CURB DANGEROUS AND NOISY USE OF FIREWORKS

THE CITY OF MIAMI MUST PROTECT QUALITY OF LIFE

A simple progression of warning, then confiscating explosives, then issuing tickets and ultimately arrest – would give people time to change their behavior without suffering dire consequences on the first offense.

Independence Day weekend is approaching.

I dread it, because I will get only a few hours of sleep on July 2, 3, 4, 5…

Fun can be had without detonating illegal, dangerous explosives into the wee hours.

I sincerely hope our Mayor, Commissioners, City Manager and police can tame this beast and improve our quality of life.

CURB DANGEROUS AND NOISY USE OF FIREWORKS

THE CITY OF MIAMI MUST PROTECT QUALITY OF LIFE

Many people are elderly or have a disability.

Many take medications that create noise sensitivity.

Most of us work for a living and cannot suffer with a noise from dusk till 3 a.m. for three or more nights leading up to and including July 4, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Little to no sleep, for days on end, three holiday time per year, negatively impacts health.

To restore tranquility while acknowledging some partying, I suggest a compromise.

Even though most of these dangerous explosives are illegal, have “suspend the rules” period twice per year.

From 10 pm. to 12:30 am. on July 4 and Dec. 31 – people can set off all the fireworks and noise makers they want.

The police will not intercede.

All other times outside those two “immunity” windows, the police must go to the offending homes.

 

CURB DANGEROUS AND NOISY USE OF FIREWORKS

THE CITY OF MIAMI MUST PROTECT QUALITY OF LIFE

For more than a decade, I have rescued dozens of cats by getting them trapped, neutered and released so they cannot add to the stray population.

Some live inside and others in houses that I have built for them.

The cats suffer with the noise.

Some have ran away, never to return.

Any vet or pet owner can verify that hours of loud fireworks are torture for dozens of kinds of house pets.

I understand that people stay up till midnight on New Year’s Eve.

I can put up with the sound of folks talking to each other at the backyard barbecue.

I understand that Dec. 31, I will hear music playing past bedtime.

I will tolerate it, so long as it is not thundering at South Beach nightclub level.

But night after night of noise that sounds like military artillery?

No, that is not appropriate for any place.

 

 

CURB DANGEROUS AND NOISY USE OF FIREWORKS

THE CITY OF MIAMI MUST PROTECT QUALITY OF LIFE

The fireworks noise must stop.

It is abusive.

Endless noise -- that terrorizes pets and triggers PTSD in humans -- is not essential to celebrating a holiday. 

My house is old with thick cement block for an exterior.

It has noise-insulating impact glass in all windows.

None of that holds up to be bombardment that denies sleep.

I have purchased white noise machines and turned them up to the max.

I have tried earplugs and noise canceling headphones.

None of it comes close to canceling out the terrifying artillery noises.

CURB DANGEROUS AND NOISY USE OF FIREWORKS

THE CITY OF MIAMI MUST PROTECT QUALITY OF LIFE

In most of the nation, the noise and terror for pets is limited to July 4.

Because of the warm winters, people fire them off on Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Miami.

Shenandoah is one of dozens of neighborhoods where the ear-splitting bombardment has gotten out of hand.

When I first moved here nearly a quarter of a century ago, the noise was roughly limited to about 9 p.m. till 12:30 a.m. on July 4 and Dec. 31.

Now, it takes place from a dusk till 3 a.m. on Independence Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

People also fire off hundreds of these noisemakers – long past midnight -- for days leading up to each holiday.

 

 

 

 

CURB DANGEROUS AND NOISY USE OF FIREWORKS

THE CITY OF MIAMI MUST PROTECT QUALITY OF LIFE

I have proudly lived in Miami’s historic Shenandoah neighborhood for 24 years – pouring a good chunk of my life’s savings into restoring, repairing and maintaining a 100-year-old home just blocks south of Calle Ocho.

Most of the year, I have great neighbors in a great neighborhood close to everything.

But there are two times when life is unbearable.

Miami people love to shoot off fireworks and set off illegal explosive devices – firecrackers, cherry bombs, M-80s, etc. – on holidays.

Virtually none of these explosives are legal for home use and each year they cause many deaths and serious injuries around the nation.

 

 

THE HOLIDAYS ARE ABOUT FAMILY

CATS ARE OUR FAMILY

HoneyBear

Little Havana has a lot of good things going for it, but one of the down sides is that it has to be one of Miami’s most-favored place by cruel people dumping unwanted pets.

