October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

I received this today via Email.   Good afternoon, October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time for each of us to reflect on the devastating impact that domestic violence has on our society. You can scarcely get through a day without hearing a news report about a violent incident in the community. The national conversation often revolves around high-profile instances of abuse, illustrating that money and success are not safeguards. We at the Clerk’s Office deal with those in fear every day as they come to us seeking a judge’s order of protection against someone they believe wants to hurt them. I am proud to say that our recent partnership with Harbor House of Central Florida has already resulted in getting quick help to more than 25 people who may otherwise have had to wait up to 72 hours for their cases to be heard. If you are dealing with assault or stalking, three days is a long time – maybe too long. In April, I began deputizing more than two dozen Harbor House employees. Taking the oath of office has allowed them to continue processing domestic-violence injunction petitions during the hours that the Clerk’s Office is closed. That means no one has to wait overnight or through a holiday or weekend for a Clerk’s Office employee to take their paperwork. “Having this opportunity to swear in our employees to save lives is our primary goal, since being able to process a domestic violence injunction when the Clerk’s Office is closed is crucial for a victim in a domestic-abuse situation,’’ said Carol Wick, president & CEO of Harbor House of Central Florida. “It also enables us to uphold no-contact orders at any Harbor House location, which eliminates one more barrier to protecting survivors and holding abusers accountable.’’ Through September, more than 4,800 people had visited the Orange County Clerk’s Office this year seeking court-ordered protection. If that pace continues, the year-end number will be higher than that of 2013. The paperwork is several pages long and is available at the Clerk’s Office and its branches. It is also available online at myorangeclerk.com, which allows the petitioner to fill out the forms privately and thoroughly, away from crowds and bystanders at the courthouse. I also recently made Affidavit of Violation paperwork available online. This is the form a survivor fills out if their attacker has violated an injunction order. To reach Harbor House of Central Florida after hours, please call 1-800-500-1119. Regards,

Eduardo “Eddie” Fernández Orange County Clerk of Courts

Writing Makes Me Happy

Unfortunately, writing is also work! Saw this and had to add my 2 cents. http://www.infobarrel.com/22_Habits_of_Unhappy_People

Happy People Smile More!

On Friday, I saw a night of one act plays produced by Valencia Community College. http://valenciacollege.edu/

It did not hurt that my daughter was the star of the final act. The plays were Hilarious, Dramatic, Irreverent, Socially challenging, and most of all Creative.

13 playwrights, 29 actors, 16 directors, and one professor used "Resentment Falls" as the theme for the evening. Some chose dramatic interpretations of human interaction where one party's resentment eventually changed to respect, love, or something else. Others used the phrase 'resentment falls' within the dialogue. One referred to a fictional river leading to it; another used an onstage film crew. Tow used painters depicting the beginning and end of different relationships to milk the drama; two used Facebook https://www.facebook.com/  or Twitter https://twitter.com/ to hold distant conversations onstage.

In my most humble opinion, the most creative piece was a horserace between Pride, Anger, Serenity, Confusion, Resentment, Worry, and bringing up the rear, Flatulence. Of course after Resentment falls, taking out Pride and Anger, Serenity wins the day over the others.

My favorite however, was 'Assisted Living'. This play introduced the Resentment Falls Retirement Community, where all your disgruntled relatives can live to their hearts' contentment. Of course grumpy old men complain about everything and Resentment Falls promises to give them much about which to complain. I wanted to purchase the script for our Elder Law Section meeting! Instead, I have asked the director to bring his actors to our annual seminar to perform for 50 lawyers who work hard daily helping elders negotiate the end of life.

Unhappy people have many things in common, laughing at their situation is not one! I hope you can laugh about this blog; at least the work today was fun. Aubrey