Who And What Are They Trying To Keep Out?

The European Union is closed to visitors from the US and other places.

For what may be the first time in history,  the border between the US and Canada is closed, except for "essential" travel and people returning to Alaska.

Even the border between the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria is closed.  

Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, when my hometown of New York was one of the "hot spots," other states required visitors from our state, and others, to self-quarantine.  Beaches and parks in New Jersey and Long Island were open only to local residents.

Now that the "curve" has "flattened," at least for for the time being, we and neighboring states are requiring visitors from Florida, Texas and other states that have become new "hot spots" to self-quarantine upon arrival.

But as far as I know, no place has had any "no outsider" ban that applied specifically to cyclists.  At least, not until this past Tuesday, when the village of Key Biscayne, Florida banned all bicycle travel by non-residents.

The reason the village, located on a barrier island off Miami and Miami Beach, gave for its prohibition is to stop the spread of the corona virus.  Lawyers representing several Miami-Dade residents said the ban "based on a report of a few individuals not wearing masks" is "absurd."  One of the lawyers, Phil Prazan, said that because cars are still allowed into the village,  the new rule is a "poorly veiled excuse to ban cyclists."

Hmm...I wonder how many people--local residents or outsiders--are congregating, sans masks, on area beaches.

Faux Winter

An ex of mine grew up in the Miami area.  I made a few trips there,including couple during the winter, with her. 

In those days, the stores sold what seemed to be fake winter clothes.  They had the plaids, weaves, muted colors and other visual cues of garments worn to keep the cold off our bods and Jack Frost from nipping at our toes.  I even saw jackets with faux-fur collars and hoods and fuzzy mittens.

But that is where the resemblance between those clothes and the ones I could buy in New York--or from, say, LL Bean--ended.  The garments and accessories sold in Sunshine State stores had about as much insulating value as a candy wrapper.  I'm not even sure those faux cold weather vetements could have shielded their wearers against that meteorological feature found in Florida's nickname.

I found myself thinking about those clothes when I came across this image:

From:  Language Architects

Could it really be that Pee Wee Herman is riding his bike through a fake winter scene?  I'm shocked, I tell you...