“Oh my God. Do you know what this is? This is a dinosaur egg. The dinosaurs are breeding.”

“Better make the best of it, just in case your life turns out to be as short as an insect’s, she told herself.”

Friends, there are many days of the year which I look forward to.  Thanksgiving, my birthday, Hanukkah, even Christmas, these are days that seem to take forever to arrive and are gone in an instant.

But friends, there are other days that take too long to arrive—Tuesdays.  Not just any Tuesday, or every Tuesday, but specific Tuesdays.  Why Tuesdays?  Because Tuesdays are the days when new books are released.  And when a new Michael Connelly or Jonathan Kellerman or Steve Martini or David Baldacci comes out, it is, in a way, a holiday for me—something to look forward to.

One of my favorite authors of all time, Michael Crichton, passed away in 2008 after battling cancer.  You know him as the creator of the television show “ER” and author of “Jurassic Park,” “Disclosure,” and “Rising Sun” amongst others.  He was a master at blending mystery, science, medicine, and social consciousness and his books were intriguing, refreshing, and thought provoking.  And in 2008, when he died at the age of 66, I figured that there would be one less Tuesday to look forward to as his writing career was obviously over, and prematurely.

However, he left a bit of a legacy with unfinished manuscripts on his computer; one was published about two years ago, a swashbuckling pirate adventure (atypical compared to his other works) and one was released just last week, more in line with his previous works. 

The quote set forth at the top of this email was taken from this latest publication entitled “Micro” and as I read the book it struck a chord, given the author’s unfortunate and tragic demise.  “Micro” was incomplete at the time of Crichton’s death and required completion by another author, but of all of the sentences and paragraphs in the book, I will cling to the hope that this specific sentence was written by Crichton himself.  If there are works out there that can be viewed as “messages,” can’t this be one of them? 

I truly believe that our lives must be comprised of four ingredients for a full and complete life:  health, family, religion, and experiences.  But in today’s society and economic climate, it is easy to forego the last ingredient and pass it away with excuses.  Sure we would like to visit Paris, but it is too expensive and we cannot miss work.  If we continue to make these excuses, when will be the right time to do these things?  I once heard the adage that if you wait for the right time to have children, you will never have children.  Well, if you wait for the right time to go skydiving, then you will never go skydiving.

Lately I have seen and heard of too much sorrow and pain.  It seems like there has been an epidemic of health problems, with many family members of friends faced with dire circumstances, some of which came on unexpectedly.  While failing health is heartbreaking on its own, what is more tragic to me is failing health coupled with regret.  Regret for not taking that trip, for not seeing that concert, for not having that experience.  I think that when Crichton wrote the words above, he could see the end coming and was trying to speak to us.  Sure, we all know about “Carpe Diem!”  Yet it never really meant anything to me other than Latin words which meant to seize the day, however you interpret that.  But for Crichton’s words, understanding the tragedy of his own death, you can practically envision an author sitting at his computer, seeing his days coming to an end, and trying to reach out to not just all of us, but maybe to himself as well.

I mean, come on, there is no secret that Crichton probably had plenty of money in the bank; his success was clear.  But recall my ingredients above—money is not one of them.  Experiences takes the place of money; it is more valuable than money for sure because it is something you can not only keep with you always, but you can pass it along in pictures, in stories, and in the recollections of the people with whom you share those experiences.

I have been incredibly lucky, having had some tremendous experiences in my life, traveling the world, seeing amazing and historic baseball games, and celebrating each and every holiday and special occasion with my family and friends.  If you know my family and me, you know that we don’t collect items, we collect friends; friends who become part of our family.  Friends who we share experiences with.  Whether it is getting a group of 30 people together to see my brother’s new movie (go see “Puss In Boots!”) or trips to Las Vegas, or just game nights at home, it is each and every one of those experiences that shape our lives and make them full and enjoyable.

Not to say that my life is complete by any stretch of the imagination.  I still have lots of things to do and experiences to have.  But even if I don’t complete them, I won’t have any regrets.  And I don’t want you to have any regrets either.  Don’t wait until it is too late.  Make the choice to have the experience.  One of the things that we all hear a lot of is that someone will remember an experience for the rest of their lives.  You’re damn right…

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“These, Tom, are the Causeheads. They find a world-threatening issue and stick with it for about a week.”

If there is one thing I learned the other night, it is that the baggage claim at LAX the week of Thanksgiving is like a clown car. The people just never stop coming… which is why I got home so late Sunday night and was unable to prepare my weekly musing to you for the customary early Monday delivery.

