The VIP Room of Northshore Towers, a three-building luxury condominium complex on New York's Queens-Nassau County border--a microcosom of the many communities throughout the U.S. that have fallen victim to Bernard Madoff's economic terrorism--was filled to capacity last evening for a "Meet the Authors" session billed as:
Gerald and Deborah Strober Discussing a Brand New Book...The First Published of its Kind!! Catastrophe: The Story of Bernard L. Madoff the Man Who Swindled the World."
Before we proceed, full disclosure is in order; this meeting was ably organized and avidly promoted by our cousin Scott Strober, a resident of the Towers, along with his wife Linda, and their daughters Samantha and Emily.
Following our reading of excerpts from Catastrophe, the floor was opened for questions. Many hands were raised. While none of our interlocutors identified themselves as victims of Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, it was clear from the tone of their queries and statements that they too are traumatized, their illusions concerning the transparency of financial institutions, as well as the integrity and ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the public against fraud, forever shattered.
While researching Catastrophe, having read literally thousands of blogs posted by the vox populi--they ranged from victims' accounts of the utter devastation of their lives to expressions of outrage from those who merely learned of Madoff's treachery--we sensed their pain and disillusionment.
Standing before a roomful of neighbors of the elderly couples who may soon be literally without a roof over their heads, however, we realized that we had not yet fully grasped their misery.
Last evening's "Meet the Authors" forum was a most worthwhile, albiet painful, enhancement of our learning curve.
For having given us that opportunity, we are deeply grateful to our Strober cousins and those Northshore Towers residents who joined us last evening in their VIP room.