Tough, Right To The Bitter End
After spending the weekend fishing on Cedar Key, Florida, I went in search of some local news to round out my overall experience. I don't like to just take a place at face value, I want to see what it is that is going on, behind the scenes.
I found out two things, Cedar Key has an awful newspaper and the nearest "big" city paper has reporting that we will just call "biased".
Turns out that Cedar Key (and the rest of Florida) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the ban on net fishing off the waters of the Sunshine State. The Chiefland Citizen had a heart-felt write up on its front page.
At first, I have to admit, they had me...tugging at the heart strings. Thinking about the little girl who eulogized net fishing - complete with Biblical allegories. She was 12, but still, there was netting in her veins.
Then I read down a little further. Author Jenna McKenna (wow...ummm, no I am not going to even touch that) has a thesaurus, "Fulford was not fulminating at the..." Fulminating. Sure. How about "Angry", naah, that isn't an SAT vocabulary word.
Okay, so she has a thesaurus. That isn't so bad. What is bad is the little fact that goes almost unnoticed in the walk down net-fishing's trail of tears. Clamming, the new aquaculture activity that most of the net fishermen have taken up, is better - in so many ways. Different, yes. Better, yes.
According to one Levy County school board member, ...she has mixed feelings about Cedar Key's new way of life. "The money is better (than net fishing), the boats are bigger, but it's not the same kind of work."
So, you make more money, the boats are safer...but it is just not what they "knew". I expect to hear, "Dammit, I make less money... work harder.... and it is more dangerous... but it is what my father did... and his father before him... and his father before him.... we all died out there. I want to die poor, out on the sea. Just like my old man."
Yep, just when you think that you have found intelligent life out there, reality comes screaming home.
I found out two things, Cedar Key has an awful newspaper and the nearest "big" city paper has reporting that we will just call "biased".
Turns out that Cedar Key (and the rest of Florida) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the ban on net fishing off the waters of the Sunshine State. The Chiefland Citizen had a heart-felt write up on its front page.
At first, I have to admit, they had me...tugging at the heart strings. Thinking about the little girl who eulogized net fishing - complete with Biblical allegories. She was 12, but still, there was netting in her veins.
Then I read down a little further. Author Jenna McKenna (wow...ummm, no I am not going to even touch that) has a thesaurus, "Fulford was not fulminating at the..." Fulminating. Sure. How about "Angry", naah, that isn't an SAT vocabulary word.
Okay, so she has a thesaurus. That isn't so bad. What is bad is the little fact that goes almost unnoticed in the walk down net-fishing's trail of tears. Clamming, the new aquaculture activity that most of the net fishermen have taken up, is better - in so many ways. Different, yes. Better, yes.
According to one Levy County school board member, ...she has mixed feelings about Cedar Key's new way of life. "The money is better (than net fishing), the boats are bigger, but it's not the same kind of work."
So, you make more money, the boats are safer...but it is just not what they "knew". I expect to hear, "Dammit, I make less money... work harder.... and it is more dangerous... but it is what my father did... and his father before him... and his father before him.... we all died out there. I want to die poor, out on the sea. Just like my old man."
Yep, just when you think that you have found intelligent life out there, reality comes screaming home.
posted by bisbohemian at 7:26 AM
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