artdirector@sfreporter.com
News
Cover, May 19: “Unhidden Treasures”
In defense of Forrest
Daniel Barbarisi misses the point. In 2010, Forrest Fenn (whom I have interviewed eight times since breaking the story in 2011) was diagnosed with terminable cancer. He decided to drive into the desert with his written autobiography (which later became the book, The Thrill of the Chase), hide a treasure chest filled with precious objects, take 52 sleeping pills and end his life. “At least they’ll find something besides my bones,” he said.
Fenn went into remission and decided to go ahead and hide the treasure and publish his book (with nine clues as to the treasure’s whereabouts). Fenn did not hide the treasure to get people off the couch. The people who died took no safety precautions and Forrest was very saddened by these deaths. As for the “Me too” element, two of the “searcher” women Barbarisi interviewed made false claims, trying to extract money from Forrest. As far as the BLM and FBI inquiries, no charges were leveled against Fenn and the BLM sent him an apology letter. Because Forrest Fenn is no longer alive to defend himself, we must do it for him.
Margie Goldsmith
New York City
Food, May 26: “Marcy Street Shuffle”
Another story
To me, this story reads like one we’ve all read before: white men move into a neighborhood and make it “hip.” While I appreciate the effort to build up new business, this angle flags gentrification rather than inclusive progress.
Additionally, it’s disappointing that it fails to mention that there are several pioneering women-owned businesses which moved into the area before it was “super-rad,” and were actually the ones to usher in the current “renaissance.” Sub Rosa Mercantile, World of Bohemia, Artful Tea, etc...
An interesting story would be to highlight the women of Marcy who managed to open on an arguably unfashionable block, make it through a pandemic, and come out the other side stronger—thus paving the way for said white men to confidently (when are they not confident?) open their shops and restaurants. And when it comes to missions, products, menus, it would also be great to highlight those, like Sub Rosa, who prioritize building up women and POC, specifically those who are local and regional.
Let’s see more stories on neighborhoods which focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in a diverse way. It’s not just the “outsiders” who live and work in silos in Santa Fe.
Rose Ratliff
Santa Fe
