The Right List

 So Paul and I get Florida Bar stuff delivered to my house, on account of the fact that Paul doesn't think a legitimate attorney ought to have his house address the same as his office one, whereas I am accepting of things. Anyway, this am I glanced through the Florida Bar news, which I ought to get online, but am too lazy to make the change.

I always glance through the articles, like I used to do with "Playboy" magazine, just to make sure there's nothing glaring I should know, and then I turn to the two important lists: "Disciplinary Actions" and "In Memoriam."

It occurs to me that fewer and fewer of my colleagues make the first list. Prime career time for screwing up seems to be early or middle -- not the twilight, as Norman calls us. As to the second, sadly, that list has members of ALL ages -- though of course it skews to those admitted to practice in the 80s and earlier.

This month my friend Dave Coulson was on the sad list. And truly, the whole key is staying OFF that "In Memoriam" group for as long as possible. Discipline? Hell -- at this point, I'd just quit, or do what's called a "Disciplinary Revocation" which is essentially disbarring yourself.

Intimations of mortality, to malaprop Wordsworth.

Anyway, we had a BANNER T Day, where we feasted and laughed and enjoyed our shared gratitude. I spent a lot of time with Jonathan's grandmother Judy, the essence of a true matriarch. She's 90 and sharp as a tack, and loving as ever -- surrounded by her kids, grandkids, and 2 great grandkids. We talked about planning and the absurdity of that -- her parents never planned on Nazis and having to stash their daughter in a convent to survive the Holocaust as a little Catholic girl, emerging to find nearly everyone killed off.

But she always makes me smile -- remembering with greater clarity than I have when she met D2 and Wifey and me in Gainesville and knew in her heart that very day we would become family. Anyone who acts against this powerful woman's wishes does so at their own stupidity and peril -- we sure didn't!

We took Little Man home with us after the feast, and spent a lovely day with him -- D1 and Baby Man stopped by to fetch him for one of 2 Friendsgivings, and then she left with Baby Man -- Joelle and Kenny had stopped by for lunch and my notary skills -- they're leaving today for SE Asia and needed some stuff notarized before they left.

I had some leftover champagne from D1's pilates party, and Joelle and I toasted to their safe and fun journey.

In the evening, we took Little man to Fairchild Garden's "Night Garden," where they light all the trees and place fairies all over -- it was truly mystical. There's a huge banyan tree with a West Indian accented man talking as if he was the tree, Archimedes, but you can call him Archie. Little Man got to ask a question, and it was "Are you pretend?" Archie said no, he was a real talking tree, and Little Man came back to me, leaned in, and said "Grandpa Dave -- there's a speaker behind him-- he's not really a talking tree."

Ok, so we got one of THOSE on our hands -- good thing we're not Christian -- he'd know Santa Claus was total bull. 

And as we drove home, he asked how long we had been at the Garden. I told him nearly 2 hours. He said "It seemed to me it was much shorter. When you're doing something fun -- an hour goes by SO fast. But sometimes in school, when I want to go outside, an hour seems SOOOO long."

So we have a not yet 6 year old already thinking with Einsteinian abstraction. D1 told us she met with the school folks last week -- he was placed into the Gifted Program starting in First Grade. Beat me with a stick!

We drove him home, and since he was already bathed, and his little brother already in bed, he got a few books read to him and then off to bed, too. Wifey and I drove home kvelling about our grandsons, and daring to hope for maybe more grandkids, too.

So long as we stay off that bad list...