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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Evening Open Thread

Wednesday Evening Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  October 8, 20146:49 pm| 53 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Here’s a view from an ancient Calusa shell mound overlooking Tampa Bay.

IMG_3285.JPG

If you squint really hard, you can just make out the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the background. Open thread.

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Reader Interactions

53Comments

  1. 1.

    Betty Cracker

    October 8, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    @efgoldman: It’s called Mount Cockroach. I swayer!

  2. 2.

    scav

    October 8, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    You better keep eating those shellfish and building higher if you want to keep ahead, peoples.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    October 8, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    A few decades back we traveled across that bridge and my now ex had a panic attack. He decided that the best approach was to start backing up while we were in the left lane. I was in the back seat with a son and another son was in the front seat. I could see sweat pouring down the face of him. All I remember is talking in my best baby voice ever, about just staring at the roof of the car and moving forward. Several years ago a son asked me what bridge we were on when I was so sweet to dad. I answered truthfully and said you mean the bridge dad almost killed us on. haha After that I developed an appreciation for panic attacks, so that’s good. I still hate that bridge though.

  4. 4.

    Roger Moore

    October 8, 2014 at 7:04 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    It’s called Mount Cockroach. I swayer!

    Shouldn’t that be “Mount Palmetto Bug”? And, FWIW, I can get in more elevation change without leaving my street than you can in your whole damn state.

  5. 5.

    Betty Cracker

    October 8, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    @JPL: Did your ex know that a freighter once ran into that bridge in a storm and knocked it down? And that several vehicles went into the abyss, including a Greyhound bus?

  6. 6.

    raven

    October 8, 2014 at 7:14 pm

    I had friends that had a place at New Smyrna Beach, close to this:

    Turtle Mound – Pile o’ Shells
    Standing roughly fifty feet tall, Turtle Mound is one of the largest shell middens on the Florida coast. In prehistoric times, it was at least seventy-five feet high. It is made up predominantly of oyster shells — the remains of a prehistoric civilization that existed five to six centuries before European contact. The mound was used by both later Indian groups and Spanish explorers as a lookout and navigational landmark during the 18th century. On September 29, 1970, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic

  7. 7.

    Karen in GA

    October 8, 2014 at 7:14 pm

    Iggy makes an offer.

  8. 8.

    JPL

    October 8, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    @Betty Cracker: No. From then on he was afraid of heights. It triggered something but I was really sweet and talking like you would to a panicked two year old. It was awful. He did thank me recently though because he was in the same position and somehow I gave him skills to overcome it.
    Once again it was awful. Funny though because one son remembers mom saving our ass and the other how sweet I was.

  9. 9.

    PsiFighter37

    October 8, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    Anyone else paying attention to the SD Senate race? I thought it was a goner for sure, but Rounds is tanking and both Pressler and Weiland are within striking distance. If either of them wins, that’s effectively a Democratic hold – crazy, given that that is a seat we’d basically conceded.

    South Dakota and Kansas – who woulda thunk those two states might save our bacon? And it seems like Nunn is making a bit of a push in Georgia, too…

  10. 10.

    Trollhattan

    October 8, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    Gonna be a sad day when oysters can no longer form shells, from which to build mounds upon which to escape the rising waters.

    I dub thee: “Irony Escape Mound.”

  11. 11.

    JPL

    October 8, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    @PsiFighter37: I think a pac needs to buy ad time for the libertarian in GA mentioning that Perdue took stimulus money.

  12. 12.

    PsiFighter37

    October 8, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    @JPL: Actually, I think the libertarian takes from both and increases the chance of a runoff – would rather see if Nunn can take a straight shot at it outright.

    The polls seem to be coming around for the Dems a bit – Iowa is already coming back to Braley, and I have faith that if push comes to shove, Landrieu will come through in the runoff.

    Should be interesting times in the Senate, especially if there are 4 independents there come January…

  13. 13.

    Mike in NC

    October 8, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    @PsiFighter37: The idiots at the US Chamber of Commerce are running an anti-Hagan ad that basically says “ISIS is coming to get you!”. Any gullible moron that falls for that was already going to vote Republican.

  14. 14.

    Iowa Old Lady

    October 8, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    @PsiFighter37: From your mouth to god’s ear.

  15. 15.

    OldDave

    October 8, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I was going to mention that the bridge JPL and crew drove over might be the current bridge’s predecessor, but holy cow, the ‘Summit Venture Disaster’ was in 1980. I just didn’t think it was that long ago. Time flies, fun or not.

