tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33604022012-01-30T01:52:23.377-08:00Mark Corwin Bruce--Life and TimesHe's a lawyer! He's a poet! He's the single father of a Sixteen year old jazzbeaux bass player! And he can be pretty funny, sometimes, too. He's Mark Corwin Bruce. Join him in his journey from the courtroom to the stars.Marknoreply@blogger.comBlogger4751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-49602549446258663832012-01-10T09:54:00.000-08:002012-01-10T10:04:45.527-08:00Where have you been?I mean, really. I've been here all along just living my dull and foolish life. And where the hell did you get to? I mean, you didn't even send me a Chirstmas card this year. Or last, for that matter. What? You mean you actually came to this blog looking for me and I was gone? Well, I'm not dead. Not yet, anyway. It'll happen sooner or later. It's not something I look forward Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-40221626580674141022010-12-06T22:04:00.000-08:002010-12-06T22:21:11.923-08:00A Christmas Star...Or, at the very least, an Advent star in the warm night tonight as I strolled around the neighborhood in Mickeyville. Quiet. Dark. Not even the usual dogs barking as I pad by their yards. Truly, a miracle. Either that, or they can sense more rain coming over the ocean.I have been remiss in my walking and have not been to the gym much at all since the time change. It's Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-82812630977518195302010-10-18T21:55:00.000-07:002010-10-18T22:03:25.205-07:00One of those moments...That will come back to me vividly some years from now. The boy and I went to dinner on Monday night at Luzmilla's, the best Mexican place in Humboldt bar none. We go to dinner a lot--we're bachelors, baby--so it was a liesurely meal with light talk about school and work and other things that interrupt our lives.Afterward we went to the dollar store next door to look for Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-13171114769387754602010-09-19T21:49:00.000-07:002010-09-19T21:50:24.050-07:00Wow, did I really wait for a month to put another entry in? YOu know how it is. You get busy at work. You find your are working nights. You worry about the things that still need to be done. And you get up in the middle of the night for no reason whatsoever, but you know you shouldn't start working on another case because then you'll never get back to sleep.And in the office the phone rings Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-28464641220974682122010-08-13T10:19:00.000-07:002010-08-13T10:26:24.078-07:00Well, Of course as soon as I complain about not enough work, I get the opposite effect: Too much. I've been working nights. Sometimes on the weekends. This is what I wanted. Right?Well, at least I can pay my bills. And, as Dickens once noted, income 40 quid, bills 39 quid, happiness. Income 40 quid, bills 41 quid, abject misery.Had some vistors come to town--my lady friend from LA and her Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-34726846708624271582010-07-14T11:14:00.000-07:002010-07-14T11:20:21.525-07:00The Crickets are Killing MeMonday night my son knocked on my bedroom door and came in to announce that he had captured the cricket in the living room. "It was a big black one," he said, "and it was loud."Crickets is what I am hearing when I go to the law office these days. Very few calls, almost no new clients. I think it's July, when everyone goes on vacation. But that doesn't make me any Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-48598463146387310132010-06-30T10:26:00.000-07:002010-06-30T10:49:12.867-07:00 "Yeah," the boy said to me as we walked into one of the exhibit buildings at last week's Redwood Acres Fair & Rodeao, "I would have really loved this exhibit if I was still eight years old."The exhibit in question was a room filled with old fire engines and, in the back corner, a very elaborate model train exhibit. The old fire engines were not only authentic; they were all relics of local fire Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-10161311732024110332010-06-25T16:03:00.001-07:002010-06-25T16:05:48.869-07:00To the three of you (Really; three) who picked up free pens at my Henderson Center gig, welcome. This is undoubtedly the dullest blog in the webosphere. Yet it got me fired from my last job. Go figure.To those who follow me regularly, I am going to be regularly posting my music calendar here for those who pick up my pens. Hope it isn't too annoying.My next two gigs:July 3, 2010 at 2nd Street Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-73767548086565003382010-06-15T21:59:00.000-07:002010-06-15T22:20:00.549-07:00Catching Up How long has it been since I caterwalled in this ol' blog? Long, long time, my friends. I have so much to say that I am completely stumped as how to begin, so I might not say anything at all. Adam and I spent Memorial Day hiking at Patrick's Point, a small wilderness area north of here. They have a 2 mile hiking trail along the sea cliff (picture at right) and Adam, being the Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-62835213404914470192010-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:002010-05-06T10:32:40.415-07:00Learning to Love the 'Boldt "When you learn to love something, that's the moment that you lose it." I am driving along Highway 101 in Southern Humboldt, after visiting a client in Garberville. This client was injured in a hit-and-run accident but fortunately for her she knew the person driving the other car. Still, she couldn't make the 60 mile drive to my office, so I went to her. Just Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-7451160582322209142010-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:002010-04-12T12:16:13.569-07:00Post Easter BluesYou know, after the rush of the Easter Holidays, the people in the streets buying last minute chocolate, the snarl of traffic on the 101 of people going home for the holidays, the constant Easter carols playing all day and all night on the radio, the continual "Happy Easter" "Happy Passover," "Happy Equinox" greetings, the sight of Peter Cottontail on every corner soliciting Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-32025040289390266872010-03-22T11:27:00.000-07:002010-03-22T11:42:52.152-07:00Onward and UpwardThe boy and I were talking about blogging this weekend. Not sure how the conversation started, but I mentioned that my blog had to be one of the duller ones on the net. Last week I was shocked to see that 15 people had checked it out in