Refusing Service

I have my own religious beliefs, and while I may *wish* that others were of a similar mindset, I would never think to impose my beliefs on others, particularly if the other person has no expectation of a confrontation. If I wander into someone else's church, I am fair game for persuasive discussion. What I do not understand is why normally sensible people think they can bully someone into changing their viewpoint. Even if the other person caved and agreed, everyone knows that is not from the heart - the change is not sincere. This goes for the (so-called) Islamic State, but also closer to home.

I read a news report "Kentucky Clerk Sued Over Marriage Licenses - 
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis states that her Christian beliefs prevented her from complying with the decision, so she opted to not issue any more licenses to couples regardless of their orientation."


This goes far beyond simply making a point If gay marriage is such a major insult to your belief system, find another job. Will you refuse to update civil records (or whatever else county clerks do) if one partner in a same-sex marriage changes the last name to that of the other partner? It seems to me that you can no longer do your job, so move on.


This line of thinking can spread beyond a county clerk, or even beyond the marriage issue. There are other religious tenets regarding marriage.

So if I am an Orthodox Jew or observant Catholic or Muslim, I can deny marriage licenses where one party is Jewish/Catholic/Muslim and the other is not? Not necessarily forbidden (the Bible does not specifically *forbid* same-sex marriage either) but frowned upon by those religions.

Divorce and remarriage without an annulment is against Catholic Canon Law, so I won't issue licenses to anyone who is divorced.

My church teaches that the purpose of marriage is procreation, therefore I won't issue a marriage license to the elderly.

I am a grocery store cashier, and I won't sell you bacon because my religion forbids pork.

I am a grocery store cashier, and I won't sell you coffee because I am Mormon.

You'll need to ask another waitress for a glass of wine because alcohol is evil and I won't serve it.

This can go on and on. If your job is a publicly-paid position, such as a county clerk, then you don't get to choose which laws you will comply with or which job duties you will perform. If you are in a job which serves the public, then completing the duties of the job is a requirement.

Now, churches are a different matter altogether. Churches have always restricted their sacraments to their members in good standing. Religious institutions should be able to decide how to apply their tenets to their members.

Private businesses are where things get tricky. I don't have a problem with the Hobby Lobby decision IF:

• Hobby Lobby gets no government perks or tax breaks from the public as a whole.
• The employees knew upon hire that certain medications/procedures were excluded from their health care.
• The employees NEVER had access to this coverage (as in their insurance coverage did not change).

In some respects, this is no different from a restaurant owner declining to sell alcohol or pork in the first place because those items violate the owner's religious beliefs. There are plenty of local businesses here in the South which are closed on Sundays. Not a change - it's always been that way. Everyone here knows Chick-fil-A will be closed on Sundays. Employees know this upon hire that they won't work on Sundays regardless of their own personal beliefs. I'm ok with health insurance limitations as long as applicants understand this from the beginning, and it was not available before then suddenly taken away due to new ownership. 



This type of service refusal, in the name of religion, is just nasty and in conflict with Christian teaching, and probably everyone else's as well. People can't be bullied into seeing another point of view.

South Under Seige?

Two major Supreme Court decisions in the past week, both against the conservative right. Lots of kerfuffle about the Confederate flag recently as well. By listening to the media, one would think the entire South was up in arms. But at work, while shopping, and while seeing the neighbors, all I've heard on the topic is silence. It seems, to the folks around here, that these are non-issues.
Now, of course many Southerners don't exactly include Florida when they talk about Southern Culture, but up here in Jacksonville we tend to refer to the area a South Georgia, so I'd think *this* area counts. It still seems these are non-issues.

When I speak to co-workers in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi....nothing. And we *do* chat about happenings in the world now and then.

Florida still has the Largest Confederate Flag. 

