Today is - or was supposed to be - Boss's Day at my office! It really was October 16 but we were swamped that day, and originally we had this whole week and next marked of for the Election - no need for these two weeks to be marked off now, unfortunately -
BUT! One of my staff members is not here today - she stood me up! Now what's that all about?!? :) No, she's ill, and was yesterday too. So hope she's on the mend. We'll do Boss's Day lunch another day.
It has occurred to me, though, that this is the last such event my staff and I will get to share. That's making me feel just a bit sad.
However - we always celebrate birthdays too, and mine is in three weeks. (Speaking of birthdays, today is my boy Cameron's #27. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUB, C2, Cam-o, or whatever I'm calling you these days!)
And...of course we'll have a special Christmas lunch or event. I really owe at lot to Judy and Kellee, not just for their faithful and hard work for me and with me over the years, but also for all they did for me in the election process. I haven't yet properly thanked them so I'm going to have to think of something particularly nice for our Christmas celebration.
I've been saying all along if I don't have something firm by Nov. 1, I'll start making plans to do my own thing. Well - Nov. 1 is this Sat. and while I do have an offer - I'm definitely not yet sure. Hmmmm....I'm wondering if the results of the Election will make a difference in my job prospects - it's occurred to me that there are certain outcomes which might do just that - we'll see if there's anything to that or not shortly, I suppose.
Tomorrow night is Trick or Treat, maybe my youngest's last one. A lot of transitions in my life - that's part of the plan for all of us, though. His first youth retreat is this weekend, at Camp Cowen and (of course) I'll be there.
Probably my last post for October so see you in November - "the best month."
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Greetings from Nevada
I'm in Nevada for a conference. Reno - "the biggest little city in the world." I've been here before. Part of this area is beautiful and part of it is - well - it's a little depressing to see slot machines all around. In the laundromats even!
The conference I'm attending is great, on judicial ethics.
I was awake for 22 hours+ when I arrived at my hotel in Reno but got reasonably caught up on my sleep before I had to be at the conference site.
Reno does have one amazing thing - a whitewater raft river park running right through the middle of town. The foothills around the city are quite beautiful, too. And, it's about 1-1/2 hours from Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border, which is breathtaking.
By the way - make sure you pronounce it correctly! It's NOT Ne-VOD-a. It's Ne-VAH-da. The middle initial is pronounced like vat, not like VODka. I learned the hard way!
Oh...and I have a job offer. More on that later...'nuff said for now. We'll save the rest for an entry from home, or wherever I might find myself later on... :)
The conference I'm attending is great, on judicial ethics.
I was awake for 22 hours+ when I arrived at my hotel in Reno but got reasonably caught up on my sleep before I had to be at the conference site.
Reno does have one amazing thing - a whitewater raft river park running right through the middle of town. The foothills around the city are quite beautiful, too. And, it's about 1-1/2 hours from Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border, which is breathtaking.
By the way - make sure you pronounce it correctly! It's NOT Ne-VOD-a. It's Ne-VAH-da. The middle initial is pronounced like vat, not like VODka. I learned the hard way!
Oh...and I have a job offer. More on that later...'nuff said for now. We'll save the rest for an entry from home, or wherever I might find myself later on... :)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Ides of October
I guess you can call the 15th of any month the "ides," right? I really have no idea what that means, other than March 15 is "the ides of March," like in Julius Caesar. Ah well - I needed a title!
I see this is the first post of October - a slow month for blogging. We enjoyed Forest Festival the first weekend. This weekend, I have Youth Leader Core in Summersville which I'm looking forward to very much, and then I fly out for a conference in Reno, Nevada. I'll try to post a note from there.
Just about two-and-one-half months left on the bench. I've been saying all along that Nov. 1 was my deadline, to start more intentionally planning to open my own office if I don't have anything else firm. Well...nothing yet...but a few things pending...
Actually my trip to Reno may bring some things into focus...more later.
I see this is the first post of October - a slow month for blogging. We enjoyed Forest Festival the first weekend. This weekend, I have Youth Leader Core in Summersville which I'm looking forward to very much, and then I fly out for a conference in Reno, Nevada. I'll try to post a note from there.
Just about two-and-one-half months left on the bench. I've been saying all along that Nov. 1 was my deadline, to start more intentionally planning to open my own office if I don't have anything else firm. Well...nothing yet...but a few things pending...
