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With winter in almost full force, it’s time to bring your animals inside and out of the cold. I’m one who truly believes that if you have a dog, they should be part of your family, they live inside with you, not tied to a dog box or a tree outside all year round. I know that some dogs can take the cold better that others, you should know this before getting any dog. Barley & Guinness live inside and sleep in our bed with us if they so choose. They love to be out in the cold weather and love the snow, but when they want to come in and lay by the fire, they can do that whenever they want. With the cold temperatures here, you need to get your best friend out of the cold and inside. You need to make sure that have shelter and what you’re providing them is recommended for these freezing and below freezing temperatures. Dogs are freezing to death in these cold temperatures due to the lack of common sense. If you must leave your dog outside, you must make sure that have plenty of food and that their water is not frozen, they have insulated shelters that are kept dry and clean, if not they will freeze to what ever it is that they are laying on. Do the right thing, bring them inside. If it’s to cold for you to sleep outside it’s to cold for them. Once again there are some dog who love these freezing temperatures and can withstand them to appoint. Be the person that your dog thinks you are, kind, caring , loving and with take care of them the right way for all their lives. Bring them inside!!! Adopt don’t shop and animal fighting is not a sport, it is abuse and needs to be reported to the local authorities. Bark on Bordas Dog Nation, Bark on.

With a new year, there are plenty of new experiences that lie ahead for everyone. New experiences can be scary. But imagine the new insight you’ll obtain by trying new things, just say YES! I discovered the Theory of Yes from an old TED Talk by Shonda Rhimes. She talked about this new theory she applied to her life and it was simply saying “yes” to everything. Things you would typically say “no” to just replace it with a “yes.” This theory drastically changed her life. When her children asked her to play with them, she said yes. When public speaking opportunities were offered, she said yes. She overcame her fear of public speaking and learned more about her children, all by simply saying yes. How amazing is it that the shift of just one word could change your entire life? To take it a step further, how amazing is it that just words can truly affect your life. It incredible the power words hold. Speak positively and you should obtain positive results. Good luck in all your endeavors this year and years to come!

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I wanted to write a short tribute to Franklin Dorrah Cleckley. As an attorney, law professor and justice, he had a profound impact on generations of up-and-coming attorneys. He was a tireless advocate, beginning his career as a Navy JAG officer and then returning to his native West Virginia to practice law. In 1969, he became the first African American professor at the West Virginia University College of Law. Except for a two-year stint when he served on the West Virginia Supreme Court, Professor Cleckley taught law for the next 44 years. Speaking from my own experience, I can tell you that Professor Cleckley was intimidating as a teacher. I don’t think he tried to be intimidating. But his command of the subject and his command of the classroom were unmistakable. I remember answering questions only to be told: “Well, that’s the fifth best answer. I’m looking for four better answers!” It was his unique way of pushing you to strive for excellence. Professor Cleckley certainly left his mark on the law. His treatise on evidence is still regarded as the authoritative word on the subject in law offices and courtrooms throughout West Virginia. His litigation handbooks on civil and criminal procedure are also essential parts of any practitioner’s library. In those works, he shows an uncanny ability to be both scholarly and practical. His prose is powerful, but he also writes with a desire to give solid, down-to-earth guidance to judges and attorneys alike. In September 1994, Professor Cleckley was appointed to a vacancy on the West Virginia Supreme Court - the first African American to sit on the high court. As a justice, he authored over a hundred majority opinions. Not surprisingly, his opinions are a reflection of his love of teaching. Every opinion was an opportunity to provide history and context, and to engage in a full blown, critical analysis of whatever issue was presented. When you read one of his opinions, you feel like you’re stepping into his classroom again.  You see him standing behind the lectern. You hear his booming voice. You soak up everything he says and walk away a little bit wiser and ready to take on the world. Sadly, Professor Cleckley passed away last year. It’s fair to say that he left a lasting legacy. But his legacy is far more than the books and opinions he wrote. His most important legacy is the seed he planted in thousands of attorneys like me, who are still being shaped by his teaching, his life, and his character. Image courtesy of WVU Today.

