Keep the Sailor: Part II

The story of the Kiss continues. The photo in this article was taken from a page in the website:
/www.travelogged.com
Here in Sarasota,Florida, we have an art event called Season of Sculpture, whereby the local Arts Council mounts a show of sculptures a long the bayfront. We have had a variety of scuptures over the years, some as shocking as a giant tooth or a group of crashed cars in a pile . The most popular one by far has been a bronze statue called "Unconditional Surrender" created by an artist named Seward Johnson and inspired by the Alfred Eisenstaedt photograph mentioned in my previous blog.

Anyone older than 60 is entertained, inspired, and often brought to laughter or tears by the statue.
Rarely does a man or woman who served in the war and took part in VJ day, see the statue, without getting out of the car and having a photo taken next to it. It's presence on the waterfront has created a controversy that won't quit.

it is precisely because of the statue that I happened to meet Carl Muscarello.
When I showed my autographed photo to people, a young woman named Amy asked me to get one for her and I did. Now, as it happened, Amy has a friend named Rich Swier who is a mover and shaker in Sarasota. (read more about Rich at://www.richswier.com/

Rich is a veteran and he initiated a campaign to convince the city of Sarasota to keep the statue here. His campaign was called, "Keep the Sailor"
On the anniversary of VJ day this year, 2009, he organized a rally and they all met at the statue to
honor veterans and show their support for keeping the statue here.

Now, to backtrack, Amy , via me, helped put Rich in touch with Carl. The local group paid Carl and his wife to come over and attend the rally.

So. My chance encounter caused a ripple effect.

There is a Part III, so tune in again!