On Summer's End

Here’s to the unofficial end of summer. Ours was a good one. We saw all of our kids and had two of them stay with us for extended periods (one is still here). We became grand-dog-parents, and the puppy is staying with us at the moment too. We saw some friends and family on a trip to the South, and other family from upstate New York who landed on our doorstep for a flash dinner. We had a lot of good meals and some pretty good wine, and last night three of us watched the film “Elvis” on cable tv (yes, we still subscribe). The puppy was indifferent to “Hound Dog.”

A week ago I got to see photos from my high school reunion through the magic of social media, and was able through the same magic to share with my classmates a decades-old recording of my late friend Bob and me playing guitar and singing “Bob Dylan’s Dream” (and received a few nice comments about it too). They were celebrating, but the wistfully nostalgic song featuring one of our lost classmates still seemed appropriate for such an occasion. I might have gone to the reunion but had much client work and teaching prep to do, and one more roundtrip to upstate New York so close to the one I embark on tomorrow and the others that will soon follow was not in the cards.

The imminent drives are compelled by my decision to take on another half-semester teaching gig at my law school alma mater, where I’ll be teaching two courses — class actions law and practice, and the art of written advocacy. I hit the road tomorrow for the long and likely-wet drive, and will lather, rinse, and repeat a few more times between now and the end of October. It’s going to be more grueling this time than last, but I’m passionate about the subjects, enjoy the creative process of preparing the classes, and am inspired by the students. And ultimately it just seems that teaching and, one can hope, serving as a role model for future lawyers is something worth doing. (Yes, I’m still practicing law, but my firm allows me to devote time to teaching too.)

I did manage to get a few Higher Callings podcast episodes (a/k/a Season 3) recorded and published this summer with some impressive guests. If you’re curious, you can find them on my podcast website here. I don’t expect to have time to podcast or write on a regular schedule again before November, but I may pop in from time to time. Until then, I wish you all a restful Labor Day and much health and happiness in the weeks ahead.