As you know, we have meetups all across the nation and this one started out pretty much like all the other meetups but somehow it kinda snowballed and we are very enthusiastic about it.
August is big in Florida for many reasons. People are getting the last bit of vacation time squeezed in just before school starts back. We had been trying to meetup in different locations since last September and we just ran into obstacle after obstacle. The parks, the recreation centers, the meeting halls, the rooms were just too expensive or booked.
We decided on a meetup in Melbourne but then $300 for 4 hours for rinky dink seemed extreme. Ole Hippie Chic and me nearly beat our brains out looking for meat space.
We then realized we were coming up on spring Break so that didn't happen.
We tried
Tampa and could not find anyplace that was not booked solid unless we wanted to sell a kidney or some other vital organ.. After Navajo posted a diary about regional meetup and organizing, I thought , Well here sits Florida and no scheduled meetups done or about to do to report in 2014...
After some thought and consideration, Vet and me said, " Well we will just have a meetup here in Inverness again". We are sort of centrally located and this state is huge and the clock is ticking for elections not to mention we can't get rid of Scott soon enough. Well, the very reason for meetups actually happened to us.. We had an unbelievable July with family deaths and illness. Two of Vet's brother's died within a week of each other. Our daughter in Ga is a juvenile diabetic and her boyfriend died July 5th in Atlanta, which sent her to ICU for stress into a coma. She is recovering nicely now but still in grief. Our adult son just last week somehow got a blood infection from a bite or either cleaning carpets but regardless, he was hospitalized for 3 days.
Now we continued to say, " We need this meetup if for nothing else to show what meetups are about because folks like bairdl, SemDem, and Gordon20024 started picking up the ball and saying, " We need to have a meetup because one of ours is hurting pretty bad. That is true.. We are very worn out from grief and loss and burden.
We need some other focus. We need to GOTV, meet activists and contenders and be the change for all the victims of Florida because it does not get done without boots on the ground and real meat space interaction.
I would not call the meetup off and the meetup started gathering attention. People are on the mend and the others are gone but not forgotten so we must move on. We have so many issues in this state and healthcare and lack thereof, we saw upclose and personal. The horror stories regarding VA issues, disability issues, educational cuts, unethical governor who I refer to now as Dodger due to dodging questions IMO was the root of Florida's problems. His administration and the republican state and federal legislators were just affected all of our lives too much. People going hungry, outrageous special interest, the environment, people not even getting by with the cuts in food stamps and medicaid. It is too much !!!!! People coming together for answers rergarding the VA crisis is a must.
The diaries of the event have been posted by Sem Dem and me and the latest is, We have US congressional contenders wanting to be here and they are coming.
We have about 30 confirmed Kossacks and Kogs RSVP'd. We are awaiting confirmation from of Sem Dem's bloggers. We do have representatives from Occupy Gainesville and Moral Mondays attending.
Yesterday we called our AME minister who is our own Rev. Barber in the local area who is constantly working on behalf of the poor and visiting the jails. He rounded up some extra chairs and a podium and will be attending. He is of the same mindset and activism of GOTV as Rev. Barber and almost as busy. He is well known for pulling the GOTV effort with local bishops of the African American voting bloc here in Florida. The power people have put up obstacles on voting rights here in Florida.
Gordon20024 ( a disabled vet) is furnishing food. ALL putting this together here ARE VETERANS Disabled Veterans. Disabled Veterans and Vet advocates are putting this together at their expense . Veterans are very much into pulling togethr just as they did on the battlefield for We the People and doing it by bringing people together !!!!!
We need Ice
I want all that can, bring their folding lawn chairs.
I request if anyone swims later in the evening to please bring your own towel.
We need Trash bags ..Large ones
There are several motels in the area but Lynn Byard did some checking and for those
who do not want to go high end of 109 a nite there is a motel called
Florida Motel that is clean and 4 miles away.
The addy is1301 Highway 41 North
phone number 352-726-2631 which quoted us a price of 45.00 single 55.00 double.
You can find other info on the meetup from the linked Diaries.
If you wish to help us in spirit with this project you can either go to SemDem's page or just click my name and donate to me directly or see below This is about VETERANS along with all other issues so we appreciate and and all thoughts and support. This has not been an inexpensive project but we feel quite an urgency that must be done. If you click on my Donate sig line, this meetup will help vets along with others who want to gather the boots on the ground.
You can donate right here : http://forum4.aimoo.com/...
See you here August 9th beginiining at 10:00 AM
Info on the Meetup :
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...