MAM: Always Inspiring
Much Mirth
Dear Rebecca,
I have to laugh at
Terence Riley’s discontent with our third-rate cultural
centers here in Miami [Wakefield, “Jammed at MAM,” published
June 6].
Many artists’ groups,
too, share a similar discontent and will not even talk about
the “B-word” (Art Basel) when discussing the cultural
institutions in South Florida.
It is so easy to say,
“Wow, if we just build it, we will be it! With enough money
anything is possible. Right? Sure!” Donald Trump says it all
the time! In fact, I can hear him right now. “I must be
cultured; I have more money and power than anyone else!” The
“nuevo rich” are always so entertaining.
Gag me, please.
Culture and cultural
institutions, like fine wine, are built over time, Rebecca,
and no amount of money can bypass the posterity that refines
it. No amount of money. Great art collections are built
through generations of great curatorial thinking, great
benefactors with vision, and with great supporters over
centuries. Great performance centers are built by great
performances, given by great performers, attended by truly
interested audiences. If Miami doesn’t even have a classical
music radio station, how can one expect an opera to fare
well here?
In order to “grow up,”
one must first learn to walk and go to school before one can
run for president. Miami’s current cultural state of affairs
is still in puberty, Rebecca, even with its steroid shot of
Art Basel and colossal Performing Arts Center. I believe it
is the scowl-faced Terence Riley and a culturally ignorant
Miami who have to “grow up” and realize that money can’t buy
everything. Besides, who wants to get married at nine?
Thanks for keeping me
laughing,
PJ Mills
El Portal
MAM: Because We Are
Not a Trading Outpost Anymore
Dear Editor:
Miami-Dade County and the
city of Miami entered the 21st century with a vision of
greatness. One-hundred years ago, our community was barely
beyond its trading post roots on the Miami River.
The greatness of a city
is its ability to grow and change, for its civic and
community leaders to always reach for greater heights.
Greatness cannot exist without vision and planning. To
continue on this path of excellence, our leaders must
project 25, 50 or even 100 years in the future.
Great vision requires our
ability to harmonize quality of life to achieve both
sufficient open space with a rich cultural environment
accessible to everyone.
Miami is a grown-up and
densely populated city. It is more than fun and sun.
Millions of people make their lives here, and all of them
have a right to enjoy the benefits that a great museum can
bring.
Is Miami the only city
that rejects art? Art Basel, the Coconut Grove Art Festival
and other events are all great successes because our
citizens love art.
Now we have a unique
opportunity, to make our art museum a world-renowned
structure in a unique and special location, Bicentennial
Park. In 2004 the voters gave this vision the thumbs up,
approving a bond issue that would transform an unused,
unfriendly patch of land into a museum park whose
architectural splendor will bring millions of visitors and
be proudly referred to by media throughout the world as
simply outstanding.
Museum Park will use 29
acres — most of which will be gardens, walkways and bike
paths. The two museums will occupy eight acres of this area
in the northeast part of the park.
A small, vocal group of
dissenters is now trying to undo years of effort and the
will of the people. I just don’t get it. The opposition
cloaks their real agenda under the guise of fiscal concern.
That is nonsense! The team in charge has a history of
finishing on time and within budget. Any overrun will be a
Museum expense and not a charge to the taxpayer. The green
space objectors have no alternative proposal. The space is
not and can never be a nature preserve. It is simply a patch
of grass that most people never see and never use. The
argument is a fight against change for no real purpose.
As a longtime resident
and a trustee of the Miami Art Museum, I believe that the
price of this controversy is our future. Our children and
their children are entitled to this legacy, a museum in the
park worthy of a world-class city.
Gail S. Meyers, secretary
Miami Art Museum board of
trustees
Miami
MAM: Much Better for a
Kid’s Mind Than Some Lousy Green Space
WE NEED NO MORE GREEN SPACE FOR MIAMI! [Wakefield, “Jammed
at MAM,” published June 7]
Instead, we need a place to develop a child’s mind space. We
need to support Terence Riley’s plan to give Miami the
museum it really needs. Not just for cultural tourism, but
for the sake of our children. We need a place where a
child’s imagination can burgeon and transform into a
world-class citizen. What about Miami Children’s Museum,
Miami Museum of Science or even Parrot Jungle, you quickly
quip? While all offer wonderful programs, they certainly
cannot measure up or give a child what a Hirshhorn, MOMA or
Walker can. If we are to become a true cosmopolitan city
with cosmopolitan citizens, we need a place that enlightens
our children. It is a shame that all those captious
antagonists don’t realize the need for this museum and the
positive impact it would have on the future of Miami. That
is if you believe, as Whitney once sang, “Our children are
our future.” It’s easy for all those carping critics to
attempt to decimate the idea of a great museum, after all
The Tate [in London] is just a private jet-ride away for
them (and their children).
