SQUID FRY 08.20.15: The Ballad of Snappy…

THE BALLAD OF SNAPPY… While public officials were discussing the drought at a meeting where the public wasn’t allowed (See “Bad Week,” p. 4), Squid oozed to the Salinas Public Library to pay tribute to absent comrade Snappy Shelly Steinbeck. Snappy, the library’s hero mascot, had been “sent to college,” according to new Library Director Cynthia Bojorquez. (In reality, Snappy had been sent to turtle rescue because his habitat was too small and he was stressed out, bashing his little head off the glass.) Squid wondered how hard the library tried to accommodate Snappy’s needs. After filing a Public Records Act request, Squid found the answer: not hard at all.

The effort to offload Snappy, a leopard tortoise/marketing tool, began in March, when librarian Kris Amaral asked Bojorquez if they could seek funding from the Friends of the Salinas Public Library to pay for Snappy’s care. Bojorquez responded she wanted to go in another direction, and that neither the library nor the Friends should pay for Snappy’s lifestyle. And it all seemed to open a floodgate of relief. Snappy, Amaral wrote, wasn’t getting consistent food or exercise and at least one irate patron was making waves.

By June, Snappy was out of here. He now lives at the Silicon Valley Tortoise Society, which has promised to bring him back for visits. The first is scheduled for Aug. 29.

In the meantime, Amaral asked the society to send a picture of Snappy: “It will comfort those who are having a hard time with his leaving to see a picture of him happy and well.”

ON THE BUS… Squid donned Squid’s Sunday best in an attempt to fit in at Quail Lodge for their famous Car Week show. Still, Squid felt awkward among the 1 Percenters. Squid feels more at home on the bus.

So Squid was tickled to see Carmelites are also into mass transit. A group calling itself Friends of Quail is chartering a bus Aug. 26 to hit Salinas for the county Planning Commission hearing on the proposed Carmel Canine Sports Center, across the street from Quail Lodge.

“A strong turnout is critical!” the email to supporters states.

They’ll depart at 8am from the spot where Bonhams auction took place last week, and are asking for $20 donations. They’ll probably need a bus; some 200 people showed up to voice opposition to the dog park at a land use advisory committee meeting in Carmel Valley last year.

Squid wonders if there’s any overlap between the horse people advocating for Monterey Downs, the dog people behind the canine center, and the car people who Squid attempted to mingle with. Squid imagines travel by horseback would be more efficient than driving anywhere during Car Week. When traffic moves even slower than Snappy, maybe a chartered bus is the best option.