one day 15! Adam suggested that perhaps a high school English teacher had assigned the blog as an example of how to write clearly. I answeredMarknoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-89005054052865598372010-03-15T13:21:00.000-07:002010-03-15T13:37:39.765-07:00I Love MondaysWhy all this angst about Monday? Just because it's the start of the workweek and Friday seems a thousand miles off? Why not look at Monday as each week's new beginning, a new chance to change people's dark opinions about you, each week's "restart" or "refresh" button. Imagine if you came in to work next Monday feeling chipper and enthusiastic and full of plans to make your job Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-60793953667589631522010-03-08T16:45:00.000-08:002010-03-08T16:55:12.690-08:00The Coldest Winter...Mark Twain once wrote that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Today would have warmed the old man's heart, except we're 300 miles further north. Here we are in the middle of March and a cold breath from the sea sends the locals scurrying for their warm coats and woolen socks. It takes a lot for the locals to get cold here in Humboldt, where cold Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-2402352283828646292010-02-24T15:09:00.000-08:002010-02-24T15:12:09.429-08:00The Running ManI had the strangest experience yesterday. I had been working with a client from out of state. (I am going to be somewhat general here, because I don't want to reveal any confidential material, despite the fact that the person in question is not a client).The matter was a civil matter. A response to the case had to be filed before a hearing Wednesday morning.The client FedExed me Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-46666710280572686032010-02-12T11:00:00.000-08:002010-02-12T11:10:35.577-08:00Honest AbeBeing a lawyer, I tend to think about Abraham Lincoln from time to time. Lincoln is the American patron saint of lawyers (the actual patron saint of lawyers, per the Catholic Church, is Thomas More, another entry for another time).Lincoln had this crazy idea that it was better to talk a litigant out of litigation rather than to take thousands of dollars of his money for a useless claimMarknoreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-68673900337034388362010-02-04T15:31:00.001-08:002010-02-04T15:41:52.892-08:00Shaking AgainAfter a 2 hour drive up to Weaverville for a morning call (I left at 7 a.m.) and another 2 hour drive back, I went home for a nap and a spot of lunch. Just as I was waking from the nap, the house shook again, probably an after-shock from our little dust up a few weeks ago (as noted in this blog). It was like a dog trying to shake off fleas, if you want to think of our frail Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-82264990170296115232010-01-21T22:57:00.000-08:002010-01-21T23:08:57.788-08:00Back in the BayTook a five hour trip down the 101 to the city by the bay. Sounds like a song lyric, eh? Except it was raining all the way (hey! Rhyming!) so I couldn't enjoy the trip as much as I usually do. It's hard to listen to podcasts and music when you think your car might fly off the road through hydroplaning. Still, I made it in one piece, hitting the Golden Gate Bridge shortly after Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-67715783160109765512010-01-10T18:43:00.000-08:002010-01-10T19:05:23.509-08:00Rocking the ChurchAnother slow and easy Saturday. After going to the gym--yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I still stagger to the gym three times a week--and having lunch with the boy, we piled out instruments into the car and drove over to Christ the King to play music for the "vigil" mass at 4 p.m. Not too many people but we were okay with that, as we don't look on the church gig as a Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-26046465871740483192010-01-05T22:26:00.000-08:002010-01-05T22:43:41.982-08:00Living after the Holidays...Sorry if I seem to be engaging in cliches lately, but don't you think there should be about a week's worth of breathing space after Jan 1? Like, everyone should just go to have coffee somewhere and talk about life and what they think they're going to be able to do with the days they have left and their dreams and hopes and maybe even their fears. Something that has Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-18834224302075135222009-12-25T09:28:00.000-08:002009-12-25T09:30:53.835-08:00Merry Christmas to my 6 readers. Hope your Holidays are bright and loving.MCBruceMarknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-47904918141402420432009-12-21T11:59:00.000-08:002009-12-21T12:05:37.655-08:00Ho ho friggin' hoWell. Christmas is still a month away, right? I can still do some shopping, write a few cards and still have time to catch my breath, yes? I mean, it's not like it's this Friday or anything.What is there about Christmas? Its the only day of the year that seems to show up way faster than it should. Unless you're under ten. In that case, it takes about three eons to show Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-10482746015612251112009-12-15T10:15:00.000-08:002009-12-15T10:21:13.192-08:00Christmas, Inc.Okay, an update on the decoration dilemma.You knew I'd cave.Yup, I put the stuff up anyway. I figured that, being a 16 going on 36 year old, Adam secretly wanted me to put up the stuff but didn't know how to tell me in a way that would maintain his "cool." So I played sentimental Daddy and did it anyway. Lights on the house. Wreath on the door. Tree with ornaments and lights Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-77714380772941344062009-11-27T23:12:00.000-08:002009-11-27T23:19:54.701-08:00A Christmas QuandrySo the question this year is whether I will decorate the place for the Holidays. The Boy is now 16 years old, going on 17, going on 53. He is too mature and adult, he says, for the usual holiday fol-de-rol. Trimming the tree is for kids (the last two years I've had to do it myself) and it all just gets in the way of stuff he wants to do in the living room. Anyway, if I Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-7990923741426666592009-11-15T14:35:00.000-08:002009-11-15T14:48:48.457-08:00Planet SmogJust back from a quick business visit to L.A., my hometown, scene of many childhood victories and disasters, Planet Smog. I am of two minds on SoCal in general and L.A. in particular. On one hand, as I drive down the freeways I notice that the place is all buildings and roads and the occasional sad tree