Seven days straight from hell…

Well, in a week that has seen the passing of Johnny Cash, Warren Zevon and the sanctity of the Texas Constitution, my first thought was to curl up in fetal position and mope through to next Monday. That was until I had the pleasure of attending two outstanding seminars at the Bay Area Court Reporters conference this weekend.

The first presentation was by Vivien Spitz, a court reporter at the 1946 Nuremberg trial of the Nazi doctors. This is one remarkable woman with an unparalleled story of setting off at age 21 to Germany for the purpose of taking the testimony of men who are arguably the most evil bastards on the planet (of course, save and except Rep. Joe "Quid Pro Quo" Nixon).

The second speech was by Judy Jackson, a blind court reporting student in her 160s from Lubbock, Texas, who showed us the myriad added equipment and, most of all, positive outlook a blind person must possess to become a working reporter. I listened to her story, thought of all the whining I did while in school, and I truly felt ashamed.

As we Texans begin a new reign of oppression under Governor Goodhair and the insurance lobby, let’s all keep the bellyaching to a minimum and, rather, find a way to persevere and weather this fiasco, much as these two ladies have their whole lives. The uninformed and misguided cattle have cast their votes, it was a close fight, and now we must all live with the dire consequences.

“State legislators are merely politicians whose darkest secret prevents them from running for a higher office.” - Dennis Miller