Now that we finally have a little bit of snow and some pretty cold weather, I am reminded of the blizzards and snow storms I have experienced during my lifetime. There are two that really stick out in my memory. The first one I remember was the winter of 1978 when we were hit with a blizzard on January 20 th that no one was expecting. Roads were closed for days, and it seemed like we didn’t go to school very much at all in January or February of that year. The most memorable blizzard I’ve ever experienced, however, was on March 13, 1993. We had a ski trip planned for the Canaan Valley area and had two chalets rented in Timberline. There was a group of 20 or so of us who made the trip down to Timberline that weekend for some skiing, hot tub soaking, socializing, and fun. I wasn’t skiing because I had my three-week-old son with me, and fortunately I took plenty of baby formula. The first evening there, we went to the restaurant to eat and asked our waitress how much snow they were expecting and she said two to three. We asked “inches” and she said “no, feet”—and she wasn’t lying. We woke up the next day to snow, and it kept snowing all day long and all through the night. Some of our group braved the slopes before they shut them down. It didn’t take long for the roads to become impassable. We were snowed in. We made the best of it playing cards, Scattergories, eating junk food, laughing, and having a good time.  At one point, the Sno-Cats came through to try to clear the road and took out our cable and the cable to the surrounding cabins, but we were very lucky to have a friend with us who was an electronics genius. He put on his Carhartt’s, went outside and tinkered around for a bit, and soon had everyone’s cable back on. I remember the people in the cabin next door applauding and giving him the “thumbs up” when their TV came back on. We were very lucky that we didn’t lose power, and we were also lucky enough to have a cozy fireplace. When we woke up the next morning there was about three to four feet of snow pressed up against the glass of the patio doors. We had to dig our way out of the cabin, and dig all of the cars out. We ended up being stuck there an extra day, and I’ve never seen snow drifts as tall as the ones we saw on the way home through Maryland and West Virginia. I was never afraid of the storm. In fact, it was fun being snowed in with people that we cared about and had fun with, and to this day is one of my best memories of winter. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

During the holidays, I came across a cute galvanized recipe box online and purchased it for my daughter who loves to cook. As I scrolled through some recipe cards to go in it I wondered if she would really use this. By simply logging onto the internet, so many recipes are accessible and can be printed much more quickly than sitting down to hand-write recipes. But then I got to thinking… When I was younger, I remember my mother sitting at the kitchen table and writing down recipes on index cards and putting them in her recipe box. My grandmother did the same. I followed suit when I was younger and have quite a few hand-written recipes of my own. My mother and grandmother aren’t with us any longer, but it is nice to look at these cards and see their handwriting. Some of the cards are stained with cooking oil and vanilla, giving the card even more character, knowing that the spill probably happened while they were cooking for us kids. Not too long ago, while visiting my daughter, I saw the recipe box that I gave her for Christmas on her table, and yes, she does actually write cards of her own. And one day, she will be given “our” cards as well to include in this family tradition.

