After Pulse: Magic

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Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12, 2016. It contains sensitive and difficult to read content.

Alex Martins is the CEO of the Orlando Magic and served as chair of the board of directors for the One Orlando Fund.

On June 12, 2016, his phone started buzzing early in the morning. It was off season for the Magic so there was no reason for all the calls. On those early hours there was a lack of information combined with speculation. Was it a terrorist attack or a mass shooting? There were so many questions. As the news spread beyond Orlando there were notes and calls from family and others from around the country to check and be sure everyone was safe.

There was a vast amount of helicopter activity. As the morning wore on and information came out, the mayor held a press briefing and the significance of what had occurred became a reality. Besides shock, there was anger and concern. He stayed glued to the news coverage.

He reached out to Mayor Dyer to see how the Magic could help. Out of those conversations the request was born for him to chair the One Orlando Fund. On June 17, 2016 the fund to help the victims was announced. There were more questions than details but there was forward momentum to help.

The Magic made a significant donation to the one Orlando Fund. That is the one area where they could assist the most. He had to learn how these victims relief funds had been dealt with in other tragedies. Getting the counsel of Ken Feinberg who had experience in handling this before was one of the best decisions the Mayor made to get the One Orlando Fund on track.

There was representation from the largest downers as well as from the LGBT community and Hispanic community. Who would best be served by the funds? Would the funds be for the victims who were in the Pulse Nightclub or the business down the street that got shut down for weeks? Every board member had a voice. There was much debate. The board decided to disperse the funds only to the victims in several different categories based on injuries or death and the victim’s families of those who were killed.

The approval process had to be vetted. Proof had to be provided through the FBI and the local authorities that the victims were at the Pulse nightclub that night. These types of tragedies also bring out the worst in people. There have been fraudulent activities in victim compensation funds in other cities. the burden of proof had to be there.

Funds were distributed according to a tiered system based on the amount of impact that each applicant had from the tragedy. Families received the largest individual shares. Those in the hospital the longest were the next tier. Time in the hospital would be a proxy for how much would be dispersed.

People needed help. The first disbursement was within 30 days. After that disbursement, funds kept coming in. A second wave of checks went to victims. This tragedy brought our community together in a way that it had never com together before.

The Orlando Magic against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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On the day after Thanksgiving, Terry got tickets to the Orlando Magic Game at the Amway Center. She wanted to treat my sister Pat Boehme who was visiting for the holiday. The Magic were going to play the Milwaukee Bucks. Terry had access to the Bank of America Box which could accommodate 16 individuals. The box is usual used to impress prospective clients. This was the first time I was invited. we got there a hour early and parked in Terry’s work lot. I had forgotten my sketchbook, so I did this sketch on the back of the tickets. Kim Buchheit a dear friend was also invited and she livened up the box by cheering shouting and dancing in the aisles. A financial advisor from the Winter Park office had three of his clients, and a co-worker of Terry’s was there with a friend  and his wife. There was also a well dressed Indian couple seated right in front of me. I sat at a counter which was a perfect little surface to sketch on.

There was complimentary pulled pork sandwiches and beers in the refrigerator. I just sipped Pepsi to get my nervous lines jumping. A large indoor blimp circled the stadium as the players warmed up. In the first quarter, the scores stayed rather close. I recall the score being tied at 43 to 43. Then the Magic started pulling ahead. My sketch was finished by half time, so I relaxed in the second half and just watched the game. The stadium was maybe half full and there was a lackluster energy through the whole game. I rather prefer to watch the antics of the Magic mascot who would wander through the crowd every quarter and throw a whipped cream pie in the face of the first fan he saw wearing a Milwaukee T Shirt.  He tended to hit fans in the bad row of the first section. I pointed out two of the unlucky fans in my sketch.

The final score was 114 to 90 with the Orlando Magic winning the game. Last year the Magic only won 25 games with 57 losses. It was an embarrassing season. This year with 8 wins and 8 losses, they are having a much better season. Perhaps if the wins keep happening the Orlando fans might work up some energy. They tended to shout louder for the free T shirt cannons then for the team on the court.

Shocking Magic Loss to the Pacers, or A Tale of Two Cupcakes.

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My wife loves to watch the NBA Finals.  If I sit down to watch, I like to joke, saying, “I hope the Magic wins this time.” Of course I know the Magic aren’t in the finals, but one team always seems to be wearing blue jerseys. Well, maybe next year.