Nevertheless, I had great aspirations of providing you with a list of helpful hints to guide you on your future travels, things that I learned during this most recent vacation. Lessons such as:

1)      A Mr. Potato Head in your carry-on does not set off any alarms from the security screeners;

2)      Keep your eyes open always. The more you travel, the more amazing things you will see-like a woman who is the spitting image for Howard the Duck; and

3)      Clouds are beautiful and wonderful to look at-but bouncy to fly through.

Instead, a more serious topic came to light which I felt required some attention and thought. You may disagree with me and I welcome your thoughts on the subject. Being embroiled first hand in a similar incident has put some of this into perspective for me.

I am talking about the recent events at UC Davis and the pepper spraying of the protesters.

Now, I will not comment on whether the actions of the police in question were justified in their tactics. I don’t know all of the facts and would prefer not to take a position based solely on seconds of video images that have permeated the airwaves. But what I will discuss is the effectiveness of the whole idea of protesting. I think that protesting has run its course and has no further business in our society. There, I said it. An attorney sworn to uphold the laws of the Constitution telling you that the fundamental right of assembly guaranteed by the 1st Amendment should be revised to exclude the right to protest.

Back in 1996, while studying at California State University, Northridge, I was actively involved in student government as a Senator. The hot-button ticket for debate was Proposition 209, also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative, and the student government president decided that we as the senate should sponsor a debate to educate the students on this volatile issue. To participate in the debate was David Duke, a Louisiana State Representative and former grand poobah of the Ku Klux Klan.

At the time, I vociferously argued against Duke’s participation in the debate; not because I was against his politics or his views (which I clearly am) but because I believed that Duke’s presence would be a distraction from the actual merits of the issue such that people would resist conceding if he made valid points for fear that they would be branded a racist for agreeing with a known bigot.

My voice was overruled and the debate proceeded as scheduled. After the debate, some of the student government officers holed up in the student government offices because of the protests and demonstrations taking place in the campus. Reinforcements were called and I can recall police on horseback trying to keep the peace. Mind you that when I attended CSUN, I lived no less than 5 minutes from the campus. The riots that had taken place after the Rodney King verdict were still fresh in my mind, and my concern was that similar events would take place in my backyard. While it may have begun as a peaceful demonstration and protest of David Duke’s attendance and participation in the debate, it quickly turned into a powder keg waiting to explode.

We take for granted the right we have to protest actions of which we disapprove. But the methods employed by Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. seem to have fallen by the wayside. Instead we have peaceful protests that become overshadowed by the excitement of “exercising the 1st Amendment right.” What begins as a potentially powerful tool quickly turns into two things: first, an inconvenience to the rest of the population and second, a free for all made up of the poorly informed, not entirely clear as to why they are protesting.

The goals that the protesters are attempting to further get overlooked because of the inconvenience they are creating. When you are trying to get through downtown and protests are taking place, are you really concerned about the issues or are you concerned with getting to your meeting on time? Or, as a student on a campus with protesters, do you care more about whether you can get to your class?

And what may begin as a peaceful demonstration of a handful (or more) of the well-educated and well-meaning protesters becomes a breeding ground for the mob mentality that undermines the importance of the issue being protested. People love a reason to become distracted, so what better way to avoid whatever it is that you need to do, then by joining a protest and marching alongside your brethren to fight for… what was the issue again? How significant does the issue appear to the public when one of the “protesters” is interviewed by the media and comes off as a buffoon because he just happened on the protest that day and joined in?

The idea of a protest just doesn’t seem to have its cache anymore. I am sure that everyone who orchestrated a protest had visions of marching on City Hall or giving a rousing and impactful speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Those types of events just don’t happen anymore and they won’t. Instead protests are a breeding ground for civil unrest and inconvenience to the rest of the general public. They serve no solid purpose anymore.

My advice to all of the people who feel the need to protest-find another way. Write articles, get measures on the ballot, do something else. Because when things go bad (and they frequently do) the you know what hits the fan. And protesters will get no sympathy from me if they are pepper-sprayed or arrested. They bring it upon themselves.

Understand this-I am not saying that what happened at UC Davis was acceptable. But take a quick second to try to remember what they were protesting. Do you fully understand the issues about which they were protesting? Or do you, and the media, instead focus on the actions of the police? With the actions of the police on the UC Davis campus, wasn’t the purpose of the protest defeated because the newsworthiness of the protest was the actions of the police and not the issues the protesters were trying to demonstrate against?

