Letters to the Editor

+ I heart Siesta Key
Dear Editor:
I THINK SIESTA KEY IS AN AWESOME VACATIONING PLACE.

On Spring Break, some people go to New York, San Francisco, Miami, Key West, blah, blah, blah. But I think the best place to go is Siesta Key. And it’s not exactly what it sounds like — “sleepy.” You can still have an awesome vacation. But if you want it to be “sleepy,” you can. So if you like great restaurants, white sandy beaches or maybe even wildlife, you’ll like Siesta.

An example of how it’s awesome is right across the street from Siesta Breakers (that’s where my grandma has a condo), is the restaurant Captain Curts. They have the best clam chowder in the U.S., the second best I think is all the way up in Boston. But it can get a little crowded because of that, but, hey, it’s business.

The second reason Siesta Key is awesome is it’s the No. 1 beach in the country. An example of this is the moon-white sand that looks like it stretches for miles. And at the bottom tip, there’s a place called Rocky Point, where there are tidal pools where you can find giant conch shells, crabs, barnacles, and you can sometimes see a dolphin or two.

The third and final reason is the animals. There’s a wildlife preserve between the bottom tip of Siesta Key and the mainland, and you can get kayak tours or you can explore on your own and see crabs and dolphins if you’re lucky, especially birds and even gigantic manatees. But almost everywhere you go, you’ll see little glimpses of scales and little claws, but they’re only geckos, and they’re really fun to catch, but they can bite, those little rascals.

So hopefully after reading this you’ll want to go there, too. My family likes it so much, we go there every year, and I almost guarantee you will like it, too. So, if you like great restaurants, white sandy beaches, or maybe even wildlife, you’ll like Siesta Key.
Nathan Vanderwal, 11
Belmont, Mich.

+ Arts climate drifting toward censorship
Dear Editor:
As a casual observer of the cultural climate in Sarasota and its relationship to the larger national art community and running the risk of nepotism, we, as an art community, are experiencing a slow drift toward mediocracy and censorship. Personally, I have felt the sting of censorship when my sculpture, “IRIS,” was denied further showing in Sarasota. My work, “Cycle Series” at the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce had a two-foot 13 painted on it as was the building in 2008. Graffiti — yes; anonymous — yes; time and quality lacking — yes. Amazing how a five-second act of vandalism resulted in three hours of restoration; reflect on the fact that in less than a second, a random act of violence all too often takes the promise of a young life never to be repaired. Serious and real are the problems our communities face, not the recent hysteria being fed by adolescent and feeble minds, often anonymously with private agenda and malicious gossip regarding the “mural” on 10th Street, including the press. Petty controversy demands that we as a community must try and know the difference, between, “the good, bad and the ugly” a result of education and experience with an adult and open mind. Where have all the critics been for years on end? Additionally, do the “VARA,” the Visual Artists Rights Act, concerning artists apply only when it fits a political motive? 
Dennis J. Kowal
Sarasota