Hard to believe that this innocuous restaurant and bar, situated across the street from the serenity of Young Circle Park, played host to some of the most hated extremist zealots since World War II gave us the SS. A group of the September 11 hijackers and murderers came to this watering hole to drink, harass the employees, and generally act like pricks. They traded stories of what they were going to do with their several dozen virgins while dining on Shuckums's grade-A bar food and sucking down ice-cold brews. While hindsight is 20/20, foresight is nearly blind, so we forgive the staff of this place for not giving the jerks food poisoning when they had the chance. In fact, we give them major props for even putting up with what were reportedly some colossally rude customers whose tipping practices would make even Scrooge wince in dismay. And, oh, the stories the Shuckums staff will have to tell for years down the road. As for the terrorists, we hope those "virgins" gave them an eternal case of the clap.

Hard to believe that this innocuous restaurant and bar, situated across the street from the serenity of Young Circle Park, played host to some of the most hated extremist zealots since World War II gave us the SS. A group of the September 11 hijackers and murderers came to this watering hole to drink, harass the employees, and generally act like pricks. They traded stories of what they were going to do with their several dozen virgins while dining on Shuckums's grade-A bar food and sucking down ice-cold brews. While hindsight is 20/20, foresight is nearly blind, so we forgive the staff of this place for not giving the jerks food poisoning when they had the chance. In fact, we give them major props for even putting up with what were reportedly some colossally rude customers whose tipping practices would make even Scrooge wince in dismay. And, oh, the stories the Shuckums staff will have to tell for years down the road. As for the terrorists, we hope those "virgins" gave them an eternal case of the clap.

Got a death wish, with no Charles Bronson in sight? No problemo. Just take an unwary stroll through the tourist mecca of West Palm Beach. Among its other attractions, the area north of Okeechobee Boulevard boasts the highest concentration of murders anywhere in Broward or Palm Beach counties. Seventeen people met violent ends there in 2001; the total for all of West Palm Beach is just two higher. But, hey, that's down from 24 citywide in 2000. A section of Fort Lauderdale is a close runner-up for 2001, with 15 homicides in the area north of the New River and west of Federal Highway.

Got a death wish, with no Charles Bronson in sight? No problemo. Just take an unwary stroll through the tourist mecca of West Palm Beach. Among its other attractions, the area north of Okeechobee Boulevard boasts the highest concentration of murders anywhere in Broward or Palm Beach counties. Seventeen people met violent ends there in 2001; the total for all of West Palm Beach is just two higher. But, hey, that's down from 24 citywide in 2000. A section of Fort Lauderdale is a close runner-up for 2001, with 15 homicides in the area north of the New River and west of Federal Highway.

Observe canine near ocean: head aloft, nose sniffing air, body in full alert. With our much inferior olfactory capabilities, we cannot know the rich text that a dog reads when it gets near the beach. A German shepherd has some 225 million sensory receptors with which to decode scent in its nose, whereas we have only about 5 million. So while we might catch a whiff of suntan lotion, the dog can detect clumps of seaweed at the shoreline, bits of sandwich tossed in the sand, dead fish a mile away, salt sprayed into the air when a wave crashes. Dogs live for smell. How sad it is, then, that most beaches bristle with signs featuring a big X with the outline of a canine. But not all. Here's a little secret: There is one place where dogs are legal on the beach. And they don't have to be tethered to a leash if under voice control. For the past eight years, the Friends of Jupiter Beach have labored to make sure a two-mile stretch of Jupiter Beach remains open to dogs. They provide 250,000 doggie bags yearly to pick up poop. (Look for doggie-bag stations at beach accesses.) They do monthly beach cleanups. They patrol the beach for infractions. All the Friends ask is that you bring only dogs who are friendly to both humans and canines, that you not allow your dog to bother other beachgoers, and that you clean up after your pooch. Follow those commonsensical rules and your dog can romp in the Atlantic, roll in a pile of seaweed, sniff the shoreline, or happily chase and retrieve a Frisbee.

Observe canine near ocean: head aloft, nose sniffing air, body in full alert. With our much inferior olfactory capabilities, we cannot know the rich text that a dog reads when it gets near the beach. A German shepherd has some 225 million sensory receptors with which to decode scent in its nose, whereas we have only about 5 million. So while we might catch a whiff of suntan lotion, the dog can detect clumps of seaweed at the shoreline, bits of sandwich tossed in the sand, dead fish a mile away, salt sprayed into the air when a wave crashes. Dogs live for smell. How sad it is, then, that most beaches bristle with signs featuring a big X with the outline of a canine. But not all. Here's a little secret: There is one place where dogs are legal on the beach. And they don't have to be tethered to a leash if under voice control. For the past eight years, the Friends of Jupiter Beach have labored to make sure a two-mile stretch of Jupiter Beach remains open to dogs. They provide 250,000 doggie bags yearly to pick up poop. (Look for doggie-bag stations at beach accesses.) They do monthly beach cleanups. They patrol the beach for infractions. All the Friends ask is that you bring only dogs who are friendly to both humans and canines, that you not allow your dog to bother other beachgoers, and that you clean up after your pooch. Follow those commonsensical rules and your dog can romp in the Atlantic, roll in a pile of seaweed, sniff the shoreline, or happily chase and retrieve a Frisbee.

The boys of Custom Bikes are modifying Harleys in this building's first floor, but if you're heading either west or east on Sunrise, take a gander upward for an architectural flourish that would do James Bond proud: The second-floor windows are shaped in a perfect 007. Say, are those rocket launchers and ejector seats on those hogs?

The boys of Custom Bikes are modifying Harleys in this building's first floor, but if you're heading either west or east on Sunrise, take a gander upward for an architectural flourish that would do James Bond proud: The second-floor windows are shaped in a perfect 007. Say, are those rocket launchers and ejector seats on those hogs?

The long-ago kings of Siam dealt with overmighty subjects by presenting them with rare white elephants from the royal stables, animals sacred in Buddhist tradition. Bestowal of such a remarkable creature was an honor all but impossible to refuse, but proper upkeep for a pale pachyderm was a beastly expense that shortly reduced the richest vassal to humble circumstances. South Florida's civic solons are reliving this legend during the interminable squabble over the International Swimming Hall of Fame, now located in Fort Lauderdale but angling for hipper digs. Pushed by development king Michael Swerdlow, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach have all made perfunctory trumpeting noises in the past year about what an honor it would be to house the hall's tacky museum, but no one wants to cough up millions for a more imposing edifice.

The long-ago kings of Siam dealt with overmighty subjects by presenting them with rare white elephants from the royal stables, animals sacred in Buddhist tradition. Bestowal of such a remarkable creature was an honor all but impossible to refuse, but proper upkeep for a pale pachyderm was a beastly expense that shortly reduced the richest vassal to humble circumstances. South Florida's civic solons are reliving this legend during the interminable squabble over the International Swimming Hall of Fame, now located in Fort Lauderdale but angling for hipper digs. Pushed by development king Michael Swerdlow, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach have all made perfunctory trumpeting noises in the past year about what an honor it would be to house the hall's tacky museum, but no one wants to cough up millions for a more imposing edifice.