I don’t mean to sound heartless or close-minded. One person can change the world; I truly believe that walking amongst us right now is another Dr. King or Gandhi. But the ways of the past are no longer effective. Find a different way, because instead of causing me to empathize with your plight, I am distracted by the unrest that you cause and constant media attention that is given to the actions of the masses. It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch and when the protest gets out of hand, that leads to many bad apples and not only is the bunch spoiled, the entire harvest is spoiled.

“You have some valid reasons for wanting a divorce.”

I have been giving this a lot of thought and I am still struggling with the recent news of the Kardashian/Humphries divorce.  I know that it’s been two weeks since the news got out, but I am on vacation and actually wrote this article a few days after the news broke. 

Generally, I don’t care much what other people do, so long as it doesn’t impact me directly and doesn’t harm anyone I know.  So if you want to drink until you can barely stand up staright and then wrap your car around a telephone pole, it doesn’t bother me one bit.  But if instead you take out a family of four, then it impacts me greatly and emotionally.

So with the Kardashian news, it boggles my mind why it is affecting me the way it is.  It isn’t impacting my life or the lives of my loved ones at all, so it should just be nothing more than office gossip and no further time should be spent dwelling on it.

But I have been struggling with my feelings on the subject, both as an attorney and as a father of two little girls.  What Kim Kardashian has done is deplorable and despicable and really upsets me.

First, the lawyer part of me.  The courthouse is a terrible place to be.  No one is ever happy being inside its halls for it means that your dispute could not be resolved without assistance of a man or woman in a black robe.  It means that you have spent thousands of dollars that, for all you know, could be for naught.  You have lost control of the situation and have had to resort to professional assistance.  And family court may be the worst because it is in those courtrooms where nothing is sacred; the dirty laundry is aired whenever and however in order to gain leverage on your soon-to-be ex-spouse.

I get it– I am there all the time and I understand it.  In some situations, court is the only option and it has its benefits.  But it also has significant drawbacks and should really not be taken lightly.  And it most definitely is not a game.

The Kardashian divorce after a mere 72 days shows a complete lack of regard for the court system, for the overcrowding in that court system, and the honest and hardworking individuals who every day pay good money for court intervention.  This divorce is nothing more than the game of checkers or Monopoly or Connect 4– wait, even better.  It is nothing more than the game of chess for her.  She is the queen, blockaded by all of her advisors and lackeys and she controls the board and directs the pawns.  The pawns who will have to go to court and undo the marriage and utilize precious court time and resources.  What a waste…

As a father of two girls, I am even more disgusted by what has transpired.  When I heard about the divorce, the first thing that leapt to mind was the question of what her father would say about this if he were still alive.  As you know, her father was a noteworthy attorney, one of OJ’s defenders, and very successful.  But he was still a father of little girls.  I am sure he envisioned a spectacular wedding for his daughter.  White dress, flowers, beautiful locations, surrounded by family and friends.

Kim sure got that, didn’t she?  But I think there is little doubt that she sold her soul for that “fairy-tale” wedding.  Instead of meeting Prince Charming and falling deeply in love, the groom was taken right out of central casting.  She never loved him.  I doubt she even really liked him.  Instead, she liked…

The money.  The attention.  The fame.  The 2-day E! special and the magazine covers and the radio interviews and all of the free crap that she got.  One could certainly say that she was doing nothing other than engaging in the oldest profession.

So what would her father have said?  What would I say if my daughter came to me and said she wanted to get married?  It is a long way away, but I hope that I will be able to give her my blessings, hope for the best, and wish her a lifetime of happiness and love.  I hope, though, that I wouldn’t have to question her motives for the wedding.

But Kim, like all of the celebrities who drink and drive and get arrested, steal from jewelry stores, do drugs, and hit camera people, lives in a different world from you or me.  She lives in a world where this type of behavior is not only acceptable, it is encouraged.  We put these people on pedestals and accept when they don’t act like normal human beings.

You know what?  They are just normal human beings.  We idolize them and give them free passes and laugh about their travails when we would treat our friends and family differently if they had similar disorders. 

Now, you can say, that this is no different than any of the Hollywood weddings that last for six weeks and I would say I agreed.  But for some reason I don’t take as much issue with the 6-week wedding following the Vegas elopment which followed the 24-hour romance as I do with the Kardashian wedding.  Part of the fun of being married is the courtship and the excitement of being in a new relationship.  People run off to Vegas all the time because they are caught up in the moment and for that moment are happier than they have ever been.

