Happy Halloween

"Rambling Rogue"
Gone . . .
But not forgotten!!

* * *
Trick or Treat,
You betcha!!

Sailing Away

I'm back from a long week-end in Scranton for my nephew's Graduation Party. Another trip back in time as I wander the halls of the Tripp House. As I mentioned 2 years ago when my other nephew graduated, Ain't No Party Like a Scranton Party:

The trip to Scranton was a real trip down memory lane for me. The Graduation Party was held at The Tripp House, which is Scranton's oldest home. Even more, years before it was taken over by the Junior League and restored as an event venue, my grandmother lived there. My brothers and I went to the house early to help set up for the party, so I got to wander around the house and remember spending time there with Noni. Great memories.

The rest of the week-end was also filled with family-related activities. On Saturday, we attended a Church picnic at McDade Park and another graduation party that evening.
Scranton has some of the best state parks around. After the bucolic setting of McDade Park, on Sunday the family spent the day at Lackawanna State Park, where we went kayaking and canoeing. After the rest of the gang headed out on the lake, my brother & I sat with my parents for a while, before we decided to hop into our own canoe.

Of course, anyone who knows me knows that me in a canoe isnn't exactly a picture that easily comes to mind. I probably haven't been in a canoe since the days when we had our vacation house in the Poconos. In fact, after the shock wore of the faces of my niece and nephews when we caught up with them, I had to take pictures to prove to doubters that I really was sailing the lake in my canoe.

Stop, Look, Listen

Last Sunday, someone other than the Easter Bunny visited one of our neighbors. That's right, there was no Easter Egg Hunt for the Boyd family.

Instead there was another visit from a reckless driver who landed in their yard after running a red light, causing another accident on Lincoln Drive. I was sitting in our sunroom on Easter Sunday afternoon when I heard the loud crash. Based upon the noise & the sirens that followed, I knew it had to be pretty bad. My daughter, PhillyAngel, & I took a walk down the block to see what had happened this time.

The same neighbors who had a car land in their sunroom last year, see Lift-off on Lincoln Drive, were the unlucky recipients of another accident on their property. As the Inky reported, Renewed effort to slow Lincoln Dr. speeders, one of the homeowners, Sharon Boyd, was in her yard when an accident happened as she watched:

Boyd saw a blue car traveling east on Hortter Street sail through the red light and slam into a tan sedan heading north on Lincoln Drive.

She felt Peaches' heart quicken, and her own, as the two cars spun toward the house.

Boyd shouted for her husband, Larry, and her son Kevin to run.

The blue car knocked over a fire hydrant and took out some irises and shrubs on the side of the house. The tan one ripped the curb, then slammed into a utility pole in front of the house.

Yet again, there was a scene of screaming and crying passengers, swirling police lights, ambulances, and tow trucks, and broken glass on Lincoln Drive. In just the last two weeks, there have been six crashes on the drive - all in the residential area north of Johnson Street, with no fatalities.

Another neighbor, Policie Commissioner Ramsey, also reacted to the Easter hop:

Since Ramsey became commissioner last year, he has grumbled publicly about speeders on Lincoln Drive, which winds through Fairmount Park into the city's northwest neighborhoods.

After learning about the latest accident outside the Boyds' home, Ramsey said: "People just drive too doggone fast. Even when surfaces are wet they do not slow down. They slide into your lawn, your porch, anything because they lose control of their car."

To slow down drivers entering Lincoln Drive from Kelly Drive, a traffic-unit patrol car has been stationed for more than a year at the side of the road, a police spokesman said.

Unfortunately, Lincoln Drive is out of control. Even though we live nearby, I avoid it if at all possible. There are an average of 3 accidents a week. As the Inky noted, there were 6 accidents in the last 2 weeks, all in the 1 mile residential stretch past Johnson Street. Those who live along the Drive, including Ramsey, have had to take the initiative to protect their homes:

Several residents along the drive have posted "Keep Kids Alive Drive 25" signs on their lawns and placed large boulders around their properties to thwart wayward cars.

