Man Mulls Dramatic Measures to Raise Support for Shooting Memorial

My fellow Southern Californians, local community, neighbors, friends and family:  It is clear to me today that something drastic needs to happen to speed up the awareness of what we are trying to accomplish in the next 24 days. 

We need to spread the word by voting (***VOTE WHILE YOU READ THIS!! TEXT "110851" to #737-74 RIGHT NOW!!***) to raise $50,000 for the permanent memorial for the Seal Beach Victims on 10-12-11 and I'm at a loss on how to do that. 

My first thought was to take a picture of me getting arrested by the local police for doing some sort of "OCCUPY SEAL BEACH" movement but I don’t' want to portray our police heroes and local servicemen in a negative light.  They were truly heroes that fateful day and as that day unraveled, it was clear that no one was prepared for the emotional, physical, technical and public burdens that were to come.  Making light of their service in any way would not be of interest to me or our community.  I also have no interest in portraying this as a fight against some sort of establishment or the Seal Beach government as that would NOT be accurate either.  They too have been inundated with never-before-issues of media attention including the difficult tasks of managing the communities grieving, offers to help, and conflicting opinions of the public.  Some people DON'T WANT A MEMORIAL... SOME WANT TO DONATE... SOME HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT how big it should be, where it should go, and who is going to pay for it.  This is a heavy burden for a community government that didn't have this on their plate on October 11th. 

How do you please everyone?  I don't think that is possible, but we can try to help build the conversation, open up dialogue, and get people on the track to healing.  Then I thought,

"What if I were to jump off the Seal Beach Pier and swim to Long Beach to bring awareness to our campaign to raise $50,000 through Refresheverything.com/seal-beach-support-in-love?"

Would anybody care? How cold is that water?  Should I get a support boat?  How much does that cost?  Lots of things were running through my tiny little head.  In reality, it’s not a difficult swim.  I'm a long ago retired swimming pool life guard (Woot Woot), swimming team member, water polo player (go Upland High School!), a diver, an avid surfer and paddle boarder, and I regularly play squash (shout out 24hour Fitness Lakeshore Towers!!).  I'm pretty sure it would be a quick swim... 30 minutes or so, I would get out of the water at the beach somewhere in Belmont and walk across the wide beach and stand there and... no one would be there.  (Would I at least get a ride home?)  Not exactly the kind of response I would hope.  So it needs to be something bigger, something more dramatic....

I think I know what it is...  I need to logoff now and see if I came make it happen.  I don't have much time.  I will keep you updated!  Thanks for listening and don't forget to SHOW YOUR LOVE IN SUPPORT by VOTING 3X A DAY, with Facebook, Pepsi and Text message.  Do your part by being a small mosaic piece in this community outreach program!  $50,000 will be nice way to show that don't you think?

DAILY REMINDER!!  VOTE BY TEXTING "110851" to #737-74  Everyday in December.  Just as important as voting is, so is submitting your ideas and your feedback.  We need to hear from you!

Also don't forget to follow me on twitter @sealbchriverdog for daily reminders and updates about everything from contests to 360 degree panoramas.

What are your ideas for raising awareness about the grant opportunity for a permanent memorial for the salon shooting victims? Share your ideas in the comments.