Our office has been in trial for the past two weeks with our associated counsel, Mr. Ed Harper, from Kirkland. Our client was hit violently from behind as she sat waiting in traffic on Hwy. 99 in Lynwood. The truck that hit her was going 35 mph at impact, her car was totaled, and she sustained serious injuries. She complained to the investigating office of neck and back pain at the scene. This was 45 months ago. Despite vigorous attempts to settle, the defendant forged ahead to trial. At trial, they blamed the pain that resulted from the crash that their employee had caused, on our client’s early childhood history saying that she was psychologically predisposed to increased pain, and so they should not be accountable for most of the past treatments and none of the future treatment. As unbelievable as that sounds, they used that theme throughout the trial and in closing. Finally, True Green Lawn Care, represented by both local defense counsel as well as two attorneys from a large Chicago defense firm has heard how a community of our client’s peers define fair restitution. We received a verdict yesterday afternoon of $1,383,000. Our client now will be able to pay for a lifetime of medical treatments, as she is only 33.

Foreword:  Another way of communicating my message this season is with the discipline of non-linear dynamics.  Also known as chaos theory, “non-linear dynamics exhibits a sensitive dependence on initial conditions:  small or virtually unmeasurable differences in initial conditions can lead to wildly different outcomes.”  (Thank you to Answers.com.)  I wondered about the effect of initial conditions at various stages of life and that effect upon the way that people celebrate the holidays, how those around them observe and interpret those celebrations, how things are not always as they appear, and how peaceful order can be realized through the honest and intentional gift of contribution, minus the red bow and the carole.

“There is something different about you.  What is it?  Are you a god?” 
“No, I am not a god.” 
“An angel then?” 
“No, I am not an angel either.  I am a person who is awake.” 

Oft told Zen tale

Upstate New York State, March 1921, baptism.  Canisius College, class of 1943.  Economics degree with honors bestowed.  Swim team. United States Marine Corps wartime service.  Marriage, April 1945.  First job, American Airlines, trainee. Polished shoes.  Syracuse, NY, birth of first child, a girl.  Another baptism.  Polished shoes, cuff links, suit “without the nap pressed down.”  White collar. Carling Black Label. Transfer to Buffalo, then Syracuse, then Rochester.  The Kodak building dominates the cityscape, when the clouds lift enough.  Church, polished shoes, white collar, cuff links, suit.  Old Spice.  Wedding ring.  Three sisters now, polished shoes, white collars, braids, “smiles.”  The collection plate ushered to and fro, to and fro, to and fro.  Muffled voices, counting.  Holy water, genuflection.  Three sisters, fear, “corporal punishment”, confession of sins.  Uniforms “without the nap pressed down.”  Maypo, Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, checkerboard cakes, pinwheel cookies, corned beef hash with eggs.  Mike’s Park Club, a few more beers, great pizza.  Stations of the Cross, holy water, “forgive me Father, for I have sinned.”  Advent wreath, black eye.  Christmas Mass, polished shoes, white collar, cuff links, suit, dads, collection plate ushered to and fro, to and fro, to and fro.  Back slaps, hand shakes, muffled voices, counting.  Incense, procession, vestments, Latin, choir like angels, dozens of smiles and braids.  Christmas Tree, presents, puzzles, black eye. 

Harpers Ferry, Missouri, 1946, silver spoon, hallelujah.  Harvard, class of 1968. Political science, history minor, study abroad. National Guard, deferment, service.  Marriage 1975.  Make do, Levittown, alder stained maple.  Birmingham Alabama, a son in the iron town. Statue on the mountain you can see from the hospital.  First job, graduate school at night, the attraction of big banks.  Polished shoes, starched white collar, iron, iron, military perfection.  Open container, car accident, silver spoon.  Brut.  English Leather.  Wedding ring.  Cocaine. Born again, hallelujah.  Muffled voices, raised to song, upstretched hands waving to and fro, to and fro, to and fro.  Election campaign, Washington D.C., contributions.  Pickled oil billionaires, blackouts.  Power, sychophants, world conflict.  United States Senate, white papers, briefings, news conferences. Advent wreath, war, some oil.  Christmas bible readings, polished shoes, starched white collar, red tie, dads, moms, buried sons and daughters, upstretched hands waving to and fro, to and fro, to and fro.  Back slaps, hand shakes, muffled voices, paper shredder.  Oil field fires, procession, flag draped caskets.  Presents, tall, tall, tall Christmas Tree, black eye, war.

November 1953, New York, New York, baptism.  Howdy Doody and Uncle Bob. Maypo, Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, homemade lasagna, Stella D’Oro, peppers and eggs.  Princeton, class of 1973.  Advent wreath and a hug, Christmas mass. Suits up and down, small man, collection plate ushered to and fro, to and fro, to and fro.  Business degree, drama club.  Track and soccer.  U.S. Army wartime, southeast Asia. Peace demonstrations.  Kent State, peace signs, rolling papers.  First job, New Jersey Bell Tel, customer service.  Polished shoes.  Manhattan, white collar.  Real estate, beachfront, cocaine, Florida disappointments.  Marriage, son and daughter.  Baptism? Pickled Texan billionaires, rubbed elbows, blackouts.  Cocaine, dollars, dark.  Polished shoes, cuff links, suits, Armani.  White collar, logic, think about it. Separation. Country club, jiggers and shot glasses, payoffs, the collection plate ushered to and fro, to and fro, to and fro.  Muffled voices, counting, polished shoes.  Kids, Seattle disappointments, bankruptcy.  Betty Ford, movie stars, dry.  Seattle, white collar, surrender.  Attachment, no attachment.  Contribution, warm underground steam, grating, blanket.  Thoughts on paper.  Betty Ford, dry, ten years.  Sufficiency, holiday puzzle, awake.