A few short weeks ago I was invited to speak before a small group that was putting on an event in Sarasota. I expected a few people and was absolutely blown away when I arrived this morning and could not park because the parking lot was totally full….beginning at 9:00 am.
The fact that quite literally hundreds of people turned out to participate in this hastily planned event is both a testament to the hard work and dedication of the group that put the event on and a scary commentary about the world we live in today.
It should be noted that two of the finest lawyers in this state, April Charney and Henry Trawick had devoted their time and energy and delivered extraordinary presentations. Henry Trawick is one of the most respected lawyers in this state and quite literally wrote the book on practice and procedure….a book that is relied upon every single day in court rooms all across the state. Let me tell you something……when a guy who has been practicing for as long as he has stands before a crowd and tells you he remembers what is was like trying to deal with titles to property that were destroyed because of the Great Depression…..and then warns that the problems today are even worse then way back then….well, people should stand up and take notice.
And April Charney. Here is a woman who has been in the trenches fighting these battles longer than just about anyone in this state. She’s forgotten more law than most lawyers learn in their entire lifetimes. Their presentations were simply mind blowing.
To see that many people charged up and participating in this extraordinary event….all day long on a Saturday truly was inspiring. And a real connection has got to be made to what I found when I returned home…the Occupy Movement had made its way to St. Petersburg. I walked down to join the group and I was very, very impressed with what I saw. Both from the Occupy members and the members of the general public.
There were hundreds of people in the park and as they stood on the corner with the cars passing by, the number of cars honking in support really got my attention. It is, unfortunately, too late for the political establishment to put all this back into a bottle and make it go away. The discontent is too widespread and too great.
Extraordinary change is underway in this country. The establishment has one hell of a fight to contend with and I’m quite concerned with what they will do to try and put this genie back into a bottle………
