You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2009.
I’ve used many a quote in my life, but if someone ever asks me for my favorite quotes, I have nothing specific to offer. Until now.
In the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, there are some “Notes For a Law Lecture.” You can read the short document HERE.
But I’ll excerpt one of my new all-time favorite quotes from it for you. Here goes:
“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.”
I ran across this quotation on several websites of folks practicing Collaborative Law (my legal field of interest). In addition to giving me a favorite quote for any time I’m asked to list one, it served to confirm that I’m headed the right direction in this challenge of pursuing a legal career.
#1: My mother told me that George Kell passed away recently. You can read the article from The Washington Post HERE. Mr. Kell was a baseball hall-of-famer, but he was a hall-of-famer in more ways than one. I will never forget his writing me his personal testimony longhand on hall-of-fame stationery for inclusion in my book, “Pardon the Inspiration.” That letter is something I treasure. The world was blessed to have a hero like George Kell in it, and he will be missed.
#2: My friend, Billy, told me that my old buddy, Hezekiah, passed away recently in Biloxi, too. I wrote about Hezekiah on several occasions – many of you will remember. My family loved him. I don’t think there was even an obituary in the newspaper, much less The Washington Post. I wonder if there was a service of any kind, and I even wonder where someone like Hezekiah ends up being buried. What I do know is that he was the happiest person I have ever known, and my life is better for having known him. His 72 years were anything but easy, but they were well spent. And he was my hero.
So, just in case, no one stood up and said a word on Hezekiah’s behalf at his passing, allow me to republish something I wrote about him years ago in our post-Katrina life – let me blast it out across cyberspace so that maybe, by some miracle, it will reach him on the smoking porch with Jesus and let him know of one of the many days he made a difference in my life.
HEZEKIAH
I went to Biloxi yesterday to see my old friend, Hezekiah. Hezekiah is an old black man who has been institutionalized (to use a harsh word) for a long time now. He is mentally challenged and spends the bulk of his days sitting in a wheelchair listening to his radio. Looking through magazines (books, as he calls them), playing the harmonica (“Old Freight Train” is his specialty), and smoking rank among his other favorite ways to pass the time of day.
Several years ago now, a class at church considered how we might get outside our walls and serve people in need. The idea arose of adopting some folks in nursing homes, and my good friend, Billy Daves, hooked me up with Hezekiah as someone who has no one in life to come and visit him. The class project fell apart, but I made out all right, getting a new friend and all. And Hezekiah is everybody’s friend. Just ask him, and he’ll tell you.
I can’t imagine life being pleasant for Hezekiah. Without a lot of physical control, there are times you find him looking through a book with a need to change his soiled pants. That doesn’t seem to bother him that much. Billy told me that Hezekiah set himself on fire once fiddling with his cigarettes. I know that didn’t slow down his habit! All in all, I think Hezekiah is the happiest person I’ve ever known. He’s like a child without any bad days.
After Hezekiah cheered me up at the nursing home yesterday, I decided to drive down Highway 90 in Biloxi, I guess to make sure my happiness didn’t last too long. My wife told me that she had driven there a few days ago and got emotional for the first time in a long time. Yesterday, I could see why. It is still such a mess.
I began to think about how desensitized we can be to troubles, where they become hardly noticeable. And then, when they come into focus again, it is shocking. Shouldn’t be, but it is.
That is the roller coaster of life.
But not for Hezekiah. He is as steady as she comes. With absolutely nothing to look forward to in life, he sits there with a smile and a song for everyone, as dependable as the morning sun.
With the mess surrounding me, I sure wish I could be more like good old Hezekiah.
VOLLEYBALL: #3 Pepperdine moved to 13-2 with a commanding win over #9, UC-San Diego last night, and my family was there rooting them on. It was a blowout, but a blowout is still fun when you’re on the winning side.
BASKETBALL: Well, Hillary’s bracket is busted now. She had Memphis going all the way. One of my brackets is in pretty ugly shape, but the other is still in play. We’ll see how it shapes up by the time the weekend is over and the Final Four is set.
BASEBALL: It is good to be getting spring training scores from the Redbirds on my homepage. I kind of like the possibilities for the Cards this year – as always, my concern is pitching (especially the closer).