or bush; compared to my present home in Humboldt, L.A. seems gray and garish and Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-17116458276240882012009-11-10T20:45:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:54:46.825-08:00In Case You're Wondering...Probably be even more occasional than usual during this month in posting the blog. I'm taking part, as I have for the last 4 years, in the National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days--the month of November. The first year a struggled to finish it, but I did and it was a pretty good novel, too. No, there's no where you can read Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-82177807170271877462009-10-29T18:37:00.000-07:002009-10-29T18:40:03.687-07:00The Way It Should BeWhen he first came to my office, it had been years since he'd seen his daughter. After an ugly divorce, the mother took the child and lived a nomadic existence. The only time he heard from the child was an occasional telephone call.He missed his daughter and he loved her, that was clear. So we filed a motion to try to get him reasonable visitation.The mother responded with Marknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-6544733829260743152009-10-23T08:53:00.000-07:002009-10-24T23:52:07.834-07:00The Zen of SoupyWhen we were kids, the rumor went around when Soupy Sales was taken off the air unexpectedly. He told a joke on TV, the rumor went, that didn't sit too well with the sensors. I would tell you the joke here, but since I've gotten into trouble before for much milder things, we'll just say that the joke was riske' and adult--so much so that most of us kids (age 7 or so) didn't quite Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-61797155274612004742009-10-20T09:45:00.000-07:002009-10-20T09:53:42.154-07:00The Work Goes On...And then you come back to earth. After the joy of playing music for the masses, the office beckons. The work needs to continue. The clients have entrusted you with their cases and, by extension, their lives. They need your help. You need to buckle down, young man, and get these things done.Oh, there are setbacks. Last Friday I travelled to Crescent City to fight a losing Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-42650770393136789042009-10-16T14:42:00.000-07:002009-10-16T14:50:11.075-07:00Making Grown Men Cry Yesterday I donned the beautiful white suit and played the Henderson Center Farmer's Market. They love me in the farmer's market. I sing a lot of the old songs and a few of my own. I tell dumb jokes. I generally entertain them while they wait for people to come buy their vegatables and flowers and fruits. So I picked up the nylong string guitar, which is the one with Marknoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-26347038107449087272009-10-11T18:59:00.000-07:002009-10-11T19:00:18.651-07:00Twenty things I've learned since I turned 50.1. Anyone who can look into their children’s eyes and tell them that nothing matters because eventually the sun will explode and the world will spin to dust is a perfect monster.2. Every society has its madnesses. We laugh at the Elizabethans who fought duels over poems yet we think nothing of the riot after our football team won the championship.3.Marknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-10114076934660140412009-10-06T17:35:00.000-07:002009-10-06T17:55:29.073-07:00My Fans...I don't have a counter on this blog, so for all I know three to six people read this thing...or three to six thousand. One never knows. But from time to time I get comments.Oh, do I get comments.Some of them are very kind and nice and supportive. They say things like "you're a very good writer" and "keep on trying" and "hey, we all screw up sometime." I like to think that these kindMarknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-80621414640239785492009-09-28T20:52:00.000-07:002009-09-28T21:13:25.394-07:00The Dull Are Always the Last to Know Okay, friends and neighbors, take a good look at the young man to the left. You probably think a lot of things, foremost of which is, why would a man that big risk wearing a white suit when there are still crazy guys with Ahab complexes running around Humboldt brandishing harpoons? How would you describe this fellow? Foolish? Delusional? Outlandish? Marknoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-68732929376930933332009-09-15T17:17:00.001-07:002009-09-16T10:36:26.006-07:00The Daily Journal, the newspaper of record for California's legal community, ran an obituary of a woman attorney who handled appeals for a large medical malpractice firm. "She had a passion for the law," it said.I felt sorry for her. A passion for the law? We hear that, as lawyers, about people whose real lives are so colorless and devoid of imagination that the only thing that fires the synapsesMarknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-75885250565622271702009-09-07T14:54:00.000-07:002009-09-07T15:06:20.710-07:00HeroLast Friday at the morning Rotary meeting, the speaker was Bette Chin, a local woman who is known for her work with the homeless. Bette's story is one of those which makes you believe you have wasted your own life. She and her family fled the Communist Revolution in China, ended up in Hong Kong. In China they were considered "counter-revolutionary" and Bette, as a child, wore a sign on her Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-81778664426620062672009-08-09T21:34:00.000-07:002009-08-09T21:45:30.835-07:00Nixon ResignsA few weeks before I was due to enter the U.S.Air Force, I sat in my grandparents' living room and watched the old fox flicker on television. He looked weary, angry, somewhat surprised. He looked like he thought at any minute it would all be made all right. He had a look in his eye like a cornered animal, something I'd always been taught was the most dangerous kind of animal. He Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-9539297509780331662009-07-23T10:54:00.000-07:002009-07-23T10:56:10.341-07:00Twitter Me NotDear Friends:I know that you live interesting and exciting lives, lives filled with such drama and humor and pathos that it would make an excellent reality show. I know that if Shakespeare was to to come back from the dead, he'd consider writing your life as either a light comedy or a grand historical drama. And yes, there are a few of you out there who secretely would love to be Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-75253562845461202522009-07-01T22:04:00.000-07:002009-07-01T22:14:19.527-07:00He Must Be Stopped...As