Sunday, January 21, 2007
My Philadelphia Story
I have a good (but small) friend who loves the animated series Avatar, which appears to be about a kid named Ang who has an arrow shaved on top of his head. Ang is on a great search of some kind, and is helped by an older mentor in the course of this search. As much as anything, Avatar tells the story of the relationship between the boy and the mentor, a theme that is very popular in modern entertainment—as in Star Wars, Eragon, and Harry Potter.
Somehow, though, we don’t focus much on real mentors in our own lives. When I talk about mentors, I mean those who taught us something important as part of a personal relationship, something that was within their realm of knowledge and not ours, and who taught within a relationship of trust and friendship. In my life up to age forty, I have had at least six important mentors, men who have played a large role in shaping who I am. I still have mentors, of course; Bob Darden, Randall O’Brien, and Hulitt Gloer come to mind as those I rely on to teach me things they have already mastered.
Today I’m in Philadelphia, for a few reasons. First, on Tuesday the Third Circuit will hear the Ricks case, the latest of several cases involving sentencing issues I have long worked on, in part by representing amici in five federal circuits. Second, and perhaps more importantly, I am here to see Judge Jan DuBois of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who is one of those six mentors. In the paragraphs that follow, I will describe each of them.
Millard Benjamin Hodges
My maternal grandfather taught me responsibility for my actions, and the role of a man within a community. From him, I learned that if there is a problem within the community, the thing to do is to solve it rather than complain, or to worry, or to blame. He also taught me how to type, how to remove a fishhook from a hand, how to navigate in the woods, and how to cut a board. Fortunately, his example was continued by his daughter.
John Shipman Osler, Jr.
My father taught me to see beauty in the world, and appreciate the whole of God’s creation, and no ability has brought me more joy than that. In a world of hard hearts where so much is about self and so little about true appreciation, he continues to embody the virtue of seeing with passion and love.
IPLawGuy
You may wonder what a guy who is known here as driving the car with the keg-dancer on the hood might have mentored me on, but that is pretty much the heart of it. When I was a freshman at William & Mary, he was a senior, and taught me the value of friendships among men. He also taught me how to drive a car with a guy on the hood dancing with a keg over his head.
Prof. Daniel Freed
If my grandfather showed me the way to try to fix a problem, Prof. Freed showed me the problem I might try to fix. He taught me sentencing at Yale Law School, and in so doing taught me to include in my legal thought deep concern for those affected by the law. It was in his class and in his office that I became so convinced that sentencing matters.
Judge Jan E. Dubois
I spent a year clerking for Judge Dubois, the best year of learning I ever had. He expected a lot, including that I would be there working with him on many Saturdays, and that if we disagreed that I would express my view with both gusto and substantiation. If I could recreate some of those discussions for class, I would! His impression on me as a lawyer was profound, but above else I was left with the core belief that intellectual integrity is what gives a lawyer credibility, point by point by point.
Bill Underwood
It was Bill who recruited me to Baylor Law, and who showed me what could be possible as a teacher and lawyer. He encouraged me at every turn, and helped fend off the wolves when they appeared. What some might see in him as restlessness is really something very different. The restless person wants to change themselves, their surroundings, their jobs. Bill, really, is motivated by something else, which I saw in my grandfather as well—the desire to solve problems within a community, even when there is a personal cost.
Who were your mentors? It’s a long post, so long comments are ok.
Somehow, though, we don’t focus much on real mentors in our own lives. When I talk about mentors, I mean those who taught us something important as part of a personal relationship, something that was within their realm of knowledge and not ours, and who taught within a relationship of trust and friendship. In my life up to age forty, I have had at least six important mentors, men who have played a large role in shaping who I am. I still have mentors, of course; Bob Darden, Randall O’Brien, and Hulitt Gloer come to mind as those I rely on to teach me things they have already mastered.