The mayor of Tamps would like it removed now, though it is not within city limits. A news article notes "Ultimately it will come down to a vote in South Carolina, and as the House considers the governor's call to remove the flag, people in other states are weighing in on their own policies. Here in Tampa, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said there's not much city leaders can do about a large Confederate flag that flies high above Interstate 4 near I-75, but he hopes that one day it will make its way into a museum. "We can add our voices and ask them to look at the conscience and look at their soul and recognize what a hateful symbol that is of a dark chapter in America's history- and recognize that people are offended by that, people are hurt by that," he said. The flag is the largest Confederate flag in the world and it's part of a Confederate memorial on private property, which complies with county codes. And the owner said when he built it he would not give in to critics."

It's nice to know that, around here, regardless of private opinions, nobody seems to want to push the ideas of promoting the Confederate flag, opposing gay marriage, or having millions (a LOT of them in the South) lose their health insurance. Real people can see the bigger picture, unlike many politicians and a lot of the media.

Clouds

Clouds in Florida are really cool. They help to form beautiful sunrises and stunning sunsets. 

The most common cloud along the coastal vicinity in north Florida, at least, is the Cumulonimbus calvus. Wikipedia says:"Cumulonimbus calvus is a moderately tall cumulonimbus cloud which is capable of precipitation, but has not yet reached the tropopause, which is the height of stratospheric stability where it forms into a Cumulonimbus Capillatus (fibrous-top) or cumulonimbus incus (anvil-top)."

WiseGEEK says "As the sun warms the ground, air begins to rise into the atmosphere. If enough humidity or water vapor is present, clouds can form. Cumulonimbus formation begins with smaller cumulus clouds, which do not indicate severe weather. If the rising air continues to push upward, the cumulus clouds can rise to towering cumulus, with heights of tens of thousands of feet or meters. The formation of rain drops releases heat, and enough energy can be generated to form an increasingly large cloud. When lightning begins to occur, a cumulonimbus cloud has developed, and a thunderstorm is now present. Thunderstorms can occur as a single cloud formation, often called an air mass storm or isolated cell. They can also be lined up along a frontal boundary, which is the line between a warmer, moist air mass and a colder, dry air system. These lines of storms are often called squall line storms, and can create severe weather."

Florida has regular summer afternoon storms, which tend to last only a half hour or less. They haven't hit yet (though the heat certainly has) but the clouds tell us they are on their way. 

I love watching the clouds here.

Heat

Heat

It’s hot. Really hot. As I write this it is 97 degrees here in Jacksonville, though it topped out at 99 when I peeked earlier. It was so hot I didn’t even get this posted until Monday. 

The average high temp in June is ‘only’ 90, with the lows usually dipping all the way down to 70. This week, we’ll top 100 most days, and some won’t get out of the 80’s at night.

Last Friday my boss and I went out to find some of our drivers on route and give them a cold Gatorade or water. Those poor guys were melted, and it was ‘only’ 95 that day. We’ll both be going out separately this week doing the same thing. It’s hard to remind our guys if they are breaking a safety rule when it is this oppressively hot, but that’s part of the job as well.

It’s going to be cooler way south in Fort Myers and West Palm this week – what gives?

Lawns and Grass

Lawns in Florida are weird. Everyone has this weird grass that looks suspiciously close to what we called "crabgrass' back home. It has these fat 'vine' runners which will cover your driveway of you don't have a bladed edger. See the ads for weed whips which can pivot and edge your lawn? Not against this 'grass.'

Grasses grown in Florida are maintained in a totally different way from those grown in the northern regions of the United States. Northern-grown grasses (e.g., fescue, bluegrass, ryegrass) will grow in Florida only during fall, winter, and early spring months, and will not survive year-round.

Most southern lawn grasses have a coarser leaf texture than those grown further north, especially Florida's three most-used lawn grasses: bahiagrass, St. Augustine grass, and centipede grass. I think I have centipede grass, though it seems even St. Augustine grass has the vine-y runners.

From a lawn & garden maintenance company:'Improved Bermudagrass is a high maintenance turf, due to the requirements and amount of care needed for it be at its best. When used as a home lawngrass, it is recommended having a professional lawn care company to maintain it properly. When maintained correctly it is a beautiful turfgrass, homeowners use it for that “golf course look”.'

