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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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The Search|for Women

Yet another tale revealed in an appellate ruling cries out for a movie version.

I offer you the astonishing story of blues guitarist David "Junior" Kimbrough, as described in a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling, Kimbrough v. Estate of Kimbrough, in which we learn that the man was prolific.

"(O)nly four children currently are contesting the will, which is only a small fraction of the supposed thirty-six children that Contestants allege Johnson was trying to avoid by convincing Kimbrough to leave his estate to Washington alone."

You can see why this guy might be inclined toward the blues.

The story is a mashup of "Bleak House" and "Old Mother Hubbard." The guy died in 1998. We got a ruling in 2014.

And the more you look at it, the more of a tall tale it becomes.

This is from the Fat Possum Records website: "Junior was six years old, and his sister was doing her usual bang-up job of babysitting the day he took a gallon jug of corn off the high shelf. His mother found him in an alcohol-induced coma ..."

This is how legends are born.

And large numbers of children.

Now think about how many more great artists we might have had if not for Social Services.

One of the nice things about social media is that it allows anyone with a social conscience to make a contribution.

You can have an impact on the world even if you're still in your pajamas.

Say you're concerned about the future of the legal profession. (Go ahead - say it.) There are opportunities to do something about it.

I happened upon one just last week. Someone posted this on reddit.com:

"What is studying law really like? I want to study European law school in the Netherlands (Dutch, European and international law) And in England in one year English law (I can do that through the University I want to go) But the stories of people are always that it is boring and stuff like that. What is it really like?"

There was only response when I looked at this, and it ended with: "It's just like college ... you drink a lot, find women, and occasionally make it to class."

Ok, pretty accurate except for the finding women part, for me, anyway - they were really good at hiding from me. I didn't drink either, which may be why the search for women went so badly.

Anyway, you now have a golden opportunity to influence this potential law student and many others like him.

If you think there are too many lawyers in the world, explain how lawyers are sleeping on the sidewalks outside courthouses and wearing cardboard signs at intersections saying "Will sue for food" or "Please hit me so I can get some insurance money."

If you want to encourage idealistic, world-changing lawyers, mention book rights and actors who portray heroes.

If you just want to be helpful, tell them where to find the women (or the men).

Those of you interested in football - there must be some of you out there - should take a look at the ruling from Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board on the unionization request from Northwestern University football players.

It goes on at some length describing what players are required to do if they want to be on the team.

Yeesh!

I don't know about you, but I could barely get out of bed in college (another handicap in the search for women).

And after all of the work and all of that regimentation, almost none of those guys will be able to make a living in the sport.

The fact that this seems bizarre to me is almost certainly a testimony to my lack of physical abilities - but still.

As an intellectual exercise (or just for the heck of it), take out references to football and insert any other profession (e.g. lawyering). Then add in the lack of probable employment afterward.

Would a sane person put up with that?

As a second intellectual exercise, take out references to football and insert a religious or space alien cult. Then it gets scary.

These football players definitely need a union or an intervention. Maybe both.

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