The holiday that I want to talk about this month is obvious: New Year’s Eve. It is not the usual New Year’s resolution to quit smoking, work out more, lose weight, stop procrastinating, enjoy the little things, keep a positive attitude, volunteer at a needy charitable organization, start a blog or, at least, contribute to a blog. Well, one out of eight isn’t bad. In all seriousness, what I want to talk about is the classic New Year’s artifact, “Auld Lang Syne,” the meaning of the song and how it impacted my New Year’s Eve. The title may not ring a bell, but the lyrics will: “Should old acquaintance be forgot….” It is an 18 th century Scottish ballad that is a rhetorical question as to whether old friends should be forgotten or not. The answer is no. That principle was brought to the forefront of my relationships this New Year’s Eve when I had various friends spanning my entire lifetime at my house. What was amazing is that none of them had met each other but we all got along as through we all had been lifelong friends. As I reviewed each of the friends, I realized they are quite diverse, yet they were all very good friends of mine and had been for some 30 years. That in itself made me feel old and nostalgic as we went into New Year’s Eve. I had long ago made plans with a couple of friends, who I met when I graduated from law school and moved to Lebanon, PA. Rick and “Chatty” Smith became instant friends of mine after we met. Rick was, and still is, an avid Boston Celtics fan. We met when I was asked to play on a men’s league basketball team soon after I moved to Lebanon. I had met a guy named Eric at the local YMCA while playing some pick-up ball. He asked me to join a team with him and some of his friends. On the night of our first game, I rode with Eric to the Smiths’ home. Little did I know as we drove there, I was about to meet a couple that would become life time friends. As we drove over, Eric explained that Rick and I would hit it off, since I was from Boston and Rick was a lifelong fan of the Celtics. The whole team met at Smith’s and we divided into a number of cars when we left for the game. I ended up riding with Rick. We immediately began sharing our childhood memories of various Celtics highlights. These include the vivid memories of the infamous Boston Celtics radio announcer Johnny Most. For those of you that might not be familiar with him, he was the biggest homer announcer I have ever had the pleasure of listening to in my life. To give you an idea of what a homer he was, think Myron Cope times 10. We both laughed at how we didn’t realize his bias toward the Celtics until we had each begun watching the Celtics game on TV but still listening to Johnny on the radio, as most Celtic fans did in Johnny’s heyday. Most’s version of the Celtics games was blatantly one-sided and exaggerated in the favor of the Celtics, but this only became apparent when you compared what was actually happening in the game on TV to what he was saying over the radio. Over the years we have shared many the pros and cons of life, too many to list them all. However, one comes to mind most prominently. I met both of the Smiths’ kids, Allison and Greg, that first night I was at the Smiths. After that first night it became a tradition that I would come to their home for dinner on game days, as I was a bachelor whose cooking skills at that time consisted of making tuna fish, mac and cheese, and corn. Part of the tradition was that each time I would come over I would put Allison and Greg in my gym bag and twirl them around. They were approximately two and four years old. They would fit snuggly in my gym bag and would squeal with laughter each time I twirled them around. Allison was married this summer to a very nice young man. I have been to many weddings over the years, weddings of acquaintances who were good friends or family members of girlfriends; weddings of good friends, family members and my own. However, I never shed a tear until Allison’s wedding. It was so surreal. I tried to figure out what the difference was. I had been to the weddings of many loved ones before, but this was the first time I was choked up by the ceremony. After giving it much thought, I realized that it was because her wedding was the closest I had ever came to having a daughter. I have known Allison her entire life, except those first two years, and I have been involved in her accomplishments and her unhappy times. I have seen her grow into a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished young woman who has chased and is achieving her dreams. At her wedding I flashed back over each of the years and events all the way back to that cute little two-year-old who, along with her brother, fit snuggly into my gym bag. It all hit me like a ton of bricks, and the tears began to flow. I could tell similar stories about the other friends, the Reyes-Guerras. They also came to share New Years with me and my family. I am the godfather to one of their daughters. We have vacationed together. We laugh about how I almost dated Lynne before she met her husband, John, but we were dating other people and that by the time the other relations ended we were such good friends and our relation had formed as such that it would have been too weird to ever date. That whole weekend I looked at each of the friends and our relationships and tried to determine what was the common trait of my friends that made us such good friends. I kept looking at their educational, social, and economic backgrounds and found no common denominator. I looked at preferences and hobbies, and again saw no constant factor. Like I reflected on Allison’s wedding, I reflected on our friendships. I was curious as to why I was such good friends with various people with different backgrounds. As the clock was nearing midnight on New Year’s Eve, it dawned on me - each of the couples were people I know I could ask them to do anything and they would be there in a second to help me in any way they could. I also realized the answer to the rhetorical question “Should old acquaintance be forgot….” is an astounding “NO WAY.” Happy New Year. A toast to old friends who shall not be forgot. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

One of my favorite parts of a new year is opening a fresh, empty new planner. Even though I use digital calendars both for work and home appointments, I still maintain a physical planner – as do most of the attorneys and staff in our offices. I’ve found that the act of writing down appointments and to-dos helps to remember them better, which is one of many reasons why I prefer to track my days this way. There are lots of options for planner enthusiasts out there. A traditional datebook is always good, but if you want something a little more tailored to your interests or specific goals, there are lots of planners that can work for you: The “bullet journal” system is a fun and flexible way to turn any notebook into a planner that is custom-tailored to your needs. The Passion Planner is a leather-bound journal and datebook that focuses on helping you achieve your goals throughout the year, and includes pages for monthly reflections. The Commit30 Planner comes in both a standard and a fitness variety, and also features extremely targeted goal setting pages to help The Day Designer looks more like a standard weekly planner, but has helpful pages at the start for goal setting and a to-do list on every day. Of these, I am a big fan of the Day Designer and the Passion Planner. Both have lots of space for me to plan out my months/weeks/days and also space for written to-do lists, which I need. Do you prefer to use a physical calendar and planner? What systems have you tried? Image courtesy of Unsplash.

