From the Publisher
May 2024
For years my office has had people send images from all over the world holding a Nautical Mile. I’ve got a friend in Germany that flies for Lufthansa who is in a different country every day. He often brings a copy with him and leaves it with a local. He even snaps shots from the cockpit while flying over European destinations. This month I got one from contributing writer Mark Rackay in Colorado, friends from Ft. Worth, the owner of L&S Bait, which is MirrOlure, and a YouTube star, Deputy Frank Sloup from Arizona.
People who scroll YouTube videos have most likely seen “Friday’s With Frank.” It’s a series of episodes with an Arizona traffic cop who has priceless experiences with the public to a point of having almost a million followers on his YouTube channel. Last month they celebrated their 100th episode. I recently found out Frank & I were born in the same place, plus he spends a lot of time fishing in Florida. There may be more to this story soon.
A while back I got a complaint about my column not being a place for political comments, along with a subliminal threat involving our advertisers. Only one complaint in 21 years, but I believe any complaint should be addressed. I put together a “politically correct” response to be published here, then he added how he didn’t want his name mentioned because my “followers” may track him down and harass him. Obviously a response was a waste of time.
If you have a problem with anyone, try communicating like a grown up as opposed to sending threatening notes from your “safe place” behind a glass screen. When grown-ups communicate, relationships form, as opposed to ongoing bitterness on both sides. This could have easily ended with me buying lunch and both of us laughing about it.
Today you can’t say “Butterfly” without someone hoisting a political red flag. Our water quality issues are political, should our contributing writers avoid the topic? Fishing regulations are political, should they never be discussed? Online shopping is political. This complaint was political. My response is political. Bob More wrote a great article this month about missing slow zone signs. Should it be rejected because slow zones are considered political by some? Politics are woven into every facet of our life today.
We live in a country where if you get into college illegally, you’re kicked out, but if you enter the country illegally, you get free college. But it’s political, so we can’t talk about it. We have mail in voting, but we don’t have mail in drug tests. But that’s political, so we can’t talk about it. We live in a state overwhelmed with water pollution issues and groups claiming to be fighting for us get to enjoy steak dinners, travel, new trucks and nice hotels paid for by donors thinking their money was helping water quality. THIS is political, so we can’t talk about it. We live in a world where a 5-year old can’t choose their own bed-time yet they can decide what gender they want to be, and if anyone wants to talk about it, it’s political and they’re even called a racist.
We live in a world where BILLIONS of dollars go overseas while our own Veterans are denied the same healthcare illegal aliens get for free. This is political, so we can’t talk about it. We live in a world where President Clinton can pay hush money, but President Trump cannot, and we can’t talk about it. We live in a world where men & women in our military, fighting for our freedoms, were fired for not taking the “jab,” the one where whether you take it or not you may or may not die from a virus. The one where millions didn’t take it yet never got sick. The one where death rates drastically decreased long before the so called ”vaccine” was even available nationwide? Yes, that’s the “jab” I’m referring to. Thousands of illegal immigrants and known terrorists have crossed our borders UNVACCINATED, and if someone complains about it, their comments are labeled as discriminatory and political, so we can’t talk about it.”
Had I made comments this guy agreed with I wouldn’t have gotten a complaint. So who’s the one being political? I say No-Bueno for the same reason America doesn’t negotiate with terrorists. This is far from terrorism, but the same rule applies- If you let a dictator have 1, they’d want 2. If they get 2, they’d want 3. And so on... At the same time, I agree with this guy, the publisher’s column of a coastal publication doesn’t need to include politics. But who decides what’s political and what’s not? The “Dear Abby” column is not news, yet it’s in a “newspaper.”
I’ve spent a lifetime donating to charities, volunteering with non-profit groups, reading books to kids at daycare centers, mentoring teens with deadbeat parents, fostering needy animals, transporting medical patients to doctor appointments, I’ve donated thousands of dollars of page-space to charitable events, and I built a media business based on information as opposed to overselling advertising space which has cost myself a ton of money over the past 20+ years. I have some occasional fun with political comments that people with an IQ over .07 agree with, and someone with their easily offended cohorts have no other purpose in life but to complain about it. Perhaps Coastal Angler Magazine would be a better fit for those who don’t appreciate Nautical Mile’s flavor and variety. Have you ever wondered why their “Lee County” edition disappeared years ago.
Moving on…. We had over 300 new people subscribe to our monthly newsletter in April. We use this to promote nautical events like boat shows and seafood festivals. We focus on SW Florida happenings but also include popular statewide shows and events from the Everglades Seafood Festival to the Nautical Market held at Founders Park in Islamorada.
Divers, or even occasional snorkeling enthusiasts, have a look at Capt. Pete’s annual tent sale, page 9. I spent some time with Capt. Pete last month updating my snorkel gear. I’m in the Keys regularly and enjoy a quick dip at one of the many hidden blue-water holes on the roadside which were once a rock quarry many of the buildings in the Keys were made from. Capt. Pete educated me about new products, pros & cons, and hooked me up with new gear. What’s the advantage of the mask’s glass being close or far from your face? Why are some mask frames clear while some are black? Why are some fins longer than others? I live on the tip of an island and enjoy being able to have products delivered to my doorstep, but Amazon can’t offer the education I got directly from Pete. I’ll be in the Keys this month and can’t wait to try out my new gear.
Be safe on the water, be kind to animals, and please, send in your political complaints for a chance to win a participation trophy!
Jim Griffiths
Publisher, Nautical Mile
Publisher, Destination Pine Island
Author, "Don't Tell Me I Can't Do It"