Welcome Back Pardner

First day back after a whole week away.  That's right, one whole week.  Almost no blogging, no emails, and only one phone call to Chrystal (OK, maybe 2 phone calls).  Spent some time with daughter, lots of time with mom and dad.  A ton of time doing absolutely nothing.  Except watch westerns, old westerns, the kind with John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood and Kirk Douglas.  I loved them, and all old movies, as a kid, and daddy loves them now.  So, we watch them, along with Gunsmoke, Rawhide and Have Gun Will Travel.  There's a ton of action, but it moves slowly enough for the eyes to focus and the mind to register.  There's a lot of dialogue, with the words enunciated slowly and clearly.  Are the plots somewhat predictable?  Yes, but that doesn't make the movies any less enjoyable.  Westerns harken back to a life that was slower, easier, more predictable.  It was a time when it was not unusual for someone to take a week's vacation without calling the office.  Heck, my parents took three, and not once, during any of those times when daddy was out of touch with the office, did the world end.  In fact, the world went on just fine.  Daddy came back raring to go, ready to conquer new cases in different courtrooms (What, you thought my daddy wasn't a lawyer?  Really?)  He was refreshed.  He took a break.  Daddy also wasn't checking emails in the evenings and on weekends.  Even though he came home late, when he was home, he was really home.  Studies say this generation won't live as long or as well as our parents.  Looking at how thrilled I was to take just a week off, I believe it.  The Trenches are hard.  When one client's problems resolve, another one's are just beginning.  It is a never-ending cycle - if you let it.  Life is too short not to experience.  Grab some popcorn, an old movie and just slow down.  Even if it's just for those few hours.  This is a public service announcement - Here in the Trenches.