I met Sunshine Woodyard Baker at the opening to my show at Snap. I knew of Sunshine from Facebook, because after a solid week of clouds and rain, I wrote “Hello Sunshine!” to express my joy at finally seeing the sun. She responded back by simply saying “Hello.” Somehow she and her husband scored tickets to a Magic game and she had an extra ticket so I could go and sketch. As she explained, “Lee St. John, the owner of Gigi’s Cupcakes and I would like
to invite you to Gigi’s Cupcake’s One Year Anniversary Partner
Appreciation night. Lee has the Presidential Suite at the Orlando Magic
vs. Pacers game on April 16 at 8:00 pm. We will enjoy food, drinks, and
the game with a small group of people who have been most helpful in
making Gigi’s first year magical. We sure hope you can come! Please let
me know if that day will work for you. It would be so cool to have you
there. We will get to the game around 6pm. My friend, Food Network Chef
Emily Ellyn will be there at the game. I think you’ll love sketching
her, and she’s great at cross-promoting to get your name out even more.”

Getting into the Amway Center involved the usual metal detectors and bag searches. I decided to streamline my art supplies so I could easily slip through security. I made a tiny palette using an old CD case. The circular CD holder is a perfect spot to arrange my daubs of paint into a color wheel. This Jerry rigged palette worked so well I’ve taken to using it all the time. I was one of the first people to arrive at the Presidential suite. Lee St. John was there to greet me. He explained that this wasn’t a very important game since the Pacers were already high enough in the standings where they could loose if they wanted and still move forward.

Lee had a small box of his award winning cupcakes. He had asked if he could bring the cupcakes up to the Presidential Suite, but there is a firm rule that no outside food or beverages can be bought into the Amway Center. This guarantees that Amway vendors corner the market. Lee tried to explain that the cupcakes weren’t for sale and wouldn’t be eaten. They were for a photo opportunity. No one listened to reason, so the cupcakes had to be smuggled in with stealth and subterfuge. To repay Lee for inviting me to the game, I decided to sketch one of the cupcakes ant put it on the jumbo tron in the center of the arena. When the sketch was done, I couldn’t help myself, I ate the mysterious black market cupcake. It was soooo good. No vendor in the Amway Center has anything half as good.

The suite filled up and I sketched through the whole game. There was a lackluster energy among the players. One Magic fan shouted out “We could win this if we wanted it bad enough.” The Magic didn’t want it enough. The game was a blowout with the Pacers winning 101 to 86. In the suite, people started posing with the cupcakes. Lee hadn’t lied about them being for a photo shoot. I had sinfully consumed a models sweet tasty prop. Luckily there were a few more cupcakes to go around.

Florida Blog Con

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Central Florida Top 5‘s Bess Auer began the annual Blog Con three years ago. It has been an annual pilgrimage for me to cover the conference. This year’s conference, on Saturday, September 21, was at Full Sail University in Full Sail Live. It was a one-day gathering of the state’s biggest bloggers and social media pros. One of the sponsors was Bahama Breeze and a spokesman got up to the podium and announced that one lucky conference attendee would win an expense paid trip if they were seated at a table that had a Bahama Breeze certificate taped underneath it. Darn it, I wasn’t even seated at a table! Everyone scrambled, first feeling blindly under the tables with their hands and then getting on all fours to look. The lucky winner was in the back of the room. The theme for this year’s conference, was “Be Awesome!”

Pat Williams, an author, blogger and Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic was the keynote speaker. His message was about how to be successful in life and blogging. “In tough times, you’re very teachable. Don’t waste those moments: turn suffering into lessons.” he said. His advice can be summed up in a ten step process…

1. Think the right kind of thoughts.

2. Say the right kind of words.

3.  Be specific in your goal setting.

4. Be responsible.

5. Seek out the right kind of friends.

6. Turn set backs into strengths.

7. Go the second mile.

8. Never give up.

9.  Character counts.

10. Love life and have faith.

Grand Bohemian

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I went downtown to the Grand Bohemian Hotel to meet Terry after work for a drink and appetizer. My plan was to go to the Amway Center afterwards, perhaps to sketch plastic bucket drummers on the street. I had several happy hour drinks however and decided it was too cold outside to be sketching. The Grand Bohemian is where the visiting Miami Heat players were staying. Terry told me she looked out her office window and saw a huge crowd of fans surrounding the team bus. The basketball game started as we were sipping our drinks.  We could see the commentators and behind them the Amway Center looked more than half empty. I don’t think the Orlando Magic fans knew their home team would be trounced. The bartender changed the station to a college game once the Magic took to the court. Artist Donna Dowless was dropping off one of her paintings in the Grand Bohemian Gallery. She waved as she was leaving.

