December 09, 2004

A not terribly joyous day

I had an 8:30 meeting with the client who owes the Firm a lot of money in legal fees. I explained that we could not represent him anymore. The meeting ended on an acrimonious note. I have spent the next several hours preparing an Order to Show Cause which I will present to the Commercial Division Support Office to ask the Court to stay the action to permit the client to get new counsel and to let our Firm out of any further representation.

I suppose I ought to be tougher than this, but some of the things he said I found particularly wounding. Greedy? No, unfair and untrue. I am not greedy. I do expect that bills for services rendered will be paid. I do put my clients' interests first because I am a fiduciary and I understand what that means. I don't, however, work for free and nor does the Firm. The way he called us greedy, however, left me and everyone else in the Firm thinking that the only word he left out was "Jew". It was just said in that kind of way. Maybe I'm overly sensitive here, but the impression struck me the instant he spoke it.

Breakups are messy and this one will be no exception, especially if the Firm chooses to sue the soon to be ex-client to recover the legal fees and expenses he owes.

I feel as if I've had better days, truth be told.

UPDATE

I have just returned from Court where my Order to Show Cause was accepted for filing by the Commercial Division Support Office. It has to be reviewed first by a court attorney to see whether it can be accepted, you see. As with all of these things, she told me that I'd have to come back and pick it up tomorrow morning, which I will do after my Federal Court conference across the street is over. But I tried to take it up to the judge today anyway. I pulled the court attorney to one side and explained that the reason I rushed down here, and why I don't want my name associated with the case for any more time than it absolutely has to be, is that at the conclusion of my meeting with the client today, he called me a "greedy", then he paused, "Neeeew Yoooork lawyer". When I told her that, her head shot up and she said, "gee, the only word missing from that sentence was Jew, wasn't it?" She promised to do what she could to help me get out. She also let out a bit of a whistle when she saw how much was owed.

I didn't think I was imagining it.

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Holiday Cards: A trip down memory lane

I just returned from mailing off our holiday cards, all 93 of them. It took us a long two nights to write messages to everyone, stuff, seal, and stamp. It was a companionable time, though, and I kind of enjoyed just sitting at the kitchen table with my wife and listening to her gentle (sometimes, not so gentle) profanity as she tore an envelope here or put the wrong card in the wrong envelope there.

Otherwise, I was a bit alone with my thoughts as we scribbled away. It was fun to realize that on these sheets of labels, I had a sort of chronological roadmap to my life.

The oldest friend rang in at 35 years, which is a long time but especially when you consider we are each only 37. That is a friendship I take great pleasure in.

After that, people sort of popped up onto the list from the Summer I spent in China, some 20 years ago, and friends I made in France, some almost 15 years ago, and friends I made in England, over 10 years ago when I lived and worked there.

Business acquaintances made it on the list, but only because I liked them, not because I needed to send them a card. In other words, they became friends through business but are not on the list because I do business with them.

Friends from University and from Law School are there. Friends from New Orleans are there. Former neighbors from our old co-op in the City are on the list. I used to be the Vice President of that Board and still have lots of friends there.

Family, all over the world, are on the list, for sure. My wife got to write any of the Norwegian cards herself.

Friends I've made through volunteer work and through various other outside activities made their way onto the list.

All in all, a most satisfactory tour of my past and my present.

Until we consider the deletions. Judaism teaches that the sweet is always mixed with the sour. I suppose that makes sense, there is very little joy that is unalloyed in the world and you might not even be able to fully appreciate the nuances of the happiness without a sprinkling of the sad.

Some were deleted from our list because cards don't get sent to the deceased. They don't have a mantle for them anymore, anyway. The old in our family are dying and the new generation is beginning to fill in for them as the generational odometer ticks over.

Some fell off the list because of desuetude. The friendships withered as people lost the habit of staying in touch. Actually, one card went to just such a person in the hope that it might rekindle the friendship. If not, oh, well, we have enough friends who we don't get to see as it is.

It was a good trip, this little trip of ours down memory lane. The only real snag was running out of cards!

