- On Friday night The Voice singer Christina Grimmie, performing here at Plaza Live, was shot to death while on stage.
- On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, 49 people were shot to death in a night club and 53 others were wounded.
- On Tuesday a little two year old boy was grabbed and killed by an alligator in Disney property.
Sheriff Demings has been in the middle of all of this, including sharing his calm demeanor on the media several times a day.
I've been a big fan of Sheriff Demings for a long time. Especially during the several years that his wife was the captain of the Orlando Police Department while he was Orange County sheriff. What a power couple!
So, last night, when we were attending the big annual American Diabetes Association's extravaganza, (this year honoring my son John as Farther of the Year, along with three other outstanding men and fathers) I was amazed to see Sheriff Demings walk into the ball room.
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| Jerry and Val Demings Central Florida Power Couple |
John and I sometimes say outrageous things to each other but it's okay because we know it's safe. So I leaned over to John and said, "I'd like to go over and kiss Jerry Demings on the lips."
I'm sure I was expressing the sentiment of thousands of women (and men) here in Central Florida. John and I did, eventually amble over to speak with the sheriff and I was honored. (I promise I said nothing outrageous - but I wanted to.)
I'm so very grateful for every person around the globe who works to keep us safe. I was especially feeling grateful and safe last night.
Except when John Crossman got up to accept his Father of the Year award in front of his wife and children (my grandchildren) and several hundred others, the first thing out of his mouth was:
My mom wants to kiss Sheriff Demings!
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