Terry left and decided to scout out the activity around the Amway Center. Happy hour ended as I was working on the sketch. The waitress offered me one more Blue Moon at the happy hour rate anyway. I got a text from Terry and she let me know that I had made the right decision to sketch the hotel bar, the streets around the Amway Center were deserted.

Orange, White and Blue Gala

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Devin Dominguez invited Terry and I to Evening in the Grove, was an Orange, White and Blue Gala honoring the Orlando Magic with proceeds benefiting the Art and History Museums of Maitland. I wore a blue and white striped shit,with a blue tie and jacket. The event was at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland. I had sketched a wedding reception here once. As soon as guests entered the hotel. they were greeted by Ashley and Amy, two of the Orlando Magic dancers. I wandered around the lobby looking at all the silent auction items but I couldn’t find a spot to sketch. Dawn Schreiner was doing quick portraits for anyone who wanted to sit for a bit. There were several Orlando Magic players, Bo Outlaw and Nick Anderson, sitting by themselves but they
looked bored and so I decided that the chipper dancers were my best bet for a decent sketch during the cocktail hour. They posed with people and waited patiently between photo shoots. They didn’t quite know shat to make of me and they peeked at the sketch in its early stages.

They wandered off and I debated about abandoning the sketch. I figured they were creeped out by the loony with the sketchbook. I decided to focus on features of the room and before long, the dancers were back. Amy peeked again and said, “Moving on the ink, this is getting serious.” This time I nailed down the dancers slender proportions. Raffle tickets were being sold by the arm length. Bidding on the silent auction items involved downloading a program on the smart phone where bids stacked up digitally, and you were even warned if someone outbid you. I tried to limit my palette to blue, white and orange. When I finished the sketch, I found my way to the dining area. The salads had just been served, so my timing was perfect. Speed painter, Tony Corbitt was on stage doing a painting of Paul McCartney of the Beetles. Tony usually takes his shirt off when he paints but event organizers insisted he keep his shirt on. I’m always impressed with the speed in which he nails a celebrity face using just white paint on a black board.

The live auction was lively with one of Tony’s paintings bringing in over $300. Henry Maldonado,  president of thee Enzian Theater, acted as the Emcee. Speakers pointed out that the Orlando Magic Youth Fund had distributed over $17 million dollars through the Orlando Magic Youth Fund. Programs like, Journey to the Arts, help bring culture to at risk youth who might never get that experience otherwise. A young woman named  Mercedes Beaudoin got behind the mic to talk about her experience as an intern working for the Maitland Art and History Museums. She spoke of how much she learned and how grateful she was. The arts offered a long lasting meaningful purpose. Then she choked up as she said, “especially since my mother died recently.” The room grew quiet as she regained her composure and spoke about how important the arts are in our lives. Everyone stood and clapped as she left the stage. The evening brought in a net total of $48,200. All monies raised will support art and history programming at the Art and History Museums of Maitlnd.

RDV Ice Den

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Matt McGrath invited my wife Terry to watch him play hockey at the RDV Sportsplex Athletic Club (8701 Maitland Summit Blvd. Orlando). His team is called “The Fire Ants” and he instructed us to go to the second ice rink away from the entrance. The RDV Sportsplex is immense. Entering the building which is right across the street from EA Sports, I passed an indoor Olympic sized pool and then walked a boardwalk looking down on a sea of work out equipment. The Orlando Magic corporate headquarters are in the building as well. Basketballs with player’s hand prints were on display as well as monster sized sneakers. I wonder if they will be removing Dwight Howard‘s sneakers when he follows Shaq to Los Angeles. Once again, Orlando seems unable to hold onto talent.

There were indeed two ice rinks and I went to the one furthest away from the main entrance. There were a few people in the bleachers, all of them women. I had never seen an ice hockey game in person before. When Terry arrived, I was half finished with my sketch. She discovered that The Fire Ants were playing in the other rink. Terry went to watch the Fire Ants while I finished my sketch. I walked down to the two women seated below me. I asked them the names of the teams. The EA Hammerheads in blue were playing Orange Crush in orange. The fans told me I should root for the EA team since they were. Orange Crush had a female goalie which had me thinking that I might have stumbled onto an all women’s team. After much study however, I decided all the other players were men.