We turned bad behavior into great opportunity.

Now, for nearly a decade, we have gotten dozens of cats into Miami-Dade County’s Trap/Neuter/Release program that helps cut down on the population of feral cats.

We have adopted HoneyBear, our Siamese mature cat that lives inside 24/7, divides her days between our work from home stations and spends a good bit of the night in my bed.

We have built outdoor houses, plus feeding and watering stations, for dozens of cats.

We currently have four main cats that spend most of their time on our small urban lot.

Moe is a shy Tuxie. Ginger is a ginger cat that is everyone's mom and caregiver.

CoCo Kitty is HoneyBear's Tortie daughter, too feral to want to be picked up or brought in to live with mom.

Baby is our newest love.

Sadly, his love and trust that allowed us to take him to the vet -- produced a blood test result that indicates he has feline leukemia.

He’s very healthy, a still growing not quite one-year-old boy, but we need to monitor things.

Baby spends a good chunk of the day with us inside while we continue to work from home.

He has just enough wild in him that he cries to go out at night.

We focus on the love we share with Baby and the good shelter and care we give to all the cats that pass through our lives.

Baby

For the full story, visit:

https://stevewright-1964.medium.com/the-holidays-are-about-families-86260835b245

RONNIE THE CAT

MY GOOD FRIEND IN NEW ORLEANS

Ronnie lived at the Air BnB house I stayed at on Jeff Davis Parkway and Banks Street in Mid-City least year.

He visited while I was sleeping.

He watched over me from a shelf over my bed.

He demanded attention and affection.

He sat on my clothes and wouldn't move till I petted him.

He sneaked in my suitcase and almost came back to Miami with me.

He gave one last try at a permanent bond when he sat on my book bag and tried to convince me there was room for him.

I hope to see him soon.

FINDING A FRIEND IN A MOST IMPROBABLE WAY

EarthBound TomBoy

By Heidi Johnson-Wright

I am just as human as anyone else. Which means I’m susceptible to the stupid ideas that humans can have.

I must confess that, even though I pride myself on championing the rights of the marginalized, I am sometimes guilty of buying into ugly biases and stereotypes. In this case, I held prejudices about a friend.

I met her about a year and half ago. She lives in my neighborhood. When we first saw each other, I sensed that she wanted to connect with me. Looking back now, I can see that she was clearly afraid of trusting too much.  Afraid of getting hurt.

I took her standoffishness as arrogance, because that is what I’d been taught to believe about her group. That her ilk thought themselves better than everyone else.

So I steered clear of her, until her overtures of friendship became more insistent. Okay, maybe she’s different, I thought. Plus, I’m a sucker for a pretty face, and she surely has one. Her eyes dazzle like blue topaz stones.

We began to connect over food. My husband was the one who suggested we break bread together. And after a week or so, it became clear that we were nurturing a real friendship.

I finally began to let go of my prejudices. Why? Because once I got to know my new friend, I realized she was amazing. Smart. Sweet and gentle. Funny as all get out.

Within a month, she began visiting our house on a regular basis. After two months, she was coming to our house every day, both before I went to work and just after I returned in the evening.

Shortly after that, I had to admit that my initial biases about my friend were really more about me than her. I harbored unfair notions because I was afraid of being rejected. Of being made to feel not good enough. Of being seen as an awkward freak in a sinister, mechanical contraption on wheels.

But my friend treated me no differently than she treated my able-bodied husband. She was not the least bit afraid of my wheelchair. She didn’t run and hide when I moved closer to her. In fact, when I transferred to my living room recliner, she would sit in my wheelchair right next to me. She still does.

Perhaps you’ve guessed by now that my friend isn’t human. She’s a cat. A gorgeous, brilliant, delightful Siamese kitty.

I’d grown up in a family of “dog people.” I bought into their anti-feline propaganda. That cats are cold and unaffectionate. That they see humans solely as sources of food and toys. That they are incapable or unwilling to bond and love the way dogs do.

What rubbish. In a few short months, Princess Miyuku Honey Bear of the Royal Court of Siam (that’s her name) taught me the beautiful truths about cats. The finest of those truths is that cats can love and accept me, sometimes more wholeheartedly than humans do.

I am most honored to be one of Honey Bear’s guardians. Because she’s sweet and silly and whip-smart. But mostly because she accepts me, wheels and all.