Scotland And Independence

From the archives, a reprint to mark Scotland's historic vote tomorrow:

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Yes Scotland And One Human Family

So the question is: what do a passel of no account little lumps of subtropical rock and mangrove stalks have in common with the bleak peat bogs of frigid rainy Scotland? Not much on the face of it but there is the little matter of independence that is coming over the horizon. 31 years ago the Florida Keys asserted their right to independence and now, trailing along behind the Fabulous Florida Keys by a matter of decades, the residents of Scotland, be they English, Scottish or citizens of the European Union actually in Scotland get to vote tomorrow on whether or not they want to secede from the overbearing English.

Every nation state has its own flag and Conch Claude Valdez came up with the design seen above. The Scottish flag, a banner associated with a nation but not with a state since 1707, is the cross of St Andrew shown below. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

I figure the story of the creation of the Conch Republic is pretty well known but it has given rise to a mythology and an industry including passports and identity cards, bumper stickers and the notion that the Conch (pronounced konk please) Republic is a "state of mind" all in great good humor. But it wasn't always so, the good humor.

April 23rd 1982 the Prime Minister of the Conch Republic, promoted for the day from his day job of Mayor of Key West, having argued for the removal of a Border Patrol checkpoint at the Last Chance Saloon in Florida City, came out of court and spontaneously announced that if the United States, in an effort to stop illegal immigration, wanted to treat the Keys as a foreign nation with an ID check on Highway One, then so be it. And Dennis Wardlow announced the Free Florida Keys were seceding from the US.

The crowd gathered at Mallory Square to hear the announcement and the Prime Minister attacked the United States by breaking a loaf of Cuban bread over the head of a representative of the US Navy. The mouse that roared promptly surrendered and demanded a billion dollars in foreign aid from the US to compensate for the interruption to the tourist trade caused by the Overseas Highway roadblock. The money never came but notoriety did.

So now every Spring for a week there is a rather cheerful celebration of Conch Republic Days in Key West when drinks are drunk and they race transvestities down Duval Street and the whole thing wraps up with a sea battle between the Conch Republic Navy and the US Navy in which Cuban bread is still the ammunition of choice. The US always loses and everyone drinks their sorrows or their joys away.

Personally I have a different vision for an independent Conch Republic. I'd like to see a place like Andorra or Monaco in the Keys, a city state with no army and only enough navy to protect its fisheries, an economy based on all those items one sees banned in the US, so busy morality posturing, that could be had openly and cheerfully and guilt free in the shining new capital of unbridled capitalism that would be my Conch Republic. How much would you pay to sit on a beach in the Conch Republic smoking legal genuine Cuban cigars, drinking Cuban rum with a new and expensive friend then gambling in one of our world class casinos? Banking secrecy laws would be paramount, every law firm in the city would be the international low-tax headquarters of some corporation or another and every citizen of the Conch Republic would grow fat and content earning ridiculous tax free wages pandering to every American desire impermissible at home. "One (Stinking Rich) Human Family" indeed, my Conch Republic would have the motto of rectitude for citizens, lassitude for visitors, with health care, marriage, and the rule of law for all. I have a dream...of the gates to Paradise built as a frontier post in the middle of the Seven Mile Bridge. But let's be practical...

The US would never let it happen - and see Boca Chica Naval Air Station converted to civilian use, for a foreign country at that? Never! Besides I have a feeling a real Conch Republic would pretty soon descend into an extended impotent lament in the anonymous Citizen's Voice column in the newspaper followed by fratricidal urges and riots at Little League International games against the Americans from Marathon as parents take on the battles only hinted at by their sporting offspring. True independence would never work. Too bad as I could use a substantial raise, and though I do not smoke I have heard Havana Club is a decent rum. For Scotland though it's another matter, far more serious than stale Cuban ammunition bread and illegal rum toddys...

700 Years ago near the city of Stirling, Scottish soldiers handed an invading English army their lunch on a platter at the battle of Bannockburn in June 1314. The Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh has called a vote by all residents 16 years and older on the very simple question: Should Scotland be an independent country? Scotland's First Minister in the semi autonomous Scottish Parliament Alex Salmond (shown below just to prove that telegenic politicians are a US obsession) is leading the Yes Scotland campaign on a leftist plank of affordable housing and jobs though how Yes Scotland will follow through on those promises in these arduous economic times... A group of right wingers has come out with a libertarian position supporting independence called Wealthy Nation, so everyone is climbing aboard the change bandwagon it would seem at first sight in Scotland.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, shown above, whose name keeps up the fishy link in Scotland's march to freedom, is also promoting the Scottish National Party's "National Conversation" about independence. However as you might imagine not everyone is delighted about this separatist path. Lately the European Union has said it's not clear Scotland would gain admission to the EU, and suggestions that an independent Scotland might continue to use the English pound have been rejected by ministers in London. The message seems clear: if Scotland decides to set a bad example to independence minded Catalonia and Corsica they will get no help from the Big Boys in Europe. This sort of bullying seems to be having an effect, even as England plans to offer increased autonomy to the Scottish parliament if the people vote No. It's all carrot and stick...

