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My son and his family were out on the boat yesterday in the Florida Intercoastal Waterway and there is an island there that is totally under water when the tide comes in and when it goes out, there appears this huge sandy island where people go (only accessible by boat) and have BBQs, and play.
Yesterday, while they were all in the water foolin’ around, Spencer (my 6-years old g.son, who is afraid of absolutely NOTHING!) let out a blood-curdling scream. Everybody ran over to him only to discover an enormous manatee had decided to play with him. Then another came up and they hung around for about 1/2 hour and let everybody play, scratch, etc. them with no fear whatsoever. Although, it’s illegal to feed, harrass, or even touch them, how can you possibly ignore an opportunity like that. Eveybody but Spencer had a ball. He wouldn’t even go back in the water. I guess that could be pretty scary.
His dad got frightened like that by a walrus when he was about the same age. We were at Marine World/Africa USA standing by the edge of a big pool and all of a sudden this great big thing popped up and spewed him with an enormous amount of water…so…I guess he understood exactly how Spencer felt.
How fun for the family – something to chat about for years! Up close and personal with a manatee – they are such sweet creatures from what I’ve seen on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel type shows. I sure hope that they are all alright when that big oil spill get’s to your side of Florida…I was born in Pensecola at the Navy base there – I have been back a few times before my grandmother passed and I remember the white as white can be sand beaches…now yesterday on t.v. – oil had reached the beaches. So sad for all of you in the south, including the manatees!
so, hopefully, they won’t be affected by it. Unless it starts making it’s way up the intercoastal and estuaries. Keep your fingers crossed.
Now here’s something that’s hard to believe…I called to see if I could volunteer in any way, cleaning up animals, picking up tar balls, etc., whatever these old bones could do. Know what they told me? NO! Not unless I first take a $200, 30-hour hazmat course and am a paid worker. That just doesn’t make sense. That wasn’t the case after the Valdez oil spill in Alaska. They had all kinds of volunteers and, as far as I’ve heard, the "hazardous materials" didn’t harm one single person. That’s penny-wize, pound-foolish if you ask me.
You would think they would welcome all the volunteers they could get their hands on. Just goes to show you, most states are determined to make BP pay in any way they can. Ridiculous to refuse volunteer workers if they don’t pay to ‘volunteer.’ If good people like you are willing to give of their time and care enough about their state to save it’s shorelines, beaches and wildlife, why make them PAY to do it. I saw a report on MSNBC today where many Pensacola volunteers were cleaning up the beaches and NONE of them were wearing any special gear; just shorts and T-shirts; no special clothing, gear or equipment – not even masks or goggles. They did have on blue rubber gloves, but that was the extent of it. Go figure!
I’m not an enviornmentalist by a long shot – I want to drive a huge pickup truck and be safe in it instead of driving a pregnent roller-skate squished type car. And I want Drill-baby-Drill on our own shores so we’re not beholden and hostage to Hugo and the Saudis. I want to be able to air condition my house cheaply in the 110 degree heat we get here and I want to be warm in the winter without having to pay some kind of bogus carbon credit tax to people who just want to line their pockets more with our tax dollars. I want to BBQ steaks on the gas or charcoal grill and use my gas lawnmower…
But this oil thing spill and lack of response and the finger pointing as to who is to blame either BP and Washington D.C. outrages me as an American to no end. The American way is to find a solution and fix things that are broke – that’s how we built a RR across this country, built the Erie canal, took care of polio, WWI, WWII, went to the moon and back, etc., etc. etc. And to not allow volunteers?
I think the powers-that-be in Washington D.C. and the BP executives just do not want a lawsuit by people if they went out and inhaled or got the oil on them –
If that’s the case – get the National Guard out there, get Caltrans, (California state highway people from California who know how to deal with Hazmat), get the other states to send in their Hazmat teams too – this is too big to just let four or five states deal with this. If the Federal gov. won’t help Americans stop this it’s time for American’s to take the bull-sh-t by the horns! Should have been done 43 days ago!
I think you both voice the feelings of most all of us concerning the oil spill and the lack of progress in correcting it.
Goody
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