Opportunities in life are wondrous things. When you are young, opportunities can feel overwhelming: where to live, what career to choose, and what job to take or quit are just a few of the choices that life presents. One of the benefits of aging is that life’s opportunities can now be assessed from a point of view that includes the wisdom acquired through years of living. And with that, one can view the opportunities from a new and different perspective.
We have a dual theme for this issue that encompasses this idea in all its glory: “in with the new” and “the wisdom of the aged.” And we have a nice selection of articles in this issue addressing these themes.
Gary Muldoon writes about being a septuagenarian and taking an opportunity to run for judge—and the challenges that arise after winning—in “The Almost Last Hurrah.”
Jeanette Wright uses skills acquired from almost four and a half decades of practicing law to commune with a squirrel in her backyard in “Nuts about Retirement.”
Steve Peskind tells how the wisdom of the aged has been around for ages in “A Stoic Looks at Aging.”
Rod Kubat explores a common misconception that young lawyers often have in “The Wisdom of Becoming Dispensable.”
Gerald Todaro discusses the wisdom and insight gained in “The Fallacy of the Rear View Mirror.”
Jeffrey Allen describes his mindset, habits, and upcoming expectations as an early adapter of technology in “Life at the Bleeding Edge.”
Gray Robinson writes that music has always been helpful in “hearing” the wisdom around us in “Music’s Effect on Cognitive and Mental Health.”
In our Tech column, Jeffrey Allen and Ashley Hallene explore the world of seniors who have become online influencers in “The Rise of Granfluencers: Harnessing Social Media Influence for Lawyers.”
In his On Second Thoughts column, Stephen Terrell writes about returning to his pre-attorney career as a journalist and taking that opportunity to research, write, and get published a book about a true crime that happened in his own family history in “Revisiting Murder in the Family Tree.”
Norm Tabler recounts the new perspective he gained on the relationship between lawyer and client when, after spending years in a law firm, he switched to in-house counsel and saw the lawyer/client world from a new perspective in “Reflections.”
David Zachary Kaufman imparts the wisdom he has learned to his granddaughter as she starts college in “Letter to my Granddaughter.”
Michael Richmond and Stanley P. Jaskiewicz provide a playlist for this issue related to our themes of “in with the new” and “wisdom of the ages.” It is very listenable. And if you have any suggestions or additions to the playlist, email them to me at [email protected]. Checkout the upcoming issues of Voice of Experience, the monthly electronic newsletter of the Senior Lawyer Division, for those additions suggested by you, our readers.
Finally, with this issue I would like to welcome our new editor, Sydney Davis. I am sure Experience will benefit from her (new) perspective and wisdom.
I hope you take the opportunity to enjoy this issue of Experience.
Onward!