England fought Ireland horribly when they wanted independence, and union was forced on Scotland with a brutality that would give modern sensibilities the vapors. Over the past decade the English who constitute about 53 million of the United Kingdom's 63 million people have given autonomy to Wales and Scotland in hopes of fending off this day. North Sea Oil, Scotland's great economic hope is drying up so England's delaying tactics worked on that front, and losing Scotland won't mean the huge cheap energy loss of even a decade ago. But Scotland's five million residents, like the Conch Republic's notional 40,000 in the Lower Keys, have a lot of scenery to sell. We smaller states end up selling ourselves to visitors with our history and pretty views.

There is in me a streak of silly escapism, a desire for change for the sake of change and the chance to see what happens when one leaps where angels fear to tread, which to some extent is what prompts people to move here. I have no idea what's best for Scotland, or the Lower Keys come to that. But I do have a mad desire to see what happens if the Scots do take that leap of faith. Who knows, perhaps they could lead the way to independence for Wales, Catalonia, Corsica and perhaps even these distant lumps of rock where endless debates about abortion and gay rights and evolution and guns all the rest of the mad mainland political posturing mean so little. One Human Family: is that a philosophy strong enough to build real human freedom upon, instead of using it as an excuse for bed races, fake battles and drunken public partying? Would the real Conch Republic, a place of tolerance and belief in the res publica as originally envisioned find space to live and breathe and prosper? Lead the way Scotland and perhaps Sassenachs everywhere can learn from your example.

New Parking Rules In Old Town

It must to obvious to anyone who has paid attention over the decades that parking in Key West is, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an issue that will probably not be solved in this coming century. Unless a shortage of cheap oil knocks all internal combustion off the roads Old Town Key West will be plagued with parking problems no matter what scheme the city comes up with. Even before the railroad was converted into a direct road link to the mainland in 1938, cars have been a symbol of individual mobility in Key West, even if the road went no further than No Name Key, and was not an easy drive to boot. Duval Street in the 1930s, courtesy the State Archives:



Next month all parking rules are going to change, and while one hopes that the issues that have been raised most recently, residents having to walk blocks from car to home, will be solved; I doubt it. Currently I believe about one third the spaces in Old Town (more or less west of White Street, north of Truman Avenue) are designated as Residential Parking. This scheme was inaugurated after the city tried to implement a neighborhood permit parking scheme which failed. The signs for "permit parking Only" are still on some streets bizarrely enough but they mean nothing.



The newspaper recently ran a story about Florida car license plates, known as tags in the Sunshine State, which will soon change their format. Apparently Big Brother's enforcement cameras take poor pictures of tags with raised letters so all states are changing format to dark, flat lettering on a light background to make them easier to read. This means the county designation on tags will soon disappear, which is a sentimental shame with practical consequences.

The city will sell ten dollar permits to residents of the city only, who can produce a driver's license, car registration and utility bill. lacking any one of these three items means no permit for you! Well, that's the theory right now but strict implementation of new parking rules in the Southernmost City usually leads to unintended  consequences such that strict implementation usually falls by the wayside. We shall see; all that is the theory so far...

The old blue  parking permits sold I believe for $85 will no longer be valid.

Nor will tags with the word "Monroe" embossed on them be a valid  way to use Residential parking spots anymore. Florida tags have to be replaced automatically every five years if they aren't specialty, fund raising tags, so these types of tags will soon disappear anyway. In the meantime, as of next month the only legal way to use residential parking spots will be with the new green sticker.

 

 

Parking meters are in use between Elizabeth and Whitehead Streets and on-street parking costs $1.50 an hour paid at these machines using a credit card: 

 

One has to wonder how this new program will work precisely. Given the stringent requirements to prove residence there are quite a few people, like me, who are used to using residential parking spots who will now be excluded. In my case I am not affected as there is ample parking at my job and I work at night anyway. My visits to Old Town for recreation usually involve a powered two wheeler which gets free parking anyway...and I have a few spots I know where the new rules won't affect my ability to see a movie or eat out. However the ramifications of this new scheme are of far greater concern I think that just my convenience. Other county residents who work in Old Town will have a much harder time.  

For instance will a  vehicle with a handicapped sticker be able to park in residential parking without a green sticker? I guess we will have to wait for a test case. They can park free in metered spots so for tourists that should change nothing, unless they rent a place in Old Town with limited parking....

