Founders Day in Deerfield Beach, FL. Is a Freepin Opportunity

The day started early as I prepared to face our City Leaders about the issue of Deerfield Beach's redevelopment of the Barrier Island. February 16, 2002 Founders Day for our Town. We have a big parade that marches from the mainland over the bridge onto our small island culminating with celebration on our beachfront.

The previous day I interviewed most of my neighbor on the island and the mainland, the majority agreed with my side of the issue. Out of over two hundred people, I spoke with only two that disagreed with me. Two years previously our city voted down a resolution to redevelop our beach with over 70% of the votes.

Nobody can believe the city is wasting tax dollars on this issue again and we are concerned the money they want to use for the project will come from Federal Tax Dollars, meant to assist plighted areas. Our city seems to believe our Island is a plighted area in need of public assistance. That's a surprise to most of us who know property taxes to be among the highest in the town. At a time when everyone is facing tighter budgets, shouldn't we be helping areas that truly need help?

Enron is building a power plant out west on the outskirts of town and the Beach Redevelopment plan came to the surface, coincidentally enough right after Enron declared Bankruptcy.

Last night I made 15 signs to pass out along the parade route with the messages "Leave Our Beach Alone" and "What Part of "NO" Don't You understand", all of them are tagged with the FreeRepublic web site address. I also made two larger signs that I would carry, the first message read, "Tell The Mayor & City Council, To Leave Our Beach Alone". I'd use this to help me pass out signs along the parade route, the second message will get my point across during the Parade.

About two hours before the parade began, I went over to the Tipperary Pub on the mainland. This is the only Gin Mill in our town that serves breakfast, it's a gathering place for the working class in our community. I was greeted warmly by the members of the breakfast club, and probably could have passed out most of my signs here at the Tip. That would have been too easy though, I wanted to get the participation of the full cross section of our community. After a healthy breakfast and a couple cups of coffee I took to the street, all the patrons of the Tipperary gave me a commitment that the Mayor and City Council would hear their voices when they passed by in the parade.

An hour before the parade begins and the crowd is starting to assemble along the sidewalks. I walked around talking to anyone who was interested in the Beach redevelopment. In-between conversations I hawked my signs "Tell the Mayor and City Council what you think about the Beach Redevelopment get your free signs here". So many people are upset with this issue and the response is so great it became difficult to pass out signs and inform the people at the same time.

The parade has begun and I still have three signs left to pass out. Our Founders Day Parade starts with a Bed Race, The Fire Fighters are the favorites with Ocean Rescue right in there to keep it competitive. Luckily I found myself in the right place, at the bottom of the straightaway after they come over the bridge where they go into a 90 degree turn so hazardous you won't find it on any other race course. The Firemen hit the bottom of the hill at top speed, equipped with a pair of fine twenty seven inch rear racing wheels and twenty four inch wheels with two inch all terrain tires on the front, this was an impressive slumber machine. With all the excellent engineering expertise, Over Kill wasn't considered in the final equation for the design of this sleep machine. The front wheels dug in and held tight to the roadway as they began to execute the turn, but the undercarriage couldn't handle the stress of the sway from the headboard. The pair of fine twenty-seven inch rear racing wheels collapsed from G forces while the head of the bed whipped around the corner.

One might think this would be too much for any racing team to overcome, but due to their professional team work, the Firemen were quickly on their way, after a mere 45 second pit stop, despite the challenge of two fine twenty-seven inch rear racing wheels, so warped not even Dr. Seuss could find a use for them.

Ocean Rescue was not just lumbering along in this contest of slumber vehicles and the team was working hard on the brakes coming down the hill, as they approached the turn the Firemen were just getting underway again. Ocean Rescue executed the carnivorous corner flawlessly and gained the lead before going into the next turn 100 yards down the road. Ocean Rescue retained the lead over the rest of the course, crossing the finish line to become The Deerfield Beach, Founder's Day Bed Racing Champions for 2002.

I started back over the bridge again, still offering my free signs to demonstrate our dissatisfaction with the City's contempt for our Beach. Along the main parade route a diverse group of a dozen people courageously stepped forward to help speak out against our City's destructive desires and wave the banner demanding they "Leave Our Beach Alone"

As I stated before there was very little opposition to my message, I did discover one couple that disapproved. They thought as much commercial development as possible was good thing on the Beach, because it meant more money for the City. I told them in my opinion the City was over developing the Island, neglecting properties out west where the residents could really use assistance. People who live in Deerfield Beach are proud of their small town culture, if we wanted to live in an urban environment we would have moved to Pompano or Ft Lauderdale. This couple does not live in Deerfield Beach, they told me they lived one town south, in Light House Point. They also told me they were Deerfield Beach City employees. From their appearance it wasn't hard to guess them to be typical government bureaucrats, that still hadn't grasped they are paid by the people to serve the people. They ignore the will of the people while bleeding our city resources for everything their worth, all the while enjoying a luxury home in the up scale community of Light House Point.

