11. December 2007 by Bob.

Good evening everyone and Merry Christmas.

It has been interesting, reading everybody’s adventures. I am finishing up finals, and I have two papers that are due on the 14th of December. Luckily I finished writing both of them and now am waiting for Professor’s comments, and to finish checking the citations.

The papers are nothing exciting, like flying airplanes. But it is beginning to become interesting to me. One of the papers is only about a hundred pages, and it was about copyright protection for music and the payment of royalties by business and restaurant owners with a comparison to the United States violation of the TRIPS agreement.

The other paper ended around 700 pages, and it actually documents the regulation of two Texas physicians. These are two doctors that you would want nowhere near you or your family. I am shocked that one of them has not been locked up as being a sexual predator, and the other eventually gave up his practice tWo years ago. But that did not help the six patients who died (four from the surgery & two committed suicide because of their injuries).

I am hoping that James will have enough time to at least say hello and let me run by and see him. Unfortunately, after being hurt, I no longer look anything like I did on active duty.

I read that Chuck stated that I spend most of my time researching cases and so forth and so on. That’s pretty accurate, with the exception that I actually research the law. I have had a couple of veterans that have contacted me asking that I represent them in their claims against the Government. I was able to help one young man, and the Sergeant I had to refer her to attorney who had time to handle her case. I never heard back from her. Each of those individuals however contacted me cold, so I guess my name as out there somewhere. Although it could be listed with the court itself.

I am hoping to take a couple days off and start working on the last Bar exam I want to take, the Patent Bar. I was thinking about trying to drive back to Alabama and attend midnight Mass at Maxwell Air Force Base. And with my eye problems I think it’s probably safer that I just stay here in Houston.

But I did want to tell everybody hello and I hope you have a very Merry and happy Christmas. Bob

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11. December 2007 by James.

Hi BOB,

Just a short note since Lynn and I are on the road this week travelling to my daughter’s University of Houston graduation on 14 Dec.  Stopped by in Shreveport and noticed the phenomenal growth in areas of the city. 

I ran a 10K in Savannah last weekend and it motivated me to train a little harder for the Tybee Beach Half Marathon in February.  I’ve got a lot of work to do judging by the way I felt after the race.  It was a beautiful day though running through downtown Savannah and over the bridge and back.

 Good luck Chuck with the job situation.  I’m sure it will work out just fine.

Merry Christmas to everyone and talk to you again in 2008.

 James

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11. December 2007 by The Chuck.

While much of the country is sitting in the dark in a human-controlled, global-warming-induced ice-storm trying to figure out how not to freeze, we’re running our air-conditioners in LA, because it is warm.  Forecast for today at Shreveport is 83. 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas …??

This is a busy time of year.  We’ve got our primary shopping, decorating, secondary shopping, and myriad miscellaneous things to do, like reading/writing our BOB messages.  I just wanted to let each of know that I appreciate the things you’re going through and the struggles you’re over-coming, as I share a few words about what is happening in my life.

Today will be a decision event for me.  You probably remember some of what happened with Boeing and me back in September.  Well the story continues, the job posted again with the same job description but with a different job title.  I (re) applied and after a while I got a call from a St Louis based HR rep who made me the same “initial offer” the Wichita-based HR rep had given me after the interview process the first time.  I didn’t mention the previous bait-switch-yank debacle we had gone through before because I wasn’t sure how thin the egg-shells were that I was walking on.

I say “we” because that is who felt the brunt of the sudden cancelled counter-offer from earlier this year.  It is difficult trying to make family decisions without getting folks emotionally involved with the outcome – a.k.a expecting things to happen.  We had waited until the final counter-offer was made before we told our girls, but even then … it proved too early.  The drop from the high of a life-changing event is uncomfortable. 

 Not so bad for me, the Air Force helped me get used to being dropped in the delivery room via the 5 or 6 passovers to O-6.  And yet another pony in the pile. 

Since the turn-about I’ve applied for multiple other jobs, and along the way got some help with my congressman to resolve some issues with the VA.  As things come together, the harder parts come.

I’ve negotiated a job offer with another major US corporation, Andy is more aware of this than the rest of you, but even then my confidence is weak.  I boldly discussed my concerns with the project manager about making family-decisions based on an offer that could (in contrast with everything they teach at TAPs or other expert courses) dissolve like a vapor.  As I did, I understood more so how low my confidence was in Boeing.  So there’s my decision.  I was assured by the manager that his corporation doesn’t do things like that.  I have the impression that not only do they need me, the job will be challenging … challenging equals fun for me.  Part of the problem is timing … my suspense to Boeing is for today and I won’t really know about the other position until a little later this week.  Assuming you ever really know anything.

It all boils down to, nothing is certain except taxes and death.  

And speaking of that, my prayer for each of you in this season is that as the Christmas 2007 realization eventually burns through your busy and demanding schedules, and it will, you’ll see that we celebrate the birth of a little baby, and that little baby was born with the mission of dying for each of us.  With his stripes we were healed.  With his death, he gave us the greatest gift possible.  And he arose and lives today … I guess we’ll talk more about that at Easter.

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