Orange Crush was leading the whole game. In the 4th quarter the EA goalie skated to the sidelines allowing an easy goal for the Orange Crush. The final score was Orange Crush 5, EA Hammerheads 3. Terry told me Matt played a pretty good defensive game. I think that the Fire Ants is a great name for a team. I get itchy just thinking about it. The RDV Sportsplex offers endless sketch opportunities. I wish it was a little closer to home.

The Creative Village

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The old Amway Arena was imploded at 7am several weeks ago. I didn’t get up that early to see the devastation, but a week later, I drove past the site as I was weaving my way through side roads to avoid a back up on Colonial Drive. A large banner declared the wreckage to be the “Creative Village” and I had to sketch the ironic sight. The wind caused sheet metal to flap sounding a bit like thunder. Clouds of dust rose and danced among the exposed beams. The four corner structures remained intact with dark red interior stairwells looking like bloody eviscerated flesh.

I enjoyed the Orlando Magic games I saw in this arena. I never understood why an extra large arena had to be built to house a basketball court. But what is done is done. According to a site online, The Creative Village will be a magnet for knowledge workers to live, work, learn and play – a place where high-tech, digital media and creative industry companies integrate with residential, retail, and academia in a neighborhood that is connected to the surrounding community and plugged in globally. Innovative in its architecture, thoughtfully mixing living and working spaces, the Village will be designed to enhance the lifestyle of creative people and become a supportive, business-friendly environment in which digital media and related companies can thrive. Hopefully the Creative Village will live up to its name, but for now, it looks like a war zone.

I had a wrapper from some peanut butter Girl Scout cookies in my art bag. Half way into the sketch, an ant bit my leg. I slapped it off and looked around to be sure I wasn’t sitting on a fire ant mound. I noticed ants swarming around my bag. I pulled out the wrapper which was now covered in ants and I disposed of it. Slowly the ants dispersed but some still chose to bite me occasionally.

Magic against the Lakers

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Last night I went down to the Amway Arena to see what kind of crowd gathered for the big game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers. Fans couldn’t seem to resist playing the cheesy radio promotional games. All the games seemed to be run by women who looked like they had just come off a shift of working at Hooters. I feel fans like these should be required to pay higher taxes to help pay for the 480 million dollar Orlando Events Center.
I sat down on a grassy knoll to do this sketch. As I was working I heard the sound of a horse exhaling loudly behind me, sure enough when I turned around, there stood four police horses. I had just sketched at the Mounted Unit Barn a few weeks ago and I started to wonder if the horses remembered me. I heard one office say “Woo back up.” I am certain those horses watched every line as I put it down on the page.
Twice groups of fans arrived chanting at the top of their lungs, “Lets Go Magic!” Others would join the chant and it would gradually quiet down as the fans filtered into the stadium. Some fans wore huge Afro wigs and blue and white capes. Across the street someone was standing on a soap box and preaching. Trucks drove by with huge images of aborted fetuses running down the side of the truck. Another protest was against the Russell Corporation which produces Spalding Basketballs and Huffy Sports Backboards and has factories in Honduras that function as sweatshops. This group was banging on buckets and waving a photo of David Stern the NBA commissioner .
I returned home to watch the game on TV and as I am writing this the Magic are trailing by 10 points and it looks pretty hopeless. So much for the Finals. I don’t think I need to watch the end of this game.

Orlando Magic Pep Rally

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At noon Mayor Buddy Dyer held a pep rally on the steps of City Hall in Downtown Orlando. It was sunny when I arrived and a high school band was playing on the steps for the crowd of perhaps 100 people. Then some kids in blue Orlando Magic shirts ran out and started throwing tee shirts and noise makers out to the crowd. It was hot in the direct sun so I took cover in the entry of a building.
A speaker shouted that Orlando’s time had come, that Orlando deserved to beat Los Angeles in the NBA Finals. For whatever reason the event didn’t leave me feeling inspired. I have seen high school pep rallies with more energy and enthusiasm. It seems like the city is trying to drum up enthusiasm for the insane expense of $480 million dollars being diverted into another sports arena that isn’t really needed, and is now half built. I personally find the Amway Arena to be a fine venue.
When the Mayor got up to speak, the sky suddenly opened up and it began to pour. Everyone ran for cover and that was the end of the pep rally. I was under cover so I continued to work as all the people in the square dispersed. The wind forced some rain onto the pages so once in a while you will see a line bleed out as I drew through a rain drop.