Random Thoughts

Every now and then, I have no real topic or focus, and I just want to express a few random thoughts about the events of the day. So here goes:

I survived my first day of teaching. No interesting spills or mishaps like my first trial a few weeks ago, but actually rather uneventful. I like my students, the facilities are nice, and I think everyone else enjoyed the first day. But, now comes the hard part--making sure people actually learn something.

My style is not to lecture, but to discuss. I want to encourage my students to complete the reading assignments on their time, and to discuss what they have read in class. I will ask open-ended hypothetical questions, and I will allow the class to flow from that point. I hope it works because I will be evaluated mid-April by my mentor who seems hyper in every way (hyper-active and hyper-organized). She might decide that my classroom technique is lazy, or worse that I am unprepared.

We shall see. In the meantime, Johnnie Cochran passed away yesterday from a brain tumor. My mother told me, and it was as if she knew him personally in the way she relayed the news. A few weeks or maybe a month or so ago, she mentioned to me that he was ill. Again, she said it like she was telling me about a neighbor or an old friend of hers.

And in a way, since Johnnie Cochran had become so much of a household name in the past ten years, I think many of us felt like we knew him. I watched a tribute to him on the Today show during which they replayed an interview he had given Katie Couric a while ago. In it, he mentioned how people would tell police officers that they would sic him on them if they mistreated them, to which one officer said, oh really, tell my father that I said hello (his son is an officer with the LAPD). He was like that member of the family that we all talk abut, but don't really know personally.

I met him ten years ago in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. It was the morning before the Zulu parade, and we spotted his electric blue jacket in a crowd. I was with two of my classmates from law school, and after we hastily parked the car, we dashed off to catch him just to say hello. He was very nice (even though we almost tackled him), and I recall that he did offer us some words of wisdom. Too bad, I can't remember what they were. Anyway, rest in peace, Mr. Cochran.

In other news, the Pope is now on a feeding tube and Terri Schiavo is still alive without food or water. I am beginning to think that she is a miracle. She received Holy Communion on Easter Sunday, and I bet that is why she is still with us. In spite of the fact that her parents have lost every legal argument that they've attempted since the tube was removed over a week ago, she is still alive. Amazing!

Now things are really going to become complicated. Jesse Jackson flew into town and arrived yesterday to offer prayer to her parents. He is on the side of keeping her alive, which should add another layer of drama to all of this when she finally does pass on. You can always count on Jesse to make life more interesting.

But back to the Pope and our other public death watch. Now that he is on a feeding tube, I wonder how long the Church can continue to delay the selection process for a new pope. Not that it matters to me anyway since I am not a Catholic, but it seems that if he is that bad off, the end must be near. I figure that the Church is similar to the US government, which cannot go more than a few minutes without a clear figurehead.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles will be married in a little more than a week, and it seems that she will get to be queen after all. Apparently, no one realized that British law would make her queen by default, despite all efforts to keep her from taking the title. And again, why am I so fascinated by all of this? No clue...my real life just isn't that interesting, I guess.

It looks to me that Charles is about to take a dive either way. Methinks one of two outcomes will prevent his ascension to the throne. Option A: his mother outlives him in some bizarre twist and Diana's son will become King. After all, his grandmother lived to be 100, and he is already close 60! Male royals just don't live as long as the female ones do in England (must be something in the tea). Option B: The people will force him to abdicate in much the same way his great uncle did for Wallis Simpson. Or maybe they will get rid of the monarchy altogether, just when it is his time.

Anyway, that's all for now. Ciao!