Guys your age drive guys my age nuts
By dcat
I read in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that April 28th is Law Day…so I googled it and sure enough, it is…apparently on Law Day, lawyers and judges offer their services for free as a public service to those who cannot afford legal aid. It began in 1957. They also award the Liberty Bell Award. So, in honor of Law Day….here goes. This story takes place in 1998. I also checked out storybase and found myself challenged by the sentence, "Friend perceives the passage of time in friend's aging face." Here's the result of those two things.
"McCormick, sometimes I think you're really out of your mind," Hardcastle stated. "I thought you didn't want to go to this stupid dinner. I mean really, you like wearing a tie just about as much as I do."
"That's not true, I don't mind wearing a tie."
"Well, you're still out of your mind," Milt walked out of the den and up the stairs to his bedroom to find a tie.
Mark sat down in one of the leather chairs and looked around the familiar room. For a few moments the quietness surrounded him. He glanced over and saw the old picture of Milt and Nancy, from their wedding. He'd seen that picture now for years and never gave it much thought, but as he sat there in the silence, he focused on the Judge's face and how much it had changed. He didn't know the Judge back when he had married Nancy. They sure were happy in the picture. Nancy was a beautiful woman and Milt was pretty dashing in his crisp, pressed black tuxedo. Their youthful faces were full of hopes, dreams and promises.
The Judge came back downstairs, "You wanna give me a hand with this kiddo?" He held up a tie.
"Sure Judge," Mark popped up from the chair and went to help his elderly friend.
"I never did get the hang of this," he chuckled, "even the one in that wedding picture was one of bow clip on type things," he nodded toward the picture that sat on his desk. "Are you sure you want to go to this thing?"
"Yes Judge, I want to go to this thing."
"It's been a helluva long day already. I use to like Law Day back when I was your age, but I guess I'm not used to putting in these kind of hours anymore," Milt explained.
"We got time here Judge, if you want to catch a catnap or something," Mark offered as he finished up the tie and they both took a seat.
"Nah, I'm fine, it's just dinner right? I can sleep during that. All the phony speeches and what not, a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo."
"You know you didn't have to work all day, just because I did," Mark said.
"Are you trying to tell me something McCormick?"
Mark gave him a grin, "No Judge, I'm not trying to tell you anything. Besides, when have you ever listened to anything I've said?"
"Seems to me I told you more than once that you were a facile liar."
"Yes, you have, but you wouldn't listen to me if I told you that you should think about slowing down a little." There, he'd said what he was thinking as he began to pay particular attention to his friend's aging face.
"McCormick, we can take off these suit coats and ties right now and I'll show you how to slow down on the basketball court."
Mark laughed at the seventy-six year old man's challenge, he never stopped or even slowed down. "You know what, you might not be tired from helping down at the courthouse all day today, but I am."
"How many cases did you get through?" Milt asked him.
Mark's eyes rolled up as if to show he was counting in his head. "Well, I saw 15, I still need to finish up four of them in the next week or so." He shrugged and asked Hardcastle, "What about you?" He still studied the face of the Judge.
"I did ten, but mine was mostly the easy stuff, nine of them were wills, one was a legal name change. I figured you were doing some hard stuff. They put you young guns on the good stuff." Hardcastle noticed McCormick staring at him. "What the hell are you looking at McCormick?"
Mark shook it off and disregarded the Judge's question, "You might not be tired but I am. Do you think I could catch a catnap here before we go to dinner? Would you mind?"
"You know we could scrap the whole dinner tonight and you could go home to your wife and son."
"I'm not that tired," Mark said. "And they know that you and I are going to the dinner. What's this the 8th Law Day we've done together now?"
"I've lost count. I've been doing these since the late '60's"
Mark laughed, "They had Law Day back in the dark ages huh?"
"You know you've been a lawyer now for nine years and you still have the smart mouth. I thought maybe you'd grow out of it by now."
"Aw, come on Judge, being a smart aleck is my best trait."
Milt shook his head and grabbed the TV remote, "Go ahead and sleep, I'll wake you up in plenty of time. You know these DVD's you guys got me for Christmas are pretty nice. It's like having John Wayne right here in the den."
That made Mark smile. He caught the wedding picture in the corner of his eye and then glanced over to the Judge who was already enthralled in the John Wayne movie. He thought back to what the Judge looked like when he met some fifteen years earlier. There were less lines on his face and more hair on the top of his head. Come to think of it, the Judge even had a few less pounds that he carried around fifteen years ago. And perhaps the most obvious was the speed at which he moved. Two trips to the hospital to clean out some arteries had probably contributed to Milt slowing down. One thing was for sure, his mind, his brilliant legal mind was as sharp as ever. In the nine years that Mark had been a lawyer, Hardcastle had served as his own personal law library.