Actually my trip to Reno may bring some things into focus...more later.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Worthy of a blog entry
I've obviously slowed down some on this - only my 4th entry this month. A busy time, a lot happening.
Nothing new - or maybe I should say a lot new, but nothing firm - on the job front as of today. For obvious reasons, I don't want to be too disclosive here, just yet. This blog is disclosive enough as it is for now! Don't worry - when I know what I'm going to be doing, for sure, "you'll be the first to know."
Yesterday, when I was driving home from work, I noticed that the spot where one of my campaign billboards was is now featuring a "Jesus, I trust in You" billboard. And so I do! My wife said, "That's worthy of a blog entry." Hence, the title.
My first boss, Judge Robert Staker, a great man and a great mentor over the years, is quite ill. Diagnosed with a brain tumor recently with surgery immediately following. He had had two slight strokes in the past few weeks and now it's believed they were caused by the tumor. The Judge is 85 and I ask you to pray for him and his family.
I hope this won't sound odd...but it occurred to me just yesterday that Judge Staker and I have shared key transition times in our lives. I graduated from law school and entered the profession, and was blessed to be selected as one of his first three law clerks. He had just been elevated from the state bench to the federal bench. I won't forget that when I worked for him, and was going through a period of self-doubt professionally, he encouraged me and even went so far as to predict that I would be a judge someday. It's very humbling to think of all of this. And now, as I'm about to leave the bench, it's transition time for me again, and also for Judge Staker due to his serious health concerns. I hope to get to visit with him soon -
If I haven't said this somewhere in this blog, I'm surprised, because it's been a catch-phrase for my life. God always has been the Master of transition in my life. I can give example after example. And even when I've reached an "impossible" goal - like getting hired to be a United States District Court Law Clerk - it seems like I'm immediately focused on the next goal. Not that I don't enjoy where I am! But trying to look forward. It's harder to do that, when a new goal is thrust upon you - as it was when I lost the election. But I know that God still is the Master of transition in my life and I am looking forwad to the next step.
Nothing new - or maybe I should say a lot new, but nothing firm - on the job front as of today. For obvious reasons, I don't want to be too disclosive here, just yet. This blog is disclosive enough as it is for now! Don't worry - when I know what I'm going to be doing, for sure, "you'll be the first to know."
Yesterday, when I was driving home from work, I noticed that the spot where one of my campaign billboards was is now featuring a "Jesus, I trust in You" billboard. And so I do! My wife said, "That's worthy of a blog entry." Hence, the title.
My first boss, Judge Robert Staker, a great man and a great mentor over the years, is quite ill. Diagnosed with a brain tumor recently with surgery immediately following. He had had two slight strokes in the past few weeks and now it's believed they were caused by the tumor. The Judge is 85 and I ask you to pray for him and his family.
I hope this won't sound odd...but it occurred to me just yesterday that Judge Staker and I have shared key transition times in our lives. I graduated from law school and entered the profession, and was blessed to be selected as one of his first three law clerks. He had just been elevated from the state bench to the federal bench. I won't forget that when I worked for him, and was going through a period of self-doubt professionally, he encouraged me and even went so far as to predict that I would be a judge someday. It's very humbling to think of all of this. And now, as I'm about to leave the bench, it's transition time for me again, and also for Judge Staker due to his serious health concerns. I hope to get to visit with him soon -
If I haven't said this somewhere in this blog, I'm surprised, because it's been a catch-phrase for my life. God always has been the Master of transition in my life. I can give example after example. And even when I've reached an "impossible" goal - like getting hired to be a United States District Court Law Clerk - it seems like I'm immediately focused on the next goal. Not that I don't enjoy where I am! But trying to look forward. It's harder to do that, when a new goal is thrust upon you - as it was when I lost the election. But I know that God still is the Master of transition in my life and I am looking forwad to the next step.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
9-18
It's Thursday, and what a Thursday it was! In Court till 6:00 and barely room to come up for air beginning 8:30. Whew! There will be some advantages to trying something different come the first of the year!
Yesterday, I met with a federal-state review team, here in Harrison County to interview all the players in the child welfare system. One of the team members was a consultant from Utah who took my card and hinted that I might be a good candidate to speak at a conference out there! That'd be fun. It's been years since I did anything like that and I wouldn't mind doing it from time to time.
