I caught it with its eye open, and it is indeed proof positive that manatees do exist. And I hold Manatee Lagoon personally responsible for this less than overwhelming photograph. I would ask them for a free lifetime pass to their educational center as compensation if it wasn't already free.

The Manatees Are Late In Arriving - Don't They Check The Calendar Anymore?

The official website of Manatee Lagoon, located in West Palm Beach, Florida and dedicated to educating the public about manatees, states that manatee season is November 15th through March 31st. I have visited this educational center and checked the waterways a number of times since mid-November and have not seen a single manatee. This center, seen in the photograph above, is operated by Florida Power and Light, which has a power plant just to the north. Manatees crave warm water during the winter and are attracted to power plants because they warm the nearby waters. But the manatees are NOT showing up. What's the deal with that? I think this educational center should start rounding up these creatures and put them where they belong - the waters of Manatee Lagoon. If the manatees will not pay attention to the calendar, it is only right that this action be taken. After all, how hard could it be to capture and move a few dozen or so 1,200-pound sea cows? No problem at all, in my opinion.

Exactly Ten Weeks Until Spring Training!

Roger Dean Stadium, located in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida, and seen in the background of the above photo, is pretty quiet now, but in exactly ten weeks spring training begins, and things will pick up pretty quickly. Pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday, February 12th (Lincoln's birthday, I might add), and the rest of the team reports the following Sunday. At Roger Dean Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins play their spring training games. Down in West Palm Beach, the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros will be working out, and the New York Mets play up in Port St. Lucie. Unfortunately, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, the Colorado Rockies, my adopted hometown team, and even those hapless North Siders, the Chicago Cubs, all train in Arizona. Which is a shame. The White Sox, as loyal fans will remember, set a Major League record last year for most losses in a season, which was quite an achievement. I can't wait to see what they will do next season. Only time will tell. As for the Rockies, everyone in Colorado knows what they will do next year (finish last, as usual). The Cubs, of course, will always be the Cubs. Give their fans hope early in the season and crush their spirits at the end. The White Sox will never do that. Consistency has its value.

As Wild As It Gets

Having been down in Stuart, Florida for three weeks, I was hoping to have seen some exotic animals by now. There are supposed to be alligators, manatees, panthers, and even bears in the southern part of Florida. And it was recently reported on the local television news that Port St. Lucie (more specifically the Tradition neighborhood) is overrun with wild boars, even threatening young children in their backyards. But to date, the most exotic animals I have come across are the pelicans seen in the photograph on the left. And even they were nowhere to be found during the summer - they have only recently started to fly south for the winter. It is the same story as in Colorado. I have never seen a bear, a fox, a moose, or a mountain lion in the wild the entire time I have lived in Colorado.  And I am beginning to suspect that all those moose sightings in the state are just made up to attract tourists.

There are, of course, all kinds of squirrels about, but they are no different from the ones in Colorado. Both the squirrels in Denver's Washington Park and the ones at Stuart Beach look exactly the same, and are all after one thing - a handout, such as the squirrel in the photograph on the right. Stuart Beach has the Seaside Cafe located on the boardwalk, and the place is filled with people eating. And so, both the birds and the squirrels are always out and about looking for crumbs. I have even seen a few rats, too, but they are not as photogenic as the birds and squirrels. And I have to ponder - how do you get rid of rats at the seashore and not harm all the other animals as well? But not too much pondering - time to head out to Lake Okeechobee, home of the most alligators in Florida, to take a few closeups of them in their native habitat. What could go wrong?  

Marking The End Of Hurricane Season In Key West!

This past Saturday, November 30th, marked the end of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, and down in Key West, they have a special way of celebrating that important event. To the sound of conch shells being blown, Paul Menta and Jai Somers, the leaders of the Florida Keys' ceremonial Conch Republic administration, doused hurricane flags with rum and set them on fire, with an applauding crowd looking on, as seen in the photograph above. I really love Key West, although the last time I visited it was back in 1979, when my father Nelson, mother Mary, sister Susan, and I drove down there from Stuart, Florida for a few days. I had never heard of this particular annual ceremony until I saw a story about it on the local television news, but I do know that it is only one of many such celebrations in that quirky city. I have often considered attending Hemingway Days there in July (I want to see the Running of the Hemingways in person), but the cost of a motel in Key West is astronomical, and it is, after all, a 5-hour drive from Stuart. Perhaps I'll wait until relations thaw with Cuba to the point that they restart the overnight ferry from Key West to Havana. You used to be able to drive your car onto the ferry, stay in a stateroom overnight, and drive off the next morning in Havana. That way I could catch the Running of the Hemingways, and afterwards head to the ferry, avoiding the price of a motel room. A cheapskate's dream come true. And I would get to see Cuba, too. Perfect! I am sure with Trump as president, that will happen very soon.

It's December 1st! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It's December, time for the snow to start flying, and in fact, this weekend lake-effect snowstorms have been hitting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and towns along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, with Watertown, New York expecting 4 to 6 feet. In Buffalo, they are expecting 2 feet of snow, and the Buffalo Bills are asking fans to help shovel out Highmark Stadium before tonight's Bills game with the San Francisco 49ers. In Colorado, they have had a lot of snow in the mountains, but not much in Denver as of yet. Here in Stuart, Florida, we don't expect a white Christmas. In fact, over the past 48 years, I am aware of snow flurries around here exactly twice - once on our dog Irma when my mother Mary brought her inside after a walk, and once when I was down visiting my mother in December. And, of course, both times those flurries melted as soon as they hit the ground. When I was a kid, I used to love when it snowed, especially when it snowed so much that school was canceled. I took the photograph above out the window of my bedroom back in 1962 when we lived in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. The older I got, however, the less I liked the snow, especially when I had to drive in it. Back when I lived in a studio apartment in Forest Park, just to the west of Chicago, I remember one year there was so much snow on the sides of the road it was like driving through a canyon. You had to park your car in the thankfully plowed schoolyard each night and walk home. I suspect there is little chance of that happening here this year.