the aromatic rose of the genteel junkyard dog

Last night I went to the Garland Bar Association, in which a Dallas County Associate Judge gave a good talk about lawyer civility. When I first got my law license, some twenty years ago, lawyer incivility was much more common than it is today. Now, discourteous opposing counsel are the exception rather than the rule, although the exceptions can sometimes be fairly palpable. The reason for the change is that judges and the bar began to apply various forms of pressure to obtain a more civil atmosphere for litigation. Litigation can and should be contentious, but even contention can be conducted with a bit of decorum. I remember being a young lawyer, and dealing with difficult counsel routinely. But now I am less likely to have to do so.

Today I work a fairly busy day, but then my wife and I will get to see my sister and her children. Next weekend, we go home to see my father, and a couple of weeks later, go to Kansas City to see my wife's family. I'm not used to socializing quite so much in any one month, but the schedules just work out well this way thus far. I hope that the weather holds up tomorrow, so that my nephews and niece can be treated to an outing in the outdoors.

Our front yard garden bed is filled with flowers now, while the new things we had planted in the back yard seem to be thriving. The new cacti I got look stunningly good, and I do not regret that I resisted buying a Venus Fly Trap recently. I am more a sundew man, myself. I'm in the mood for a long walk on a trail filled with butterflies, but we'll see what the weekend holds.