Cooking with Hitler

My brother Carlos, often referred to as Hitler by my oldest friends (this story to come later), and I are scheduled to cook on Thursday night for the family. I'm thinking of making some ribs or a beef roast to go with whatever dish Hitler makes. And what does Hitler specialize in? Believe it or not, my brother is famous for making dishes so pretty that Martha Stewart's cellmates would be jealous. Picture a golden ham sprinkled with tons of little cherries and pineapples attached via little toothpicks.

"Are we going to eat this or take pictures," said my father impatiently as the women in the family "ooh and aaah." My sisters and my brother like pretty things.

I wonder if the real Hitler also liked pretty things.

Me, I tend to lean towards cooking enormous hunks of meat. On Thursday, I'll be using my Orion cooker- It's the contraption pictured above. In a little over an hour it can take the fattest and thickest chunk of beef and make it so tender that it falls apart with a fork.

The Orion uses one bag of charcoal and gives off flames during the initial stages of the cooking- so it's pretty fun to use during a cookout. You feel like you are in the middle of a gothic bonfire. I got one for my friend Frankie when he got married.

If they say marriage is hell, then why not have a cooker that spits flames?

The weight loss competition resumes!

This past week, I rejoined the YMCA's latest installment of the Team Challenge weight loss competition. It was nice to see some of the familiar characters from the last competition. Pamela is back as is Carlos the torturer, but this time they are on a competing team.

My first workout was with a new personal trainer, named Sam. Sam seems to be a firm believer in exercises that use your own body weight- modified push ups, pull ups, lunges, etc... I used to be able to do a ton of push ups and you'd think that push ups are easier when your belly is..um..closer to the floor, but it was a struggle. Still, by the end of the class, I felt completely conscious- which is probably a step towards better fitness. My new team mates were also very motivational- I even got cheerful email reminders from our captain.

Later in the week, we had a nutrition class where we were faced with the catch 22 of weight loss- you need to burn more calories than you eat in order to lose weight, but if you eat too little then you don't have the energy to work out. I've decided to err on the side of eating too much for now. The perfect diet is one of moderation- lower on calories but with a good balance of carbs, protein and fats- depending on your needs at the time.



On Saturday, I decided to take a class with Carlos and his little brother(le petit torturer?) in order to help burn some extra calories. It was a boot camp style class that was absolutely exhausting- I was tired for the rest of the day- but was also exhilarating. I ran up and down hills and did a variety of military style drills.

GI Ray? Just a matter of time...

Some thoughts in September

It's been almost a month since I've posted anything. Mostly I've been involved in a jury trial that has consumed most of my time with any leftover time given to the rest of my practice and my wife.

A jury trial is what many of us lawyers live for. A trial tests the pinnacle of your skills as a lawyer. You compete with another lawyer in shaping what the jury will consider to be evidence. Surprisingly, there are relatively few lawyers that know how to try a case. I haven't seen statistics, but it wouldn't surprise me to hear that most lawyers will never in their careers participate as lead counsel in a jury trial.

A criminal jury trial is even harder than a normal trial, because you are faced with the prospect that your client will lose his liberty if you lose the trial. If you don't break down a certain witness with your cross examination, you could lose. If you don't relate well to the jury, you could lose. There are a million things that could go wrong and you should be paralyzed with stress. Yet, I find that you feel very alive while you are trying the case.

In my recent trial, there was a moment where I was able to ask the police officer if he in fact was the person who committed the crime! There was another moment when I confronted an eyewitness with his alleged methamphetamine addiction.

At the end of the trial, the jurors weren't able to convict my client because I'd raised a doubt about every piece of evidence in the case.

A friend asked me if this was justice. It's another way of asking whether a guilty person had gone free. I can't break client confidentiality by answering this question directly, but I'll try a generic answer.

Like many Americans, I believe in the presumption of innocence. My job as a defense attorneys is to protect my client's rights under the constitution. I'll do this to the limit of my abilities because it keeps the system honest.

It's better for a guilty person to be free than for an innocent man to be incarcerated. You have to believe this to be any good at jury trials.

A guest column- by Sam from the Y

Here's a few thoughts from one of the trainers at the Y.



Closing thoughts:


The comments at the end of this season that I appreciated hearing the most were not of numbers, pounds, and inches, but of confidence. Each of my players felt so much more capable, and even more important, much more willing to push themselves during each workout.

One of the rewards of exercise is a growing feeling of control. When you are feeling out of shape, you feel out of control of your own body. It's a strange and uncomfortable dis-connect that can permiate other aspects of our lives. Without stetching out on the couch for some analysis here, I am sure that we can all come up with examples of how this affects us. At every level, it is good to feel your body respond to what you are asking it to do; push ups, sit ups, dead lifts...and lo and behold, your body does it, albeit grudginly at first, but it does it. I was fond of reminding my players that the workouts didn't get any easier, they each just got stronger and more fit.

