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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Office Christmas parties

Tomorrow night I have to go to the Cooker's "office" Christmas dinner party. The reason I put this in quotes is because it combines All the lawyers in the area. I think it is about 6 or 8.  Actually they are all pretty nice and basically decent people as are their minions staffs. One is even a fellow alumni (undergrad-small Lutheran Midwestern College on a hill). The biggest issue I will have is that we have to be there by six o'clock. I get off work at five, rush home, get cleaned up, and dressed properly (even clean undies - thank you for Margaret Day Murr) and to the resort restaurant by six. That gives me ten to fifteen minutes to turn myself from an honest working guy into a casually sophisticated, well read, confident gentleman who can schmooze with just about anyone about anything. They all know more about the law than I do (gawd, I hope so!), but there will only be a handful of other subjects that I won't be able to converse in intelligently. I have to drive so I won't be drinking any alcohol except maybe a beer with the main course. This means that most of them, except their drivers, will be getting more intelligent and talkative as the night goes on. At least in their viewpoint. Hey, it's a free meal and I might get a few good husband points for socializing with the county sharks. You never know when I might need one.
  

 UPDATE: There was a shooting at our courthouse today and the county attorney was shot as well as two others. The suspect is in custody. The Life Flight helicopter can't fly because of the weather so they took him to Duluth via ambulance. This is a small community and this sort of thing doesn't happen very often. When it does everyone is affected and we often know the people involved. Attorneys often get a bad rap or poked fun at, as above,  but they are as human as the rest of us and no more bullet proof. Do you know that in the U.S. there are 10,000 gun deaths each year? That is more than one every hour. Anyone can have one or get one and there seems to be an endless supply. The more there are the less people feel safe and then everyone feels they need one to protect themselves against all the others that have one and may flip out at any moment. It is a spiraling, self perpetuating nightmare with no end in sight. What is inherently wrong with our culture?
Needless to say there is no party tomorrow.

6 comments:

  1. Having been the sober one at many a lawyer gathering, I'm sure you'll have a good time. Just keep good notes on the inibriated and you might be able to exchange them for free legal advice later.

    Great cartoon!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by Catch Her. As you can see, things changed from the afternoon to the evening. I am hoping things turn out, but won't know for a while.

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  3. Oh, my stars! I landed on today's post and scoured the googlesphere before it dawned on me to read this post to discover what had happened.

    I hate guns and I hate the mindset that results in their proliferation. It is one of my greatest shames about my country (there are causes for pride, too) and, if the shooting of congresswomen and presidents doesn't slow it down, I can't think what will.

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  4. Thank you for celebrating Margaret Day. She would be so proud.

    Having a gun would make me feel less safe. That's all there is to it. I guess I lack patriotism, or something.

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  5. 10,000 a year?!?! I had no idea. In regards to gun laws - I have always been on the side of NO GUNS, but people would just find another way to kill each other I'm afraid. Looking at the culture of murder is a better first place to begin the needed change in the U.S.

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  6. Being married to a lawyer, I have been to many lawyer parties. Usually they put me to sleep! I much prefer graphic designer/artist parties. :)

    I hate to think of lawyers (or anyone) being shot while doing their job. There have been some attacks and even murders of lawyers in Montreal (mostly gang related; lots of Hells Angels in Quebec) but for the most part it it's not too common here. WHile our gun laws are tighter than yours, in my opinion they aren't tight enough. Hope the county attorney (and everyone else) will recover fully.

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