When I walked into the courtyard for the No Wal-Mart mobilization meeting, I first saw Jim Morana sitting at a table, he is an artist and musician and a newcomer to our little Northeast Ohio Blogger group. I noticed kitty corner, Tim Russo of Democracy Guy, George Nemeth of Cool Cleveland and Brewed Fresh Daily, Bill Callahan of Cleveland Diary, Jack Ricchiuto of Jack/Zen, and last but not least Adam Harvey of Organic Mechanic; all Bloggers par excellence and the heart of this endeavor. George was all equipped, palm pilot in hand, ear piece on and laptop within reach, but that is George, you get use to it.

I noticed people were coming in fast, and that a large group was congregating on the patio of the Treehouse. There was a lot of energy in that backyard. When the socializing abated a bit, there was a brief introduction and then we all broke out in seven work groups.

People were encouraged to join the group that appealed to them the most, each had a moderator and we were expected to share our ideas with the larger gathering after we completed our assignments.

I was really impressed to see the way these guys had everyone really eager to participate, there was no holding back and everyone's opinion was valued. If Democrats could be half as unified, they may stand a chance of being elected next time.

The topics discussed were covering every angle that we might use as tools to achieve our mission which is to reach as many people as possible to use the current momentum and defeat the building of Wal-Mart. But it was also a journey of the mind; an opportunity to develop a vision of what Steelyard Commons can become, a growth opportunity for Cleveland and its residents. It was quite a display of talents, ideals and community spirit. From Cool Cleveland reader Daniella Mskbec1@yahoo.com who blogs at http://americanpinkcollar.blogspot.com (:divend:)