SBH Time Machine: CriticalMiami's great photo of Sahara Hotel in NMB

Woke up early this morning intent on making up for a lot of the time I've wasted over the past few months awaiting my new-and-improved computer, to post some things that have heretofore gone un-commented upon the past few weeks.
Notable among these were some particularly bad examples of journalism in both the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, more of the usual suspect: what's written in the paper not being nearly as important as what's left out. And I'll do that.

But right now, before too much of the Hurricanes at Boston College game gets away from me, I wanted to bring to your attention an interesting photo that caused me to laugh when I first saw it on CriticalMiami.com recently.
(I told my nephew Mario before he left to go to the U-M finale at the Orange Bowl, that my intuition was VERY BAD about the 'Canes, and that they were likely looking at three weeks of being pummeled to increase UVA, VA Tech. and Boston College's bowl prospects.)

It's a reminder of the history and everyday life that's disappearing in North Dade, and North Miami Beach and Sunny Isles in particular, from the era when I was growing-up in NMB.
The South Florida that was, as always, equal parts kitsch, apathy and opportunity.
Back when real estate speculation was just a hobby or simple addiction, and NOT something that people bragged about, like they had suddenly become Columbus, and were the first person to ever realize that a nice place near the beach was a good idea.

CriticalMiami, http://criticalmiami.com/ posted a photo of the Sahara Hotel, at 183rd Street and Collins Avenue, in what is now the town of Sunny Isles, but which previously had been a part of NMB proper, prior to its formal incorporation a few years ago.

Somewhere, I think I might still have my cache of 1970's and early '80's hotel brochures and post cards which I gathered one day while home from IU on Christmas break.
I was at Haulover Beach, the beach I knew like the back of my hand, more intent on channeling some memories with some friends over drinks than actually getting into the water, but in those pre-cell phone days, when they didn't show, I got bored of waiting, and rather than leave, decided to walk my way north up the strip and gather whatever examples of kitschy hotel stuff I could get my hands on.
(Sadly, this was already after The Castaway's Wreck Bar, with their Tahitian motif had long since gone by the wayside, before my friends and I from North Miami Beach High School http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Miami_Beach_High_School could ever take full advantage of its favorable location, after watching the TV ads for years as we grew-up.
For photos of The Castaways as well as more of The Sahara Hotel, and several other local landmarks and curios, see Tiki Kiliki's flickr site, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiki_kiliki/.
Which reminds me, one of these days, I need to do a photo search for the old Playboy Club near 79th Street, which always caught and held my attention whenever my family was heading downtown.)

My plan was to take this all back with me to Bloomington, and show my friends up there a snapshot of what life down here was REALLY like, such as it was, mixed-in with some particularly good photos I'd taken of some very cute female friends I'd run into at the beach days earlier.
Fortuitously, one of them had a 35mm camera with her, saving me from having to use one of those awful Kodak 110 cameras I was then using, back before one-time use cameras liberated everyone to always be camera-ready.
I intended the photos to serve as a sort of a morale-booster for us during Bloomington's cold and snowy winter, to get everyone in the mood for spring break a couple of months later.

I guess I hardly need to mention here that saying the words "North Miami Beach" to Midwestern kids in those pre-Miami Vice days, created fantastic ideas in their heads that bore little to no resemblance to the reality of life down here.
For instance, they had no idea what a "condo commander" was.

Much as you'd expect, my Hoosier pals from New York were all-too hip to the hum-drum reality of life down here, from their myriad trips down here over the years visiting family over holidays.
They'd turn to me and pepper me with:
1. "When is THAT bridge over the Intercoastal near Turnberry going up?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_State_Road_856
2. "There's nowhere to shop."
3. "How can you stand it?"
4. "It takes forever to get anywhere, and there's nothing to do."
Right, as opposed to now.

CriticalMiami's flickr site is at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alesh/2045269189/

1:35 p.m.
I got too distracted by the U-M game and the VA Tech at UVA game, and now the 'Canes are trailing 14-0 at halftime. Same ol', same ol': Kyle Wright is All Wrong and "The human fumble machine". I wonder what that is in Latin?

Note to self: Old idea for new SouthBeachHoosier post needs to be finished- Is Randy Shannon the Black Dave Wannstedt?
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Wannstedt&m=text
The football coordinator who knows his one area very well, but when given the opportunity to rise, then suffers "the slings and arrows" and reality of The Peter Principle? http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Principle-Laurence-J/dp/0848821564/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195929852&sr=8-2

I first read the book at JFK Junior High in 1974 at the suggestion of one of my favorite teachers ever, Lloyd Siegendorf, a smart and savvy FSU grad, and the man who let our social studies class watch the Watergate hearings live on TV, interspersed with lots of Q&A and clever banter. (He's the brother of the former Dade circuit court judge, Arden Siegendorf, http://www.acctm.org/asiegendorf/ )

As I recall it, Mr. Siegendorf was talking to us about important books, and how they can help shape our worldview for the better if we read them correctly, but mentioned that ideas NOT rooted in reality and common sense were just good intentions. Or something like that.
(I've tried to keep that in mind over the years, as well as here on the blog.)
Then he mentioned The Peter Principle, which I'd read about in magazines.
He stated that given my particular interests in politics and history, it was something that would come in very handy in the future. Naturally, he was right!
Every 13-year old ought to read it, in order to better prepare themself for life after school.

As this article in the Salt Lake Tribune makes clear, thirty-plus year later, Mr. Siegendorf STILL knows how to fire up kids:http://blogs.sltrib.com/prepsports/2007/10/girls-soccer-my-postseason-thoughts.htm

By the way, Flickr.com says:
"We couldn't find any photos tagged with "Randy Shannon". We give up!"

Why am I not surprised?
Millions of photos of everything under the sun on that site, but while there are hundreds of photos of U-M players, fans and ballgames, photos of him coaching are nowhere to be found on Flickr. Hmmm...
Sort of like how Shannon's coaching is invisible, as the team has regressed in EVERY phase of the game this season, and continues to be unable to make proper halftime adjustments.
Bad and boring never sells in South Florida.
Ever.
Especially when you've become conditioned to exciting excellence.