Given that not everyone wants to ride a bicycle or a scooter, seen below enjoying free parking on Fleming Street kitty corner from the library...a lot of car drivers are going to have figure out their strategy for parking and working and staying close to home.

The city is buy repainting the residential spots so there will hopefully be no confusion this winter, but I wonder what snowbirds will think when they discover their blue annual permits are no longer valid? and lacking even one of the three validating documents they will not get access to the much desired residential spots near their million dollar winter homes? Hmm...I foresee stormy weather ahead.

I think a large part of the problem, beyond the simple shortage of physical space, is that the city is trying to cope with numerous competing needs.  First off many of the off street parking spaces, including driveways and garages have been paved over or turned into living spaces, in a knock on effect caused by small expensive housing and the natural desire to make the most of what you've got. If residents reclaimed their garages half the problem would evaporate.

The consider the needs of permanent year round residents for whom these rules seem to have been enacted...These are the people who live in the city and can't park close to home. Are their needs going to remain paramount in the face of county residents coming to the city and not finding free parking? The snowbirds giving city commissioners earache about their parking woes? Tourists grumbling about expensive tickets?   Parking is a nightmare in winter. Managing it is a heroic task. Then there is the requirement that people parking their vehicles use common sense. In other words just because someone ha sparked in front of a No Parking sign doesn't mean you should too. Locals know what's what, indeed this vehicle might very well be the owner of the "No Parking" sign!

Check for special signs and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!  

Motorcycle parking is not car parking even if its empty. Conversely bicycle parking isn't scooter parking...even if you think it should be. Don't park on sidewalks and don't whine when you get a ticket. Please don't call 9-1-1 because Parking Enforcement is part of city hall's duties not the police department. We dispatch parking control officers if you see a violator but we don't mediate parking disputes after a ticket is issued, not that anyone cares. People get incandescent with rage when they get a ticket. It's amazing.

Yellow means no parking, red means no parking and get a huge fine or get towed if you do, while white means go ahead and park if you can find space. Big trucks and SUVs make no sense in Key West but entitlement expresses itself in the most mysterious ways.

And on the subject of reading the signs, if it says TOW AWAY you will get towed to a location outside Key West, a long cab ride away in fact and you will get a bill of more than a hundred bucks, sometimes a lot more, to get your car back. The tow trucks patrol their businesses all night and if they see an unauthorized car parked in a business lot they will take it. They check with the police department to make sure it's not stolen and so I know they call in tows at all hours of the night. Pay attention!

 

In point of fact if you use common sense free spaces and city parking lots, and don't mind walking a few blocks now and then parking in Key West is quite bearable. However if you expect ease of use because you have spent a lot of money to either visit or live here you will be disappointed. Just like love, money can't necessarily buy you parking and if you rent or buy a home without off street parking be aware that you will be walking from time to time. But in these Fall months parking is a delight, like this on James Street next to the city public parking garage, known as the Park and Ride as it is on the bus line:



Or, if you can't stand the idea of traveling light load up your lithe motorcycle with a trailer and a bicycle and pretend you are  an SUV and take up a whole space for yourself. This time of year that's feasible even on Fleming Street!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the city's official website where you can apparently pay parking fines online: Violations must be paid within 10 calendar days or an additional late charge of $5.00 will be assessed. After 20 days, an additional late charge of $5.00 will be assessed - total late fee of $10.00 per ticket. Parking violations will be considered delinquent after 30 days and sent to a collection agency.

OTH Vehicle parked on public right-of-way facing oncoming traffic $35.00 SID Vehicle parked on sidewalk on a public right-of-way $35.00 FIR Vehicle illegally parked near a fire hydrant (within 15 feet) $175.00 DES Failure to park vehicle within authorized parking space $35.00 NPZ Parked in a designated no parking zone $35.00 RV RV/Oversize vehicle parked illegally on a public right-of-way $75.00 HAN Unauthorized use of handicapped parking space $250.00 OTH Other parking violations to wit: $35.00 FLN Parked in designated fire lane $175.00



Eight Bells For Bobskoot

Bob Leong has died and I am quite cross with him for he had long been promising himself a trip to Key West and it never happened. He lived in Vancouver, British Columbia and wrote a cheerful popular blog describing the travails of life on Canada's rainy coast.

I am told he died in his sleep, lucky man, not in a wreck, slipping out of this life as quietly and unassuming as he lived it. He was touring Kentucky in his classic Corvette, one of his many passions, which included motorcycles, scooters and photography. He liked to cook and to eat and he illustrated his blog with recipes and food pictures, as well as his struggles with his waistline and his determination to appreciate exercise.

