Dear Governor Crist,
At one point in time, I had a friend named Keith Willman. Mr. Willman lived in a house with other roommates, all of whom shared typical household responsibilities. It was Willman’s job to maintain the lawn by mowing the lawn and performing other typical landscaping duties every weekend. On one such weekend, Willman’s mower caught a foreign object within its blade, causing a continuous rattling sound (much like sticking a baseball card in bike wheel spokes). As Willman leaned down to free the object from the blades, he momentarily lost balance and fell into the mower. The spinning steel cut a large chunk off the top of his ring finger, permanently maiming him. While there were a number of text based warnings on the mower itself, we all know how quickly black and white text disappears. Had there been some sort of free standing effigy in place to remind Willman of the cost of hasty actions around fast metal, the entire situation may have been averted. Enclosed is a mockup of just such an effigy. Placed in situations where one is at risk of losing their digits, this sculpture could serve to call to our attention the consequences of actions around tools of any variety. And not just tools! With tales of finger removal littering national papers (at the zoo, in the wild, in personal snake atriums), there is no shortage of utility for a reminder of our hand’s fragility. While I have yet to decide on an appropriate scale for the sculpture, I’m sure the old adage “the bigger, the better,” still applies. I trust the institution of a policy requiring these statuary hands to be displayed in public will be soon forthcoming to the great state of Florida.
Sincerely,
Michael Reynolds
Enclosed:
(3-D this time! I made a mold of my left hand and spray-painted it gold. it's tough to see in the photos, but 3 of the finger tips are missing).