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December 08, 2004

Why taking the 5:56 a.m. train can be good

I skipped merrily down to the train station this morning to take the 5:56 a.m. train to work. It gets me to my desk by right about 6:30. This was good today. Why? Because it is really nice to have a little bit of extra time when you find out that there has been a change of plans and you are going to be cross examining the former Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee today with respect to his reports and the calculation of a credit in the bankruptcy in the context of a hearing on damages.

Gotta run!

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December 07, 2004

Christmas Vacation Reading

I have just selected some books to bring with me for Christmas vacation. We will be spending about two weeks with my in-laws and I anticipate some time to catch up on my reading. Here are my choices (I'm not sure that I'll be bringing them all, mind you):

*The Man Who Would Be King: The First American in Afghanistan
by Ben Macintyre

*Basic Economics: A Citizens Guide to the Economy, Revised and Expanded
by Thomas Sowell

*Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One
by Thomas Sowell

*Gentleman Revolutionary : Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution
by Richard Brookhiser

-and-

*To Rule the Waves : How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World
by Arthur Herman

My father in law also has an excellent library. But I do like to have a couple of my own books, too.

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Time Suck of the Day: News Edition

Ok, this is probably one of the single coolest things I have ever come across on the internet: The 10x10 interactive changing collage of images and news stories. Click on this link and prepare to lose loads of time as you explore it.

From their description of it:

Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life.

10x10 is ever-changing, ever-growing, quietly observing the ways in which we live. It records our wars and crises, our triumphs and tragedies, our mistakes and milestones. When we make history, or at least the headlines, 10x10 takes note and remembers.

Each hour is presented as a picture postcard window, composed of 100 different frames, each of which holds the image of a single moment in time. Clicking on a single frame allows us to peer a bit deeper into the story that lies behind the image. In this way, we can dart in and out of the news, understanding both the individual stories and the ways in which they relate to each other.

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Real Estate a la Balzac

I came across the following description of a rural auction in France of a property sold after the debtor had defaulted on his mortgage and thought it marvelous:

The auction itself might be a scene taken from one of Balzac's novels: three candles sit upon the notaire's table. The first is lit as the black-gowned barristers place the opening bids. The property is declared sold when the three candles, each one burning for a minute, have been lit in succession without another bid being made.

Isn't that a great image?

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The Girl Child last night

My wife tells me that last night she told the Girl Child that, owing to the GC's less than stellar behavior, they would read only one story at bedtime that night and that they were going up to go to bed right now. The GC replied:

That doesn't really work for me.

I wish I knew where she picked some of these things up.

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December 06, 2004

A couple of Girl Child Stories

It has been awhile since I have posted a Girl Child story, so here are two of them.

First, we stayed up late on Wednesday night to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on television. She was very, very excited and was counting down the days until we got to see it. She doesn't get to watch much television, a good thing I think, so she was not too clear on the concept. She thought it was a movie so each time it stopped for a commercial, she'd look up at me, we were cuddling under a blanket on the couch, and she'd ask if it was over yet. I'd tell her no, that it was just on commercial break. Finally, after the 352nd commercial, she looked at me and said:

All these commercials? Its just not right.

Yup.

Second, she busted me. I told her that I was going to a memorial service and that she could not come because no kids were allowed. This was in the morning. She accepted that reason and let me go peacefully on my way. Later that night, when I got home, I told her that I saw some of her cousins there (the grandchildren of the woman whose husband had died) and the Girl Child said:

Hey! I thought you said that no kids were allowed!!!

My wife and I were astounded that she remembered from this morning and then so clearly busted me on it. I had to explain the circumstances surrounding the reasons why my cousin wanted her grandchildren there. Upon which, the Girl Child told me that Sam was not dead, he was just in heaven. That may sum it up rather neatly for me. I'm not sure where she picked that up, but she was firm and unshakeable in her conviction.

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Delaware Water Gap

On Sunday, I was very near the Delaware Water Gap, a place probably not so very well known to those outside that area and so I thought I might write about it a little bit. Besides, having merely driven through it myself a couple of times, I wanted an excuse to learn more about it myself. Here is a nice view of it:

dwgpark.jpg

First, the DWP is a national park:

This park preserves 40 miles of the middle Delaware River and almost 70,000 acres of land along the river's New Jersey and Pennsylvania shores. At the south end of the park, the river cuts eastward through the Appalachian Mountains at the scenic Delaware Water Gap. A one-day auto tour of the park can include waterfalls, rural scenery, and historic Millbrook Village. Visitors can also canoe, hike, camp, swim, picnic, bicycle, crosscountry ski, and horseback ride. Fishing and hunting are permitted in season with state licenses.

