Very Belated Sad News

Over my 34 years as a lawyer, I've had thousands of clients. Some stay in my memory. Two of those are Al and Julia.

We represented them when our firm was young, probably around '95. They were in a bad wreck with a truck out near Belle Glade where both taught at a very poor school. The truck was at fault.

Al was Italian, from NYC, and Julia a Miami Cuban lady. They were very close -- tried for years to have kids, but couldn't. But they were dedicated teachers, and this accident took them away from the classroom for most of a year -- very bad broken legs.

We had their lawsuit filed within days, and aggressively prosecuted it. We got them a very nice settlement probably 6 months later -- the insurer paid "retail" as we used to say in the biz. And they both recovered well. 

They were so very thankful --telling us they were going to use some of the proceeds from the settlement to adopt a child. And they did -- their boy must be in college by now.

Sadly -- Al died several years back -- heart attack, I think. Julia and I re-connected on FaceBook (tm), and she would message me from time to time saying how great it was to watch me go through life's stages. She remembered me as a young lawyer, with little girls, and those girls had both finished grad school, and one was married.

Well, FaceBook sent me a reminder the other day -- it was Julia's birthday. I went to her page for a greeting, and saw someone had posted back in July -- Julia had died. I was shocked and saddened -- had it been nearly a year since we last connected? I guess it had.  May she and her beloved Al rest in peace, and may their son soar...

On a happier note, D2 and Jonathan are hard into the house hunting thing. They're seeing lots of different Grove townhouses, wearing masks and not touching anything. They seem to be focusing on a gentrifying part of town -- now called the West Grove. It used to be called the Black Grove, but that is changing, as the area becomes much more mixed.

Developers are buying up the old houses, and building townhouses. The new construction is very solid -- all concrete, with impact glass, and the area is Zone X, so no floods, hopefully. D2 and Jonathan like that they can walk to the heart of the Grove in minutes, though the area isn't ready for nighttime strolls, I don't think. They are researching heavily -- crime stats, school ratings (Coconut Grove Elementary is an A school) -- and price comparisons.

Paul asked me what advice I would give them. I replied that I think I would find two young people with Masters in Business degrees and go with their suggestions. In other words -- D2 and Jonathan.

My Florida sister gave me a belly laugh, without meaning to, when I told her about this search process. She said it was very important to have a full bath on the first floor -- because as one has age related conditions, it may be hard to get up the steps. I replied that D2 and Jonathan are 28 -- the last thing they are thinking about is the decrepitude of aging.

My sister said she and my brother in law were younger when they bought their townhouse. I reminded them that they were already in their late 50s, and indeed Wifey and I, should we buy another place with stairs, would indeed consider these issues at our age. "Well someone could break a leg, you know."  My sister doesn't give up a point easily...

It's a great time for a young couple. Wifey and I still clearly remember our first place. Our budget, in '86, was $120K, and we were thrilled to find a place we fell in love with for $86, 500.  My mother had given each of her three kids $10K gifts, and we used ours for the down payment -- with money to spare!

Wifey and I wanted to buy in the Grove, but couldn't afford it. Our Kendall house, though, looked life it was in the Grove -- with an enormous banyan tree out front, and a lot of wood trim. The place was less than 1500 square feet, but we were so happy there with our dogs Midnight the Lab, and Alfred the Cocker. And, in November of '88, we brought home our beautiful baby girl to that house.

So I savor these times for D2 and Jonathan. They have their heads screwed on straight, as my late mother used to say, and will choose wisely.

Poor Julia no longer has issues like that to consider.