I am truly thankful for the true meaning of this holiday season.
I hope that you have had plenty of elf help and that if you had elf on a shelf at your house, that it has been an adventure. I wish you a Merry Christmas and A wonderful Holiday season.
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“Just what I always wanted” or “this is exactly what I need” are phrases of past and present for Christmas day. Many times, it might be just kindness because the gift recipient isn’t going to look quizzically at the giver and say, “are you serious?”.
We are all faced with buying gifts for different people and personalities. Of course, the more that you know someone, the easier it should be.
A couple of days ago, the front desk buzzed me to say that one of our TV sales representatives was in the lobby and wanted to give me a gift for the office. When I came up, she handed a box containing a dozen cupcakes. All I could say was “awesome” and “thank you” because these were cupcakes from the cupcake shop, where the icing was hanging off the edges and the chocolate, coconut or butter icing just made my mouth water when I looked at them. A real gift for the office that everyone “needed”. A great gift.
My last few blogs have probably demonstrated how busy it has been at the office. I know that posting pictures of dogs in antlers or angry snowmen doesn’t really qualify as a blog. This is the time of year when I basically get here in the dark and leave in the dark. I am truly lookng forward to Christmas; the days off during the holidays, and spending time with family.
The cupcakes were just one of the many great gifts that were brought to the office. It’s a far cry from joking about how “we used to be so poor that we would just sit around and exchange glances at Christmas”. The cupcakes were a great gift, like so many others. However, one particular gift really made an impact.
A couple of days ago, I was just going through my mail at the end of a long day. I was tired and didn’t feel like listening to voicemail messages or even opening up my mail. I decided to reach for some of the envelopes that looked like Christmas cards.
One was a card that had several sentences written in it. I recognized it as one from a client, who has been through a lot of difficulty these last months. She wrote how thankful she was for what we had done for her. She mentioned her paralegal by name as meaning a great deal to her, and then specifically detailed some things that she was going to do with her settlement money.
I wished that some of my future jurors could read the letter. I wished that I could convey her message to insurance adjusters, to show them humanity. Most of all, I wished that I could just bottle that feeling that her letter gave me. It was a gift of the written words of “thank you”. Simplicity of thoughtfulness.
On to my general thoughts…just because Rudolph wasn’t allowed to play reindeer games didn’t mean that he wanted to play Facebook games!
For pic o’ day, it never hurts to write!!!
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I am guessing that you have little time right now to read one of my long blogs. So, here is a shorty.In case you are shopping or just taking care of last minute details, I thought I would just give a shameless plug for our upcoming E-blast. If you don’t receive it, I hope that you will comment on “Why Joel”, and I will get it to you. It has bits and pieces of stuff.
Yes, this shopping dog would surely grab my attention at the store.
For pic o’ day, I again reached back for one of last year’s that made me smile. It makes me smile again.
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Thursday is the Virginia Beach/Richmond office Christmas breakfast. Friday is the South Carolina office Christmas breakfast. We will be posting some video and pictures so we can look at ourselves, several years from now.
That is an evolution of events. We used to do big dinners that involved family. That was fun but became major planning events. Then we went to lunch and half-day off. Now, it’s just breakfast at a nearby restaurant and the rest for… shopping. More time is more time. That’s why everyone was excited about the idea of the “Firm breakfast” instead of the “Firm lunch”. I wonder if next year they will just request coffee and then shopping. It makes me smile.
For pic o’ day, I thought this was funny. Thinking about the theme of “Wants”.
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This time of year brings lots of activity at the Firm. We have a new South Carolina attorney just starting, who is visiting the Richmond office today; There are jury trials this week; I always have to come prepared for our Monday morning attorney meeting; Plus, clients remind me to try to get their cases settled, if possible, for “Christmas money”.
In the midst of all that, we did not get the law firm November e-blast sent out. A couple of weeks ago, I met with our marketing committee at the Firm and we went over our November ideas. Then, completely separate from that, that whole group was with me in the South Carolina office last week. I think that it caught them in the busy cycle and we never got it sent. Still, we know how important social media is to our firm as we now turn our attention to the December version. I guess it won’t include our Thanksgiving recipe!
The importance of blogging was used in an unusual method in a Baltimore news story this week. A Baltimore man had a court issued warrant out for his arrest. It had been outstanding since June. He had been hiding from the police so that they could not take him in.
Finally, the police located him at his house. The warrant related to the man’s violation of probation on an earlier gun charge. So, the police were taking it very seriously when they located the man at this house and could not get him to come out.
Soon, the house was surrounded with a police tactical team that included a law-enforcement negotiator. The man began blogging inside his house that included sending broadcast by Internet radio. He expressed frustration with the police by screaming on the Internet, “I am surrounded by a bunch of men with guns”.
The police later indicated that they had called the tactical unit to the house because the man had been using twitter to send threats against the officers. In fact, he had been using social media to proclaim that he had been improperly classified as a “fugitive” after he missed a court date that he had not known about.
In his talks with the police negotiator, he continued to express concerns about his safety. He then began to berate the negotiator by broadcasting that, “he needs to be battling bad guys, not spending his time talking to the Baltimore Spectator”. At one point, the man then thanked CNN through twitter message. Finally, he emerged and was taken into custody. He had used Twitter, Internet, blogging and broadcasting instead of firing a gun.
Pic o’ day was sent by our media team as a reminder of positive thinking. Maybe it will make it in the December e-blast!