if graduating from High School 2 years early and being an amazing musician is not enough for my son, he calls me today and tells me that he scored a "5" on the AP Calculus test. "5" as in, the top score you can get. This child is far too intelligent and continues to show up his old father. We must stop him before he conquers the world.Actually, this is another sign thatMarknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-21044722328616119502009-06-22T20:39:00.000-07:002009-06-22T20:53:26.436-07:00A Nice Compliment So I'm calling Department of Child Support Services today because we have a little hearing tomorrow morning and I subb'd the employment records of the other side, records the court received, said they were going to copy and give to me, and never have. So I have to continue the case until I get those records so I can look them over. Anyway, the receptionist on the phone says, Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-52032448785925020282009-05-26T10:28:00.000-07:002009-05-26T10:37:56.612-07:00Half a Loaf, Half a Year, Half a Life...Spent Memorial Day at home, for the most part. My son and I don't seem to have much imagination when it comes to holiday excursions. Oh, we went to Border's here to look at some stuff--I bought a fun little book on deadly plants, he decided not to get a book on college calculus. We had lunch at the Golden Harvest in Eureka. We went home and watched "Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-76839573869987083122009-05-14T15:05:00.001-07:002009-05-14T15:24:35.830-07:00The GraduateMy son is too smart.Way, way too smart. He makes me look like a slacker. This must stop.His latest exploit? He decided that he was tired of the BS of high school. He didn't fit in with the other kids who talked about video games and the Jonas Brothers, when my kid is more interested in physics and jazz. So he took the California High School Proficiency Exam, or CHSPE. If he Marknoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-71346693846550745182009-05-04T20:05:00.000-07:002009-05-04T20:14:41.112-07:00Time to Show the Bastards...I got a call tonight from one of the credit card companies. This company and I have a relationship going back to before my son was born--and he's 16. I've been using their product and making timely payments all this time. In fact, I've paid them off more than thrice. At present, I am $5000 below their credit line. Yet they called me today and said, "We've been Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-3383561802565430892009-04-12T21:59:00.000-07:002009-04-12T22:08:44.846-07:00Close But... Yeah, I know that I've neglected this little blog terribly. It's because I've been in trial for the last 3 weeks on a pretty big case--at least, a case reported in the newspapers. I wanted to blog to you, my friend, I really did; but I didn't want to even get close to commenting on the trial while it was still going on, just in case. Regular readers of this little travail--and Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-91272303953976631042009-03-24T20:51:00.000-07:002009-03-24T21:04:03.100-07:00Causing Trouble... Yes, I'm in trial again on a serious felony case, one reported in the newspapers and the gossip of the courthouse. The DA himself is prosecuting--which means that he thinks this is both a slam dunk and a high profile case. If I were DA in a small county, I'd never take anything to trial unless I knew it was a lock. Of course, I can't really talk about the case just in case Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-69349820971996422632009-03-08T11:53:00.000-07:002009-03-08T12:13:40.940-07:00Exile in ParadiseThere are days when I know that I live in Paradise. Others when I wonder whether I live in exile.Today, for instance, is one of those days that makes a man glad he lives in Redwood country. We woke to our third consecutive clear day, the air crisp and chill, the clouds looming over the ocean a grayish white. Yes, the birds were singing and the wind snuck through the streets ofMarknoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-5422529978319075362009-02-19T22:48:00.000-08:002009-02-19T23:02:31.696-08:00The Man In White... Thought I'd share another photo from the shoot, a funny one. Wasn't posing here, just playing a little guitar while the photographer got the light and the angle etc. I guess when I play up on the neck I have a tendency to bite my lip. Looks pretty funny. Wonder if that's what it looks like in performance, too. Been busy in the practice lately. A very good month, I'm Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-80091866804661240332009-02-14T10:12:00.000-08:002009-02-14T10:24:47.774-08:00Full of Plans... Yeah, that's me in the spotlight. Or, at least, in the camera lens. I went to have some professional photos taken last week with my Rotary friend Brandi Easter. She did a spectacular job, as you can see, especially considering what she had to work with. She also took some more somber shots for my yellow pages ad, which I am using on my MySpace as the default picture. For a Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-84812265246822787742009-02-05T23:00:00.000-08:002009-02-05T23:11:18.202-08:00Blissfully Out Of ItWhen I lived in LA the damned celebreties seemed to be everywhere. I couldn't turn on the radio or the TV or open the paper or talk to a friend or go to a coffee shop without hearing about the latest exploits of some disposable pop star. Who's sleeping with who. (whom?) Who got drunk and trashed what club. Who is having trouble finishing thier latest album/movie/addictionMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-62525121529513905042009-02-01T22:47:00.000-08:002009-02-01T22:56:29.531-08:00An Evening Walk Last night Adam and I took an hour's walk along the Hammond Trail (pictured here), a little hiking trail that runs through Mickeyville and into Arcata. It usually is filled with people on bikes, people walking dogs, and the occasional horseback rider. Of course, all these animals are prone to leaving waste of one sort or another. Although the four-legged creatures usually leave Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-4329401303316382062009-01-16T12:21:00.000-08:002009-01-16T12:30:40.106-08:00The Warm Days of WinterIt's been unseasonably warm here in Mickeyville this January, I can't tell you why. As I sometimes take my evening walk at 10 p.m. around the neighborhood, I feel a warm breeze slip past me, as if undercover. We've even had some 65 degree days lately. This global warming thing is real, my