Lego Man Goes to Florida

After the heaviness of my last few posts, I thought that readers might appreciate a bit of levity.  So here goes. 

Last week an 8ft tall 100 pound fiberglass statue floated ashore on Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, FL.  Made to look like one of the Lego figurines that come with their popular building kits, the statue had the following message printed in the middle of its body--"No Real Than You Are."  The name Ego Leonard and the number 8 appeared on the back. 

Image courtesy of Hypervocal.com

Authorities are still mystified about who placed this giant Lego figurine in the water and why.  Residents of Sarasota initially thought it was a P.R. stunt on the part of the new Lego land theme park that had opened near by.  When contacted, Lego land officials denied any connection to the statute that washed ashore but expressed a bit of envy that they hadn't thought up such a great advertising gimmick.  Currently the statue is in the custody of local police.  If it is not claimed within 90 days, it will be given to Jeff Hindman, the early morning beach walker who found the statue. 

The quirkiness of this story more than anything caught my attention.  We are so busy trying to seal our borders from "illegal aliens" these days that the thought of a giant Lego Man washing ashore in Florida is well--freaking hilarious.

Lego Man's emergence also exposes two interesting aspects of American character.  One is the almost complete lack of humor possessed by most government authorities.  The Sheriff's department seems more concerned about who owns this large piece of fiberglass than why it showed up on the beach in the first place.  They also seem oblivious to the fact that (gasp!) it might simply be a piece of performance art.  Ego Leonard, a Dutch artist, has done similar stunts all around the world.  The other is the greedy nature of some of my fellow citizens.  Jeff Hindman has stated that if the police do turn the Lego Man over to his custody, he plans to sell it on EBAY.  Needless to say, he's hoping that the police attitude of this statute as being primarily part of a lost and found case remains constant.


So much for whimsy.  Here's a thought.  Why not buy Lego Man a nice tropical print shirt, a straw hat, and a drink.  He was just hanging out at the beach after all until some jerk arrested him and locked him in jail. Way to go Mr. Policeman.  Ruining a dude's bodacious vacation plans.