About forty five minutes later, Hardcastle was standing over McCormick shaking his shoulder gently, "Hey kiddo, you better wake up there, we don't want to be late." Mark blinked his eyes and woke himself up. "Boy, you were out before the Duke got in his first fist fight."
Mark took a deep breath and sat up straight and then leaned forward in the chair. "I guess I was tired." He looked at his watch, "You're right, we should get going."
"I think we'll take the truck, that'll give you a chance to wake up," he paused to give him a once over and saw the groggy look in his eyes.
It was a rather quiet drive over to the hotel conference center. "You must be tired huh kiddo?"
"Not really, just doing some thinking."
"About your family?"
"No, about the some of the people I met today. I get this way after these every year. I don't know about you, but I really think about how much I appreciate everything I have. The education I got, my family, friends, you know?" Mark exhaled. "Some of those folks we see, they're so hopeless. I'm just thankful, I could have been on the opposite side."
The judge nodded his understanding of what McCormick was saying. "You were never hopeless kiddo."
McCormick watched the Judge as he pulled into the hotel parking ramp and kept thinking back to the all the physical changes he'd seen in the Judge over the years.
"You know you're making me nervous by staring at me all night long. Do I have some mustard on my face or something?"
"You look fine."
"Then why all the gawking at me?"
"Just a long day, I'll shake out of it once I get my first martini," Mark grinned.
The meal consisted of Chicken Kiev, garlic mashed potatoes and French cut green beans with almonds. Nothing had much taste and Hardcastle leaned over to McCormick midway through dinner and suggested they stop at Taco Tillies on the way home.
Then the program section of the evening began. Many awards were being given out. Some to law students, some to fellow lawyers and judges. The final award of the night was the Liberty Bell Award, a national award that was to be presented by California Chief Justice James Petersen. Judge Petersen stepped behind the podium and began to talk about a lawyer and judge who had graciously given his service for the past thirty years to Law Day in the city of Los Angeles. Petersen's word's got more familiar to Hardcastle, who turned his glare to McCormick, who wore a grin from ear to ear.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome and congratulate Judge Milton C. Hardcastle, this year's recipient of the Liberty Bell Award," Petersen was saying and the crowd began to rise to a standing ovation.
McCormick was motioning for Milt to stand up and go up and accept his award.
Hardcastle got up slowly, with his head and gaze fixed downward and walked up front to the podium. He shook hands and accepted the award from Petersen and stood behind the podium and began to thank the people in the room that he recognized. Then his eyes focused on Mark McCormick and he showed the crowd the hint of a smile, while he began to talk about his younger friend, knowing that it was McCormick who had nominated him for the award.
The room of legalists gave him another standing ovation when he finished.
The two of them walked back to the truck, McCormick carrying the heavy award for the Judge.
"Now that was really a late night," Mark said, checking his watch and seeing that it was coming up on midnight. "If it's okay with you, I'll just crash at your house."
"Of course it's okay, you don't even have to ask, you know that."
"So were you surprised?" Mark held out the award and looked it over.
"Sure I was, I had no idea. I'm still surprised. Though by now I should know that when you're around I never know what to expect. The Liberty Bell Award is a heck of a great honor."
Mark laughed. "Thirty years is a long time Judge. You had a lot of support in receiving this award. You've done a lot of good work on Law Day."
"I think I still got a few more in me kid, don't go fitting me for wings and a halo yet," he paused, "Boy I think I talked to everyone in that room. Where the heck did I put the keys to the truck?" Hardcastle patted his jacket and pants pockets for them.
"I got 'em, you gave them to me about an hour ago, when I thought we were leaving for the third time. I'll drive us home."
"Yeah? How many martini's did you have?"
"Two, the last one was with dinner, five hours ago. I switched to 7-Up after that."
"Okay, then I guess you can drive."
They got into the truck and began the drive back to Gull's Way. Along the way, Milt drifted off and McCormick glanced over and studied his face as he drove down the freeway. Yeah, there were more lines and the hair was thinning and even though he was sleeping, he looked tired and worn out. This day probably was too long for him at his age, though he would never admit to it. He wondered what the Judge would look like in another ten years at eighty six. He began to wonder what he himself would look like in another ten years. His eyes narrowed and focused on the road as he was lost in his thoughts.
"What are you thinking about now?" Hardcastle quietly asked, even though his eyes were closed.
"Just time I guess, how things change and stay the same all at the same time."
"You're gonna get old too someday kiddo, just keep your eyes on the road and quit looking at me. You've been gawking at me all night. You're making me crazy."
"I thought you were sleeping," McCormick said.
"I'm resting, guys my age rest McCormick, guys your age need catnaps."
"Guys your age drive guys my age nuts," McCormick answered.
"Now you're cookin'"