I have an interview coming up for a job I'm truly interested in. Problem is - it's not local, or at least I don't think so. What I mean is - definitely, it's not based locally, but maybe it could be done by tele-commute. At any rate, I'm glad to have the interview. Also found out today that I did not get another job applied for, though it was one I didn't expect to get anyway, and not one I was interested in too much. About a week ago, I became aware of another job vacancy, local this time, that I think I might be quite interested in...exciting to think about, anyway.
I'm headed for Knoxville tomorrow to help my son and daughter-in-law work on their house. They're under a real time-crunch to get it liveable so the loan can be converted from construction to traditional mortgage. Looking forward to visiting with them and getting whatever they need done, done.
Done sounds good. So done for now.
Yesterday, I met with a federal-state review team, here in Harrison County to interview all the players in the child welfare system. One of the team members was a consultant from Utah who took my card and hinted that I might be a good candidate to speak at a conference out there! That'd be fun. It's been years since I did anything like that and I wouldn't mind doing it from time to time.
I have an interview coming up for a job I'm truly interested in. Problem is - it's not local, or at least I don't think so. What I mean is - definitely, it's not based locally, but maybe it could be done by tele-commute. At any rate, I'm glad to have the interview. Also found out today that I did not get another job applied for, though it was one I didn't expect to get anyway, and not one I was interested in too much. About a week ago, I became aware of another job vacancy, local this time, that I think I might be quite interested in...exciting to think about, anyway.
I'm headed for Knoxville tomorrow to help my son and daughter-in-law work on their house. They're under a real time-crunch to get it liveable so the loan can be converted from construction to traditional mortgage. Looking forward to visiting with them and getting whatever they need done, done.
Done sounds good. So done for now.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
9/11
Seven years ago today, I was sitting in my courtroom when I got the word that one of the Twin Towers in New York had been hit by a plane. I'm not sure how I got the word first - I may have had the internet up in background on my computer. I remember seeing a picture, and checking the news story and all it said was that one of the Towers had been hit and no further news was known. This had to be minutes later.
We have a TV here in my suite of offices which occasionally has been used for various purposes - to view video evidence, for purposes of my annual Bar Seminar, etc. We wheeled it in to my Case Coordinator's office and turned on the news - all the while, I was ducking in and out of Court. I actually saw the second tower get hit and I can remember one of the women on my staff saying, "You don't think that's a coincidence, do you?" and my bailiff and I just looked at each other and said, "No." At that point of course we knew something was really wrong.
The rest of the day is kind of a blur. The Court House was closed at noon but I was still here, finishing up some work and actually was still in a hearing past noon. Of course, I'd spoken to my wife. Our youngest was 4 and at the sitters, my wife was at her former job at our church just down the street, our daughter was in middle school and our third son was a freshman in college but was at home. Our oldest son was in school in Tennessee and our second son in Morgantown. I can remember wishing that all of us were together somewhere. Truly, none of us new what to expect next. Was our country being attacked?
There were stories of a plane over Elkins. Then of course we heard of the plane that hit the Pentagon. We were scheduled to go to Morgantown that evening for a picnic with our oldest son, a class activity for him at WVU. That event was cancelled but we went ahead and had dinner with him. Earlier in the day, my wife and I had been to one of many local church services, at the Presbyterian Church here in downtown Clarksburg.
I was interviewed by the local news media (WDTV) early that afternoon and what I recall is that I was worried about my adult sons and the possibility of a draft. Selfish maybe but it was on my mind. After we had dinner with my #2 son in Morgantown, he attended a service at his church there and coincidentially he was interviewed for his reaction, also by WDTV. The 11:00 news featured father and son back-to-back but the connection was not made. I wish I'd asked for a copy of that spot!
So much has happened since then. The aftermath has included the Iraq War and now we're facing yet another Presidential election with these issues of terrorism, etc., still at the fore. Our country certainly needs someone to lead us these next few years who can deal effectively with these issues and other pressing ones such as energy which are undeniably related in some ways. That's what I'm praying for today.
We have a TV here in my suite of offices which occasionally has been used for various purposes - to view video evidence, for purposes of my annual Bar Seminar, etc. We wheeled it in to my Case Coordinator's office and turned on the news - all the while, I was ducking in and out of Court. I actually saw the second tower get hit and I can remember one of the women on my staff saying, "You don't think that's a coincidence, do you?" and my bailiff and I just looked at each other and said, "No." At that point of course we knew something was really wrong.
