Diploma: Lost and Found

Well I have been sitting in my new office, four bare white walls for the past three weeks (actually it has only been 8 working days . . I say that as a lame attempt to comfort myself for not making more progress since I started this!) so I think it is time to finally get my diplomas framed. Yes, another start-up cost.

The problem is, I have been vaguely aware that my law school and undergrad diplomas have been missing for several years, lost somewhere in my mother’s house. She is a pack rat so, even though she is the only person living there, the house is filled to the brim with . . . .stuff. So last night I went over there and spent over an hour going through stuff. I knew my law school diploma was large and in a tube when last seen (about 10 years ago) and my undergrad diploma was small (like 5 x 7inches) and had not been seen for about the same amount of time. I looked and looked, through my old room, filing cabinets, packed-full closets. I found the old holder for my undergrad diploma but it was empty (I am sure it was put in a “safe place” that no one can remember). I found my old collection of concert ticket stubs (perhaps my mother's not the only pack rat). The only people that are still performing are U2 and Elvis Costello, and REM . . for those of you that care other the other classic early 80s bands included, X, English Beat, Physhadelic Furs, Violent Fems, the Clash (my all time favorite), the Police, Peter Tosh, Talking Heads . . and yes . .I have to admit Devo). I also found a stack of old rejection letters from my first post-college job search that I saved, it really was a pretty thick stack, I forgot how many places I applied to.

No diplomas. I was on my way out the door when I realized I never looked in my brother’s room (now basically a large storage closet), I went up there, and in the back behind a chest of drawers were a bunch of document tubes and one of them was my law school diploma. I unrolled it and looked at it and remembered law school graduation. I had this involuntary sensation of . .hmmm . . I want to use the word pride but I am not sure that is correct, I just felt good about being a lawyer and feeling good about what I accomplished in law school. I felt that way when I returned to my old law school for the first time in several years. I hope this new path works for me and that the good feeling is not just because I have been out of the practice of law for a while soon to be replaced by cynicism.