The Observation Deck

Sorry for the late notice, but there will be a rally and march today to celebrate the 50th birthday of Medicare. Similar events are happening around the country.

Lakewood has been chosen as the NEO site because marchers want to show opposition to the hospital closing.

The event begins at 11am at Lakewood Park.
There will be food, friends, and fun!

Here is the schedule:

11:00 am - 12:00 pm Food, fun, social media, music by Dixieland band
12:00 pm Speeches by Debbie Silverstein, a representative from Senator Brown's office, State Senator Mike Skindell and MIKE DENEEN!
Come watch to see if I mess up onstage!
1:00 pm March to Lakewood Hospital to support the hospital.

Please do your best to attend. Alex will be there to take photos, so we'll have a gallery tonight. I hope he gets my "good side".

The Medicare celebration and Save Lakewood Hospital march today was a great success.

The folks from Save Lakewood Hospital and their supporters drew the usual excellent response from our Police Division to ensure our safety and we appreciate the usual outstanding performance of those officers They were outnumbered by the Clinic Police as we gathered around the Detroit Avenue side of the hospital. A marked and unmarked car were present and several patrolmen and ranking officers were there. They were courteous and professional and we appreciated their concern for us.

Now if only Mike Summers, Mary Louise Madigan,Tom Bullock and the Lakewood Hospital Association board of trustees showed that same kind of attention to their duties of protecting our most valuable asset, we wouldn't need all that protection.

You mean our Lakewood cops, outnumbered the Clinic cops.
Two Clinic cops RAN AWAY when they saw Alex with his camera! OOH, SCARY! I pulled my little red car right up next to the big Clinic cop by his black sedan - to be sure he saw OUR "Lakewood Hospital Rescue Vehicle".
I made sure the one Lakewood officer at the Park, knew that if the hospital closes, jobs go away, city's income goes way down, and they'll have to cut the police force. They need to know this!
The rally was great, happy, peppy, hundreds of people, great speakers, good information, good folks, good food, fun music. It was a gorgeous day at the Park.
Many thanks to Michelle for arranging this and pulling SLH into it, and choosing the location best suited to OUR needs. BIG THANKS AND HUGS to Michelle!
And I finally got to meet our "banjo man", Gary Rice, who is a delightful guy!

The Lakewood officers were wonderful.
I joked briefly with them as we arrived...very professional, friendly, and courteous.

The whole event went just about perfectly.

And we learned that Gary Rice is in fact......SUPERMAN!
He joined the band, spoke beautiful words of wisdom and compassion, led songs on his banjo, and then helped a woman in distress on her way home.
THERE IS NOTHING THAT MAN CAN'T DO!!

I'll have more info later.....Alex will have a great photo gallery.

What a day.

Thanks to all. Many hands indeed (and feet!) made the work light.

Thanks to all involved for coming and making your voices heard...

...and of course, raising your voices in song.

...and Mike? Great speech!

Thanks Marguerite, for the lift back. My foot had done its duty and was letting me know.

Alex, Mike, Marguerite, all....

We made a difference...

Back to the banjo...

(personal to Mike...You have a SUPERDOG!)