As I was leaving for work one morning, I noticed that my husband left the broom he was using to sweep off the front porch standing in the corner instead of putting it back into the shed. No big deal, it was 6:30 a.m. and wasn’t hurting anything by being there until he gets home.  Later that evening when I arrived back home I noticed the broom still there only it had fallen. “Why can’t he put things away where they belong? Someone is going to trip over it and get hurt.” Since I had my arms full I stepped over the broom and went inside the house. The next morning, I stepped over the broom AGAIN on my way to the car to go to work. “I’m going to let that broom sit there and see how long it will take for him to put it away.” Later that evening when I came home, same broom…same position. At that point I was furious. When is he going to come to his senses and stop walking over the broom that is clearly in the way and could cause someone to fall? Didn’t he care that someone could trip over it and fall right into the glass door? What kind of person does that?? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the answer to that question. That would be the kind of person who has a huge plank in her (my) eye! We all have certain areas in our lives that we need to change, but it is easier to call out the shortcomings of others than to focus on our own business. We deceive ourselves by not taking ownership for our responses to the actions of others. That’s where the difference between the comparison of a speck of sawdust and the big plank comes in to play. My secretive test to see how long it would take for my husband to pick up the broom was not about a productive resolution. I was criticizing the behavior of someone, but excusing that very same behavior when I exhibited it. I was being hypocritical, period. Thank goodness it didn’t take too long before I self-assessed and concluded that my actions needed to be better. At that moment I removed that plank from my eye and picked up that broom. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

It is that time of year, once again, where many take stock of their recent year and reflect on what they have done and what they would like to do in the time to come. Many of us set New Year’s resolutions at the start of each year, and many of us don’t follow through on them. Often we vow to try again, dedicate ourselves more seriously to our goals and desires, and add new achievements to the list. It might be time to start setting those objectives in a different light though. So many of us set New Year’s Resolutions, or goals in our lives in general, based on the premise that something is lacking, we have done something wrong, or we are not good enough. We say we want to lose weight, drink less soda, watch less TV, spend less money, or quit a bad habit. And those are admirable goals, but they all come with a mindset of punishment or deprivation. What if instead of those goals, we decided to spend as much time outside as we do in front of the TV each weekend? Cook a new recipe with our families instead of eating out at least once a week? Decide to pay more attention to how we spend our money and where we could make some adjustments rather than just say “no spending”? Or what if we decided we wanted to make a resolution to volunteer a certain number of times during the year? Or that we would try one new thing each month? What if we decided to call our old friends to check in and catch up, instead of just look at their Facebook page? Setting goals and resolutions that focus on the good things, new things, or exciting things you can do, rather than all of the things you can’t or shouldn’t do, can make a world of difference not only in your ability to achieve those goals and keep those resolutions, but also in your general attitude and outlook on day-to-day life. When you reflect on last year’s resolution, how you did in keeping them, and what you’d like to aim for this year, challenge yourself to think of something in the spirit of growth, rather than the spirit of correction. You will still be growing and changing as you set and keep your goals, but you just might find the added benefit of changing your outlook as well. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

With the New Year upon us, we will be taking into perspective our year in the rear view mirror, it’s important to reflect on all that has occurred. Whether it be from a personal or financial stance, it is important to see what we have accomplished over the year. Also, during this time, it is important to acknowledge what we didn’t accomplish so that we can reflect on why we failed to achieve some goal or task. For lawyers, the new year provides us a time to reflect on our legal practice and to evaluate our work over the year and to determine whether we are doing our best work possible. However, when we take the year into consideration, it can often times seem as if certain administrative or personal tasks or obligations can get in the way of allowing us to fully focus on what is most important to us. So, for 2019, I suggest we get ahead of these tasks so that we can put our best foot forward in accomplishing our goals. Whatever your occupation may be, here are a few tips to help you get on track in the new year: Assess your area of work: Are you working in a field or practice area that you enjoy? Is there a certain type of work that you dread taking on? Are there certain tasks that seem to take longer to do than others? Are you using the newest technology or strategy to accomplish these tasks? Can you work with others to implement their practice and knowledge in this area? These are all items to take into consideration when planning for the new year and evaluating your strengths and weaknesses – the new year is all about changing what didn’t work for you in the past. 2. Make sure all your information is current with any association or other type of organization you belong to: In the legal field, one task that may seem daunting to many attorneys is to make sure their contact information and practice areas are current with their respective bar associations. However, it is important to keep these types of items up to date so that we receive the latest news in our practice areas and so that we can contact other colleagues for information or help should we need it. Every field of work has these types of organizations and it is important to make sure that you aren’t missing out simply because your information is outdated. 3. Check your continuing education requirements: It seems like one item that always creeps up on attorneys with busy schedules is that CLE deadline in which your cle credits must have been obtained. If you check your CLE credits at the beginning of the year, you’ll be sure to avoid the mad rush to get them all in before that deadline. This is true for all types of professions in which continuing education is a requirement. 4. Organize your email This may seem like common sense, however, organizing your email is key to being productive and making sure you don’t forget about those tasks that otherwise may remain lingering at the start of the new year. For attorneys or other types of professionals with numerous clients, it’s never a bad idea to create sub-folders that correlate to each client so that you can put all of your communications with that person into that specific folder. This also becomes very helpful when you need to pull out a communication at a moment’s notice. Again, sometimes the simplest tasks are the most helpful. 5. Make sure all your electronic devices are up to date and working: In today’s day and age, many of us are working remotely or out of multiple offices depending on the day’s schedule. It is important to make sure that our electronic devices – whether it be a laptop or iPad are up-to-date and functioning so that when we find ourselves out of the office, we are able to connect and pull up whatever electronic file or information is needed. In sum, these are just a few tips for getting ahead of your work in the new year and being able to focus on what is most important to all professionals - putting their clients first!