Ramsey said that about five months ago a car crashed into one of his boulders. "Again, somebody driving way too fast. Ruined their car . . . their undercarriage, anyway."

Part of the problem is that it is unclear who is responsible for the problem. A neighborhood group was formed to address the issue, once they figure out who to talk to:

"It's not clear who's supposed to address it: the city or the state," [Committee member Kittura] Dior said, noting that the drive is a state highway. "Everyone seemed to have an interest, but it wasn't a focused interest."

In fact, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation owns and does major reconstruction of the drive, mayoral spokesman Luke Butler said. The Streets Department is responsible for regular maintenance, and Fairmount Park crews plow part of the road.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) said he believed Lincoln Drive was a city highway but said: "In either instance . . . we're going to work with the community to make sure they get the resources they need to get it done. The city has tried a number of things over the years as far as staging entry on the drive, but further up is still a problem."

OK, this much is true, that the road is a big problem. Now what? Any chance we could maybe fix it??

Almost Easter

My daughter, PhillyAngel, didn't believe me when I told her the buds on the tree in our backyard would bloom on Easter.

Peek-a-boo Rainbow

The skies from the east and the west, with a rainbow peeking through, after the torrential rains last night.

All Hail the Hail

The sun had been shinning and the temperate was a warm, springlike 74 degrees. A sudden clap of thunder was all the warning for the torrential rains -- and hail -- that came with force and just as suddenly stopped. The layer of hailstones in the yard was the only sign left behind.

That and the toad that we saw later walking along the path in our backyard, emerging from his winter hibernation.

Reflections of Life

Flowers from Valentine's Day.

Friday The 13th, A Lucky Day for Lawyers

Yes, today is Friday the 13th.

After yesterday's news in the legal profession, today may be a lucky day for those lawyers left standing.

Traditionally, Friday the 13th is considered the unlucky day. For true believers, it's known as Paraskevidekatriaphobia Day.

But, for lawyers, Thursday the 12th may be the unluckiest day of all.

Legal news blog Above the Law reports that over 800 lawyers & staffers were let go by big firms across the country at the end of yesterday. See So, What Are We Calling Today Exactly?

According the the Wall St. Journal Law Blog, The Darkest Day Ever for Big Law Firms?:

The day’s wreckage:

* DLA Piper announced it was laying off 80 lawyers and 100 staff members in the U.S.
* Goodwin Procter announced it was cutting 36 lawyers and 38 staff members
* Dechert cut 19 lawyers
* Faegre & Benson (yesterday) axed 29 lawyers

A later update from WSJ added:

Holland & Knight has fired 70 lawyers and 173 staff.

Of course, that doesn't mean lawyers have escaped the wrath of the 13th. See K&L Gates Battens Down the Hatches: Salary Freezes, Delayed Start Dates (But good news: no layoffs. For now.). And who knows what may yet to come. After all, there happen to be three such occurrences in 2009, two of them right in a row. That means next month brings yet another Friday the 13th (and even worse, Thursday the 12th).

The Confession

I spent most of my life being monogamous. In recent years, however, I admit that I ventured into polygamist relationships -- and now, there doesn't seem to be any going back.

Of course, I'm not talking about my sexual proclivities. I'm talking about my reading habits.

Posing the question at Read Street, Are you a monogamous reader?, Dave Rosenthal of the Baltimore Sun thereafter penned an amusing piece on the shocking (to him) habit of many readers of reading several books at once. Do you read multiple books at a time?.

I have always been an avid reader and consumed at least a half a dozen books a month. As I mentioned before, as an English major, in my younger days, I fancied myself to be a purist. That is, I tried to read "literature" and was guilty of sneering at popular fiction. As time went on, I expanded my horizons and permitted the occasion light reading. I was able to keep up the habit even through law school and the grueling big firm days (I'm sure it helped keep me sane). Same during my daughter's childhood, even when juggling a busy law practice. Then, for some reason, I just stopped reading books. See And They Didn't Read This, Either.

