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Jimbalaya
Doggies do what they have to do
By JIM HARRINGTON
Article published on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 |
This little bit of news from the city of Clearwater – call it a scoop, if you will – reminds me of something that happened a long time ago. I was taking my Yorkie, Snuggles, for his daily walk around the block.
Snuggles, like most doggies, likes to sniff things, especially mailbox posts, street signs and well ... everything.
With that in mind, the scoop from Clearwater reminds folks to pick up your doggie’s waste lest it turns into pollution and contaminates the environment by finding itself into lakes and streams and, of course, the ocean. I carry a doggie-do pick up thing so that my hands and those of my neighbors don’t have to contact the stuff.
Anyway, Snuggles soon found a perfect spot to tinkle, which was a patch of my neighbor’s freshly planted flowers at the foot of the lot.
I didn’t notice it, but while we continued our walk I saw my neighbor watching me and he didn’t look very happy.
I decided to politely confront him about whatever was on his mind. I really had no idea what he was upset about.
He scolded me for letting my dog urinate on his plants.
Frankly, I was a little perturbed myself. I thought, this is what dogs do and, after all, the plants at the foot of the lot are on public property. But in the interest of being neighborly, I apologized and promised him that we will avoid his yard in the future.
The moral of the story is that some things are good for the environment. And some things are good for peaceful affairs.
I like what Andy Rooney reportedly said once:
“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
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Speaking of the environment, have you heard that Gov. Crist has made tremendous advances to go green?
Obviously, it’s the right thing to do and something which the previous administration might not have emphasized.
But let’s get real and practical.
Manufacturers are now coming out with dishwashers and washing machines that supposedly save water and thus, the environment. It’s innovating and I like it.
But are we really helping matters when our jeans and stained shirts aren’t getting clean?
It ridicules the whole idea of doing the green thing when you have to wash your load twice.
Some of these machines use a hot mist, rather than mere water to wet the laundry.
My opinion about these sorts of washing machines goes like this. If I have to clean my clothes twice because the washing machine doesn’t do it right the first time, I might as well wear them for a second day, stinky and all.
We have to use common sense.
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Largo was in the news recently on the tail of the state Legislature’s plans to lower property taxes.
I have mixed feelings about the news that a super majority, five City Commissioners, have decided to go along and stand firm in their opposition to the rest of the community’s pain. Instead of giving the residents a tax break by lowering the millage rate, the city will buck the state's plans to cut property taxes.
I love the idea, though, that they’re standing firm on something, once again, and taking an incredible amount of heat for it. (Remember a few months ago when the commission fired the city manager?)
But, it seems to me that everybody wants some relief from their skyrocketing property taxes. Why couldn’t they find something else to stand resolute on?
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Been across any major bridges recently? That gorgeous bridge, the Memorial Causeway Bridge in North Pinellas, offers breathtaking views of the beach and Clearwater’s downtown, and stands as a beautiful piece of architecture.
I especially enjoy looking at it from the staircase at the Clearwater Main Library.
But, when I think about the Minnesota bridge collapse and the 1980 Sunshine Skyway disaster, it makes me wonder, if just for an itsy-bitsy second, is this thing built solidly.
The ancients had a curious way of disciplining engineers and architects whose creations caused one death, even if it was unintentional. (Bridges? Hah! We’re talking two-story structures back then.)
They executed them.
Now, I’m not at all thinking that we should do anything that drastic to our designers, but it makes you wonder whether we’re providing sufficient oversight of these engineering firms.
Just a thought.
Jim Harrington is the editor of the Largo Leader, Clearwater Citizen.
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Article published on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007
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