Statistics show there are lots of New Year’s resolutions—a whole long list of varying things that we should all probably do anyway—but I think that exercising or losing weight are usually up there at the top of the list. Those that actually do not jump in and hope for the best in trying to keep a New Year’s resolution are right up there (at the top) as far as percentages go. So many more than not actually do make a resolution. I have made resolutions in the past and as time goes on I, like most, forget or lose track. Now some do stay the course. I know someone who said they were going to send birthday cards to everyone they knew that year. That person fulfilled her resolution. At the beginning of the New Year you are all about the new year, the new you. It makes you feel good to say… I am going to save more money or I am going to focus on taking better care of myself. That is the right thing to do at any time of the year. But life moves along and for one reason or another things happen and you get sidetracked even if you have the best of intentions. If you admit defeat more times than not, the best resolution that anyone can have and it’s not all that taxing is just to be a nicer person to those you are in contact with in your daily travels—at home, at work, in the grocery store, or just driving down the road to name a few. Remembering… Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Golden Rule becomes lost in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. It is easy to forget when you come face-to-face with people—some that you don’t know from Adam—who are just downright rude. The best response is to just walk away or drive away as the case may be. That’s being nice to yourself. Don’t respond in-kind. You will feel better for it after all. That will be my New Year’s resolution. I want to be a kinder, nicer person. I do not want to be the cause of making anyone feel other than good about themselves. I especially need to be nicer to my family. Sometimes they are the easiest not to be nice to—not that you want to not be nice to them—they are just in your line of sight when you are frustrated the most. I may throw in losing weight and exercising too as an aside like everyone else and see how long that lasts. Maybe I will blog later in the year and let you know how that is going. Happy New Year to all and I hope you are very successful in your New Year’s resolution for the coming year 2019. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season coming to a close, we’re all probably feeling a bit rushed and frazzled right about now. But it’s important to remember to take a minute to slow down, both for our own well-being and that of others. And under no circumstances is it more important to be mindful of the “slow down” reminder than when we are out on the roads this season. Because research and data show that when you’re behind the wheel, even a few miles per hour difference in speed can be the difference between life and death for others. While it is common sense that faster cars are deadlier, studies in this area are remarkable for just how much deadlier faster speeds can be for older folks. For example, a 70-year-old hit by a car going 35 mph is about as likely to be killed as a 30-year-old hit by a car going 45 mph (in both cases it’s about a 50/50 chance). The data shows that at 40 mph, a 30-year-old has a 36 percent chance of dying. However, a 70-year-old’s chance is almost double that at the same speed, at 70 percent. Of course, these percentages are estimates based on a sample of data. But what is clear is that age makes a huge difference when it comes to vehicle speed. Another overarching trend shown by the data is that once cars reach a speed just above 20 mph, they rapidly become deadlier. For instance, a person is about 70 percent more likely to be killed if they’re struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 mph versus 25 mph.Other studies have shown similar trends in how much speed matters. In 2010 London’s Department for Transport concluded that “the risk of fatality increases slowly until impact speeds of around 30 mph. Above this speed, risk increases rapidly — the increase is between 3.5 and 5.5 times from 30 mph to 40 mph.” So, while speed limit adjustments as a traffic-slowing method can often be a nuisance, for those who get hit, it could actually make a huge difference in how likely they are to survive. The interactive chart at this link makes it easier to see the difference a few miles per hour can make. So please take a moment this busy holiday season to breathe, relax and make sure you’re travelling within all speed limits when out on the road. If you have been the unfortunate victim of having been hit by a vehicle, you should contact an experienced attorney right away to explore your options. Image courtesy of Unsplash.