I don't know which forum to put this in. Not just a photo, or environment, etc. This morning at 7 a.m. walking on the bridge over Eastern Lake, I saw a canoe with a man sleeping in it. It was tied to the piers in the middle of the water. He had a pillow and blanket, looking like he was in bed. Except he was in a boat. At about noon I checked again and he was gone. Here is a detail and the picture I shot. First thought was that he's camping out. Other thoughts are that he was dead, homeless, or clueless. I'd really like to know. Does anybody?

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Caroling, www.wholeo.net

Maybe that is the only place he could get some peace and quiet! :-)

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Life is like a jar of jalapeno's... Really good one day but will burn your butt the next.

I'm thinking its a more interesting version of "Being in the Doghouse" with the wifey...

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My thoughts exactly.

I didn't know Riverotter was in town!

Hopefully he is okay. I think that I would have called the WCSO or game/fish or somebody to check on him, though -

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Well, I mean, he did have a pillow, and it looks clean. That is impressive. I think I'd like to do that.

I'm thinking that's just part of the canoeing experience. He probably prefers to sleep in the canoe rather than on the ground. He doesn't appear homeless from the looks of it.

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Looks pretty peaceful to me!

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WARNING: Things posted by this user may offend some people. All things posted above are the opinions of poster and not necessarily the opinions of this site..or anyone else for that matter. They might not even make sense or be suitable for children. Come to think of it, they might be unsuitable for adults or human consumption. Have a nice day.

Looks almost like heaven to me. I've often thought about sleeping on a small boat on one of the lakes for a year, writing about the daily life (Thoreau-like). Let's see, close to full moon, clear sky, hmmm -- great night for sleeping under the sky, with a ripple or two splashing against the boat.

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i sure wouldnt want my pic posted on the internet without knowing.... so much for privacy.

i wouldnt be surprised is he's an example of the recession. ive heard of worse lately

probably be fun til the skeets, dog flies, and lovey bugs come callin....

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I don't know just what you heard, but 'come on baby' are my favorite words

I've napped in a canoe before, but that position and location (scrunched up under a busy road in a buggy area) don't look like a way to get a good night's sleep.

Though if he slept in a canoe he is halfway to being an honorary Canadian!

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The enemy is ignorance.

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Well maybe SJ, but I sure as heck would caution against it in October!


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"Peace .... starts with the person who attempts to diffuse the tension and backs away from the inflammatory rhetoric."

I had to quickly scrutinize the canoe, as my green canoe was stolen from Eastern Lake about 6 weeks ago! lol I agree with Scooterbug, that location is less than ideal for a restful night of sleep and obviously has some privacy issues to boot!

I always did tell my daughter to keep her eyes open for trolls as we went under that bridge to the beach....Hmmmm...

I have to agree with both of you looks an awful lot like dog house itis.

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"We have had no good comic operas of late, because the real world has been more comic than any possible opera." - The Quotable Chesterton

Then I would recommend not sleeping on a public lake under a public roadway and public pedestrian/bike bridge.

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A $1500 Old Town canoe is impressive, too. I don't think I'd spend too much time worrying about this guy.

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"Much goes on behind the scenes which renders your comments unhelpful and simply wrong." ~Kurt

Someone wrote me, "It’s a provocative picture. Makes you immediately come up with storylines, one right after the other."

To which I answered:

my story is a poem:

Am I a man dreaming I'm floating under Eastern Lake Bridge?
Or am I a boat dreaming I'm a man?

(Copied from the zen that goes something like: am I a butterfly dreaming I'm a man or a man dreaming I'm a butterfly?)

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Caroling, www.wholeo.net

The canoe isn't the impressive part, since it is not his canoe. The impressive part is that he has a pillow and a blanket and curled up in a very tight spot.

FYI -- the canoe was returned the next morning to the dock from which it came.

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Is that JT?

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Things that make you go HMMM. I agree with caroling the story lines are endless

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"We have had no good comic operas of late, because the real world has been more comic than any possible opera." - The Quotable Chesterton

Way too pale for JT!

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The enemy is ignorance.

So the sleeper borrowed a canoe for the night. That is assuming the sleeper returned the canoe. Does the owner of the docked canoe know the sleeper?

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Caroling, www.wholeo.net

OK: My scenario was that the hard times got the guy...he had to decide: lose the condo or the canoe...and he made the right choice...besides, living the life of the sailor on the seas is so much more romantic than making condo payments upside down. (except when it rains)

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My mind tends to wander... but fortunately, it's so weak, it doesn't get very far...

exactly.. especially if you are in the doghouse canoe... this is a very small town!

I love sleeping outside all snuggled up! Maybe that's all he was doing; I wouldn't have tied up to the pilings because of the traffic noise, but it seemed to have worked for him and that's all that matters.

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Who is Lynnie?? ~~~~~~~Signed, All Y'all

Hold on a minute SmileyJ. Give us the Cliff Notes. How do you know it's not his canoe and from whom did he borrow it? Is this an honest thief or a prearranged night out under the stars? A bet? An argument? What do you know, oh ye who tantalizes us with only bits and pieces of the story?

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"Much goes on behind the scenes which renders your comments unhelpful and simply wrong." ~Kurt

Mermy, I know the owner of the canoe. Haven't seen the owner in a few weeks, so haven't had a chance to ask if he let someone else borrow it. It definitely isn't the owner, and Old Florida Fish House didn't have a crazy night, the night in question. Plus, bar patrons don't typically have their pillow and blanky with them.

I don't know why he was sleeping in the canoe, but all seems to still be in order.

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All's well that ends well. I go for the 'in the dog house' theory, and it must have worked itself out because our mysterious sleeper obviously has not had another moonlit night on the water.

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"Much goes on behind the scenes which renders your comments unhelpful and simply wrong." ~Kurt

Where's Shallowsnole? I want to know if that guy would be due to pay bed tax if he's renting the canoe?

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Has anybody checked some of the other bridges? This could be the new affordable housing...

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My mind tends to wander... but fortunately, it's so weak, it doesn't get very far...

Actually, no. Statutes are silent as to boats.

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Oh boy, I can already see people floating homes.

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They're called houseboats and there was an attempted project several years ago to provide more affordable housing by putting a bunch of them in one of the canals near the bay.

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The enemy is ignorance.

This morning before 7 a.m. a thin rope is attached to the bridge dangling down with a length in the water by the center piers. Along the pedestrian bypass railing is a small old Cingular cell phone and relatively large battery looking swampy with bits of weeds attached, as if having been dunked and put out to dry. Didn't touch or stop for photos.
I seem to be more interested in the green-topped Phragmites weeds along the lakeshore.

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Caroling, www.wholeo.net

I saw those ropes hanging from the bridge. Never seeing crab traps tied to the bridges like that, I pulled one up out of curiousity (on the north side of the bridge), and found that it was indeed a crab trap.

I'm pretty certain I know the sleeper, but never got a chance to ask him when I saw him the other day.

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SJ! This is the Sowal area 51! You HAVE to get us the dirt!!!

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The enemy is ignorance.

Yes, Scooterbug is right. What if he was an ALIEN????!!!.

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My mind tends to wander... but fortunately, it's so weak, it doesn't get very far...

I've always wondered if there was any hope for the crabs' long-term survival in E Lake since no one monitors the take. Do you think it is sustainable? Do the crabs have a chance? The ones in a trap I checked were small, 3".

You certainly are teasing us with your sleeper info.

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Caroling, www.wholeo.net

Yes, the crabs have a chance in Eastern Lake. I've seen plenty.

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where is JT?

Thats called FREE RENT!

JT is in Key West for the winter. hahaha