The release of the film Dunkirk this summer recalls the summer of 1940, when Western Civilization itself was held in the balance. Caught in a narrowing perimeter by the Nazi Blitzkrieg, protected by their British rear guard, their French comrades and the RAF, over 300,000 mostly British, but also French, Belgian and even a few … More The Speech After Dunkirk: “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”
In the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey a computer takes over a spacecraft and tries to slay the astronauts so they would not, due to the human inherent proclivity to err, jeopardize the mission. His name was Hal 2000. Overnight, without my permission the very large software company across the lake installed Windows 10 on … More Open the Pod Bay Doors Hal
The annual Christmas Fantasy Rum Cake has arrived. This is a remembrance each year from my wife’s aunt and uncle in Los Angeles I met once at our wedding but live in our hearts and our refrigerator for the year that follows. The fantasy is one can eat this and retain the same weight. And … More Christmas Fantasy Rum Cake
For generations at our family law firm a Christmas tradition has been scheduling hearings for divorced parents to fight over who had custody of the children for the holiday. Kind of leaves you with a warm, Yuletide cheer doesn’t it? And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself … More Same as It Ever Was
Because I have $300 I can leave in savings, I am not charged a $12 fee by the Bank of America for a checkless checking account. I am reviewing the bank records of a woman who doesn’t have the $300 to leave in a savings account, so she is taxed $12 a month. This disproportionate … More Because I have $300 in Savings
It’s winter, and the wrecks are piling up at the Swamp Creek Interchange. The term “interchange” is the short version of the confluence of Interstate 5, Interstate 405 and Highway 525. Like great rivers meeting the tide of commuters, the crossing is dangerous. More and more it seems I find cars and trucks discarded on … More The Swamp Creek Triangle
It must be hell down there. Abandon all hope, all ye who enter the on ramp. Souls trapped in cars, bladders screaming for relief, precious fuel burning while the motor wears as it idles. Trapped in the end game of the myth of the open road. Some bought the fast car, when the truth is … More The Airborne Traffic Report
I came out of the grocery store in Ballard to find tucked into the door handle of my car an advert from a local Psychic. She promises if you phone her she will answer one question without charge. What shall I ask?
This year, 50 years after becoming a lawyer, my Dad had his right knee replaced. He said it was due to all those years carrying a briefcase in his right hand. I believe this to be true as the literal and figurative weight of lawyering tends to damage the body. On October 4th Dad was … More Lawyers Knee
It being the holidays and my daughter having flown home I loaned her my Subaru and borrowed the older of two buicks my parents drive. Driving the 2000 Park Avenue is a little like piloting the aircraft carrier in Everett’s harbor, and as such we began calling it the USS Nimitz. There comes a time … More My Dad’s Buick
Lawyers Road Review 