friends. Just ask the frost disappearing in front of my house.In the Little Yellow Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-12984377593244461362009-01-06T23:19:00.001-08:002009-01-06T23:22:10.767-08:00"I Wish I'd Spent More Time at Work"A German Industrialist, wiped out by the economic meltdown, stepped in front of a train yesterday. He left behind a wife and two children.Earlier this month, another financier, who had invested a billion or so in what turned out to be a pyramid scheme, cut his wrists at his desk. He left behind a wife and a child.Another European captain of industry, his Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-43820669199700464582009-01-04T19:41:00.000-08:002009-01-04T19:50:56.860-08:00The TurtleI stood in the street on Broadway, which is actually Highway 101, last Tuesday night, holding my head in my hands and thinking that my life was over. At least, my life as I knew it was over. I'd just been in an accident. I was trying to change lanes, looked over to see if it was safe, then looked ahead to see the cars in front of me had stopped and I didn't have time to take evasive Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-24938280537226958822008-12-30T19:47:00.000-08:002008-12-30T19:54:27.230-08:00WHAM!!!!!!!!!!So it's the night before New Year's Eve and Adam and I are returning from Borders. We just bought our new calendars--they're 50% off now--and were congratulating ourselves on being such prudent shoppers. I went to make a move into the next empty lane on the 101 and look up and the car in front of me is inches from my bumper. I frantically tried to maneuver out of the way but I wasMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-87806221866530983232008-12-27T12:42:00.000-08:002008-12-27T12:57:59.154-08:00What I Learned in 2008: There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. Having a relationship with a woman who hates you is not good for your soul. The American public is not as stupid and venal as the Republicans hope they are. Raising a teenager is similar to raising a wild animal. For every moment of sweetness, there's a moment of terror. And aggrivationMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-19861248427330100372008-12-21T22:30:00.000-08:002008-12-21T22:38:40.523-08:00Christmas in HumboldtSounds bucolic, no? Christmas in the redwoods. The clear air, the gurgling streams, the light powder of snow on the ground as woodland creatures shyly come forth from the woods to celebrate the solstice and the birth of the savior...Yeah, well, what it really means is that we get a large and bad-tempered storm from Alaska, and our lone shopping mall is packed to the gills Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-40477279521997742662008-12-19T11:23:00.001-08:002008-12-19T11:35:53.751-08:00The Life Decision... So when we last left our intrepid hero, he was dangling on the cliff of a life decision. Go to Shasta? (They hadn't offered the job yet but it was highly likely it would happen, as he was #1 on the list of potential candidates) Or stay in Humboldt? Shasta had the charm of being a city, of being a Public Defender's Office, of being a new start. Our hero loves new starts. Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-70426130264138463252008-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:002008-12-12T22:06:59.597-08:00Then the Rains Came...We finally got our first winter storm. Oh, we've had some drizzles and a bit of showers here and there, but tonight we finally got one of those old fashioned Humboldt rainforest drenches that makes everything so green and red around here. Green for the trees. Red for the rust.I'm feeling a little rusty myself. I've been working very hard during the day, trying to get Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-15059780835402712562008-11-28T17:33:00.000-08:002008-11-28T17:43:19.653-08:00 More than One Turkey Around here...Actually, that's last year's turkey dinner above. Mind you, I didn't eat last year's turkey yesterday; we had a whole new one and this time Jennifer (Adam's mother) invited two of her (and my) friends over for the feast. It was very festive and comforting to have more than just the boy & his mom for Thanksgiving, so we gave thanks for our friends.The boyMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-12216771890965203212008-11-14T10:22:00.000-08:002008-11-14T10:29:20.874-08:00Berekely Bound At about 1 p.m. I'm getting into the car and heading down south to a seminar for the California Public Defender's Assn. on various ethics and tactical issues. Just in time for my big attempted murder case, which starts as of Dec 1. Keep waking at 4 a.m. because I worry about every friggin' thing that's not going right, from my worries about the law practice being successful to theMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-55193527482058586772008-11-10T21:09:00.000-08:002008-11-10T21:26:50.527-08:00Novelling Again... As I start this night's entry, suddenly a strange and disturbing sound comes from my son's room, like a thousand metal claws scraping against the door. "What was that?" I say. "I don't know," he says. I Don't Know is a very concerning statement coming from a 15-year-old. Evidently, it was his computer, and he says, "Oh that happened once before." He says it's still Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-73265377675240614282008-11-05T08:19:00.000-08:002008-11-05T08:20:21.173-08:00OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-72108725270096005022008-10-25T09:56:00.000-07:002008-10-25T10:11:16.824-07:00Back from Santa Rosa Which is where my 77 year old mother would like to move to, if she can ever sell her Tahoe house. AS some of you know, I interviewed last month with the El Dorado County Public Defender, but decided not to pursue it any further, mostly because I didn't want to live in Tahoe. Lovely lake but the place is hollow inside, the people mostly just passing through. It takes a Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-66580222492468822752008-10-18T10:10:00.000-07:002008-10-18T10:20:01.700-07:00Little Cat's FeetCarl Sandberg wrote that the fog comes on little cat's feet, an image far too precious for the same guy who wrote about the city of big shoulders where the gangsters kill and go free to kill again. ON the other hand, those of you who know cats know that they are not necessarily the most benevolent of creatures.A thick bit of it has settled in to the HC these last few