Lita and I spent a great week in Hawaii last week before she has knee replacement in early February. I had a chance to do a lot of reading and one book I enjoyed was "A Short Hstory of Nearly Eerything by Bill Bryson. It covered science from universe to the ocean and the world of atoms. Here are some random passages which were impressive to me. You can summarize the scientific knowledge by saying our earth is estimated to be…
My sister Phyllis Ennes died on January 7, 2013. She was the oldest of the three children with Anita Mayer in the middle and I as the youngest. For my previous post about Phyllis see https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2013/01/phyllis-luvera-ennes-1928-2013.htm Born to Paul and Mary Luvera in Anacortes she graduated from Anacortes High School in 1946 with honors and attended the University of Washington where hs obtained a degree in English. In 1953, the year I graduated from high school, she earned a teaching certicate from Western…
I have written in the past about people who have played a significant role in my life and to whom I am indebted. https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/01/william-h-taylor-anacortes-coach-and-mentor.html.html There have also been significant events that played a major role in my development as a trial lawyer. 2015 seems like an appropriate time to reflect upon my good fortune in this regard. I have had a lot of fortunate events in my life but some are particularly noteworthy. Through a series of lucky circumstances I somehow ended up…
A Merry Christmas to all. My gift to you is a short story by a famous writer. William Sidney Porter was a famous short story writer who wrote under the pen name O. Henry. One of his famous stories was "The Gift of the Magi," a Christmas story. I'm sure you have read it sometime in the past, but I think you will enjoy it again. Porter was born in 1862 in North Carolina. He worked at the First National Bank of Austin. In 1894 he was accused by…
NICK PETRISH 1937 – 12/19/2011 Nick Petrish died in Anacortes on December 19, 2011. We had a long friendship. We went from grade school through high school together.We worked together from 1977 until his illness in 2011. He was a friend and a good man. I’ve written about him previously: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2012/12/nicholas-petrish-dec-19-2011.html.html PHYLLIS FLIPPA LUVERA 1870 – 1946 My dad’s mother died December 20, 1946 in Anacortes. She was an Italian grandmother who looked and sounded like what an Italian grandmother should. she spoke…
In November of 2009 I published a short post in this blog about the death of Sam Kinison, the comedian, entitled “The Strange Death of Sam Kinison” https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2009/11/the-strange-death-of-sam-kinison.html For reasons I do not understand that post five years ago has produced more comment than any other thing I have written about. Not only that, there is controversy in the comments from readers with strong views in his favor and others very critical of him as well. He was controversial in…
By now everyone knows a New York state grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to file any criminal charges against the white police officer applying a neck hold and the other police involved in the arrest of a black man that resulted in his death. While the media has spent it's time focused on talking about the grand jury's failure to indict and the "guilt or innocence" of the white police officer or officers, it is more complicated than that. Everyone has a…
We enjoyed Thanksgiving at our home in Scottsdale Arizona where the weather couldn't have been more perfect. All eight of the children, their spouses along with most of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were here with us. My sister Anita Mayer also was with us this year and it was a wonderful occasion. Thanksgiving day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863. George Washington proclaimed a national Day of Thanksgiving in 1789 even though…
Last night the President gave his 15 minute speech about immigration reform. Let me digress to say that no matter which way you lean on this issue, as a trial lawyer, I need to comment on his skill of delivery and how much can be communicated well in only 15 minutes if prepared. His timing was perfect and his genuine sincerity was palpable. It is a model for learning to give a talk well in a very short time. We are in…
The most recent ISIS video shown on the nightly news features the beheading of American hostage Peter Kassig. Today's media, not stories of 100 years ago, advise us that In Syria women are being stoned to death for adultery at the direction of Muslim religious leaders. We read about unprovoked Muslim genocide of Tahai people for ‘being kafirs.’ All of this with the confident belief they are "doing the Lord's work" in the process. Muslim religious leaders advocate measures, many outlined in the Old Testament, like cutting off the hand of…