Today I’m in Philadelphia, for a few reasons. First, on Tuesday the Third Circuit will hear the Ricks case, the latest of several cases involving sentencing issues I have long worked on, in part by representing amici in five federal circuits. Second, and perhaps more importantly, I am here to see Judge Jan DuBois of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who is one of those six mentors. In the paragraphs that follow, I will describe each of them.
Millard Benjamin Hodges
My maternal grandfather taught me responsibility for my actions, and the role of a man within a community. From him, I learned that if there is a problem within the community, the thing to do is to solve it rather than complain, or to worry, or to blame. He also taught me how to type, how to remove a fishhook from a hand, how to navigate in the woods, and how to cut a board. Fortunately, his example was continued by his daughter.
John Shipman Osler, Jr.
My father taught me to see beauty in the world, and appreciate the whole of God’s creation, and no ability has brought me more joy than that. In a world of hard hearts where so much is about self and so little about true appreciation, he continues to embody the virtue of seeing with passion and love.
IPLawGuy
You may wonder what a guy who is known here as driving the car with the keg-dancer on the hood might have mentored me on, but that is pretty much the heart of it. When I was a freshman at William & Mary, he was a senior, and taught me the value of friendships among men. He also taught me how to drive a car with a guy on the hood dancing with a keg over his head.
Prof. Daniel Freed
If my grandfather showed me the way to try to fix a problem, Prof. Freed showed me the problem I might try to fix. He taught me sentencing at Yale Law School, and in so doing taught me to include in my legal thought deep concern for those affected by the law. It was in his class and in his office that I became so convinced that sentencing matters.
Judge Jan E. Dubois
I spent a year clerking for Judge Dubois, the best year of learning I ever had. He expected a lot, including that I would be there working with him on many Saturdays, and that if we disagreed that I would express my view with both gusto and substantiation. If I could recreate some of those discussions for class, I would! His impression on me as a lawyer was profound, but above else I was left with the core belief that intellectual integrity is what gives a lawyer credibility, point by point by point.
Bill Underwood
It was Bill who recruited me to Baylor Law, and who showed me what could be possible as a teacher and lawyer. He encouraged me at every turn, and helped fend off the wolves when they appeared. What some might see in him as restlessness is really something very different. The restless person wants to change themselves, their surroundings, their jobs. Bill, really, is motivated by something else, which I saw in my grandfather as well—the desire to solve problems within a community, even when there is a personal cost.
Who were your mentors? It’s a long post, so long comments are ok.
Comments:
<< Home
No, no. What I taught you was to get SOMEONE ELSE to drive the car with the guy dancing on the hood. Geez. Me, I took the photos.
The quality I saw in 1981 that I still admire is the ability to mix in and lead very different groups of people ranging from foolish fraternity boys, radio station stoners, and socially inept college boys trying to find their way in the world
The quality I saw in 1981 that I still admire is the ability to mix in and lead very different groups of people ranging from foolish fraternity boys, radio station stoners, and socially inept college boys trying to find their way in the world
# posted by 
: 4:26 PM
: 4:26 PM
My grandfather, Denver Stokes.
The man only had a second grade education, but he said something to me when I was 10 that stuck with me, and ultimately made me who I am.
I had just been in a fight, which was pretty much par for the course for me. My grandpa asked me why, and I didn't have a good reason.
That's when he told me that when it comes to it, a man must stand his ground. But then he went on to explain that "standing your ground" means you don't back down, but it also means you don't move forward to take another man's ground.
It's simple logic, but it's shaped who I am.
The man only had a second grade education, but he said something to me when I was 10 that stuck with me, and ultimately made me who I am.
I had just been in a fight, which was pretty much par for the course for me. My grandpa asked me why, and I didn't have a good reason.
That's when he told me that when it comes to it, a man must stand his ground. But then he went on to explain that "standing your ground" means you don't back down, but it also means you don't move forward to take another man's ground.
It's simple logic, but it's shaped who I am.
Vernon Pankratz
My dad taught me to work hard. I still can't keep up with him, even though he's 67 years old. He worked long hours as a farmer to make sure my mother could stay home and care for my siblings and me.