Each of them began to enjoy the feeling of overcoming the discomfort to finish the set, to add one more lift, to run just a little faster. In turn, they enjoyed pushing and encouraging one another.

As a self described gym-rat, my favorite aspect of a good workout is to know that most of my pains are self inflicted, and I wear them like trophies. I wish for each of you the same feelings of accomplishment.

Keep going. It doesn't get any easier, you just get stronger...and isn't that the point?


Sam

Thoughts on the weight loss challenge- a final review.

The weight loss challenge is now over.

"How'd I do," you might ask.

"It's not about the pounds," I say as you begin laughing...

But it's actually true this time! I lost a few pounds over six weeks, but also lost a few inches around the midsection. My shirt no longer has the tell tale exploding button. You've probably seen it. That button on a dress shirt that is so tight around the belly that it's in danger of bursting out like a gunshot.

Others were similarly happy with the weight loss challenge. Pamela was satisfied with her increase in conditioning and will try it again. Carlos, the torturer, aka trainer, was satisfied knowing that he has introduced another group to the fears...errr...cheerful part of exercising. One young bloke lost not only enough weight to win the competition, but actually became a year younger! Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit...

At least two contestants left the challenge looking completely skinny- I'll call them Joe and Ms. Tour de France. But, then they entered the challenge looking completely skinny... Why were they in the contest? Rumor has it that heavy people attract groupies...



Or maybe not..

Our trainers would probably say it's for increased conditioning,better muscle tone etc.. You know all that healthy stuff.

Many thanks to Carlos, Sam and Danny for training us beyond the limit of normal couch potatoes.

Until the next competition....

Some thoughts on Cohen, Sinatra and life

I was half asleep on the couch the other day after a session at the gym, when a Leonard Cohen special came on the television. "Leonard who?" I thought, but was too tired to change the channel. I lay sprawled across the sofa, listening to this old guy sing. A good rhytmn, nice deep voice, incredible lyrics.. Soon I was sitting straight up and watching the television transfixed. This cat can sing!

He had a cool style to him and songs that really made me wonder why I hadn't heard of him before. I thought he was cool in a way that Sinatra only pretended to be.

To me (and I realize this is a minority opinion), most Sinatra songs give me a headache. Strangers in Night and Seventeen are good songs- but most of his songs have a frivolous quality to them that makes me feel like switching the station. Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars... Give me a break.

But, Cohen seemed to sing his songs with a authority that came from a lifetime of hard won wisdom.

"Ah you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried I might win."

"Ah but a man never got a woman back. Not by begging on his knees. Or I'd crawl to you, baby and I'd crawl at your feet."

It's good stuff. A cool facade, a smooth delivery, and layers of depth.

If only my closing arguments could be so good!

"You can take Joe off your list of contacts"

"Hey, and by the way, you can take Joe off your list of business contacts," said my brother Carlos casually in the midst of a conversation about the family dinner that night.

"What do you mean," I asked.

"He died this morning," said Carlos with his usual tact.

"What?" I said, trying to make sense of things "Are you serious?"

Carlos was serious, but almost immediately the conversation returned to the family dinner. In my family, men dwell little on feelings of loss and much on ribs and related meat products. But, as we talked about the ribs for the family dinner and whether I would show up on time for once, I thought about Joe.

Joe (a pseudonym) was one of my brother's closest friends. He was a hell of a nice guy. I knew him as a client, but his relationship with my brother Carlos went back to the beginning of Carlos' career as a nurse. Joe was a mentor to him, but due to health concerns was unable to keep working.

I met Joe as a client referred by Carlos and was surprised to see that he was not only gay, but proudly and loudly so.

"Are you sure you're my brother's friend?" I was tempted to ask on many occasions. My brother, to say the least, isn't the world's most sensitive and reflective man. His nickname among my childhood friends was Hitler. He was proud of that nickname.

Joe, on the other hand, was almost completely without guile. He was a client that shared his feelings, fears and concerns. Sometimes he drove my staff to the point of madness with his continued questions and worries. But, in the end, we were able to end his worries with a complete victory in his case.

However, he would still call me afterwards from time to time with lingering concerns or worries.

But, now I guess he's off my list of contacts for good. He's off of Carlos' friend list, but is definitely not forgotten.

My gruff brother took a full plate of food from family rib night to Joe's partner and stayed up with him. He may not have tact, but my brother is always there for people.