KEY WEST CHICKENS

The morning of what will be another good day in Key West!

Today’s Key West Citizen’s Day in History section made comment re Key West chickens. On this day in 2004, the City Commission appointed an official chicken catcher. An experiment that failed.

The contract with the chicken catcher was for 9 months. He would be paid $20 for each chicken captured. There was a limit of 900. At the time, it was estimated there were 2,000-3,000 free roaming chickens.

The chicken catcher captured 542. Considered to be roughly 25 percent of the chicken population. At that point, the chicken catcher packed it in.

He claimed the City leaders were not committed to the cause. He felt they were micromanaging by providing him with chicken lists which specified particular areas where he should do his catching. The chicken catcher found this difficult. Many chickens might be in  a particular area today, but not tomorrow. They moved at will. The chicken lists were useless. By the time he got to an area to catch them, they were gone.

The chicken catcher claimed Key West residents were not cooperative.  They would stomp on his traps and taunt him. The oral abuse was too much.

Another consideration was involved. Money. Chickens are an endangered species or have some sort of protected status in Florida. They cannot be killed. The chicken catcher was required to ship them to a chicken farm located somewhere in northern Florida. The chickens would spend their remaining days in chicken comfort. The cost of shipping the chickens north came out of the $20.

There are chickens in Key West to this day. They probably will be here for all time.

Where did the chickens come from? Two sources are suggested.

The first involves cock fighting. A big sport in the keys for years. It is said cock fighting matches still go on in the wooded mangrove areas away from highways and police. The chickens of today are the descendants of the chickens originally brought to the lower keys for cock fighting purposes.

The other source is that early on, chickens were part of the food chain. There were no super markets. People kept chickens for food and eggs. A number of today’s chickens are descendants of those chickens.

Personally, I do not like the chickens. They are dirty and I fear germ carrying. I will concede however they are lovely to look at.

On to professional football. When I first heard of the deflated ball problem and the Patriots a few days ago, my initial reaction was that whoever was involved should be barred from professional football for all time. The wrong as bad as that committed by the Chicago White Sox many years ago. However after watching many retired pro football players on TV commenting on the issue, it appears every team does it. If so, then the punishment, if any, should be nominal.

The NFL however must put means and rules in place that will prevent this from happening again. The whole matter leaves me with a sour taste.

We close with my diet. I finally lost another pound. I am thrilled. It is now 28 pounds I have shed. I look forward to 30, though I do not plan quitting at that number.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

IN SEASON

The cartoon on the editorial page of this morning’s Key West Citizen has boldly written thereon Welcome to “In Season” in Key West. No question, the season has arrived. Tourists everywhere. Walking and driving difficult. Everyone happy. Why not, they are in Key West!

Twenty six years ago when I first visited Key West, the  “in season” was February 15 to Easter Sunday Monday. The first two weeks of January were dead. The next two weeks a smattering of tourists. Things picked up the first two weeks in February a bit. Then the avalanche began on February 15. It was like a water faucet had been turned on. People gushing all over the place.

Things have changed. Most certainly. And for the best! Key West is a vacation town. Its only business is tourism. Better closer to 12 months a year than 2.

I felt like a man lost in the desert yesterday afternoon. I wanted to watch the Syracuse/Clemson game. The plan was to meet Dan and Lisa at Jack Flats. I got there early. No Syracuse game. Jack Flats did not carry ESPN 3. Hustled over to Don’s Place. He gets everything on his TV sets. Again, no game.

David came in while I was complaining and explained to me that ESPN 3 only airs on the internet and certain cell phones.

I learned something.

Never got to see the game.

Probably for the best. Syracuse got whipped by Clemson 66-53. Prior to yesterday’s game, Clemson was described as the worst shooting team in the ACC. They found the range yesterday!

I have no further comment re the game.

The weather was a surprise yesterday. The weather report said 70 in the afternoon and 68 in the evening. Cold for Key Westers! It was cold cold on my deck overlooking the water. The ocean breeze always adds to a  cool day.

I dressed accordingly. Long pants, which I hate to wear, and a heavy long sleeved shirt.

When I got out of the car in Key West, the temperature was 78. I had to walk several blocks to Jack Flats and back. Sweating! It was a shorts and tee shirt day!

I mentioned yesterday hearing from some Greek and Italian friends about four jihadists hiding somewhere in Greece. One of some importance. Later in the day, they were arrested in Athens. The leader was Abou Omar Soussi. He was arrested in Omonia Square. Just behind the Square sits the Monastiraki. A Greek restaurant where I spent some afternoons sitting outside and enjoying a drink and bite to eat. I sometimes sat there a couple of hours. A great place to people  watch.

The world seems to get sicker by the day. Generally in Africa and the Middle East. Yesterday, on a road in South Jersey. A baby was found on fire in the middle of the road. Suffered severe burns. No further news was available.

My apologies for ending today’s blog on such a sick note.

Enjoy your Sunday!