Write On

A local Marketing Goddess in town recently pointed me to a shiny new contest--a writing contest--which is pure gold for a nerd like me. Here's the deal:

Enter your 500 word essay about what makes Sarasota so great, and if you win, your essay will go up front and center on www.sarasotalocal.com. And you'll also get (drum roll, please)...a free t-shirt from Jakes Downtown! (Anyone know what that is?)

The only problem I have in this little competition is selecting the SINGLE terrific trait of Sarasota Florida as my focus. I do have some first thoughts--impressions of what impresses me the most about this town, if you will.

• I truly love it that Sarasota has more birds than curse words in a Chris Rock segment. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Winter is the best time of year to soak soak up birds in your binocs, but any month of the year, you can hang out at a retention pond or even a parking lot and see some great feathered friends. (And Sarasota is quickly becoming retention pond city, with SuperTarget and SuperWalmarts on every corner.)
  


• I love it that we host so many fundraising events, showing off so many fugly fashions and plastic faces (and some sincere ones), that we need 3 glossy magazines--and then some--to cover the social scene every month.
  


• I'm still loving Sarasota for the fact that a transexual was once in the running for mayor. That was cool. We're so PC.
  


• I have no choice but to love good 'ole Sarasota for U.S. 41. It's my main route anywhere, and with that designation of "scenic highway," I know I'm not the only one who thinks it's the cat's pajamas. My favorite segment of 41 is "little motel alley," the portion just south of University and just north of the turn- off to Sarasota Jungle Gardens. Otherwise, I would never see real life prostitutes on the way to work each morning.
  


• And speaking of Sarasota Jungle Gardens, I do adore the plethora of museums, attractions, landmarks, historical buildings and spectacles available for visitation here in Sarasota. You could have one hell of a time here on vacation, and spend one hell of a paycheck doing it. So basically, I'm saying that I love the tourists. They give me something to focus on 365 days a year, the short time I spend thinking about my own meager vacation schedule.
  

Although it is extremely cool that the pictures you see of Sarasota on our visitor's bureau website are the pictures you look for in travel magazines when scoping out your dream vacation, I hope we don't see some trite, cliche b.s. about our beloved town on the front page of this obscure website. Let's make it more interesting. Write away, people, and make it good!