Secondly, there is significant evidence of pre-historic habitation in the park.

Archeologists began their surveys in 1959, and by the mid 1960s, recognized that this area offered a rich and well preserved record of prehistoric occupation, beginning with the Paleo-Indian, the earliest known culture in the New World. Current theory suggests that during the Wisconsin glaciation period, 23,000 to 12,000 B.C., a land bridge existed between Asia and Alaska, vanishing around 8,000 B.C. Hunter-gatherers migrated across this land bridge following herds of caribou and other large mammals. This culture is recognized archeologically by distinctive fluted projectile points which are most commonly found in eastern North America as isolated finds. Three archeological sites within the recreation area contain evidence of this culture.

Later, this part of the country was an important fortified frontier during the French and Indian wars and during the revolutionary war. In 1758, the New Jersey legislature created the Military Trail of 16 fortified forts to protect against raids. The trail is still visible and used today. There's even a trail guide.

Here is a much more extensive monograph on the history of the DWG region.

You can get a sense of the eco-system at this comprehensive link. Unfortunately, this material concerning the Delaware River makes no mention of the recent oil spill "where up to 473,500 gallons of crude oil flowed out of a six-foot gash in the bottom of a tanker bound for a New Jersey refinery recently".

The DWG is part of a network in New Jersey called the Skylands, a "five-county region contains two national parks at its edges, 60,000 acres of state parkland, and a diverse and beautiful geography filled with lakes, rivers and picturesque hills dotted with farms."

This actually looks like a really fun place to go explore more. I'm glad I took the time to check it out here.

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All is Silent from Miami

Since I involved you all in my job interview, I thought I'd let you know the news. There is no news. Well, besides Generalissimo Francisco Franco still being dead (the early SNLs were really the best, weren't they?). I have heard nothing from Miami. My wife thinks I should give them a ring to see what's going on. My view is more of a having heard nothing, I assume I did not get the job, view. Why bother confirming past that? I think I will just let it lie, for now.

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A Joke, in lieu of a real post

A doctor was addressing a large scientific conference in Tampa concerning the latest dietary breakthroughs:

"The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks contain exorbatent amounts of sugar and corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG.

High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water.

"But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all, that we all have eaten, or will eat. Would anyone care to guess what food causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"

After several seconds of quiet, a small 75-year-old Jewish man in the front row raised his hand and asked:


"Vedding Cake?"

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Improbable Name of the Day

I was reading the obituaries in the Daily Telegraph this morning, specifically the obituary of HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (who, by the way, led a fascinating life), consort to Queen Juliana, when I came upon the name of the young woman with whom it was alleged he may have been unfaithful at some point. The obituary describes it much more discreetly as a "close friendship".

In any event, his close friend was "a young Frenchwoman, the improbably named Poussy Grinda".

I'm really not mature enough to take this seriously. Besides, don't you all hear the James Bond movie theme song now?

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Ribbons, ribbons, everywhere

I was doing a bit of driving this weekend and I noticed, on the car in front of me, a yellow magnetic ribbon and a pink magnetic ribbon. The yellow ribbon was clearly in support of our troops. The pink ribbon, identical in appearance to the yellow ribbon, made me think that the driver of the car also wanted to make clear his or her support for our troops serving in the "don't ask, don't tell" program.

Later, of course, I realized it was a breast cancer ribbon. But it took awhile!

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What do you say?

What do you say to a woman whose husband just died? I pondered that question as I drove about 100 miles on Sunday morning to attend the memorial service for my cousin's husband. I love my cousin, I never much liked her husband but I assume that was really my fault and not his. So I knew that I was going for her and not for him. What do you say? I never really know. Everything seems so inadequate. I settled, finally, on, "I'm sorry". That was all. Just that I was sorry. What else is there to say, really?

