Moved to tears

I cried last night on my way home from work. Not because the other attorneys were mean to me--they weren't, especially--but because of a story I was listening to on "All Things Considered."

It was a story narrated by a 56-year-old bus driver who had been lobotomized in early adolescence. You could not tell, from listening to him, but he said it profoundly shaped his life. Apparently, his stepmother did not like him, and she went to this extreme in an attempt to get rid of him.

His father was there, just not fully engaged. The most riveting part of the story is when the man confronts his father about complicity in the lobotomy. The father "does not want to dwell on negative things," and the son accepts that. They conclude their discussion by telling each other they love each other.

My reaction was too complex to describe in this space. I thought of my sons, and wondered whether I could live with myself if I allowed something like that to happen to them. I thought of my father, and whether I could forgive him if he had allowed that to happen to me. And then I heard echoes, in my head, of them pledging their mutual love even after discussing what sounded like complete betrayal, and I have ... no words to describe what I felt.

Anyway, if you have emotional bandwidth, "My Lobotomy" is a story that affected me profoundly. Just do not try to listen while driving.

Going to the snow

My beloved spouse works for the government, so she was off on Friday, which meant she had the kids ... which meant that my workday was the only thing between us and a three-day weekend. So I took the day off to screw around.

We went to the Veteran's Day parade, which the A-Train thought was better than Halloween. "Dad! They're throwing candy right at us."

On Saturday, we went to Diamond Lake, elevation 5,200 feet, for the sole purpose of playing in the snow. It is a drive of an hour and a half each way, and we played for only about 30 minutes, but these are the things that memories are made of.

Today is Downtown Cleanup Day in Roseburg. The A-Train came with me to sweep leaves, and the Franchise (who is crawling now) stayed home to keep Mom company.

Happy Sunday to you all.

Entering the property rights fray

A Marion County judge in my favorite home state ruled recently that citizens cannot tie the hands of the state legislature.

It started with a measure (Measure 37) that requires state and local governments either to waive the regulations or pay landowners if the landowners can establish that a state or local regulation diminishes the value of their property. In effect, it rolls back zoning and state environmental standards.

I saw the appeal, but I think it takes a simple approach to a complex problem, so I voted against it. Nevertheless, it passed, and if constitutional, it is the law in Oregon. It's a multi-faceted decision with a variety of implications, and I am glad I do not have to puzzle it through by myself.

I will be eager to see what the Oregon Supreme Court does with it.