Florida Keys is the Perfect Place to Go Fishing

Do you know how many different species of fish there are? No? It’s cool. I don’t really know either. But I do know that my late husband really enjoyed saltwater fishing. He said he didn’t care too much for freshwater fish. Since I didn’t really know that much about fish, one way or the other, I figured it was just his personal preference. Fish is fish. What’s the big difference? You make the same dish whether the fish is from freshwater or saltwater. Right? Wrong!

Anderson Witherell is the Director of Marketing at a business called The Fish Guys, Inc. According to Mr. Witherell, the Americans are not actually much of a fish eater, therefore, American people do not know much about fish. “Everyone has his or her own preference about eating or not eating fish,” he says.

Well, my late husband was from The Bahamas and Bahamians know their fish. I am American and had never noticed before but one time my husband went fishing with a friend. Instead of driving to the Florida Keys where my husband did most of his fishing, his friend took him to another fishing spot. As was his custom, my husband came home with his catch, he cleaned them, and prepared them for our dinner. I was shocked! I asked my husband where did he go fishing and why did the fish taste so different from the fish he usually brings home? He remarked, “Oh this is freshwater fish!” There was a definite difference in the taste; and saltwater fish is a lot tastier, in my opinion. So even though I may not know how many different species of fish there are, my palette can surely make the distinction between saltwater and freshwater fish.

When we moved from Florida to other cities in the United States (Damascus and Gaithersburg, Maryland; El Paso and Austin, Texas), my husband could not easily go fishing any more. We had to buy whatever was available at the local grocery store. It’s not that the store didn’t sell saltwater fish. The selection was pretty good. But the fish was so expensive! From that point forward, we didn’t eat fish for dinner very often. Nowadays I buy frozen tilapia. The fish filets come is individual vacuum sealed bags. You just take a couple out of the freezer and prepare a quick meal for yourself. It’s nourishing and filling but I really do miss the catches my husband used to bring home.

Most of the time my husband brought home red snappers, yellow jacks, grouper, and trout. Key West and the Florida Keys are known for the abundance of fish and the variety is amazing. There is tarpon, sharks, barracuda, mackerel, wahoo, and mahi-mahi just to name a few more. Many people either owned their own boat or they would charter a boat to go fishing. We couldn’t afford either so my husband would fish off the Seven Mile Bridge. Let me share a little history with you about this bridge. I’ll start by telling you there’s the old bridge and then there’s the modern bridge which is the longest bridge in the Florida Keys that has been standing since 1982. But it’s old bridge that has all of the interesting history and that’s the bridge where my husband used to go.

While you’re driving on the new bridge you can see the remains of the old bridge. This bridge was built by a wealthy businessman named Henry Morrison Flagler. People told him he couldn’t do it. But he did it! It’s was a marvelous feat of engineering. People labeled the bridge the “Eighth Wonder of the World’’. People are so easily impressed. Mother Nature, on the other hand, is not! Labor Day 1935, an unnamed Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the United States at that time, struck the Florida Keys, Key West, and Miami, Florida. (NOTE: I say “at that time” because several named hurricanes such as Camille, Gilbert, Wilma, and Andrew have come after.) But when the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 hit, it was … Bye Bye bridge! The bridge was destroyed along with several other man made structures. After the hurricane, the Old Seven Mile Bridge started being used by pelicans and great blue herons for perching and by humans for fishing. There are plans to restore this bridge and the project completion date is set for December 2021.

Have you ever gone fishing in the Florida Keys? Perhaps now that you know this interesting history, when you do go, you’ll appreciate and enjoy the fish you catch even more.

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The Benefits of Space Exploration

A satellite is a celestial body that revolves around a planet. Moon is the earth’s satellite. Saturn has 82 satellites. Humans also have made artificial satellites. The purpose of these artificial satellites is to the orbit around the planet, gather information, and send the information in visual form back to the earth. Scientists then analyze and study the information to understand the planet better.

The Beginnings of Space Exploration

• In October 1957, the Russians (their country known then as the U.S.S.R. or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into space.
• Determined not to be outdone or left behind, the USA or the United States of America launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, in January 1958.

It was the Americans who discovered the Van Allen radiation belts, two concentric rings of energetic particles surrounding Earth. The inner belt is composed of protons, and the outer belt is composed of electrons. James Van Allen was the scientist who supervised not only the design of the instruments which collected the data, but the study of the radiation data which was gathered. In 2018, NASA celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the launching of Explorer 1.

January 1958 was a historic month and year in the history of space exploration but it was in July 1969 when American astronaut Neil A. Armstong became the first human to set foot on the moon.

The Progress of Space Exploration

Star Trek is Fiction

Since the 1950s, those who have engaged in space exploration set out to accomplish many goals. The popular television series, Star Trek, which made its debut September 1966, may have led many to believe that the goal was “To boldly go where no one has gone before!” and “to explore strange new worlds.” But the reality is that from the late 1950s to the present day 2020, human life or humanoid life or any life form on other planets have never been found and likely never will be. None of the other planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto ~ are suitable for sustaining human life. These are the conclusions reached by scientists who have thoroughly investigated information and data collected by means of satellites, and also acquired as a result of numerous lunar and planetary missions, using both manned and unmanned spacecraft.

Space Research Yields Facts

In fact, the myriad goals of space exploration, right from the very start, were primarily for the purpose of improving our life ON planet Earth. Although there are some scientists who are committed to researching whether or not certain planets can be colonized, or at minimum, whether the soil on other planets can be used to grow food for we earthlings.

Their commitment, while it may be futile (my opinion), is understandable. After all, the cries and warnings of the environmentalists and the preservationists are not being heeded. The resources of the Earth are not unlimited. They paint a bleak picture of the future of life on Earth. That’s why there are so many books and movies depicting what life would be like for humans living in a post-apocalyptic world. Those committed scientists have reasoned and rightly so, that it doesn’t really take much to keep us alive. All we need is nonpoisonous food, breathable air, and drinkable water. How hard can it be to truly create a Class-M planet? To quote George Bernard Shaw: “Imagination is the beginning of creation.” So? I guess. If you can imagine it; it can become a reality. Right?

But so far, none of the other places in the universe that have been explored have the air and water that we need. So some scientists reason that perhaps these planets have dirt! There are edible plants that do not require a lot of oxygen or sunlight to grow. It could be worth further examination.

The Benefits of Space Exploration

• Even though there are those who are still waiting in anticipation and hoping that one day we will make “first contact” with “new worlds”, many of the scientific endeavors related to space exploration have yielded numerous benefits for the world we live in.
• Communication satellites were used to enable remotely located or isolated communities to listen to the radio and watch television, and learn about the world, albeit on the same planet, beyond their borders.
• Space-based sensors help predict the weather and forecast hurricanes and the movement of other storms, warning people ahead of time so that they can gather a few survival essentials and seek shelter.
• High-intensity flashlights which were originally developed for use on spacecraft to imitate sunlight are also used for search-and-rescue missions and even by campers to spend the night in the woods.

Space exploration has provided valuable information and helped us develop a knowledge and understanding of the natural processes that regularly occur on Earth. The application of space technology has improved our daily everyday life in so many ways.

But at what price?

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