To: Mike Johnston who wrote (74824 ) 12/8/2006 9:43:19 AM From: shades Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 110194 Sand from the Spigot3. No economic statistic and no number can be trusted anymore. Trust your own eyes Jedi. The wizards have spells everywhere, you must cast disrput Illusion! I had some friends come down from north ga, it is cold up there at night, like 30 degrees, still around 60 at night near me in clearwater. We all go to starkey park in pasco florida to camp for a few nights. Go to the kiosk, no park guys are there. Set up camp, burn a nice fire all night. Next morning park guy shows up comes over asks why we are not in the books registered, tell him we couldn't find any park people, he says you are lying, kicks out our fire and tells us we owe him 5 dollars for the night. I said I can't sleep on the ground for free - he gets mad and says no - I said damn, my parents in thier VW van slept all over america and europe for FREE back in their youth - he said those days are over and that even PAYING we can only stay for a MAXIMUM of 7 days - I am foaming at the mouth mogambo style in utter astonishment. I call the park system - ask if there is ANYWHERE I can stay over a week or 2 close by - they say no - I said PHUCK! I then ask ok - anywhere I can stay under a week or 2 for free besides wal mart parking lot - they say sure there is ONE place close by - crews lake park.pascocountyfl.net I go to this park, talk to the park guy, he is selling his carolina skiff that him and his son go fishing in - I say hmm - what do you fish with in crews lake - he laughs at me - I don't GET IT. He says you haven't seen the lake have you, I said no, I normally fish the ocean, but my ga friends want to do some freshwater fishing - he just laughs - says go look at the lake. Now this park is near the suncoast toll road, new road for all the commuters to get into tamps, all these new lennar and similar developments going up all over where folks like Dale Baker bought lots of land back when it was 2K an acre a few years back instead of 30K now, CREWS LAKE PARK has a very expensive and expansive fishing pier, public boat dock, expensive park people to manage the lake and park - observation tower to look out over the lake. I drive up to the lake - no lake - not just a low lake - NO LAKE - gone. I ask one of the park guys why are my taxes going to pay for all this buildout of a park with a lake and there is no lake - he said good question. BWAHAHA! I say all the developments have sucked the water dry eh? He says yah, hasn't been a lake for about a year now, I said how many county commissioners have to turn on thier water and sand come out of the spigot before they stop approving all this new development - how in da phuck do they play with the phony numbers to keep BUILDING and BUILDING and the lake is gone? He said don't fret - walk out across the lake (its dry now you see) avoiding the gator corpses, fish bones, and snake corpses and look at the other side of the lake - I figure sure I am bored - why not. He told me look for those 700K home owners that bought 700K homes a few years ago to be right on the lake and ask them how they feel with thier 20K boat in thier backyard with no lake to put it in - BWAHAH! HAHA!! How do you have a park called CREWS LAKE PARK and there is NO LAKE? You could stay for free, for 7 days, I said hell - with all this empty land where there used to be a lake and no one out here using the park - why can't I stay for more than 7 days - park guy says rules are rules - go figure. At least I can still get 7 days for free in a deserted LAKE park with no lake, I guess I should be thankful eh?