LITERATURE: I actually started reading a book for fun a few days ago, and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve had “Summer of ‘49” by David Halberstam for quite awhile. Actually, it has been on my nightstand for quite awhile, but for some reason I finally started it. Maybe it is the fact that baseball season is practically here! Reading mostly about Joltin’ Joe Dimaggio last night…
SPRING FOOTBALL: Read a quick synopsis on the Razorbacks this spring, and it looks like we have some pretty good possibilities for the coming year. Have to say, living in Malibu is cool. I miss friends and family back in the South, but outside of people, the main thing that I miss is living/breathing SEC football.
I graduated from college in 1992, a horrible time for college graduates to look for a job. I went back to pursue another degree in 2008, the only time since then that has actually been worse. I’m not sure if the blame should rest on the two Bush presidencies or me, but I’m figuring it must be my fault.
Anyway, the Career Development Office at Pepperdine Law is working overtime now’days to help the impending graduates who don’t have a job yet. Today, there’s a panel on higher education opportunities that they might consider pursuing, and yesterday there was a panel on “alternative careers.” Since the alternative career panel looked interesting, I thought I’d go just for kicks. And who knows, maybe that will be my strategy in a couple of years?
There were three panelists, all Pepperdine Law grads, and all interesting folks:
(1) Nathan Brodnax, a sports agent specializing in the mixed-martial arts biz
(2) Loni Coombs, a frequent news reporter on places like CNN & Court TV
(3) Nicolas Kublicki, a crime novelist / real estate broker
The cool thing from my perspective was that each of these folks, even though none practice law in a formal sense today, said that they use their legal education every single day. In other words, they offered confirmation of something I’ve heard many times before – that a legal education is worthwhile no matter what you end up doing in life.
Now, if we can all just find a job.
LAW SCHOOL NEWS & NOTES:
* The Honorable Arthur L. Alarcon, a judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals since 1979, addressed our Civil Procedure class yesterday. Judge Alarcon is in his 80s, earned a Purple Heart in World War 2, and was the second federal judge of Mexican-American heritage in the United States. It was an honor to hear him speak. Law school is chock full of neat opportunities like this, and I for one am intent on appreciating them as they come.
* Speaking of neat opportunities, Sandra Day O’Connor is coming to speak to the law school this Friday. Thankfully, Hillary gets out of school early on Fridays so she gets to take advantage of this cool opportunity, too.
* My Contracts professor, Professor Barry McDonald, is the new father of a baby boy!!! In a surprise gift to us, he cancelled class today! Over the course of the year, it seems that Professor McDonald has slowly transformed from one of our most feared professors into one of our most favorite (even though we still don’t want to get called on in his class!).
* Now that the Appellate Brief is done in LRW, we are preparing for this weekend’s 1st Year Moot Court competition. Each set of partners will be competing with another set of partners in front of a panel of judges – our very first opportunity to argue before a judge! Thankfully, it isn’t graded, but I suspect most all of us will be nervous anyway.
* So Hillary correctly picked 15 of the Sweet 16. She has 54 points and would be right at the top of both the leagues I’m in this year. I’m right at the bottom in both with 46 and 48 points, respectively.
* It’s back to school day for me after a busy spring break. Five-and-a-half weeks of classes remain, followed by two-and-a-half weeks of finals. Hard to believe that’s all that’s left in my 1L year!
Saturday was a nice day.
Jody prepared a picnic lunch for the three of us and we drove down the hill to watch Pepperdine play Chicago State in a doubleheader. (No, I have never heard of Chicago State.) We spent the next five hours watching some good baseball, snacking on sandwiches and peanuts, playing movie trivia, and I even got to teach Hillary how to keep score.
When we got home, I dreaded going over to the library to do my Civ Pro reading for Monday, but thankfully I checked my email and discovered that Professor Goodno cancelled our reading assignment since we’re going to have a guest speaker! Yea for me!!!
So I watched more March Madness instead.
Hillary was 8 for 8 yesterday, and I was not. She is now 31-9 (with 39 points). I am 29-11 (with 36 points in one league,and 34 in the other). She does this to me every year. 
Finally, because we’re on the West Coast and the tourney ends at a decent hour, I did some channel surfing and ended up watching a bunch of Ben Stiller’s goofy movie, Dodgeball.
I can’t remember exactly when I spent a day doing nothing law school related. But now I can. It was yesterday, and it felt nice.