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This is the time of year that you put away the decoration’s but you don’t really start thinking about your new years resolutions unless the clothes are feeling a bit tight.
Right after Christmas, sometimes the ride of emotion begins to set in. That or maybe it’s the thought of credit card bills. That’s why some people come out of this holiday in a bit of a mood.
For their sake, it’s probably best not to write some thinking blog.
For everyone else, it’s just nice to be able to relax and hold on to the memories. I hope that’s how you’re feeling.
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Right now, it feels like I can’t move fast enough, as we count down toward Christmas and the end of the year.
I am still trying to keep the blog short, put something about law in it and make it photo inclusive. Family and friends remind me that long reading is difficult right now. Again, no time for an epistle.
So, here’s a little safety texting reminder from Santa. 
And now, Pic o’ day . It’s also an example of someone taking it too far…. Obviously. Despite that, I just can’t take my eyes off this pic o’.
..
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Throughout the years, I have had Firm dinners, lunches and now a breakfast. I really like the morning breakfast the best. No need to get all fancied up. The staff then has the rest of the day for Christmas shopping. To me, it’s simple and fun!
I’m hoping that we have some video to put on the website after breakfast. It is amazing to me how quickly this came back around. Seems like we just had our Christmas/Holiday breakfast about 5 months ago. Are we celebrating Christmas more than once a year now? Sure seems like it.
Here’s pic o’ day. Good negotiation!
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My friend’s 5 year old daughter was so excited on Christmas morning. She knew that she was not allowed to go downstairs to see the presents, until everyone was ready. Despite the restriction on movement, there was no restriction on imagination.
Around 5 in the morning, she crept out of her bed, where she and ”Nanna” were sleeping. She went to the top of the stairs and listened real hard. Soon, she came back to the bed and told Nanna that “they are here” and that soon she would be able to go downstairs.
She went on to describe that she had heard the hooves of the reindeer on the roof. Then, she heard a noise downstairs and knew that Santa was down there putting the presents around the tree. Her ears had actually heard all of this and she believed exactly what she was saying. Her imagination had become her reality.
The next good Christmas story and lesson is from the son of one of the Firm’s lawyers. It also reminds me about values.
This 5 year old had just gone to see the Living Nativity scene on Chrismas Eve. On the way home, he had a perplexed look on his face. He looked at his mom and asked, “why did those wise men bring gold to baby Jesus? Why would baby Jesus even want Gold?”
When they got home, she noticed that her son quickly disappeared to his toy room. Then, he came back out and went over to their little Nativity scene decoration, in the living room. There, he knelt down and put a little car and looked up at his mom. “Mom, I’m giving baby Jesus a matchbox car. I know he’d rather have that than gold.’
In conclusion, as I begin working on my year end reports and continue to work on my 2011 goals, these Christmas lessons will be in the back of my mind. A reminder of thinking positive….. really can make it happen; Those gifts were downstairs. And, giving something that’s important to you, is really true giving.
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Ira Sankey was the song leader for well known preacher D.L.Moody. He may have been famous for that but a story from 1875, might be what he should most be remember for. Rather than telling it in my own words, I am pasting it as the story has been retold. The Christmas Eve when he sang the “Shepherd Song”.
”It happened that on Christmas Eve of the year 1875, Ira D. Sankey was traveling by steamboat up the Delaware River. It was a calm, starlit evening and there were many passengers gathered on the deck. Mr. Sankey was asked to sing, and, as always, he was perfectly willing to do so. He stood there leaning against one of the great funnels of the boat and his eyes were raised to the starry heavens in quiet prayer. It was his intention to sing a Christmas song, but somehow he was driven to sing the “Shepherd Song.”
There was a deep stillness. Words and melody, wending forth from the singer’s soul, floated out over the deck and the quiet river. Every heart was touched. After the song was ended a man with a rough, weather-beaten face came up to Mr. Sankey and said,
“Did you ever serve in the Union Army?”
“Yes, answered Mr. Sankey. “in the spring of 1860.”
“Can you remember if you were doing picket duty on a bright moonlit night in 1862?”
“Yes,” answered Mr. Sankey. very much surprised.
“So do I,” said the stranger, “but I was serving in the Confederate Army. When I saw you standing at your post I thought to myself: ‘That fellow will never get away from here alive.’ I raised my musket and took aim. I was standing in the shadow completely concealed while the full light of the moon was falling on you. At that instant, just as a moment ago, you raised your eyes to heaven and began to sing. Music, especially song, has always had a wonderful power over me, and I took my finger off the trigger.
” ‘Let him sing his song to the end.’ I said to myself, ‘I can shoot him afterwards. He’s my victim at all events, and my bullet cannot miss him.’
“But the song you sang then was the song you sang just now. I heard the words perfectly:
‘We are thine do Thou befriend us;
Be the guardian of our way.’
“These words stirred up many memories in my heart, I began to think of my childhood and my God-fearing mother. She had many, many times sung that song to me. But she died all too soon. Otherwise much in my life would no doubt have been different.
“When you had finished your song, it was impossible for me to take aim at you again. I thought: {The Lord Who is able to save that man from certain death must surely be great and mighty’-and my arm of its own accord dropped limp at my side.
Since that time I have wandered about far and wide; but when I just now saw you standing there praying just as on that; other occasion, I recognized you. Then my heart was wounded by your song; now I wish that you may help me find a cure for my sick soul.”
Deeply moved, Mr. Sankey threw his arms about the man, who in the days of the war had been his enemy; to tell him of the cure from Bethlehem.”
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