Nathalie Bresztyenszky
Miami
Hey, Stop Bein’ So Hard
on the Hog: We at Harley Davidson Try to Help, Not Hurt, Our
Customers
Dear Editor,
I take offense to the
tone of your article “Motorcycle Madness” by Keyvan Heydari.
I am the general manager
of Peterson’s Harley-Davidson South. We were instrumental in
starting Thursday night Bike Night at Fuddrucker’s some
years ago and have worked very hard to make it a fun, safe,
weekly “happening” in South Florida. Both the restaurant and
our store pay for off-duty FHP officers, signs to direct the
motorcycles away from residential neighborhoods and for
staff to help everyone have an enjoyable time. Close to
1,000 motorcycles each week attend bike night. It is free
and open to anyone riding a motorcycle regardless of brand.
People of all ages, sex and walks of life come and admire
all the motorcycles and show off their own. Many people come
in cars and bring their children. A safe, enjoyable,
family-oriented time is had by all. In the years that we
have been there, we have not had any ongoing problems. There
have been some instances where we had a domestic altercation
and even an all-out SWAT team assault, complete with
helicopter. It was due to a new, uninformed police commander
who was not aware of the nightly event and thought a
motorcycle gang was pillaging Fuddrucker’s. (We still laugh
about that one.) Overall, if you look at the public record,
you’ll see that for the size and frequency and type of
event, we’re really not any trouble at all. I’ve seen more
problems at “high-class” social gatherings I’ve attended. I
think that portraying us in your article as the cause of all
the problems is incorrect and misleading. I invite you to
come out and see for yourself. I know you’ll leave with a
different view.
While we do everything
possible at bike nights to promote a safe and enjoyable
experience, we cannot control the choices that people make.
We promote motorcycle safety at our dealerships and will not
allow you to ride away on a new bike without a motorcycle
endorsement on your license. While by law we cannot prevent
you from buying a bike without a motorcycle endorsement, we
discourage anyone from doing so and offer them free training
to obtain their license. We work with and visit local
motorcycle training schools and offer a Rider’s Edge course
at one of our dealerships. We provide information on
available training at bike night and also provide free booth
space at our shows and events for schools to set up
informational displays. We only sell DOT-approved helmets at
our stores and encourage new riders to use them and other
safety gear. Every new customer is introduced to these items
as part of the purchasing experience. We even offer packages
that can be included in the bike purchase that provide the
needed gear to new riders.
Our local HOG (Harley
Owners Group) chapters put on monthly rider training free to
help hone the skills of current riders. National HOG even
offers awards and tuition reimbursement for those completing
advanced rider training. From Harley-Davidson corporate on
down, safe riding is encouraged and rewarded. While we
encourage our customers to wear protective gear such as
helmets, we believe in individual freedom of choice and do
not support mandatory helmet laws.
Our dealership family has
been in business since 1954 in South Florida. We belong to
and support many organizations such as AMA and the Florida
Dealer’s Association, which promote motorcycle safety and
work with the state toward proper motorcycle legislation.
We, like many of our fellow dealers, regardless of brand,
have a huge investment in our business and understand that
our future and livelihood are tied to the sport and the
public opinion surrounding it. That is why we strive to
promote motorcycling in a positive light to dispel the myths
surrounding the sport and its reputation.
While the article
provides many percentages and figures to support the
writer’s negative opinion, we both know that percentages can
be used in many ways. I did not see any mention of the
increase in motorcycle registrations for the time period
(which might explain the increase in accidents). There was
no mention in your article of the amount of riding
experience the riders involved in accidents had. I also
failed to see any mention of the recent surge in new Chinese
and other import brands that do not require or have
established dealers with a vested interest in the well-being
of the sport. These opportunists operate out of the backs of
trucks and small warehouses selling to anyone who has the
money to buy regardless of age or experience. Many do not
even have motor vehicle dealer licenses and therefore could
care less about the consequences of their actions.
We can both state our
different views on this subject and agree to disagree, but I
can tell you an indisputable fact. Consider this while
you’re working out your percentages: I’ve been riding
motorcycles since the early ’60s and working at Peterson’s
full-time since 1988. We’ve sold lots of motorcycles and
made a lot of customers in that time, and I can still count
on my fingers the number of our store’s customers who have
died as a result of motorcycle accidents. Even when I
include the people I rode with before working at the store,
I still have fingers left over. Make sure you include both
sides of the story when you print an article.
