Surrendered

This was quite a sight yesterday along the bayfront in Sarasota. A driver passed out, hopped a median, and crossed two lanes of traffic (miraculously without hitting any vehicles) before crashing into this 26-foot-tall statue entitled "Unconditional Surrender".  Somehow the driver wasn't seriously injured.  The statue was created by world renowned artist J. Seward Johnson in 2005 and was modeled after Alfred Jorgensen's famous V-J Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square.  The statue is on loan to the city from the owner and the Sarasota Arts Foundation.  And, it's quite a popular attraction.  It's common to see people having their photo taken next to the statue as they re-enact "the kiss". So, how much damage was done to the statue?

This shattered leg is just a portion.  There are so many fractures running up the sailor and nurse, a crane was called in to lower the statue to the ground.  It'll be up to the owner and the Arts Foundation to decide how to proceed to repair it.  To see pre-accident photos of the statue, click here.   Don't forget to vote in the SDP poll!

Breaking News

After a grand total of approximately 100 raindrops fell, the taillights on southbound I-75 turned bright red and traffic slowed to a crawl for this: what appears to be a single vehicle wreck without serious injuries. I mention the precipitation because without fail as soon as it starts to rain, drivers in Florida seem to forget how to drive, which is especially interesting since it rains almost every day in the summer. The lack of driving prowess during inclement weather probably has something to do with the fact that so many vehicles here are rolling around with bald tires. Of course, without traction if you hit a slick spot....zip...you're off the road and in the ditch. I'm glad no one seemed to be hurt in this crash -- and, I wasn't stuck in traffic too long.