I was back on the mainland where most of the signs were passed out. The Mayor along with his entourage of Council Members, City Manager and other City Employees, was making their way towards me. With all the contempt for the Beach Redevelopment maybe it was right, that most of them kept the tops up on their convertibles. The Mayor was good-natured enough during our encounter, encouraging me to attend the city meetings and participate, he hadn't seen all the other signs yet. The City Manager was a little less cordial, I could hear the crassness in his voice when he ordered me to attend the council meetings. Non-elected bureaucrats always seem to be the most arrogant and our city Manager is no exception.

I started walking along side the Mayor's car taking pictures of the spectators along the way. But people were still asking about the questionable conduct of the City and soon the entourage left me behind while I took the time to inform the people.

I continued to follow while informing the townspeople, as I reached the top of the bridge I noticed I was between a huge gap in the proceedings. The last of the City official's cars were already going around the turn that destroyed the hopes of Firemen earlier, and the closest group behind me was the High School Band performing a routine at the bottom of the bridge. I stepped back onto the Island to join the other Islanders. There was no need to inform the people here, a few were good friends. They all are aware of how the City is trying to betray them, and are happy to support anyone willing to expose the Evildoers escapades.

The crowd of Islanders increased and the faces grew more familiar as I made my way around the turn onto A1A, towards the street where I live. I was overcome with pride as I turned on to 2nd St., good friends had gathered at Basil's Service Station on the corner, neighbors, surfers beach combers and small business owners lined both sides of the street. These are my peers, I don't know them all by name, but I feel I know and trust each one of them. Their encouragement was exhilarating, the feeling of us all being united to preserve our Beach and the culture surrounding it was overpowering.

It is difficult for us not to consider the coincidence, the suggestion on my sign sums it up pretty well, "Now That Enron Dried Up, The City Wants To Soak the Beach".

The cars were starting to stall down at the Pier where we would make our final turn onto Ocean Way, so I took my time moving forward, sharing mutual appreciation with my friends and neighbors. It may not be Mayberry but it is a close, friendly, open neighborhood. We will unite and defeat the Evildoers in City Government.

Coming to the end of the street and going around the Howard Johnson's, I'm greeted by the fishing gang from the pier, tourists and snowbirds. The cars are stopped in front of me, and I pause to give some tourists information that feeds their curiosity, most of them could care less, but they are a vital part of our economy.

I decided to pass the back of the entourage on the ocean side of the street. More of my neighbors set up their party on the beach, their enthusiasm let everyone along the shore know something fresh and exciting was on it's way. There were forty or so Kiosks selling souvenirs along the side of street where people were starting to swarm. This has been too easy, The Mayor's just six cars ahead, stopped a block away from the viewing stand, it will be easy to catch up with him.

When I came up behind the Mayor's car I saw them, the largest singular Democratic-voting block in Broward County. Under the grass roofed shelters, absorbing the refreshing tropical breeze in the protection of the cool shade, set back from the long row of Kiosks, right where they always sit, were the citizens of Century Village. This predominantly New York Jewish community has privately owned busses with drivers on the payroll. The last time they voted conservative was for Moses. They don't worry about a bus breaking down on the way to the polls because they have several in reserve for just that occasion.

Never surrendering I march forward with the knowledge that I am Right and that the FreeRepublic.com tag at the bottom of my signs will protect me, into the jaws of liberalism, between the citizens of Century Village and their local Poster Boy, our Mayor.

Suddenly, just as winds change in a hurricane so did the tides on the beach The citizens of Century Village had learned to read and think, no longer were they sheep to the fold, their cheers of support towards me were more deafening then any other of the day. The men with their usual humor began to taunt our Mayor, "Yeah Mayor, what do you have to say about that, Mayor" "Are you going to get off your high horse Mayor, and leave our beach alone, Mayor" "What Part of "No" Don't You Understand Mayor". The way was clear, the blockades were pulled away and our Deerfield High School majorettes danced forward and stopped, to entertain in front of the reviewing stand. The Mayor's car paused in front of another grass-roofed shelter loaded with the proud Democratic-voting block, the citizens of Century Village. "That's Right What Part of "NO" didn't they understand","Can You Hear Us Mayor, Leave Our Beach Alone" they heckled.

After the Majorettes finished their performance and moved on, the Mayor and I moved in front of the reviewing stand. The voice over the P.A. ignored the presence of FreeRepublic and our warnings about the Beach, but the crowd overwhelmed the speaker silencing the flatteries it wanted to bestow upon our Mayor. Calls to save our Beach and chants questioning City conduct filled the air. If there was a vote today, the development would fail worse then before. The politician knows this, yet he still graciously pauses in front of the reviewing stand for several minutes to acknowledge the condemnation before we continued to the end of the parade. The non-elected City Manger wasn't as gracious, barely pausing in front of the reviewing stand he couldn't get off the parade route fast enough.

