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Judge , I also saw in your bio that you were an Eagle Scout and have since served as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts . How is giving back to those programs impacted you personally and professionally ? |
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Both organizations are incredible because they provide examples of goal setting , and you have certain specified steps you need to achieve a certain thing . In the Boy Scouts , you have various ranks , and you have to do certain requirements to get through the ranks , and eventually you ’ ll target and get to Eagle Scout . I volunteered at an innercity school that had a Boy Scout program in Ybor , Academy Prep . Like the Boy Scouts there , I also didn ’ t have a Dad who participated in Scouting . I felt I was giving back and would say “ Listen , I know that we look different — some of us do anyway –– but I didn ’ t grow up in a situation all that different from yours . I gave a commencement speech years ago , where I said , “ If you aim at nothing , you ’ ll hit it every time .” The Scouting organizations teach the importance of goal setting , working together , leadership , and learning that you must learn how to follow before you can lead .
Judge , I also have it on good authority that you are an avid reader . What are you reading these days ?
Right now , I am a big fan of Audible . I am reading biographies , mostly about American historical figures . I just finished books on George Mason , J . P . Morgan , and the Wright Brothers . When I read , I like to read to learn . My daughter loves fiction ; it ’ s not for me . I read books I feel help me understand why things are the way they are . David
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Judge Badalamenti in front of the federal courthouse where he watched trials as a youth .
McCullough is one of my favorites . Chernow is another –– he wrote a good one on Grant and , of course , he has done Hamilton . That ’ s the kind of reading that invigorates me .
You also reportedly like to travel and take family trips . Can you tell us about your favorite trip or destination ?
Sure , the trip I enjoyed the most was when we went on a Disney Cruise that started from Cliffs of Dover through the northern parts of Portugal and then we hit a couple of different ports in Spain and eventually ended up in Barcelona . The opportunity to see those countries with my daughter … I never had any opportunity to go overseas at her age . That was probably my favorite to go through and see history there . When you go to places like that , you realize how incredibly young our country is . We ’ re in an embryotic stage of our government compared to those countries .
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