Luckily, I began reading again, and even joined a book group. However, my reading habits have changed a bit. For one thing, I read more non-fiction than I used to. And, I've started to read more than one book at a time. I'm not even quite sure how it began. In part, I suppose it's due to my book group, which causes an overlap of a book for the group with another that I am reading on my own. But, things have gotten out of hand.

I'm now in the middle (or somewhere in the book) of 4 books, with a back-log of another 7 books (not counting the other dozen or so unread books on the shelf waiting to be picked up "when I'm in the mood."). As pictured above, I'm reading:

The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot. The latest book for my book group. I missed our last meeting, but we somehow switched from being the Jewish Book Group to the Literary Guild (next up is Crime & Punishment, as seen in the to-be-read pile).

The Almost Moon, by Alice Sebold. One of the LLWL gave me this one to read. I liked Sebold's The Lovely Bones, but this tale of a mother/daughter bond that ends in murder has been a difficult read.

The Street Lawyer, by John Grisham. Someone gave me a few Grisham books (& I just picked up his latest). This one's a quick, fun read that I took on my trip to South Florida. Almost done with this one.

White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (not pictured). My book group's last pick, which I didn't finish yet (and then left at a friend's place).

I'm trying to resist starting any of from the Next Up pile, although a few are calling out to me.

A Six-Pack & A Snowball

Back to the snow-filled City of Philly after our trip south. My husband is still high on the thrill of attending the Super Bowl, with an exciting win for his team, the Steelers. He & my brother (the two Daves) had fabulous seats (so they tell me) -- 18 rows back, near the 30 yard line. They saw all of the major action up close & personal.

And surprise of all surprises, I even watched the game. Even to my non-sports eyes, it was an exciting game. I was so happy for my husband that he got to be there for such a good game -- with the right outcome, of course.

I may not have gone to the game, but I got to spend some time with my family (including the daughter, who's a little homesick after her Christmas break). Of course, the weather cooled off a bit while I was there, but it was still a treat compared to the Welcome Home snow that greeted me on my return.



I spent a few days visiting my parents, so my on-line time was very limited -- they still use dial-up. In a way, it was a good thing. I got a chance to enjoy a good book without the usual breaks to see what's happening on-line.

Snow Be Gone

The snow, rain & ice even has our bamboo trees drooping. The holidays are over and spring feels like it will never come. It's that time of year when the winter doldrums have arrived.

So, when the call came last night, it wasn't just welcome news for my husband. My brother called to say that he had 2 tickets to the Super Bowl, and that means that he & my husband will be headed to Tampa this week-end to see the Steelers. My sister-in-law's family has connections and they managed to score tickets. My husband is, shall we say, ecstatic -- he's a big Steeler's fan, after all.

And I'm not staying behind, that's for sure! I'm certainly not going to the game, but we'll fly into South Florida and I'll be tagging along so I can spend a long week-end with my daughter, who's back in school in Miami. And I'll also get to visit my parents, who are there for the winter.

Ever since they won the playoff game, my husband has been rooting for Sixburgh:

(Cartoon via Rob Rogers)

Yes, We All Can

Getting ready for the inauguration.


We are all going to need a lot of this, considering what we are faced with as of January 20, 2009, thanks to George W. Bush (the real "that one").

And for the next generation, what I hope we leave them with.

You too can express yourself at Obamicon.Me.

(via The Quaker Agitator)

Winter Solstice

Philly greeted the Winter Solstice with an overnight ice storm. My bamboo trees felt the same way I did about the longest night of the year and the winter frost. Cold, sad & droopy. Winter has arrived.

At the Huffington Post, Dr. Judith Rich offers a few thoughts on Winter Solstice: A Paean To The Pregnant Darkness.

And, in keeping with the 6 word story, my thoughts:

Winter Solstice's here.
Christmas is near.


As always, for Mandy

The Santa Garcia

Based upon the dire economic conditions we're in this year, I figure it's a Garcia Santa kinda year for the annual seasonal fridge art.