The rest of the day is kind of a blur. The Court House was closed at noon but I was still here, finishing up some work and actually was still in a hearing past noon. Of course, I'd spoken to my wife. Our youngest was 4 and at the sitters, my wife was at her former job at our church just down the street, our daughter was in middle school and our third son was a freshman in college but was at home. Our oldest son was in school in Tennessee and our second son in Morgantown. I can remember wishing that all of us were together somewhere. Truly, none of us new what to expect next. Was our country being attacked?
There were stories of a plane over Elkins. Then of course we heard of the plane that hit the Pentagon. We were scheduled to go to Morgantown that evening for a picnic with our oldest son, a class activity for him at WVU. That event was cancelled but we went ahead and had dinner with him. Earlier in the day, my wife and I had been to one of many local church services, at the Presbyterian Church here in downtown Clarksburg.
I was interviewed by the local news media (WDTV) early that afternoon and what I recall is that I was worried about my adult sons and the possibility of a draft. Selfish maybe but it was on my mind. After we had dinner with my #2 son in Morgantown, he attended a service at his church there and coincidentially he was interviewed for his reaction, also by WDTV. The 11:00 news featured father and son back-to-back but the connection was not made. I wish I'd asked for a copy of that spot!
So much has happened since then. The aftermath has included the Iraq War and now we're facing yet another Presidential election with these issues of terrorism, etc., still at the fore. Our country certainly needs someone to lead us these next few years who can deal effectively with these issues and other pressing ones such as energy which are undeniably related in some ways. That's what I'm praying for today.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
September Seventh
Busy month so far! Annette and I had a great anniversary getaway last weekend, after Ethan and I ran (slowly!) the Charleston 5k. It was my 12th in a row and it was fun. Then his momma and I, on Sun. after church, took off for an overnight in the mountains. We had a great time - relaxing, good to get away and just spend a little while focusing on each other and nuthin' else - including work and "thinking about the future."
Then this week I had a full docket but on Wednesday my staff worked a miracle and got me out of the Court House by 3 so I could make an appearance at the Supreme Court reception at the Governor's Mansion at 5. It was fun and interesting - got to meet both Gov. and Mrs. Manchin for the first time and see some other friends, and also shake hands with three of the Supreme Court Justices. Then back on the road and home in time to say goodnight to Ethan - a full day - one of those where I was tired but felt like I'd gotten a lot done, and a lot of good stuff done.
This weekend was our first of five for Youth Leader Core (YLC), a statewide denominational program I've directed before. This is the first time I've done it without one of my own kids being in it. Kids are selected by their pastors and youth leaders for their own leadership qualities, and we have five intensive weekends focusing on developing good leadership skills in God's Kingdom and the church. I have a great leadership team with four others, including two college students who went through YLC not all that long ago themselves, and 12 students. We were at my church this weekend and will be in Summersville in October, Nitro in January, Crab Orchard in February and Morgantown in April. Or at least that's the plan now -
Got some interesting word this weekend on yet another possible option for after January career-wise which I'll be pursuing. Don't know why - maybe this is just wishful thinking - but feels like some positive and maybe even surprising opportunities are just around the corner -
Then this week I had a full docket but on Wednesday my staff worked a miracle and got me out of the Court House by 3 so I could make an appearance at the Supreme Court reception at the Governor's Mansion at 5. It was fun and interesting - got to meet both Gov. and Mrs. Manchin for the first time and see some other friends, and also shake hands with three of the Supreme Court Justices. Then back on the road and home in time to say goodnight to Ethan - a full day - one of those where I was tired but felt like I'd gotten a lot done, and a lot of good stuff done.
This weekend was our first of five for Youth Leader Core (YLC), a statewide denominational program I've directed before. This is the first time I've done it without one of my own kids being in it. Kids are selected by their pastors and youth leaders for their own leadership qualities, and we have five intensive weekends focusing on developing good leadership skills in God's Kingdom and the church. I have a great leadership team with four others, including two college students who went through YLC not all that long ago themselves, and 12 students. We were at my church this weekend and will be in Summersville in October, Nitro in January, Crab Orchard in February and Morgantown in April. Or at least that's the plan now -
Got some interesting word this weekend on yet another possible option for after January career-wise which I'll be pursuing. Don't know why - maybe this is just wishful thinking - but feels like some positive and maybe even surprising opportunities are just around the corner -
