You think Minnesota has problems? You should see what's going on here in Florida.
Back in 1992, Hurricane Andrew brought to Florida a massive wave of illegal immigrants. No, not people. Iguanas. The green iguana is an invasive species that has been devastating South Florida's flora and fauna ever since. Plus, what other state includes a "Falling Iguanas Warning" in its weather forecasts? In cold weather, the heavy, cold-blooded beasts go comatose and start falling out of trees, and woe to person, pet, or car standing in their way.
Sunday and Monday, the State has lifted their prohibition on transporting live iguanas, hoping people will join in a massive effort to round up the reptiles up for deportation while they are less capable of resisting.
Officials say the order allows people to remove green iguanas from private property with landowner permission, or from commission-managed lands in South and Southwest Florida, and deliver them directly to designated FWC offices.
Not that this is something you casually pick up off your neighbor's lawn and throw into the back of your pickup truck.
They said iguanas must be placed in a sealed, escape-proof cloth bag and then secured inside a locked container labeled “prohibited reptiles.” Bags must remain closed until transferred to FWC [Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission] staff. FWC also advises wearing protective gloves, long sleeves and pants when handling iguanas. Collected animals should be transported immediately to reduce the risk of escape.
Florida and Minnesota may be far apart both geographically and politically, but this weekend I believe the Sunshine State would be happy to join the North Star State in an anti-ICE protest. I can't remember when we had our last hard freeze. We did once go camping with the Indian Princesses when the temperatures hit the mid-20's—but I think that was some 30 years ago.
Permalink | Read 179 times
Category Hurricanes and Such: [first] [previous] Just for Fun: [first] [previous] [newest]
Clarification for those from other states: The term "Florida Ice" usually refers to that treacherous film that appears when a light rain hits roads that have been dry for some time and have accumulated oil and other nastiness from the passing traffic. I once laughed at "crazy Florida drivers" because of the spike in auto accidents during a gentle rain. But the problem is more the people from cold climes who haven't yet learned that this situation can be even more dangerous than ice, because there are no visual cues that the pavement might be slick.
This morning, having awakened to a temperature of 27 degrees and falling, we could have actual ice on the roads—caused not by precipitation, which isn't in the forecast, but by water runoff from sprinkler systems left on overnight to keep them from freezing.
When my family moved from Upstate New York to the Philadelphia area, my father would shake his head at the locals because they referred to temperatures in the 20's as "bitterly cold."
The other day, my New Hampshire granddaughter, who had been walking to school in conditions of single digit temperatures and wind, looked at the thermometer one morning and exclaimed, "Twenty-five! It's warm!"
Experience and perspective matter in all of life. Today, I'm going with "bitterly cold."
I wonder how far apart Florida and Minnesota actually are. Both seem to have a pretty strong “Don’t tread on me” mentality.
You have a good point. Just how powerful a federal government must be in order to hold together a country of individual states has been a contentious issue from our very beginning.
It also brings to mind that the greatest divide in our country is not from state to state, but between rural and urban areas.
