Meet a "bug"

This is the Florida spiny lobster.  And right now it is mini-lobster season in the Keys.  That is two days where you can get a jump start on the regular season and  try to catch the critters.  Each licensed person can take six per day.  So, you spend a whole lot of money coming to the Keys from all over the country to hunt "bugs" as they are affectionately called, and it would be much cheaper to go to the fish market and buy them.  But, it must be lots of fun because right now there are dive flags bobbing out of the water everywhere you look with people searching for them. You "tickle" them out of a spot in the coral with a long stick and try to grab them and put them in a mesh bag. Or, do it the way we did by dragging people behind the boat on towlines and when they saw one, they let go and dove down.  Matt speared a bonus grouper that way and the poor fellow was left trying to stay afloat while holding up a large fish overhead while we boated back to get him.  It is not about the bounty, but the hunt.  It does get a bit crazy down here during mini season.  There are always arrests for people taking more than the legal limit.  And of course, boating accidents.  And dive accidents.  But generally the locals stay out of the way and let the tourists in.  Heck, I can go find a lobster on the wall of my canal if I want to.  But that would be like eating my pets!

The first time I was introduced to this delicacy was when my cousin pulled a tail of one out of his bathing suit when we arrived at the dock after a day of fishing and snorkeling.  He hid it there because apparently it wasn't season and he figured the Coast Guard doesn't check trunks.  Of the clothing category.  I could not figure out why he was digging around in his pants!

My grandson was a wee fellow when Harry bought some lobsters from a guy selling them on the roadside for dinner.  Jack watched as Grandpa Harry prepared them for grilling (which is a bit brutal since you pull the tail off and throw the rest in the canal.  We sat down to dinner with the lobster meat prepared and ready to dip into butter and Jack refused to eat.  He kept repeating "no like it bugs."  I was amazed, since he had never heard them called bugs. He had figured the whole thing out - from what was a creepy looking critter in a cooler to the pile of delicacy on his plate.  And he apparently didn't like its looks.  They are kind of creepy!