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Month: January 2020

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January 2020

Thinking or Thoughtful?

January 31, 2020 /
I forgot to put my trash out. I hope Christine gets that job. I should have called Pam yesterday. I wonder what’s happening with the impeachment proceedings today. Will the coronavirus hit the Midwest? Researchers claim we have over 2,000 thoughts an hour. No doubt.  I’m a planner, so there’s thinking about whether this is a pearls day, which film to see before it leaves my favorite local cinema, and whether I need to call my accountant. I’m less of a worrier about the future and more of a past dweller. I think about the real reason the client didn’t
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The C Word

January 24, 2020 /
“What are you most hoping for in 2020?” I asked sincerely. The pause in her reply made me wonder if another one of my extroverted inquiries had overstepped a boundary.  I’d known her husband for a couple of years, but Emily and I were just getting to know one another. “A year of cancer-free,” she said with a mix of grim and hope on her thin face wrapped in soft waves of blonde hair. For over two years Emily’s husband had been battling an aggressive cancer that had refused to stop at his brain. Multiple rounds of chemo coupled with
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Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 20, 2020 /
The summer of 1969, without warning, a young black girl was shot in the back of the head and killed by a white police officer.  Vivian Strong and her friends were having a party in a vacant apartment, playing music and dancing.  She was 14. I was 13 that summer. I don’t remember hearing about Vivian, despite the killing taking place in my hometown.  I don’t remember any conversation at home, at school, or with my friends about Vivian’s death. I don’t remember anyone explaining why this happened or how the trial of the police officer resulted in acquittal. Vivian’s
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What’s the Difference?

January 10, 2020 /
Voices got loud. Arms waved. Interruptions abounded. We’d had cocktails with our antipasto and wine with our chicken piccata and pasta. Emotions ran high as the talk turned to politics. Catching a momentary pause in the clamor, Linda spoke. “You know,” she said, pausing for her quiet voice to be heard. “You know, my friends say the same thing about you.” Linda was the lone person at the long table of eight guests at the candlelit table to hold an opposing view.  “Your critiques are the same ones I hear made about your party.” I could not hear any gasping,
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Understanding the Phases of a Divorce Trial

January 7, 2020 / ,
While every divorce differs, the divorce trial process in Nebraska does not.  Here’s what you can expect: Step 1:  Filing the complaint The person who initiates the divorce by filing the complaint first is referred to as the “Plaintiff,” while the non-filing spouse is referred to as the “Defendant.” The purpose of the complaint is to advise the court that a divorce has been filed and what issues are involved (property division, alimony, children, etc.). Finally, the complaint informs the court what the filing spouse would like to be awarded in the divorce. Step 2:  Service/Voluntary appearance Once the complaint
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A Decade Anew

January 3, 2020 /
“We looked great 20 years ago,” she said with a sigh, reflecting on the eve of the millennia when we gave champagne toasts to the new decade. We’d been invited to a country club and I wore a black velvet floor length gown. We gathered in front of the ice sculpture for our picture. Hopeful, joyful anticipation abounded. Six months later my world changed. The husband I’d kissed at midnight in December was diagnosed with cancer in May.  My law practice moved from its office downtown into the century old building we gutted to renovate in between visits with urologists
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