Respectfully,
Ed Carrera, general
manager
Peterson’s
Harley-Davidson South
Miami
Hey, You Anti-Christ
Atheist! God Saved My Life and Cured My Addiction
To the Editor:
I read the letter to the
editor [published May 31] titled “You Can Leave Your
Anti-Religious Material in My Building Anytime.”
I had a drug and alcohol
abuse problem even though I have cirrhosis and Hep C of the
liver. I wanted to quit so badly and also had acid reflux
disease. I started vomiting blood on Dec. 16 and I lost
about eight pints of blood. I was so ill that I couldn’t eat
or drink anything. My husband and I didn’t want to spend
Christmas in the hospital. On Dec. 21, I was so weak and I
kept passing out. I finally got down on my knees and asked
God to please help me even if it meant I had to die. That
afternoon, I was in such bad shape that my husband called
911. The paramedics rushed me to the hospital. I started not
being able to breathe even though I was on oxygen. When I
got to the hospital, they started an IV in my arm. The
doctor noted that the IV in my arm wasn’t working so they
had to cut a hole in my neck and started pumping blood in
faster. Also, my doctor had to do surgery on my esophagus. I
had veins that had ruptured. After the blood started
entering my body, I looked and felt better as the minutes
passed. Finally I knew that I wasn’t going to die and I
thanked the doctor for saving me. He said, “Don’t thank me.
Thank God,” because He is the one who saved me.
So God did answer
my prayers and I haven’t had a drink since Dec. 16, 2005. I
thank God every day for what He did for me. But after two
weeks, I started snorting cocaine and taking downers. I went
to my doctor and she told me my lungs were full of fluids
and the drugs were causing it. I started watching some of
the religious shows on television and saw that God couldn’t
help me unless I dedicated my life to God, Jesus My Savior
and my Holy Spirit. I decided to have myself anointed and
hands laid upon me. God showed me something else he had done
to help me, and since May 7, 2007 I stopped using cocaine
and drugs and haven’t had the desire to do any more drugs
and alcohol even though I was getting tempted by Satan
almost every day. But I rebuked Satan out of my life and I
still thank God every day for giving me a more peaceful,
loving life. I don’t have to worry about our rent or
utilities at all because God makes sure my husband and I
have the money each time it is due. If we don’t have the
money, He’s provided me with St. Patrick’s Church, and they
have helped us with our utilities, and one time when my
husband couldn’t work for three weeks, St. Patrick’s paid
half my rent and the other Catholic church in Surfside
provided me with more money for my rent. I am on disability,
which is not enough to pay all the bills.
So if [Roger Shatanof] is
anti-religious, I would gladly challenge him by witnessing
to him the good in God and God has a right to question our
faith in Him.
God has made my life so
good now that I don’t fear, I have patience, I don’t worry
or get stressed out because God wants that in us. I also
have a lot of courage and try witnessing to some every day.
I believe that Mr. Shatanof is very wrong about God and that
he is an anti-Christ or what they will call dedicated to
Satan.
I don’t think that you
should give the paper to the condo in which Mr. Shatanof
lives.
Rosalynn Ardiles
Miami Beach
F&*^ing Lawyers, Man
Thursday’s Neighbors
reported that Mayor Dermer’s conflict of interest law has
been modified. Purpose? To eliminate a loophole found by
Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora, a lawyer with the very
political Becker & Poliakoff firm. Seems the latter out-lawyered
the former. The term “employee” has now been added to the
ordinance, courtesy of non-lawyer Commissioner Matti Bower.
Attorney Dermer omitted
the letter of the law. Attorney Gongora omitted the spirit.
Perhaps we need fewer lawyers in public office.
Mike Burke
Miami Beach
Work for Seniors, Dang
It! It’s Not Like It Will Cost You Much
Dear Editor:
Do you have senior
citizens in your family? Are you familiar with the
challenges that are ahead as they face decisions like
critical health care, insurance and those who prey on them
to get their money?
To bring attention to
these concerns, last month was “Elder Law Month.” But now
that we are in June, it is up to us as citizens to educate
ourselves on the issues that seniors face.
As an advocate for
seniors in both my professional and personal life, I would
like to urge you to take advantage of the free resources
available in our state, like the Florida Department of Elder
Affairs, AARP, the Florida Bar and the Academy of Florida
Elder Law Attorneys.
Our seniors have worked
all of their lives for us, now let us work for them.
Very truly yours,
Richard C. Milstein, Esq.
Miami