Beyond the viewing stand were more kiosks mostly serving up Bar-B-Q and seafood with a few more souvenir venders. I began to turn around and backtrack the parade route, when I heard "Oh No You Don't!", "You Stop!".

Ask anyone who has ever practiced their 1st amendment rights and they will tell you, it can't be done with out at least one demonstration of socialism. Advancing out of the Beenie Baby Kiosk, in full view of the reviewing stand, charged our sacrificial socialist, demanding "You Stop That, Let Them Have Their Fun". Stepping back from her invasion of my personal space, I explained to the women about 1st amendment rights but she wasn't listening, andclaimed "this is supposed to be a celebration and everyone should have fun". Pointing out that she seemed to be the only one who wasn't happy only infuriated her more, by now she drew the attention of all the bystanders, She screamed "You're ruining the celebration". Stepping back to protect my self again, I told her that "While politicians have full access to the media, anytime they want they can issue a Press Release, events like this are the only opportunities for an individual to address his fellow Townspeople on issues that concern us all." She continued to protest "You're spoiling everything" while making a grab for my sign. The bystanders began to defend me, "It's Called Free Speech" "He Has A Right To Speak Out", "Leave Him Alone", "He's Right, You Shut Up", she exposed herself as the repressive force in our community and needed to be labeled, so that's what I did. "You're a socialist get away from me go back to your Beanie Babies" "Your ideals repress our freedoms and we don't need that here on our Beach". Without any support, and defeated she collapsed back into kiosk, to lick her self-inflicted wounds. Later in the day I would discover this women was a representative of the City's Planning and Zoning Commission. What more prove is needed that the City bureaucrats are bleeding the resources of our Beach while they pad their own pockets and repress the people.

I began again to backtrack the parade route paussing for reflection and appreciation as the Veterans Honor Guard passed. Then I met up with my friends back at Basil's where we watched the rest of the Parade, a wonderful celebration of a community united and prideful in their support of one another.

There was a rain delay during the afternoon events, but the skies soon cleared and Jimmy Buffet's house band from Margaritaville "The Land Sharks" entertained us the rest of the evening late into the night, pausing an hour for the traditional blowing up of our Pier and Fireworks display.

I was there quite serendipitously for another reason, I made it a point to see the entire affair. While the group did indeed exercise their collective First Amendment rights, their performance was not one to bring great credit upon the entity of FR. Even if I had not been there on a business matter with another fellow from an out-of-state law firm to interview some folks and thus unable to do anything but observe, I still would not have participated for a couple of reason: First, that local matter (my locale is 100 miles up the coast) is not one with which this FReeper is conversant and thus, my joining in would have been based on nothing but the association through this medium. And second,it appeared to me that our FR leader was more concerned with being disruptive and aggressive rather than civily informative and advocative.

I guess we all have differing methods of seeking to influence public decision-making.

Like all Lawyers you do a good job of generalizing, are you referring to the Deerfield Beach Founders Day Parade and Celebration when you say “I made a point to see the entire affair” ?

When you say “While the group did indeed exercise their collective First Amendment rights, their performance was not one to bring great credit upon the entity of FR.”

Are you identifying me, the only Freeper on the scene registered on Free Republic who participated and passed out signs as the ”group”.

In this statement ”their performance was not one to bring great credit upon the entity of FR.” are you referring to me?

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted these statements, if I haven't you should be addressing me.

I’d like to point out that this parade is one of the only opportunities an individual has to address his fellow townspeople, while local politicians have the attention of the media on demand. For single independent activists to be successful, they need to be performance artists, as well as knowledgeable of the issues, other wise they would never get the people to recognize their message. In the case of the Deerfield Beach Founders Day Parade, I would have to say, if one or two people were seeing the entire affair, and saw me, one lone Freeper, as a” group”. I was successful by making one person appear to be three or more people.

When you say I was not informative, I would say you didn’t read the article and you didn’t see the entire affair. I stopped many times along the parade route to talk to people and answer questions I did not harass the City officials and only walked by the side of the Mayor’s car during the last stretch along the ocean when it served my needs best. There was no need to be informative along this stretch of the Parade, even though I was, as you would know because you made it a point to see the entire affair The Original Save Our Beach Organization was passing out literature after the parade. So it was more important for me to make the people aware of the issue.

I contacted the O SOB a week before the event to see what their intentions for a resolution were and if I could work with them. They welcomed me to join them but I’m not sure I agree with them on the entire issue. I gave them an idea of what my plans might be and I was careful that my efforts were not confused with theirs, even when I interviewed the Townspeople the day before the main event.

We have the City Manager, the two City Employees, and a Building and Zoning Commisioner disguised as a Beenie Baby Vender attempting to bleed our City of all it's resources, and we have you who were not happy with the freep. Everyone else I talked too was damn glad I was there, even the Firemen are at issue with this devlopment and were glad I made the effort, their number one advocate, the Chief's Wife is a member of City Council.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Deerfield Beach City Commission Meeting