days. Last Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-86615705525125339992008-09-23T22:46:00.000-07:002008-09-23T22:58:29.829-07:00South--sort of...Took the 3 1/2 hour trip to Santa Rosa tonight. Going to talk to the PD here tomorrow, one of those panel interviews. The panel interviews are always a little scary--you never know where to look. There's always the friendly guy and the angry guy and the impassive guy. I think it's a tactic they use to see how you respond to different personalities. Or maybe every Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-23425237446285003912008-09-17T13:00:00.000-07:002008-09-17T13:14:43.907-07:00A Note to Uncle John... I promised my very conservative Aunt Elva that if she read "The Audacity of Hope," I would read the John McCain book of her choice. She did, indeed, read "Hope," and says she's now undecided about who to vote for. A sign, I might add, of intellectual honesty. Being a man of my word, I'm reading "Faith of My Fathers," the book McCain wrote in 1999. You can't help but be Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-74846436945279308792008-09-06T12:30:00.000-07:002008-09-06T12:32:06.885-07:00Now that the Republican Convention is over, here are the things I learned about the new GOP:They were against change before they were for it. They were against celebrity politicians unless such politicians are cute perky Governors from frontier states.They don't want an inexperienced person to be president but it's okay for an inexperienced person to be vice president.They want us to remember 9-Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-60392144362212172412008-09-02T11:58:00.000-07:002008-09-02T12:05:21.858-07:00Driving Me Crazy...Literally Well, my lovely son Adam is now 15 1/2, which in California means that peculiar rite of passage known as "learning to drive." It took us 4 tries to get the DMV to give him the permit, all of them because we were always missing some vital document in the registration. But when all that had finally been done, and after Adam had passed the driving test by scoring the Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-57064191407375375692008-08-26T12:12:00.000-07:002008-08-26T12:24:59.520-07:00Begging for Attention And suddenly, as if it knew I was thinking of pulling up stakes and going elsewhere, the Practice decides it's going to give me lots and lots to do. I've signed four new clients in the last two weeks, and August is set to be my best month ever for income. Go figure. Meanwhile a now-ex girlfriend has asked that we "just be friends." Which is okay by me, as we seem to be inMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-55417651167814145922008-08-20T09:56:00.001-07:002008-08-20T10:09:11.564-07:00Back From LA Adam and I flew back into Humboldt Sunday night after a few magical days in our former stomping grounds of LA/Orange County. Adam, in particular, was able to reconnect with his friends from Walker Junior High (they're all in High School now) and his Jazz jam friends. He was on a cloud most of Saturday while I recorded my little radio show for KPFK ("Poet's Cafe").We even visited Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-28082159785244595122008-08-07T10:04:00.001-07:002008-08-07T10:20:51.193-07:00Breaking Down So last week I buy some big steaks at our local grocery store so that Adam and I can have our Sunday Dinner. Most other nights we "batch" it and eat out, but Sunday nights we like to cook in the house. I went to turn on the oven and found the display on the fancy oven had gone completely black. I couldn't turn on the oven!For months now, the dishwasher has been leaking. I've Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-59250862385232045472008-08-02T11:24:00.000-07:002008-08-02T11:33:58.166-07:00An Organized ManTalking to a potential divorce client this week. She sighed in the middle of complaining about her soon-to-be ex-husband and said, "Next time I'll marry a man who organizes his shoes in the closet."I kept quiet, knowing that my shoes are, indeed, sitting prettily on a shoe shelf in my closet, all lined up and ready to go.Why, then, oh Blog friends, do I spend my Friday nights Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-47836459058819756292008-07-19T11:37:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:14.141-08:00Smoke and Mirrors... The acrid taste of smoke is finally starting to dissipate in the air around here. It's been overcast the last few mornings but, thankfully, the overcast is coming from the ocean and not the mountains behind us, which have been on fire nearly a month. When Adam and I travelled down south to see my mother in Tahoe and my dad in Mariposa, we passed the fire fighters' camp alongMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-46026185172253626352008-07-05T11:44:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:14.284-08:00The Day After the Fourth of July I played for a party yesterday, my friend Orrin had donated $80 to the Rotary fund to have me appear at his party and play an hour of music. I played mostly original songs, including the one listed above. ("Nothing disturbed the crickets that night/and my heart was quiet/the day after the fourth of July...") I went well, I thought. No one left in disgust and Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-36331361676579830782008-06-27T22:19:00.000-07:002008-06-27T22:32:31.508-07:00Blowing by another week...Talked to the ATT yellow pages guy today. Most of you who are fans of this blog--and by the way, when are you going to get a life?--will remember that ATT decimated my fledgling practice last year when they "left the contract on the table" and I didn't get into the book for 2008. The handful of calls I've been getting for the one book I've been in the last two months--Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-79496742772011059472008-06-14T11:44:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:14.751-08:00My computer is sluggish this morning, and I know the feeling. It's an overcast Flag Day here in Humboldt, though I put Old Glory out anyway, just to add some color to the skies.My brother emailed me a clutch of photos of our mother at the age of 18, just as she was graduating from High School. She looks like she could star in the next Andy Hardy movie, all peaches and cream with that All Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-23474625657154676862008-06-01T23:02:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:15.016-08:00Come out and fight like a man... or a woman, or whoever you are. Someone out there keeps posting nasty notes on my blog, calling me a "bully" and telling me that I'm unmanly for not knowing what to do with my life. "Most people who know you want to scream at you," this abusive poster said after my blog about the moment I lost my temper with Adam. Really? Care to give me any names? I'd take Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-72129894605079626972008-05-30T21:33:00.000-07:002008-05-30T21:54:03.105-07:00
