SFL Friday -- Heartfelt Apologies to All!

Well it's been an eventful week filled with mirth and merriment, and it's not even over yet.

I mean, just today Tiger read a statement about his sex life and Paul Penichet filed a lawsuit described as "a shakedown" by the (allegedly) very randy defendant, Casaurina owner Pete Halmos.

Then there's the mistrial just declared in Milt Ferrell's asbestos case.

But I was most fascinated by this story that Constant Complainer linked to about a Miami couple who were enticed by monetary incentives and land grants to move to rural North Dakota, where they discovered that midwestern small-town love:

Hay bales, a gas station and a graveyard greet visitors as they roll into Hazelton off the state highway.

Michael Tristani came from his native Florida wearing gold necklaces and a Rolex and driving a Lexus. He proved as foreign as a flamingo in a place where pickups, farm caps and flannel shirts are de rigueur.

"People thought I was a drug dealer," he said.

And that's probably being generous.

Hey, don't feel so bad -- I believe the last Jew to live in that area was played by Gene Wilder and rode in on a horse.

Well kids I'm off to put on my hermetically-sealed windsurfing gear, so stay warm this weekend and eat lots of red, yellow and green food (but then if you're a Star Trek geek you already know that).

Have a great weekend!

SFL Friday -- Have An Awesomest Day of Atonement!

Well kids I plan to scoot out of here shortly, to begin my long solemn weekend regimen of prayer, reflection, and expanding my abdomen, so let's take a quick look at what is happening around town.

I see Bill Amlong has a good case against fancy Fort Lauderdale private school St. Marks:

The Rev. William "Dub" Brooks, 58, headmaster of St. Mark's Episcopal School, has been accused by the dismissed teachers of age discrimination. They are demanding their jobs back.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued letters this summer, saying it had determined Brooks had a list of about 25 positions he planned to eliminate, and had repeatedly expressed "his intentions to replace 'all the older women with young women with big boobs.' "

Interesting educational policy you have there, Reverend.

David Broder, fresh from visiting a midwestern church potluck dinner where the chicken was succulent, the mashed potatoes mounded high, and the tea filled with sweet sweet bipartisan love, is worried that Obama thinks too much:

For him, governing means not just addressing discrete challenges as they arise, but formulating comprehensive policies aimed at giving large social systems -- and indeed society itself -- more rational and coherent forms and functions. In this view, the long-term, systemic problems of healthcare, education and the environment cannot be solved in small pieces. They must be taken on in whole.'

That's bad, right?

I mean, everyone knows real men make decisions based on two criteria only -- by trusting their gut, and by asking WWJD.

Also, note to Herald -- everyone already laughed about this column yesterday.

Finally, in honor of Milt Ferrell (and Warren Zevon), please take a moment to remember tomorrow is Mesothelioma Awareness Day.

Have a great weekend everybody!

More on Milton Ferrell

I've already covered the tragic loss of Milton Ferrell, and our condolences go out to his many friends and family.

Today's Herald story adds some heartbreaking dimension to his final days:

The scene unfolding in the intensive-care unit was extraordinary.

Milton M. Ferrell Jr. -- a second-generation Miami lawyer, philanthropist and Democratic Party activist just nine days past his 57th birthday -- lay dying. The primary cause: mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked cancer that cost him a lung in May.

Although it had spread to his brain, stomach, hip and remaining right lung, Ferrell rejected painkillers. He needed to stay sharp for his final legal battle.

Surrounded by wife Lori, son Morgan, daughter Whitney, and 10 lawyers, Ferrell gave a 3 ½-hour video deposition Friday for a lawsuit he filed just days earlier.

That done, ''he lived another 15 hours and 45 minutes,'' said Coral Gables lawyer Jim Ferraro, who's representing Ferrell's estate in the litigation, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

Unreal. But I scoured the article to get a better understanding of how this fine, refined, and wealthy lawyer contracted mesothelioma. This is the causal link alleged in the complaint:

The suit accuses the Big Three automakers and several brake manufacturers of causing his disease by marketing an ''unreasonably dangerous'' product, and failing to warn of its hazards.

The former Miami-Dade County Assistant State's Attorney-turned-defense lawyer-turned counsel to foreign governments and billionaires, had worked on cars in his youth, inhaling asbestos fibers during brake jobs, the complaint says.

His father, also an attorney, ''wanted his son to have a good work ethic,'' Ferraro said. ``He didn't just write him checks.''

I don't do this litigation, but is this a common claim? It strikes me as an uphill causation battle, although it's a complete mystery to me how he could have otherwise contracted this rare and horrific disease.

RIP Mr. Ferrell.

Milton Ferrell Jr., RIP

Billy Shields reports that Milton Ferrell has passed on:

Prominent Miami attorney Milton M. Ferrell Jr. has died from complications of mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked primarily to asbestos exposure, his firm confirmed today.

Ferrell started his legal career in Miami in 1977 when he joined his father’s legal practice handling criminal defense work. He shifted to civil litigation in the late 1980s and started taking international clients in 1993. With the turn of the millennium, Ferrell took his firm worldwide, opening offices in cities like Beirut, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.

A firm that in 2000 had one office and 12 lawyers mushroomed to a 17-office, 67-lawyer litigation boutique by 2003. The firm suffered some major departures but maintained its offices in New York and Buenos Aires.

Ferrell, 57, was lauded as a superb lawyer and a shrewd businessman who emphasized community involvement as past chairman of the Jackson Memorial Foundation and a board member of the American Red Cross of Greater Miami.

An active Democrat, Ferrell was the Florida finance chairman of U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

One of Ferrell’s last acts in court was as a plaintiff. He and his wife Lori filed an asbestos liability suit last week against Chrysler, General Motors, Borg Warner and others, alleging the companies were negligent in their use of asbestos, which he blamed for causing his mesothelioma.

Ferrell was a gentleman and will be missed. Services are 11 a.m. at Trinity.