This wasn’t that.  This was a full-on orchestrated courtship followed by a long wedding planning process, followed by a multi-million dollar wedding, followed by 72 days of conjecture as to when the wedding would end.  This was nothing more than a sham and a ruse and a hoodwink and a con.

In all fairness, I actually feel sorry for Kim Kardashian.  Instead of looking for happiness, she looked for the buck.   And for some reason I cannot fully comprehend, it just bothers me… 

“James, earn this… earn it.”

This week our nation will be celebrating Veteran’s Day, recognizing and thanking our country’s military. First known as Armistice Day, Veteran’s Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the signing of the armistice ending World War I and was proclaimed by President Wilson on the first anniversary of that famous date of November 11.

As we reflect on the valiant and heroic efforts of the members of our military and publicly thank them for their contributions, I am always struck by one question-what if it were me?

Prior to my generation it seemed like each of the predecessor generations was involved in a conflict that resulted in military service. Starting with the Civil War, even, it seems like every 20-30 years our country has been involved in conflict in which American men and women sacrificed their lives-the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century, the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War (conflict) and the Vietnam War. And being a history student, I could read the writing on the wall and I distinctly recall changing into my gym clothes in the locker room while in 10th grade wondering whether the Persian Gulf War would last long enough and be bloody enough that I would get the call.

Like every other American male, on my 18th birthday I registered with the Selective Service and I carried that card with me everywhere I went until I turned 35… at which point I breathed a long-held sigh of relief. But from the day I turned 18 until January 22, 2011, it was never that far from my mind that I might get the call.

Sure I stayed in school, got a higher degree, got married and had kids, all of which (I believed) would exempt me from service, but I knew that if it got bad enough, I could get the call to serve.

So the question I ask myself-would I have been able to do it? And with Veteran’s Day upon us and a deep and truehearted thank you to all of our veterans, I am again thinking about the call that never came.

Despite being a litigator and a life-long competitor on the ball-field, I have never considered myself a fighter. I have fired a gun a few times, but I prefer to use the guns at the shooting gallery than on the range or, worse yet, on another human being.

I definitely consider myself lucky. I have family members who have served and who continue to serve and I don’t know that I could express to them well enough the level of awesomeness that I feel about what they do and the sacrifice they have made and continue to make.

But I doubt that I could do it myself. Above all else, I value my life and being able to share that life with my family and I would find it very difficult to put that life on the line for anything, let alone my country. Not only to put that life on the line for my country, but, very possibly, put that life on the line for a cause in which I do not believe. A challenge to our way of life and our happiness is one thing. But I doubt that I would have been comfortable traveling tens of thousands of miles away to fight in a jungle, or a desert, or in trenches, simply because my government thinks it is imperative to do so.

Luckily I was not faced with that situation and did not have to look inside myself to find the soldier beneath the scholar. But I would like to think that just because I never lifted a rifle, never dug a trench or fired a missile or took a hill, it doesn’t mean that I have not served my country.

Our country is the best country in the world and it is the greatest not just because of our military who fight so valiantly to preserve that way of life, but because of the honest and hard-working people on the ground every day representing the good that is our way of life. Yes, we can all agree that the sacrifices our soldiers make benefits not just the teachers but the gang-bangers as well; that the freedoms that are being preserved by our military includes the freedom to commit crimes, to steal, to murder, and to terrorize. This doesn’t mean that criminals won’t be punished, just that they can commit these crimes and, sometimes get away with them because our system of justice is imperfect. These are all freedoms that our military protects.

So even though I am not firing a rifle, I feel like I am still fighting for our way of life. I am demonstrating to our military that our way of life is worth fighting for. There is nothing worse than working hard for an outcome that is not appreciated. How would our military feel if their fight were being taken for granted by us? If we were abusing the freedoms that they are ensuring? If we were snubbing our noses at them and acting as if we don’t care about their sacrifice?

Tell me I am wrong, but I feel that the way I live my life, with honesty and self-respect and appreciation for all of the freedoms I have, is just as important as the fight being waged by our soldiers on the front lines. By living a virtuous and honorable life, by teaching my children to respect authority and be good citizens, to respect each other and treat each other with dignity, I believe that my fight is just as important. Because, if we don’t act this way and show our military that their fight is worthwhile, then what are they fighting for?

I guess if the call had come, I would have served and done my duty. This country that has given me and my family so much certainly deserves my gratitude, but I have always struggled with the belief that the only way to make fundamental changes in our society is through bloodshed. However, I have always adopted the tenet that nobody comes onto our field and pushes us around.

A deep and heart-felt thank you to all of our military.