In a typical week as owner and lead detailer at Pure Detailers Professional Detailing Service, Bo Mortensen gets his hands on a lot of machines. Cars, vans, trucks, Jeeps—if it’s got four wheels, a motor and a paint-job, Mortensen will make it shine. But this past week has been anything but typical, with Mortensen heading to the Seattle Museum of Flight as one of 55 professional detailers selected from across the country to restore and preserve 18 historic aircraft, including the original Air Force One.

As part of the 2019 Air Force One Detailing Team, Mortensen arrived in Seattle this past Sunday, before being led to the aircraft for the first time on Monday. “When you walk in, it takes your breath away,” he says. “It’s something to see it on paper, but when you physically but your hands on it, it’s just an indescribable feeling. It’s a way to get up close and personal to history.”

And the plane has seen more than its fair share of history. A custom-built Boeing 707-120, the original Air Force One replaced President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Super-Constellation, and counted presidents Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon among its occupants, as well as notable guests such as Nikita Khrushchev and Henry Kissinger. Replaced in 1962 with a newer Boeing model, the aircraft remained in the presidential fleet until 1996.

Having just completed a 15-year restoration, the original Air Force One needed only a shine and polish, says Mortensen, but the job’s not done until all of the aluminum boasts a “mirror finish.”

Other aircraft had not fared so well over the years, such as a World War II B-29 Super Fortress Bomber undergoing extensive restoration, and a recently acquired Vietnam-era B-52G Stratofortress Bomber in particularly rough condition. Such situations call for “aggressive correction” of the aluminum, says Mortensen, but nothing the team cannot handle. Already underway before his arrival, the restorations will likely last years yet. But, for this one week, the 2019 Detailing Team makes as much progress as they can. Other planes that demand their attention include the first ever Boeing “Jumbo Jet” 747 and the first of the 1960s-era Boeing 727-022 commercial airliners.

But for Mortensen, a Danish immigrant who moved to the US 20 years ago and now owns his own business, it’s the chance to lay his hands on Air Force One that stands out the most. “The history that’s involved in this is just indescribable,” he says. “Standing in front of Air Force One, physically working on it, thinking about all of the presidents and all of the world events that happened with this particular aircraft, it’s staggering how much impact it has. I can’t even explain it.”

Mortensen will be back in Bradenton next week, reopening Pure Detailers and getting back into his routine, but for now he has a couple days left to help preserve history and put a little of himself in there at the same time. “I’m working very hard to earn my spot for next year,” he says. “I’m living the American Dream.” 

Pictured: Bo Mortensen hard at work on the original Air Force One at the Seattle Museum of Flight.

Tacky tiki bars, mountaintop jacuzzis, fishing expeditions, cookouts, cruises, camps or FaceTime interviews—there’s no wrong time for funky swim bottoms. Trunkers, the new online men’s swimsuit brand for everything from surfing to sunning, provides eye-catching and color-popping suits for men of all ages and adventures. Ground control to your Major Tom… feel far above the world with the Space Kitty suit. Who wouldn’t want trunks with a thigh-high cat disc jockey in shades, floating in a sea of flying vinyl saucers and splatter paint stars? Or sport the Mr. Pigeon in a tophat with a monocle and cane, lizard Hefner with a suit and a smoke or join the herd with classic elephant patterns.

With quick dry and comfortable fabric and lining, elastic waistbands and three Velcro close pockets, Trunkers bathing suits not only dress hunks, but treat trunks. With any Trunkers purchase, 5% of sales supports Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary in Baan Tuek, Thailand. These rescued elephants can roam free in over 600 acres of protected forest, never forced to perform in any capacity. So sport these trunks, to support the trunks in need. 

Trunkers

The Sarasota Art Museum has announced the opening of it Inaugural Membership program. Membership provides access and opportunities that allow SAM visitors to deepen their engagement with the Museum community and with the global art world. However, Inaugural Members will receive special benefits tied to the opening of the new museum. The first 100 members will receive an exhibition-related catalogue and the first 500 members will be granted early access to the museum when it opens in December 2019. Follow the website below to become an Inaugural Member. 

Sarasota Art Museum

Before heading to New York for a workshop in September, the new opera, Patra, by Sharon and David Ohrenstein will be presented as a concert reading, with the complete opera being sung on Friday, July 19 at the Westcoast Black Theatre at 7:30pm.

Loosely based on Cleopatra’s final days, Patra is the fifth full-length musical work by the Ohrenstein husband/wife writing team. Most recently they opened the 2017 SaraSolo Festival with Golden Roads - their musical about Golda Meir. The Sarasota cast includes Kathryn Parks as Cleopatra, Joseph Ryan as Octavian, Carole Cornman as Iras, Robyn Rocklein as Charmian, and Baron Garriott as Marcellus.  Pianist Teresa O’Connell will accompany the performance.  The WBTT concert has a $20 suggested donation ticket price which can be paid at the door with cash/check made out to Seagle Music Colony. 

Patra

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) has announced that its annual fundraiser, the Dangerous Ladies Shindig, will take place on Monday, February 24, 2020 and will be part of FST’s Suffragist Project. The evening will kick off with a cocktail reception, and then guests will gather in FST’s Gompertz Theatre for a special performance. The Spelman Award will also be presented at the event. Named in honor of Florida Studio Theatre’s founding Artistic Director, Jon Spelman, the Spelman Award is presented to an individual or a corporate sponsor who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership by providing FST with spiritual, financial, and/or in-kind support. The evening will conclude with a plated dinner. More information will be released closer to the event. Those interested in sponsoring or attending the event can contact Melody Mora-Shihadeh, Director of Individual Giving, at 941-366-9017 ext. 326. 

Florida Studio Theatre