For those of us on Sand Key who find it hard to leave the tranquility we enjoy, this is a great time to travel down the coast of Florida.

This past week we were in Ft; Myers Beach and Key West. The BP disaster in the northern Gulf has made hotels, restaurants and tourist destinations very pleasant without big crowds. Unfortunately, small businesses are suffering from the lack of normal business levels. For those of us on Backwaters annual Key West excursion we got great bargains on hotel rooms, the Key West Express and the competitive specials at restaurants. Our group of over 20 people found seating and accommodations readily available.

Remember to support the small independent restaurants, motels and establishments. These are the people who are trying to stay in business that make every area unique. There is nothing redeeming about chains and large corporations working on shareholders money.

Don’t forget, Backwater’s tenth anniversary party coming in August!

Our annual July 4th fireworks celebration that commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, will be at 9:45 approximately. The Declaration of Independence began the process of separating the United States (then the colonies) from the Kingdom of Great Britain. After several years of war, the upstart immigrants defeated British troops sent here to quash the rebellion.

This year the legal holiday is accepted to be Friday, July 3rd, but the fireworks will take place on Saturday evening. Hundreds of people from Sand Key will line the boardwalk at The Shoppes of Sand Key to watch the colorful light show from their origination at Coachman Park. You can also see the celebrations from surrounding municipalities in the distance.

This year we may see the new Belleair Bridge become a new vantage point to watch the show.

The Travel and Leisure website has named one of the Sheraton Sand Key’s hotel rooms as number five on their list of Notorious Hotel Rooms.

This dubious award is among other hotel rooms that date back to the days of prohibition, mafia and Howard Hughes. The Sheraton’s award is a little more recent.

In 1980 Jim Bakker, an evangelist with worldwide operations, had an alleged affair with his then secretary Jessica Hahn. The tryst was headlines for months. Room #538 was the location disclosed in subsequent proceedings.

Bakker eventually ended up in prison (for more than an affair) and his empire collapsed. Jessica Hahn became a Playboy model.

For more, you can check out the link above.

And you thought it was calm and quiet on our island!

Just a little before 6 AM this morning traffic started flowing across the main structure of the Belleair Bridge. The opening was done with little fanfare except for one news truck filming a brief story.

In a preview tour of the bridge, I discovered a new view of the area from a perch well above the intercoasal waterway. The scene from the middle of the span is spectacular!

The bridge is far from complete, but they are running ahead of schedule which is unique with many projects of this size. Take a cruise across the bridge. The view is worth leaving the island!

By now everyone has heard about the “5 to 8″ foot shark that reportedly bit a man from Orlando on Clearwater Beach. The pictures show a man with a couple of bandages on his foot (although his video said his leg). The man said he was swimming close to Pier 60. He also refused medical attention at the scene.

There is no doubt that sharks 8 feet long and bigger roam the waters around our shores. As a long time fisherman, I have seen them many times. There is also the potential for someone to be bitten by a shark at any time, but you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning according to statistics.

My experience says that an 8 foot shark doesn’t play games. They don’t grab hold of something and not leave a big reminder they were there. The chances that an 8 foot shark or one even close to that size didt’t leave a gaping wound that needed many stitches is highly unlikely. Their teeth are long, sharp and curved backward to hold onto their prey. Any cursory examination of a bite could potentially determine if it was a shark (there are many other fish that bite!). Closer scrutiny may tell the size of the shark and even the species.

This story needs a few more details by reporters who aren’t so quick to report anything.

If you have missed all the fast breaking news in the last couple of days, the area roughly bordered from Sand Key, through Clearwater Beach to Island Estates has been reported to be developing a plan to secede from the City of Clearwater. The articles, in Tampa Bay Newspapers and St. Pete Times, both tell of activists in our community employing counsel to find a way to form our own city.

While the usual list of names are spearheading the effort and are lauded for their efforts. They are missing an opportunity that history has shown was successful.

As a matter of fact, today is a historic day! On April 23, 1982 a group of islands seceded from the United States of America. This historical fact is recorded in detail in the linked article. Now the famed Conch Republic is a reminder of what American ingenuity can do. A little two mile square island has now become one of the great tourist meccas of the world known as Key West!

Now with history to lead us and with my tongue firmly planted in cheek, I propose we set our sights much higher than just breaking away from the City of Clearwater. Let’s form our own country! It seems to me that would be much easier than dealing with city officials and much more fun.

If we follow the plan of the Conch Republic leaders, it would be simple to carry out. There is only one road leading onto the island at Island Estates and one road leading off the island at Sand Key. Let’s just block both roads, collect “taxes” for a few minutes and declare our independence!

On the Island Estates side, I am certain I can get Tommy Duff to get a militia of bar patrons to lead the charge. On the Sand Key side I can absolutely guarantee that many of our regular Backwater’s patrons would be willing to be part of the secession brigade. Now that we have our militia, the only thing we need is some honest politicians to collect and properly spend our taxes. Ooops, therein lies the problem with all nations - new or old.

The solution is simple. Let’s just collect enough “taxes” to pay for a round of refreshments at each end of our newly formed nation. We can take our newly created Treasury back to the respective militia headquarters and begin governing. If we collect too much for our needs, we give the “taxes” back to the people in our nation - or wait a minute - let’s do what we do now - just spend more than we need. Maybe we can create debt and get a bailout from the United States of America. Now that is the true American way of doing things — but of course, we wouldn’t be Americans anymore.

Now we have stumbled upon a real problem. What do we name our new nation? This is really getting difficult. We need more input from scholars on the issue. What time is happy hour? There are experts on everything at Happy Hour. Much more planning is needed. Maybe what we really need is longer Happy Hours!

Your suggestions are encouraged.

As we mature (a politically correct term for getting older), we tend to wonder what happened to the values of past generations. Nothing represents those values more than the depiction of a simple day’s fishing and all the memories that come from a “mature” mind. The full story on the photograph can be seen at this link.

Fishing Sand Key

The photo is more than just a picture of a day outing for a kid. It is a representation of past era’s when families did things together, spent time with their kids, taught simple pleasures and instilled real values that television, electronic games, computers and all the web pages in the world couldn’t destroy. The story, unfortunately, is becoming rare, evidenced by the news story. How often do you see a kid with a fishing pole anymore? More often than not you see adolescents with cell phones, handheld electronic games, computers, Ipod’s and other pacifiers that disconnect from family.

It is refreshing and amusing to ponder the meaning of a simple picture like this while the world tries to figure out why the new generations seem to take less responsibility for their own actions, want more money for little or no work, rely on the government for more assistance and gravitate away from the values of our ancestors.

The old phrase that a picture can be worth 1000 words is outdated. Maybe in this case a picture is worth the future salvation of a nation.

Just a thought from a “mature” mind!

Open since 1984, Sand Key park has been a gem hidden and unknown by most travelers who visit the Clearwater Beach tourist mecca. Not anymore!

A recent German travel agency has been touting the relatively uncongested beach as the place to retreat for a quiet vacation. The brochure and website offered pictures and travel packages that included stays at the Sheraton and Marriott. Included were pictures and details from the county’s website. If anyone hasn’t visited the park’s website, you may find a few details about the wildlife and little known artificial reef program based on the north end of the island.

It seems our best kept secret may not be so empty in the future. We may be getting a European contingent this summer.