(Updated photo)

Tis the Season

My absence from blogging has been due, in part, to the usual hectic holiday doings. Of course, I'm not exactly complaining that fun times and partying have intruded in my life.


My daughter, PhillyAngel, arrived home from college Friday evening. She managed to cart her laundry all the way from Miami, along with the rest of her stuff. The clothing requirements due to the weather differences between Philly and Florida didn't seem to sink in. I've also been trying to explain to her that in the age of airline charges for checked bags, this has to be the most expensive laundry cleaning ever.





Once she was all settled in, I also got the tree, decorated the house and Christmas music now fills the halls. I have officially declared the start of the holiday season in the JudiPhilly household. I also got together with some old friends over the week-end and went to my first Holiday party.

As always, I got a nice big, fat tree (although its actually smaller than my usual selection). The Santa collection is scattered though the house. And my antique ornaments (mainly from my grandparents) are displayed in the breakfast room.

I've also added the annual slideshow of Christmas pictures through the years.

Wish You Were Here

This morning as I left the house, I snapped a shot & emailed it to my daughter in Miami. I said, Look what greeted me this morning. Bet you wish you were here!

She called me later to tell me that people were in the pool down there. Drats, I say. Drats!

Of course, it could be worse. This is what we've got to look forward to. I may have to schedule my annual South Florida visit in February.

I guess it's also about time to put the lawn furniture away.

A Seasonal Change

My Mount Airy neighborhood is an oasis of trees, as is my yard, for that matter. I may be a summer person, but this time of year is breathtakingly beautiful, as the leaves change color. With the advent of fall, the feeling of change is all around. I suppose it's appropriate that elections occur at this time of year. And this is my favorite tree, poised right outside my front door, especially when it turns a reddish shade of brown.

Mt. Airy is also one of the most politically active areas of the city. My ward had over 10,000 Democrats vote in the primary (86% for Obama), compared to 100 Republicans. And, high voter turnout is the norm -- I've had long waits to vote in the past. With this in mind, I worked at home today and planned to vote mid-morning. However, my husband drove by the polling place on this way to work and called to say that it didn't look too crowded. So, off we went a little after 9 a.m., and cast our ballot. I was number 233, even at that time. As those numbers show, it was crowded even before the doors opened and I heard that the Police Commissioner, who is a neighbor, was there a little after 5 a.m. (I've always had good polling locations, my last spot, in East Falls, was Ed Rendell's voting spot).

Most of the LLWL* were out at the polls today, either in Delaware, Chester or Montgomery County, working as Voter Protection attorneys or for Allyson Schwartz. Democrats are more needed in the Republican suburbs (althouth that registration picture is beginning to change). Unfortunately, I'm nursing a torn miniscus, so I had to pass. However, reports so far sound good. Big turnout, not too many problems. One of the LLWL Gang did report problems with her machine when she tried to vote -- it turns out the machine hadn't been activated (at 11:30 a.m., no less)! That sounds like human error, however, rather than voter fraud.

It's all that anyone talks about today. And, despite my husband's major case of election anxiety, I'm feeling good about it. Like my tree, it's the time for change.

The Sarah Show

Maybe Sarah Palin does have a TV career if (when?) she loses her quest for Vice President in 4 days -- as a comedian. She certainly does have a habit of making me laugh.

The latest:

ABC News' Steven Portnoy reports: In a conservative radio interview that aired in Washington, D.C. Friday morning, Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin said she fears her First Amendment rights may be threatened by "attacks" from reporters who suggest she is engaging in a negative campaign against Barack Obama.

See Palin Fears Media Threaten Her First Amendment Rights.

Her latest foray into silliness reminded me of an episode that occurred several years ago. It's one of my favorite legal war stories.