So here's the TV commercial I told you about a few weeks ago. AS you can see, I wasn't exaggerating about how old and fat I look. This is one of two--I figured one was enough for you to watch. I'm not that cruel to make you sit through two.I can tell you that the commercial is as effective as the radio ads were. In other words, I have not signed up a single new client since they startedMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-72117425121167951712008-05-26T09:31:00.001-07:002008-12-09T17:51:15.264-08:00Yelling at the Boy Humboldt has its pleasures. I sometimes take my nightly walk along the Hammond trail, a nice quiet stroll along the cold shoreline. Small pictures like the one at left (taken by my cell phone camera, which is why it's fuzzy; though the operator has been known to be a bit fuzzy himself) present themselves all along the walk.It's quiet, it's calming, it infuriates me.See, I Marknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-55556560222905237262008-05-17T10:33:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:15.424-08:00AN TS! It's been hot here in Humboldt. Well, hot for us. Got up to 86 yesterday, which means that we were walking around trying to figure out how to appease the rain gods. I took the day off from the practice--I got all my work done for the week by Thursday--and went to play golf at our local Beau Pre course. I hadn't played in two years but the first few holes I actually hit some fine shots.Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-38469354642744498462008-05-08T16:03:00.000-07:002008-05-08T16:09:38.124-07:00The TV StarIf you ever want to find out just how ugly and fat you are, go on television.Really. I filmed my TV commercial last Friday and thought I did a good job. Yesterday I get a call that the commercial is done, and can I come down and approve of it and, oh yeah, give them a little money to cover the cost. $250 to film the commercial. A bargain, really.Well, the saleswoman cued up the DVDMarknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-36908342005275741232008-05-03T09:36:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:15.943-08:00 A little Less of Me "Let me be a little kinderTo my brother who is blinderThink a little more of othersand a little less of me." That old 60s song, which no one sings anymore (noble sentiment; sappy words) has been on my mind lately because I've been working on the weight. I've been on this "alternate day" plan in which you eat normally one day and limit yourself to 500 Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-41170158990519602482008-04-26T11:42:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:16.957-08:00 Fabulous Friday...Much as I hate to sound like a cheerleader in these blogs--heaven knows, I've been Eyeore far too many times--every once in a while you have one of those days which remind you that life can be good. Friday was one of those days for me.It started at the Rotary Club. In order to get to the next level of membership, we have to give a 5 minute talk about ourselves. Some Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-74649501850583888162008-04-21T10:57:00.001-07:002008-04-21T11:06:39.184-07:00Just When You Think You've Got Problems...I burned away the morning on the phone with Dell. On Friday the printer in my office ran out of ink, so it said. So I put a new cartridge in...the print head was screwed up. That's a $22 cartridge, friends, but I was philosophical about it. Into every life some rain must fall and all that.I had another cartridge so I put that in. Still having print Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-33897721125550228112008-04-09T12:05:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:51:17.138-08:00Some you win. Some you don't. La de da and oh well, buddy. You shake the hand of the man who's going to prison for the rest of his life and look him in the eye and expect to see some kind of reproach, some hurt, something that will burn into you for the rest of your life...and all you see is gratitude. As they take him from court, he squeezes your arm and says "thanks." This is a killer? I Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-83741829826694967732008-02-23T09:55:00.000-08:002008-02-23T10:08:12.757-08:00A busy WeekI know that I have insisted in this blog that I am a dull man. This last week proved it. All I could talk about was how my practice is starting to improve (I've had five new clients this month, the best since opening) and the murder trial I'm in (we're still in jury selection) and how busy, busy, busy I've been.yeah, it's all about me.Oh, I could regale you with tales of how I was Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-20199313013597610262008-02-12T22:17:00.000-08:002008-02-12T22:18:43.083-08:00An Unexpected ValentineThere is not enough sorrowor joy in the worldto fill me tonight. My heart,empty but content, longs onlyfor the long miles between usto vanish in a breath, so thatfor even a single night, Icould encircle you with my arms.Oh, my rash darling,when I arrived home, a longday working on the problemsof the sad people of the world,to find a small remembrancefrom you, a brief, Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-70145744087542118312008-01-30T18:28:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:17.620-08:00Mr. Aggressive The rains come and come and come and never let up. Oh, we have a moment or two of blue sky (see photos above) but not without our dark clouds to remind us that we do, indeed, live in a rainforest. Ours just has redwoods instead of giant spiders. Still, if you decide to live in Humboldt, you agree tacitly that you are going to live in the rain, love the rain, embrace the rain. Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-44464504870478497572008-01-23T21:06:00.000-08:002008-01-23T21:08:19.425-08:00Nothin’ But the Blues Quiz If you’re a true lover of the blues, you will know the answers to all of these questions. If you get two or three wrong, please go to the nearest nightspot and listen closely to the guy wailing the blues. He’ll set you straight.You are sitting in an airport. You are:a) Excited about the trip aheadb) Worried about terroristsc) Wondering if the pilot is Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-63984328309480442122008-01-16T22:04:00.000-08:002008-01-16T22:11:52.238-08:00Ahead to the PastGoing to LA tomorrow night to visit an array of old friends. The occasion is twofold: First, I have a very good personal injury case in which I represent a friend of mine. This poor person was hit by a truck while in the crosswalk! Much pain to the poor victim. For once, having a lawyer as a friend was a benefit. So I'm going down to take photos and talk to witnesses and Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-64876788675910352902008-01-10T22:34:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:17.984-08:00Jazzbeaux R Us Just seems like yesterday that my then-10 year old son was saying to me, "Dad, let's jam." He was new to the drums and eager to play with his old father. So I'd plug in the electric guitar and we'd do blues and old rock and ended up making up some psuedo-surf instrumental tunes that eventually became "Surf and Sun," our little CD that actually sold about 8 copies on CDBaby.com. Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-81445444467012577872008-01-02T08:21:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:18.669-08:00Welcome to the New Year... Whew. We made it. We got through 2007. Not without some bruises and scrapes, not without a loss or two, not without lots of trauma and drama...but we made it. What a mongrel 2007 was! A more frustrating, irksome, odorous beast we haven't seen since...well, I'm trying to think of a year that was worse. I suppose 1986, when I was both divorced and watched my beloved Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-71426385009547759622007-12-22T11:02:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:19.255-08:00Good King SauerkrautThe 50s comic strip Pogo used to parody Christmas carols, making "Good King Wenseslaus" into:"Good King Sauerkraut looked outOn his feets uneven..."Nowadays no one gets the joke, mostly because no one sings "Good King Wenseslaus looked out/on the Feast of Steven" anymore. But I still think it's raginginly funny.Which, of course, is the disconnect between myself and the world. Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-40639098549364171492007-12-19T11:48:00.000-08:002007-12-19T11:52:13.282-08:00A Little Holiday JeerHere's a little website where I've published a funny little article called "Don't Take the X out of Xmas." For every 1000 views, I get $1.40. Woo Hoo.www.associatedcontent.com/article/478741/the_war_on_xmas_dont_take_the_x_out.htmlHope you enjoy my questionable humor.In the meantime, things going better around here. The phone is starting to ring on the practice. We sent Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-55138276760314234022007-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:19.405-08:00The Goose is Getting Fat...Put another penny in the old man's hat, as the old song goes. Christmas is, indeed a'coming, but not too many pennies falling into the hat these days. December is notoriously a slow month for the legal profession, as everyone tries to keep themselves stable until New Year's Eve. So I'm catching up on a few things around the office, getting some of the substrata work Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-35814928419058584892007-12-07T17:23:00.001-08:002008-12-09T17:51:19.725-08:00My New Motto Walking through the courthouse today, getting the cold shoulder from some and warm greetings from others, it occurred to me that I've been right all along: The only way to fight a bad impression is to make a good one.So, my new motto: "The world will know the quality of your heart by the quality of your work."After the hearing I went to the Humboldt Bar Association's Christmas Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-43866750372094002822007-11-27T22:35:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:19.876-08:00No, I Really AM Dull... Talking with a young woman the other day, who was admittedly trying to sell me some yellow pages advertising (from another book, not ATT), and she asked why I wasn't married or even going steady. Of course, when a young woman asks this, a middle aged fool such as myself tends to preen. And I admit I did a little of it, but in the end I had to explain to her that I am a Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-88268918199973607632007-11-20T21:32:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:20.102-08:00My Birthday Gift Turned 51 on Sunday. It's hard to think of myself as being that age, as I feel like I should be a lot younger. At 51, I'd always thought, a person should be settled, have a wife and grown kids, know where he fits into the world. Instead I find myself attracted to the young twenty somethings, and not just because they're smooth and beautiful. No, the truth is that I have never Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-28871849754906437962007-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:002008-12-09T17:51:20.390-08:00Veteran's Day...I put on the old fatigue jacket for the first time in 30 years. It gave me some perspective on what I've been doing for the last week, worried about what small minds think of me. Truth is, I should be better than that. Once I had the strength to serve my country. Don't I now have the strength to do my best for my family and my clients and to hell with what other people think of meMarknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-88574717114899761322007-11-07T11:43:00.000-08:002007-11-07T11:56:39.488-08:00How to Ruin a Good MoodSo the last post was all unicorns and rainbows and watch out world, here I come!I go to the courthouse this week to file some stuff. I'm still trying to understand why so many people in the courthouse seem to be angry with me. I'm thinking, they have to see that I was merely a pawn in someone else's game here. But I'm also thinking, well, what do you expect? The people Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360402.post-33692153289566291672007-11-03T11:37:00.001-07:002008-12-09T17:51:20.591-08:00Stronger than You Think I Am... My triumphant return to Humboldt County Courthouse this week was rather interesting. I thought, since my case was civil, I wouldn't see any of the people I used to work with. Wrong. The very first case in that courtroom involved the guy who took my old job; the guy who hired me then asked me to resign; several DA's I knew; and a PD I met. It was Halloween and Marknoreply@blogger.com1