  16. 16.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    @Roger Moore: I can get in more elevation change without leaving my street than you can in your whole damn state.

    See ya and raise ya: my driveway has more elevation than the whole state of Florida.

    In other news, if anyone has tried to get to my blog and failed: sorry about that. I’ve got people working on it.

    If you can help, please donate because it seems we need a new server.

    Update:

    Well, looks like things are WORSE than I thought… if you have PayPal I’m at:

    forthecats AT wayofcats DOT com

    What a week it has been. The kitties will appreciate any shekels you can provide.

  17. 17.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    October 8, 2014 at 7:33 pm

    So that’s the only part of your county that will be sticking up above sea level by 2100, huh? Better start fortifying it for occupation now.

  18. 18.

    JPL

    October 8, 2014 at 7:33 pm

    @PsiFighter37: She won’t get fifty percent which is what it takes in GA.

  19. 19.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 8, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    @OldDave: It actually is the current bridge’s predecessor. After the Summit Venture they eventually demolished the old bridge, and just left the approach sections as fishing piers from both sides.

  20. 20.

    Roger Moore

    October 8, 2014 at 7:38 pm

    @PsiFighter37:

    South Dakota and Kansas – who woulda thunk those two states might save our bacon? And it seems like Nunn is making a bit of a push in Georgia, too…

    This is something optimistic people were talking about quite a while ago. We thought there was a good chance that the Republicans would manage to blow winnable elections by being too crazy. The fundamentals are the most important factor in any election, but a truly bad candidate can lose even a winnable election.

  21. 21.

    carlweese

    October 8, 2014 at 7:40 pm

    I’m a lurker, hardly read comments, but this post makes me think you must be close to Ruskin, FL, where I spent a delightful artist-in-residence at the Fire House Cultural Center two years ago. Several of your shots have made me think you are near there. Anyway, sorry not to have met up when I was there. I love your posts on the front page.

  22. 22.

    PsiFighter37

    October 8, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    @Roger Moore: Well, to be fair, it’s more because Rounds might’ve been corrupt and Roberts is a lazy, inept fool – they aren’t even the craziest of the GOP nominees running…

  23. 23.

    tybee

    October 8, 2014 at 7:52 pm

    @Trollhattan:

    well, guess i better eat them all before they are killed by the acidification of the seas

    i’ll make the sacrifice. no need to thank me. just send horseradish and hot sauce.

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    October 8, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    I suppose that if we’re going to be moving, I should start packing my shit, huh?

    Also, too, my shrink got us a consultation with a professional organizer to take a look at the new place before we move in and make some organizational suggestions. I think of it as an anti-divorce vaccination. I sometimes find it difficult to live with someone who has ADHD and I’m the someone who has it.

  25. 25.

    PaulW

    October 8, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    @efgoldman:

    there’s a real mountain over at Bok Tower & Gardens. Don’t be dull.

  26. 26.

    PaulW

    October 8, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    I hate to sound like a mid-Atlantic transplant but why are cockroaches called palmetto bugs? I’ve lived in Florida since 1977 and my family’s always called em cockroaches.

  27. 27.

    tybee

    October 8, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    @PaulW:

    palmetto bug is the polite description for “the biggest fuckin’ cockroach you ever saw” and that doesn’t scare off the yanqi swamp land buyers as much as the BFCYES description does.

  28. 28.

    Mnemosyne

    October 8, 2014 at 8:04 pm

    @PaulW:

    I live in California. That’s not a mountain. This is a mountain.

    (And not even the biggest one around here, just one of the more accessible.)

  29. 29.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 8:30 pm

    @Mnemosyne: And this is the smallest mountain nearby. Actually, it’s RIGHT IN TOWN.

  30. 30.

    PurpleGirl

    October 8, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    @Mnemosyne: When I visited L.A. in 1976 and stayed with friends in Northridge, I could not get used to calling the ridges I saw mountains. There were no trees on these mountains. How the hell can you have treeless mountains. (NYS born and raised and used to the mountains here, such as Bear Mountains, the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and yes, farther upstate for Saranac Lake area, Lake Placid area, etc.)

  31. 31.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    @PurpleGirl: West Coasters like to tell me how tiny our mountains are… but that’s only because ours are so much older.

    Johnny-come-lately mountains, there on the West Coast.

  32. 32.