I was involved in a particularly contentious legal negotiation, with a lawyer who was a total jerk, a "BALDie" if I may. Unfortunately for him, his client wasn't in a very good bargaining position and even worse, he wasn't a very good advocate. All bluster, no substance. As much as I try not to indulge, there are times when the former litigator in me comes out when dealing with a stupid bully on the other side. I'll often try to let things go for a while, but then at some point I say basta, enough. I admit that I have sometimes been known to be a fierce advocate for my clients. Words like tough, aggressive, withering and of course, bitch, have all come my way over the years. So, things got pretty ugly, with accusations being hurled by client and lawyer alike.

Then one day, this lawyer called me and announced that he wouldn't deal with me anymore. He demanded that I transfer the case to one of the other lawyers in my firm. I couldn't help it, I just laughed at him. As I said to him, my client chose me as his attorney and I would serve in that role so long as he wanted me too. And, if anything, the fact that I was able to drive opposing counsel crazy would no doubt endear me to my client even more. As I laughingly reminded him, he didn't get to pick opposing counsel. I told him that it was too bad -- he didn't have to like me, but he had to deal with me. If he couldn't handle it, perhaps he should suggest that his client find another lawyer. But so long as he was there, he was stuck with me.

This came to mind when I heard Palin whining about the press criticizing her attacks on Obama and his scary "associates." Glenn Greenwald explains the silliness of her position from a legal perspective, Sarah Palin speaks on the First Amendment:

The First Amendment is actually not that complicated. It can be read from start to finish in about 10 seconds. It bars the Government from abridging free speech rights. It doesn't have anything to do with whether you're free to say things without being criticized, or whether you can comment on blogs without being edited, or whether people can bar you from their private planes because they don't like what you've said.

If anything, Palin has this exactly backwards, since one thing that the First Amendment does actually guarantee is a free press. Thus, when the press criticizes a political candidate and a Governor such as Palin, that is a classic example of First Amendment rights being exercised, not abridged.

Of course, as Greenwald notes, the First Amendment was intended to prevent the government (that's you Governor, VP wannabe) from suppressing the speech of the public and the press. But no one is arguing that the First Amendment doesn't in fact apply to Palin as well, permitting her to express her point of view -- intelligible or otherwise. But her suggestion that her uttered words are protected -- sacred -- and that her detractors are somehow prohibited from challenging her under the 1st Amendment is what's laughable.

Palin's response called to mind that lawyer who didn't want to deal with me. Palin certainly is free to say what she wants, but that doesn't mean that the press -- and the public -- can't find her silly or stupid (or both) and respond accordingly. She can speak her mind, but no one is required to like what she says. She just has to deal with it -- or shut up.

_____________

(Photo outside the entrance to my office, courtesy of one of the LLWL Gang)

(BALDie = Big Asshole, Little Dick)

Go Team Go

Sign spotted on my way to work. Gotta love it.

But, was Obama guilty of pandering to the Phillies' fans and then flip-flopping? See Can't lose: Obama backs Rays, Phillies. Then, of course, Jon Stewart has to get in on the act:



Via The700Level, who notes:

Leave it up to the amazing Jon Stewart on The Daily Show to find a way to bring the Mets into this World Series. The entire opening segment of last night's show focused on the ridiculousness of someone campaigning for President trying to throw their hat into the cheering section of either swing state. Mr. Stewart mentions the Rays are from Tampa and then notes -- incorrectly I might add -- that the Phillies are from "the festering soar on the end of my taint."

Sweet Poetic Justice

My favorite philosopher blogger, Steve Gimbel of Philosophers' Playground, has occasionally queried about the ethical and moral issues involved in justice, irony and Schadenfreude.

For example, in Does Size Matter When It Comes To Virtue Ethics?, he explains that generally speaking, from a "virtue ethics perspective there is something vicious about Schadenfreude. Being the sort of person who delights in the pain of other humans." On the other hand, as he notes in the context of baseball, relishing a team's loss is hardly the stuff of great suffering -- unless you are my husband, whose Dodgers just lost to the Phillies & who is enduring great quantities of Schadenfreude from all of his Philly friends (and our daughter, of course).