You don't want to lie down on this grass - not only are there fire ants and other nasties, but the grass is rough and sometimes even sharp. Not fun. The only 'plus' is that while up north folks don't need to mow since the grass is under snow, you also don't mow in the 'winter' in north Florida because that's the 'dry' season and the grass goes dormant. In the summer, sometimes mowing weekly does not keep up with some of the weeds. Especially in spring, they pop up and send flowers shooting up knee-high even while the grass is just waking up.

Oh well, at least we 'do' have a dormant season, unlike the lawns in south Florida.

Coastal Bounty

Ah, fish for dinner. And lunch. Some folks here have it for breakfast but I’m not quite there yet. Fresh fish is not necessarily a benefit of living in the South, per se, but rather a benefit of living near a coast. Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle all have great fish without being anywhere near the south. But here I am, in Florida. It’s pretty hard to live and Florida and NOT be near a coast (‘Near’ being relative, I understand). Now that my husband has joined me we’ve been on a bit of a quest. I’ve always been a red-meat gal, and I would still go out of my way for a good steak, but lately I’ve been craving fish. I've used 'fisherman' photos for scale.

I’ve had most of these, and they are by no means all which are available, but I *have* encountered all of these fish on menus in the South. I’m referring to ocean fish here, which you can’t reliably get with decent quality in the Midwest (unless you pay high prices at a fancy restaurant).

Since I’ve moved to Florida, I’ve tried fresh pompano, grouper, tilefish, sheepshead, red drum, dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi) and triggerfish. I’ve seen amberjack and fresh red snapper on menus and spotted snook in a fish case once. And eel, though I don’t know if it was ‘local-caught.’ 

Up north, for typical dining you are mainly limited to walleye, whitefish (usually from Lake Superior), lake perch, and northern pike. There are innumerable panfish, though you don’t often see them on restaurant menus or in the fish case, as is the situation with bass and muskie. You eat those when you catch them yourself. You may notice in the photo that some of these fish require ice fishing, a wonderful experience unknown in Florida.

I’ve really developed an appreciation for a hearty slab of fish, simply prepared (usually pan-fired or broiled – never deep fried) and when I was in Wisconsin earlier this month I ordered Walleye just to keep my fish consumption at my usual pace. We may move back to the Midwest, where some of these fish will be simply unavailable, but for now we are chomping our way through the bounty of the coastal waters.

Tour of Wisconsin

Ah, Wisconsin. My friend. The visit to IL was a trip home, but Wisconsin involved quite a tour, from the Milwaukee area to nearly Minnesota. I have always loved Wisconsin, and spending so much time seeing both the familiar and the new sights really hit home.

I saw Necedah Wildlife Refuge, with bald eagles, great egrets, and sandhill cranes spotted. Tomah with its Ocean Spray plant and the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, near Black River Falls. 

All the way, due to poor planning on my part, I was relegated to local radio, but it turned out to be fascinating. Most of my drive to and from Eau Claire I was listening to a show called Central Time, on Wisconsin Public Radio. The only other options were miscellaneous music, which went out of range quickly, but WPR has an overlapping map so I could tune a bit and pick it up again. I heard stories about bees, the bird flu in the chicken flocks in Juneau County, extra-aged cheddar cheese, and discussing how much time the governor spends out of state.

In  the South, you eat catfish and banana pudding. In Wisconsin, you eat walleye and cheese curds.

I see bald eagles, cranes, and egrets in both places, but they simply are more special up north because they are less common. And robins. I have yet to see a robin in Florida, even though I am on the border between the wintering and breeding range. I was so happy to see robins up north. Florida is quite flat (outside of the panhandle) but near the Wisconsin Dells area there are large rock formations along the Wisconsin River.

I'm still adjusting to life in the South, but after 2 1/2 years, I'm not doing it alone. Hopefully I can move forward and not look back quite so much. But in the end, I plan to return to the land of snow and robins.