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Category: Personal

WWBD- What Would Batman Do?

April 10, 2016
| 2 Comments
| Categories: Confidence, Leadership, Personal, Self Improvement

Do you remember when you were little and people would ask "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When I was 5 years old someone asked me that question and there was only one answer. BATMAN. Watching cartoons, I'd learned about Batman. He's the secret identity of Bruce Wayne, an American billionaire who witnessed the murder of his parents as a child and swore revenge on criminals. His vengeance is tempered with the great ideal of justice. I was captivated. Being the Caped Crusader fighting crime was the perfect job....and…

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BLOGGING FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: ONE YEAR LATER

February 11, 2016
| No Comments
| Categories: Personal, Suicide Information

One year ago today I got a phone call no one should ever receive. I'd lost a close friend to suicide. I assisted her family by taking over her legal practice and obligations, attended the informal memorial service put on by her friends, because her family couldn't bring themselves to have one, and learned more about her end days. She'd kept her friends separate, like corn silos in a field, so her death came as a surprise. But it shouldn't have. Looking back, I feel naive. The warning signs had…

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Cabin in the Woods 2015

October 27, 2015
| 1 Comment
| Categories: Humor, Personal

Once upon a time there was a cabin built on a pine tree-dotted mountain in Northeastern Arizona. At first, it was a simple A-frame used as a summer home, a respite from the heat of a California desert residence. When my parents retired there, some rooms were added, one filled with windows to let in the sun. It provided a peaceful place to watch birds enjoy the plentiful food provided year round. There was a deck with a porch swing to watch Blue Jays get up their courage to hop…

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My Lessons about Suicide Survival and Support

April 5, 2015
| 1 Comment
| Categories: Personal, Suicide Information

My last post dealt with the suicide of a dear friend and colleague. It's been over a month, but my questioning and self-reflection hasn't ended. The one abiding question for me remains: What can I do to stop this from happening? Unfortunately, this is a question many of us will need to ask ourselves. Suicide rates have risen in the U.S. and make it the 10th leading cause of death. In the news this past week was the story of Andreas Lubitz, the Germanwings co-pilot who flew himself and 149…

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Blogging for Suicide Prevention:Ode to a Friend

February 14, 2015
| 6 Comments
| Categories: Law, Personal, Suicide Information

Four days ago I answered my phone and was greeted by the sound of weeping. The call was to notify me a friend and attorney colleague had died by suicide, and I was being contacted because she'd left a note for me to take over her cases. I've never lost anyone to suicide. Death isn't a stranger, taking both my parents in 2010 within four months of each other, and many others over the years. Yet, the news of my friend's final act shoved me into shock. There were two…

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Adventures In Restraining Order Land

February 22, 2014
| 1 Comment
| Categories: Humor, Law, Personal

Recently I decided to go to court to watch civil harassment restraining order hearings before a judge I hadn't appeared before. I have a case in front of him soon and wanted to see if his judicial temperament was  reasoned jurist or screaming maniacal behemoth.A civil harassment order is something you obtain when someone harasses, threatens, stalks, assaults or engages in similar unacceptable behavior. It enables you to call the police and have them arrested if they come near you again. The court issues a temporary order then, after the…

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The Tale of a Bad Case

February 2, 2014
| No Comments
| Categories: Humor, Law, Personal

This week I had a friend ask me to write about my worst legal experience. I immediately said NO. There have been a lot of gut-wrenching, nightmare making, soul searching cases that I choose not to relive. The more I thought about this, I did recall one I don't mind sharing. I had been a prosecutor for about three years and was assigned to do misdemeanor trials. Today, prosecutors are assigned their cases ahead of time and have a chance to review them. Then, in the days of "Wild West"…

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A Fish Story

January 22, 2014
| 1 Comment
| Categories: Humor, Personal

 I grew up in the Imperial Valley, California. A wide bowl of desert dotted with fields of crops fed by an extensive irrigation system of canals. In elementary school, we had a "Dippy Duck: Don't Swim In Canals" program because the water looked placid on top but had strong undercurrents.When I was around six years old, my father decided to introduce me to fishing. We headed out to a canal, driving along a dusty road next to a field in his beat up white truck. When we got out, I…

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