EARTHDAY 2011
Editor,
The name is Fogg, Joe Fogg, Private Eye and my beat
is a crusty little town fifteen minutes south of the long forgotten filled in
Barbary Coast. I was just leaving my favorite watering hole when a poster for a
thing call Earth Day caught my eye. Not because I’m a tree hugger but because
it was dedicated to the Great California Gray Whale. I took out my cell phone
and started to call the world famous Great California Gray Whale known world
wide through out every casino worth its weight in monogrammed toiletries.
Estrichus Rugintus or as he is better known from Las Vegas to Macao as the
“Great California Gray Whale” the most legendary high roller that ever lived
who is a long time friend of mine and client. I had no idea he was in trouble.
“Wrong Great California Gray Whale Joe,” he informed me.
“Earth Day this year is honoring the survival of the baleen species of aquatic
mammal better known by it’s Latin name Eshrichtius Robustus.”
“Interesting, the spelling is strangely similar to yours” I
replied.
Estrichus the Whale continued, “They can grow up to fifty
two feet long, weigh in at over thirty six tons and live to be up to seventy
years old.”
“Estri baby, that still sounds like you,” I joked.
“No kidding, fishermen from the 1800’s nick named them Devil
Fish because they fought back fiercely when hunted upending whaler row boats
full of harpoon throwing profiteers.”
“Sounds like you on a bad night at the tables my stout grey
maned aging friend.”
“Well, these whales migrate from Alaska to Baja California
and back every year traveling non stop night and day averaging one hundred and
ninety kilometers a day. You may remember us sharing a few beers during the
winter months watching their unique V shaped vapor spouts due to their doubled
up air holes atop their barnacle encrusted heads.”
“I do, and that V shaped spouting still resembles you Estri.
As a species the Eshrichtius Robustus sound pretty hearty, so why are we
worried about the California Gray Whale,” I asked.
“It’s the litter and plastics that we are worried about Joe,
they get into the ocean from all over the world and when the California Gray
Whales feed in route they ingest hundreds of gallons of sea water at a time to
catch little krill also ingesting all the litter and trash that’s out there
floating in the ocean. It’s a horrible thing having all that litter and plastic
caught in their thin long hairy looking teeth like baleen at the front of their
mouths but it’s something we can help resolve.”
“How so?”
“By participating in the beach clean ups on Earth Day, which
are largely sponsored by the City of Pacifica’s Parks Beaches and Recreation
Department along with local businesses like Recology of the Coast, that are
coordinated by the Pacifica Beach Coalition a non profit volunteer organization
dedicated to litter removal city wide. Beach clean ups help keep trash like
plastics out of the ocean, at least from your town of Pacifica. Individuals,
groups of all kinds, businesses and schools all join in under the coordination
of the Pacifica Beach Coalition several times a year to do a few hours of
litter removal from all your beaches in town and a few other site as well.”
“Whoa, that’s some tale Estri, you might even call it a
fluke.”
“Indeed. So are you going to show up on April 16 to help
clean the beaches?”
“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea. Saturday Morning April 16 from
9 am to 11:30 am at any of Pacifica’s beaches?”
“Yep, and following that there is a huge party everyone is
invited to sponsored by another non profit called Pacifica’s Environmental
Family. Got to go Joe, we are descending into Monte Carlo for a black jack
invitational,”
“Ricardo “the Black Jack” Ventura lives in Monte Carlo,
Estri?”
“Got to go Joe. Support the Pacifica Beach Coalition! April
16.”
“Will do my friend, will do.”
Joe Fogg (Todd McCune Bray)
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