Departure memo

From Wiki Gonzalez

When UCCF departed his lawfirm job on February 15, 2005, he left behind only the product of his wistfulness and this testimonial to what the job meant to him:

Why no end this absurdity? Why go through with this hollow charade called life? Why, except that somewhere within us a voice says, ‘Live.’ Always, from some inner region, we heard the command, ‘Keep living.’ Cloquet recognized the voice; it was his insurance salesman. Naturally, he thought – Fishbein doesn’t want to pay off.

-- Woody Allen, The Condemned

It’s a trap!

-- Admiral Ackbar (of counsel)

When I was a medical student, a very wise resident at a VA hospital once told me that, in whatever you do, you must always remember that life is a river. When you find yourself in the middle, stuck in a small boat with nothing but a couple of oars and a cooler full of beer, you have but two choices: (1) sit back, get drunk, and let the current carry you where you are going; or (2) paddle like hell toward something else. The choice depends entirely upon where you think the river is taking you.

Last fall, I realized that my river was taking me toward a life that not even an insurance salesman would want to save. This is no reflection upon those who have made the practice of corporate law (or whatever else it is we do here) their chosen profession. There are companies, and those companies will need lawyers, for right or for wrong. It’s a dirty job, &c.

To remain at a job for which I lack any real passion is to do a disservice to the corporate clients (who I’ve grown to hate with a fury heretofore reserved in my life for Steve Garvey, organized religion, and people who drive in the left lane even though it’s plainly obvious they’ve never passed anyone in their entire lives), people at the firm (who I’d not grown to hate – yet), and, most importantly, me. And to do a job that I hate just for the money would make me a *fill in your own blank*.

So, paddling like hell, I’m off to the wilds of Maine. I can be reached by e-mail at optionj@gmail.com. For some, late at night I’ll dredge up wistful memories. For others, the less said the better. For all, good luck. If you find your canoe heading up the Penobscot River, look me up.