Bob had a harsh upbringing and he was proud of his "self made" status, not in terms of wealth but in terms of creating his own family and living his own life. His blog was his release and the funny guy able to laugh off his inability to evade delicious food, could by turns be coldly self reflective and amazingly open about the heartache  of his Canadian childhood. Bob also accumulated a raft of friends around North America and Europe online and in person. It was his goal to meet every moto blogger he encountered online. He was doing well on that score. 

Orin in Seattle posted this:

September 15, 2014

tags: Obituaries

by Orin

Bob Leong, aka bobskoot (Photo: Trobairitz’ Tablet)

Word comes of the passing of Bob Leong of Vancouver, B.C. He was known to friends and fans as bobskoot, though more recently he had been riding motorcycles.

Bobskoot passed in his sleep from an apparent heart attack while on vacation in Nashville, Tenn. He and his wife Yvonne had been traveling through the South in Bob’s Corvette, a trip which included a visit to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky.

Bob’s blog Wet Coast Scootin began in 2008 and was noteworthy for prolific posting and Bob’s observations on his many long road trips, first on a scooter, then on a succession of motorcycles.

Bob was also famous for sporting pink Crocs, the molded plastic footwear from Boulder, Colo.

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I met David Masse in Montreal this summer and we planned a surprise for Bob when they made their planned trip to the Southernmost City next summer. So much for that. God, life is short!

Monday, September 15, 2014

A loving tribute to a great man, Bob Leong

The account of Bob's passing struck me hard. It was like a sudden blast of emptiness that hit me with overwhelming force and left a void where once there was Bob.

Like many in Bob's vast extended family, I met Bob through the internet. He reached out to me through my blog. First a comment, then an e-mail, then a phone call, and so it went.

Bob infused my blogging experience with life. Vibrant, compelling, gritty, amazing, adventurous, life. When I just wanted to get together for coffee or lunch, Bob seized the day, two days in fact, and squeezed out two amazing mind-blowing days of moto-friendship that paid dividends I could never have imagined.

But wait, there was more, so very much more. I found myself, alone, in a borrowed tent, in Bellafonte Pennsylvania, waking to the sound of songbirds and peacocks. Magic. I was there because Bob asked me to meet him there. So I went.

Bob invited me to share slices of his life. So I invited him to share slices of mine. I visited his home, I met Yvonne and his kids. He spent a few nights in my home. He met Susan and our kids. Susan, Yvonne, Bob and I had dinner in Vancouver, and breakfast on another occasion.

More than anything else, I was blessed to ride with Bob. Bob blessed my life in a small but deeply marking way.

Bob was truly one of the kindest, most gentle, most generous people I have met. Most importantly, he gave of himself. He made things happen.

None of this came easily to Bob. He was candid about the challenges he faced as a child. Challenges no child should face. Many of us might have fared worse in similar circumstances.

How Bob will be missed.

Now is the time for tributes. To sing the praises of one who touched our lives. A fellow being who lived life the way life should be lived. With love, generosity, kindness, and courage.

Safe travels Bob. You left this life the way only the very best do. Doing what you loved, living an adventure, in the company of your loving wife.

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I met Bob a few years ago on a grossly overheated day in Bend Oregon of all places and we had a loud cheerful lunch with he and Sonia, another riding blogger, before departing. To meet Bob was to know a friend for life, full of good cheer and boundless optimism. Here's my lighthearted essay on that memorable encounter:

Walks With Crocs 

Safe travels old friend and prepare a place for me on the road up there.



Elizabeth Street By Night

I was out early in the morning with Cheyenne and the moon was full and there's something irresistible about a full moon, so...

I think part of the irresistible nature of photographs that include the full moon come from the architecture in Old Town Key West that lends itself to the ghostly image of a cloudy full moon night. Even when including such banal props as a bicycle, a road barricade and something as modern as a car.

This old house at the intersection of Elizabeth and Angela and Windsor near Solares Hill is getting a make over after years of sitting there empty and forgotten. Frankly it's really getting rebuilt as there isn't much more than a shell left standing

 I love pointing my camera down Elizabeth Street toward Truman in the dark. I muted the colors slightly to get a more evocative tone from the play of shadows and light, after the rain. 

 Key West loves it's picket fences.

 And the balconies with ceilings painted blue. They say its to discourage insects and some say that he original blue paint formula from  decades ago included some kind of insecticide component.

 This house with the wildly colored paint job is always good for a photograph. 

 Oops! There's the moon again!

 And that's a street light looking the other direction on Elizabeth Street.

 Small cars make big sense in Old Town.

Cheyenne walked for 90 minutes, a winter marathon for my 13 year old Labrador. It was cool and breezy after the rain before the sun came up and she was full of energy. I can't imagine her first eight years before she was sent to the pound, no walks, no road trips in the car, total boredom. 

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