The Fun in Fundraiser

 I rarely go to law related fundraisers anymore. Since I don't much have an active litigation practice, I needn't suck up to judges anymore. My friend Joel's  sister Dawn is an exception, as is her friend Cristine, who we call Blondie, on account of she's blonde. We support them out of friendship.

But Joel invited me to one of these a few weeks ago, not for a judge but for the Public Defender, and as I hadn't seen him for awhile, I decided to go. The PD is elected each four years, and ours, Carlos Martinez, is a very popular one. Still, the game is the incumbent has to raise funds for his re-election, to scare off would-be opponents, and then returns the unused part of any contributions.

So I drove to The Moorings, probably the best neighborhood in Miami, where Joel and his wife Courtney live. It's in the Grove, walking distance to everything cool. Joel paid about $1M for his historic house, agreeing to leave the facade alone, and put another $1M into the renovation. Since many of the Masters of the Universe are moving to Miami now, from NY, Chicago, and LA, the Moorings' values have soared. Not like MY hood soar, but REALLY soared. Joel said one realtor said he could easily get near $20M for his house. I'm thrilled for him.

Anyway, it was a lovely evening. I had invited Pat, my broker, in town from PA, thinking he might meet some clients there. Sure enough, some of his old Riviera buddies were in attendance, and he made a nice connection for his girl Marie, who works for a poetry non profit. Our old friend Michelle was there, and she started a City Life Guide -- Marie's non profit is a natural for a profile.

I also saw a bunch of Joel's old crim law buddies -- very colorful people. And Carlos spoke, and was VERY impressive.

He gets reality -- people attend fundraisers for sitting judges, not that they expect favors, he said with a wink. And the State Atty is a good person to know if a relative gets arrested. But if you support the PD, you truly do it out of morality -- you believe in the system. And he has done well for his office -- by far the highest paid Assistant PDs in the state, due to Carlos's ability to navigate Tally pols well.

I ran into an old friend of Joel's named Anthony, who calls himself Ant-ny, with a HEAVY Bronx accent. He hit it big in the crim defense biz -- I saw his Bentley SUV on the way out.

Also, a VERY pretty middle aged Cubana approached me -- old friend Bill's partner. She thanked me for the job Paul and I did for her uncle in a car crash years ago -- especially helping to get the money to relatives in Cuba. It's never bad when a non-appearance challenged woman hugs you warmly -- at least for this aging lawyer.

I drove home near 9, and was hungry. Wifey had cereal for dinner, but said UberEats would be a good idea. I got a few wraps from Carrot Express, and had an epiphany -- what do rural people do without UberEats? Have to eat whatever food they have? Drive long distances? No -- it would be hard to retain my ample belly without a LOT of UberEats choices.

Speaking of long distances -- tomorrow D1 and I have to drive to Margate, in NW Broward, to buy her Lexus off the lease so Wifey and I can own it. Bastard car companies -- they won't let you wire funds directly to them, as they are not "registered car dealers" in Florida -- the whole thing is a scam to charge new dealer fees at the back end of a lease, even though you have a contract saying you can buy the vehicle for a sum certain.

I stared Lexus down with Wifey's old SUV, but D1 doesn't have the time to fight this time -- so I will pay several hundred dollars as a "dealer fee" just because. Sometimes you have to know when a fight is worth it.

But we'll get to see Little MAn and Baby Man, and Sunday hope to take Little Man to Fairchild Garden for a dinosaur exhibit -- they have big statues planted among the tropical foliage. Sort of Jurassic Park without the violence, hopefully.

Now talk about fun...