In other words, does the particular circumstance matter whether you can enjoy someone's misfortune without experiencing undue guilt about it? As Steve inquires:

Does this lack of moral import obviate, even to a degree, the moral problem with Schadenfreude?

Utilitarianism sees the overall effect as morally relevant, but what about questions of virtue? Does being a jerk about something unimportant excuse you at all for being a jerk? Does it make you less of a jerk if people know that morally they can count on you to be serious and upstanding when the chips are really down?

I would certainly like to think so. Of course, sometimes it's difficult to discern where to draw the line. Obviously, in some cases (as with my husband & his Dodgers), it's easy. It certainly wouldn't be OK to cheer merrily when the grumpy old man down the street, who chased the neighborhood kids away, is run over by a car.

In another discussion on the topic, Me and My Uncle: Justice, Irony, and Schadenfreude, Steve ponders:

[T]he relationship between irony and justice? Indeed, we often hear such ironies referred to as "poetic justice." So is there a connection between poetic and moral justice? Further, when we see someone get their comeuppance, we are often delighted by their suffering, we experience Schadenfreude. How does that figure into the mix?

I tend to think of "poetic justice" as the mere observation of the factual underpinning of what has occurred, without the emotional factor added in. As an example we all can relate to, he observes:

When you see that jerk who passed you on the shoulder doing 85 get pulled over a few miles up the road, there's a guilty sort of pleasure and maybe even a saccharine wave as you pass. Schadenfreude is the pleasure we take in the suffering of others -- say, each time the Yankees lose. . . . We had a student a few years back argue that Schadenfreude was a legitimate delight in justice coming to be. You see someone getting what he deserves and you think that the universe is now a better, more just place, a joy in seeing the cosmic balance restored. Kerry, on the other hand, argued that it was a negative emotion, a sense of antipathy that dehumanizes the other person. I found both arguments compelling, but at least one has to be wrong.

The joy or pleasure -- the emotional reaction to the situation that has occurred -- is what begets Schadenfreude, in my mind. To some degree, I'm not sure whether we can completely control the reaction in the appropriate situation. It's almost a spontaneous emotion that arises without forethought. We can, of course, try to control whether we express the feeling openly or suppress the thoughts. That, however, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Although I am hardly a philosopher, this is a topic about which I have also given some thought. Mainly, because I admit that I have engaged in the sweet satisfaction of enjoying the misfortune of some deserving fool now & again.

I think the distinction (at least for me) depends upon what has befallen the sufferer before I would feel it was inappropriate and cruel to find joy in the misfortune that has occurred. To the extent that it was deserved, based upon prior conduct, the "poetic justice" aspect still applies. If the end result is devastating, there should be no sweet delight. That would be akin to the "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy" concept.

My latest foray into the realm of Schadenfreude relates to the lot behind our back yard (see picture above). I've written before about the loss of a number of trees the summer before last, when a developer purchased the home behind our house and removed them, see Don't Look Down (which shows before & after pictures). As I said then, not only did he tear down an old stone house to built two big homes on the lot, he also cut down over a dozen trees on the lot, many of which were 100 plus year old. He also cut the branches on the trees on my property that grew across the property line.

As I've also mentioned, the tree loss was also annoying because we have a large back yard, which was enclosed on three sides with foliage from the big, old trees surrounding the area. Our back porch has a beautiful porch swing and I love sitting on the swing on a warm summer night, enjoying the peaceful evening, with the trees providing privacy. We also have a hottub on a deck off the porch, so the privacy was useful for that as well.

I recently noticed some workers cleaning up the property and then saw the "For Sale" sign appear (see picture below for shot from the street, with our back yard beyond the fence). With the downturn in the economy -- and the housing market -- it's obviously not feasible for him to develop the property. I admit that I felt a sense of joy in his misery and only hope that he took a major financial loss in his investment and that he won't be able to recoup it in the sale of the property (and there is a good chance of that in this real estate market). It made my day.



(By the way, for a truly interesting discussion of these issues, read the essays and comments at Steve Gimbel's blog, here and here.)