bard or barrister?
Today is Clark Debonair’s birthday. Happy birthday to me, who has the pleasure of witnessing for PC Big Trial later this afternoon. I really think today is going to be a good day. My sister and mom came into town this morning and law school people have been wishing me a happy day since I got here. It’s great.
Also, June was the first one to wish me a happy birthday–and I think there’s a surprise coming. Hmm.
In the interest of stoking the impetus for having the word “bard” in this blog’s tagline, I’ll post the first of a multi-part, as yet unfinished poem I’ve been updating for several weeks (perhaps months). I believe I started it just before last quarter’s finals. Enjoy. Critique.
This is really just a reminder to myself that I still have a blog, though I neglect it from time to time. Some things I would like to point out when I’m not perusing Vernon’s are the many nights of fun with law student friends both on the weekend and (gasp) on weeknights. Things are picking up, though, and those will soon be distant memories.
I’ll edit this later. Maybe something about the month of June.
Edit: I’ll start with last night when June and I went on an adventure to Crawford just as the sun was slipping below the horizon. We tranced about on the streets for a little bit before we could find the Crawford High School football stadium. I had heard about a screening of a documentary about the town named, of all things, Crawford and that it was to be screened at the football stadium at 8:30.
The documentary itself was well-crafted, but the element of watching it in the town where the people shown in the film exist–and even watching it alongside some of them–added a different dimension. The stars in the night sky were also quite visible out in Crawford, though I think they are comparatively so in Waco, too. The filmmakers did a nice job of telling a story (not for any persuasive means or to fuel any political objectives); the story truly was of a small town embodying the larger opinion of America during the Bush presidency, 9/11, the subsequent war in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, “Mission Accomplished,” etc.
It was so fitting to see that this town of 700 expanded and contracted with the waves of public opinion. It was also revealing that the media’s portrayal of Bush’s ranch in Crawford was CNN and other national outlets stationed in one ubiquitous shot behind a school gym with a bale of hay and a shack. These are the things of which you are not aware when you are consuming news without stopping to question the objective of a report.
Ultimately, the documentary becomes a story about Crawford more than Bush in Crawford. The big characters of Bush himself, the press corps, Cindy Sheehan, and peace activists are ultimately (and appropriately) overshadowed by the individual lives of Pug, Tom, and the other locals of Crawford that the documentary follows.
Below is a trailer for the documentary:
In other news, I’ve been having a lot of fun with my law school comrades who I might mention by name later on, since they will be recurring characters. This past weekend was fairly indicative of what the quarter has been like. It has been relaxing, I stress less, and everyone else seems to stress less about being ready for class and about always having this aura of being studious. I get all the work done still, but I do it in less time and get less stressed whenever things pile up, which they tend to do. Weekends are more fun now than they have ever been.
Friday we worked until around six in the library and then we enjoyed some Italian food at Bari’s and a lot of wine both at the restaurant and at Betty’s house. We talked a lot and apparently were very passionate in our talking about just about anything, as June informed me. She said it was very stereotypical thing to think of, but it was especially true in our cases. Saturday also involved work in the library until late afternoon, then June and I began making preparations for dinner at my place. Dinner was so delightful, and I hope that everyone had a good time. I think that they did. Sunday was church and outlining.
Right now, though, the daunting task is assembling a legal memorandum from scratch with almost no guidance this time around. In a few weeks, we have an opinion letter. These things take time and they take time just about when it happens that people get serious about catching up on outlines and really understanding material outside of class by doing supplementary work.
Basaberu is closing, which is really quite a shame since us law students latched onto it as a gathering place. We have resigned ourselves, though, for a final hurrah before it shuts its doors. June is in town until Wednesday morning, which is nice given that she leaves for Michigan this weekend and I won’t see her again until August. The summer is in full swing and the quarter is, too. Before too long, I’ll have all of my first quarter grades.