    PurpleGirl

    October 8, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    @WereBear: LOL

  33. 33.

    trollhattan

    October 8, 2014 at 8:44 pm

    @PurpleGirl:
    Fires every six months generally does the trick.

  34. 34.

    Roger Moore

    October 8, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    @WereBear:

    West Coasters like to tell me how tiny our mountains are… but that’s only because ours are so much older they are.

    FTFY. Most of the stuff you call mountains are glorified hills. They used to be mountains a long time ago, but they’ve been worn down to nubbins. As I like to say, we’ll let you Easterners call your things mountains if you let us call ours rivers.

    The San Gabriels are rugged as anything- John McPhee describes them as being the most rugged terrain in the lower 48- and they’re right outside town. It’s a bit under 9 miles from my front door to the top of Mt. Wilson, which Mnemosyne mentioned, and that’s by foot. It’s about half that as the crow flies, but ignoring the approximately 1 mile vertical difference.

  35. 35.

    satby

    October 8, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    @JPL: My mom was always a basket case driving on the Dan Ryan expressway after it was first built (“it’s a deathtrap” I believe her exact words were as she white-knuckled her way home). She moved to Florida 12 years ago, at 72, and developed a real leadfoot, love of expressway driving; and especially, a love of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. At 84, she still loves driving over it.

  36. 36.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 8:53 pm

    @Roger Moore: It’s my understanding that to “climb” a mountain in the Rockies, a westcoaster starts about halfway up…

    :)

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    October 8, 2014 at 8:54 pm

    @WereBear:

    Around here, we call that a foothill. ;-) Our tallest local peak, Mt. San Antonio (better known locally as Mt. Baldy) is over 10,000 feet.

  38. 38.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    @satby: Florida has roads that are straight as a string and flat as a pancake for miles and miles.

    As long as the gators stay off the roads, anyone could drive them.

  39. 39.

    mclaren

    October 8, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    Looks like Carcosa from the HBO series TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES.

    You need to live somewhere else.

  40. 40.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    @Mnemosyne: That foothill is a kid’s mountain. We do have Mount Marcy.

  41. 41.

    Roger Moore

    October 8, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    @PurpleGirl:

    How the hell can you have treeless mountains.

    It’s desert, that’s how. Trees around here tend to be restricted to the occasional stream bed and where there are people to water them. There’s a bit more precipitation when you get to higher elevations, so the taller mountains have trees, but they’re pretty chancy below about 3000-4000 feet.

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    October 8, 2014 at 9:00 pm

    @PurpleGirl:

    We have lots of trees on our mountains — see the Angeles National Forest. But they do have a tendency to catch fire and burn down, sadly.

  43. 43.

    Roger Moore

    October 8, 2014 at 9:05 pm

    @WereBear:

    It’s my understanding that to “climb” a mountain in the Rockies, a westcoaster starts about halfway up…

    And still has more climbing to do than they would back East.

  44. 44.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    @Roger Moore: True.

    Then again,

    we get to see a New England autumn from our mountains.

  45. 45.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    And we have lovely lakes which reflect the New England autumn color, so you get a two-fer.

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    October 8, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    @WereBear:

    We do have Mount Marcy.

    Which is shorter than Mt. Wilson and starts the climb from much higher up. Apparently people out West aren’t the only ones who start their hikes from halfway up the mountain.

  47. 47.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    @Roger Moore: Yes.

    We suffer so.

  48. 48.

    Denali

    October 8, 2014 at 9:37 pm

    @WereBear,

    From the former Marcy Dam area, I suspect. So beautiful there.

  49. 49.

    WereBear

    October 8, 2014 at 9:40 pm

    @Denali: Good call!

  50. 50.

    Ronzoni Rigatoni

    October 8, 2014 at 10:20 pm

    @Betty Cracker: That was the old bridge, remnants of which remain as fishing piers. I was living in Palmetto when that happened.

  51. 51.

    Mnemosyne

    October 9, 2014 at 1:19 am

    @WereBear:

    We get our color with the spring wildflowers. And in some places, just California poppies as far as the eye can see.

    It’s a hard life out here. ;-)

  52. 52.

    AnotherBruce

    October 9, 2014 at 1:59 am

    @Roger Moore: John McPhee has never been to the North Cascades.

  53. 53.

    LAllen

    October 9, 2014 at 8:24 am

    I went over the old bridge as a youngster. The bus that went over was a charter from a university in Alabama, Tuskegee I think. In the 80s I took my family over the new one, southbound. I drove back around the bay through Apollo Beach rather do it it again.

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