THOUGHTS ON CERABINO

I thought the Cerabino article was hilarious. Sometimes you need to step back and take a look at things from the perspective of an outsider. Condo living is a pretty funny thing to begin with, and Cerabino has written a book about it. I'm going to send my brother and a friend of mine, both of whom live on Cape Cod, a copy of the article.

I don't think Frank was "disrespectful" of the Village as Esther Sutofsky maintains. He was just enjoying a good laugh and sharing it. I laugh along with him. It's healthy to laugh at yourself.

I do think he sided far more with Dave Israel and his administration than with the malcontents, but that is just my own opinion. If you read his column carefully, you'll see it is almost all quotes—if not exact quotes (with quote marks), then "almost quotes" (without the marks). The telling thing to me was that the quotes from the malcontents were essentially a display of their vulgarities and grossly exaggerated charges, while the quotes from Dave & Company were mostly their claimed accomplishments.

Cerabino certainly makes a point of how extreme some of the mal stuff has been: "For a daily dose of political vitriol, Villagers can go online to My Village Blogger, which bills itself [my emphasis] 'The Voice of the Malcontents.'"

Plus, "A dictator who has rested control of the pool and clubhouse? It's like reading dispatches from Aleppo [an ancient Arab warring state], not Okeechobee Boulevard." Cerabino (purposely, I'm sure, with no "sic") retains the malcontent misspelling of "wrest" in this clearly satirical remark.

And the kicker: "Underhanded depravity? Seriously? Yes, they're heavy on the mustard here." I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes at this one.

Yes, perhaps he was a mite short on respect. Of the malcontents.

I could go on, but I think the point has been made. The Village has been subjected to what everyone in Southeast Florida fears, the Cerabino fires. We have emerged a little scorched, but so what? Hopefully we can enjoy a good laugh about it and perhaps not take ourselves quite so seriously. And stop the ridiculous hyperbole.