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No, probably not. But experts say it appears there really are a lot more than ten thousand of the mangrove islands that comprise the remarkable area of Southwest Florida.

Everglades National Park Ranger Gail Fox told my wife Chris Curle recently that there probably are between 14,000 and 16,000 islands in the chain.

“Someone with way more time on their hands that I have, tried to count them all,” Ranger Gail said. “They came up with that figure, up to 16,000, but it depends on the tide levels and the time of year.”

Obviously that means some of the smaller mangrove islands are under water.

I know, I know, we should alert the national media.

O’Reilly may see it as conservationist spin. Larry King will demand answers immediately to such questions as, “Well, can we put condos on the new ones?” Geraldo will want to spend weeks canoeing from island to island for an expose, ripping open the seamy underbelly of life among the mangroves. And he’ll explore the possibility of a major ongoing feud among the three mangrove types we have here — black, red and white.

“I have learned exclusively that we can tell the ‘groves apart by leaf shape, bark color, root structure and texture,” Geraldo said. “That spells conflict, trouble and mangrove violence and I wanna be there to cover it.”

Too bad there are no more Calusa Indians down there to take care of Geraldo. Let’s hope he spends years in the glades, talking to the animals and fishes. Maybe they’ll pay attention.

Answers to some trivia questions about Marco Island

In Chris Curle’s “Marcophile” column in last Wednesday’s Eagle, she wrote about the 20 anniversary celebration of modern Marco Island in 1985.

An “Islander” newspaper published by the Eagle to observe the anniversary carried a trivia quiz, “Test Your Knowledge of Marco.” From the quiz, Chris asked readers for the answers to three of the 50 questions.

Here they are:

Q: What’s the official name of Marco’s Lion’s Club?

A: Our Lions Club originally was called The 10,000 Islands Lions Club but it’s been known as the Marco Island Lions Club for about 15 years.

Q: What does the Chamber of Commerce guarantee will happen every summer?

A: The Chamber of Commerce guaranteed at least one hour of sunshine every day. Does it still? Vicki Williams, who joined the Chamber staff in 1986, says that sunshine thing lasted only about a year. I can, however, guarantee a bright, sunshiny smile from the staff when you visit the Chamber’s office on N. Collier Blvd.

Q: Where did the original residents of Goodland come from?

A: They were moved from the Caxambas area on Marco Island to form the community of Goodland in 1948.

Tipping — whom should we tip?

I got a note from a dental hygienist in Naples, Denise Skelton, complaining that she never gets any tips from customers. What do you think? Here is part of her e-mail note:

“It has always galled me that hair cutters state they are ‘professionals’ yet they expect a tip.

“I have a Baccalaureate in Applied Science in dental hygiene and 24 years experience. I get approximately two gratuities a year. I wish I had a lot more.

“When a patient smokes, has poor oral hygiene, is negligent, and you go the extra mile, it is nice to be appreciated. I would appreciate a gift card to a restaurant for a lunch, anything!

“I am expected to ‘produce’ a minimum of $1,200 a day for the ‘practice,’ i.e. the dentist.

“I may gross $260 of that production for a nine hour work day.

“I have no benefits and no job security, which is common in dental hygiene. No sick pay, no vacation pay, no paid holidays, no 401k, no pension, no nothing.

“Next time you get your teeth cleaned, ask your hygienist if she feels appreciated as a true professional.”

I can see Denise’s point, especially her explanation that she (and I assume others are in the same situation) gets no benefits, such as 401k plans and paid vacations.

How to deal with tips truly is a quandary for many of us. It’s a system, a practice with roots in ancient human history, yet the rules vary widely among different cultures.

Why, for example, do we tip cab drivers but not bus drivers or flight attendants? We tip a shoeshine person but not a shoe repair guy. Why? We may tip the dog groomer but not the veterinarian. Why?

You get the point.

Why do we tip restaurant servers a percentage of the price of the meal (and wine)? Does it make sense to tip a waiter 20 percent of a $200 dinner — $40, and a waiter 20 percent of a $100 dinner — $20? Doesn’t the waiter at your less expensive meal do just as much work as the guy at the higher-priced place?

I have more questions than answers but would love to hear from you on this. Maybe I can include your thoughts in a future column.

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Don Farmer has been a full-time Marco Islander for ten years and a part-time resident for more than 30 years. He says full-time is better. Farmer welcomes your ideas for column items via e-mail at don@donfarmer.com.