The service was interesting. It was conducted by a Minister from a hospice organization that helped him die at home. She was very nice but she said that she did not really know how to conduct the service since Sam told her that she could not mention God at all. She said that this was a first for her. But she spoke movingly of Sam and how she got to know him as he died. That sort of freaked me out, just a little, that Sam was discussing his own death and the memorial service he wanted, that he was, how do I put it, . . . He was more or less alone with the absolute realization that he was planning a party he would not be attending, that whatever else happened, he was alone, all alone at the end. This must come to us all, of course, in one way or another. But I was really struck by the manner in which he died, that he had time to contemplate as something other than a philosophical concept, his own demise. In any event, Sam's brother in law got up at the end and read from the Psalms ("The Lord is my Shepard, etc.) and recited the Mourner's Kaddish. The Minister closed the service by saying, "I was surprised to hear that Sam requested that. So, he tricked me. Good for him! I'm glad".

His last little joke. I'm glad, too.

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A Numbers Game

This weekend, the sitemeter odometer ticked over to the 10,000 mark. That's ten thousand visitors since I moved here from blogspot. Is this a world beater number? Nope. But it still seems highly significant to me. When I started this blog, I did so because I just felt like I had some things to say and I wanted a forum in which to do it. And now just over 10,000 people have stopped by to read. In the process, I have made some new friends and been included in a community of pretty wonderful bloggers. In fact, if you are not aware of Mu.Nu., graciously hosted by Pixy, go click on the sidebar labeled "Munuvians" to browse through the list of the denizens of MuNu.

I'm still not really sure what my blog is, though. I don't think it fits neatly into a simple category but that's not a bad thing. Feel free to chime in if you have mentally slotted my blog into a category. I'd be very curious to hear where you've put it since I have no idea myself.

Anyway, thanks for coming and reading. For those of you who have left comments (I heart comments), thanks doubly!

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December 03, 2004

Africa/AIDS: How to help the children

Watching, from afar, as the AIDS plague has ravaged Africa, I have felt completely helpless, as I am sure many of you do. The plight of the adults who suffer from this syndrome has moved me less than the plight of the orphans who are left behind. The children, some of whom are forced to turn to prostitution in order to survive, are the most heart rending of all the victims. I have tried to imagine, and my mind shies away, from what it must feel like for a child to suddenly be left with no parent at all, entirely dependent on his or her native intelligence and skills to survive, to eat, to find shelter, sometimes at a very tender age when we, in the United States, probably would not let a child walk to school alone, much less live alone. I have discovered a charity that seems to be making a difference, though, and I want to call it to your attention: Hope and Homes. H&H helps children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. H&H helps by providing shelter, food, education, and training so that these children can grow and join society. H&H helps keep families together. They are doing the Lord's work, if you will.

H&H also helps place children left in institutions in Eastern Europe and those orphaned by conflict.

You can donate here, if you should wish to do so.

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British Education Marches Proudly into the Past

What other title could you put on a post highlighting the fact that one University in Britain has axed the physics department and another the chemistry department? Watch, as the Brits march proudly into the past since they will not be equiping their students to march into the future.

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A Vicious Assault

Sorry so quiet today, but I got to work late after staying home to be with the kids while my wife fled the house early for a long day of job interviews. Keeping fingers crossed!

When I finally got to work, it was only to discover an email from a very good client. My client, also my friend, had been the victim of a vicious assault by a store owner's employee. He had been struck in the head with some unknown object, hospitalized for two days with swelling in the brain, and suffered significant blood loss. He was almost killed. He wants me to help him sue the owner and anyone else we can think of for damages caused to him and consequently to his business (since he isn't there to run it).

I have been feverishly doing legal research on all of the finer points of tort law this morning -- vicarious liability, negligence (maybe for the hiring practices), etc.

I have never taken a personal injury case before and have sworn I never would. However, I feel a great sense of personal outrage and motivation here. Time to make somebody pay, I think. I can't help the healing, but I can help the recovery.

Did I mention that my friend let his medical insurance lapse and will have to cover all the medical bills himself?

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December 02, 2004

The "About Me" page

I have finally put up an "About me" post on the sidebar. I am not thrilled with it, particularly, and so draw your attention to it to invite constructive criticism. If you have any ideas about what I should do about it, I'd like to hear them. Thanks!

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Silly link of the day

Without further explanation, I give you the Farting Nun Organ.

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