Diane Furner Pankratz
Mothering eleven children does a lot to a woman. "Refined by fire" describes her well. Mom taught me how to love. And her bedtime stories from the scriptures gave me a love for the Gospel.
Misty Berry Pankratz
Yes, my wife. Few people have the ability to make me want to be a better man. Her patience with me has been saintly, and she has helped me learn to control my temper more than anyone.
Richard Harrison
He coached me during my entire high school football career. He had a way of setting goals for me that I thought were too high, but he did it in a way that made me believe I could achieve them. And in addition to being my coach, he became a great friend after my senior season.
My dad taught me to work hard. I still can't keep up with him, even though he's 67 years old. He worked long hours as a farmer to make sure my mother could stay home and care for my siblings and me.
Diane Furner Pankratz
Mothering eleven children does a lot to a woman. "Refined by fire" describes her well. Mom taught me how to love. And her bedtime stories from the scriptures gave me a love for the Gospel.
Misty Berry Pankratz
Yes, my wife. Few people have the ability to make me want to be a better man. Her patience with me has been saintly, and she has helped me learn to control my temper more than anyone.
Richard Harrison
He coached me during my entire high school football career. He had a way of setting goals for me that I thought were too high, but he did it in a way that made me believe I could achieve them. And in addition to being my coach, he became a great friend after my senior season.
# posted by : 6:21 PM
: 6:21 PM
Dude, your grandparents lived in Bellingham?
Renton here, but I hated it. I was definitely in a tourist trap, post-tourist-invasion. I wouldn't wish that on Bellingham, personally.
One of my mentors was probably Kelly West--my high school English teacher in Renton's "Fairhood." She taught me to look at things with an open mind and that being quirky was good, not something to hide like the rest of high school wants you to believe.
I'd have to think on the others, though. My life's a little short to know those off the top of my head already.
Renton here, but I hated it. I was definitely in a tourist trap, post-tourist-invasion. I wouldn't wish that on Bellingham, personally.
One of my mentors was probably Kelly West--my high school English teacher in Renton's "Fairhood." She taught me to look at things with an open mind and that being quirky was good, not something to hide like the rest of high school wants you to believe.
I'd have to think on the others, though. My life's a little short to know those off the top of my head already.
No, no! I taught you to get someone else to drive the car while the drunken fat guy dances on the hood with a keg. I wasn't driving, I took the photos.
What I saw in '81 was someone who could deal with and lead fatuous fraternity boys, stoned and/or twisted radio station social outcasts and/or college guys just trying to figure out who the were, including me.
What I saw in '81 was someone who could deal with and lead fatuous fraternity boys, stoned and/or twisted radio station social outcasts and/or college guys just trying to figure out who the were, including me.
# posted by : 9:48 PM
: 9:48 PM
A couple of people come to mind:
William Henry Cruise--grandfather, hardworker, gentleperson. He really knew how to live life and enjoy every minute of it. Not much of a cynic or pessimist though.
Professor "Red" Norton: Taught me a lot of Spanish, gave me a sense of adventure, then made me go. He called his telephone Beelzabub. I think he had something there.
Father Raymond Sullivant, SJ. Ours was a stormy relationship, but he taught me about leadership and being mentally tough. He landed at Utah Beach on D-Day as an 18 year-old Marine. 'Nough said.
Professor Tony Zahareus, a Greek who gave me many gifts, one of which was the love of Medieval literature, which is no small gift. I'll never be able to thank him enough. He came to my qualifying exams all drugged up on chemotherapy for the cancer with which he had recently been diagnosed. You talk about tough. He beat the cancer.
Julio Jiménez, a Baylor professor recently retired and moved to Florida. He loves to talk and drink coffee. I miss him every day.
William Henry Cruise--grandfather, hardworker, gentleperson. He really knew how to live life and enjoy every minute of it. Not much of a cynic or pessimist though.
Professor "Red" Norton: Taught me a lot of Spanish, gave me a sense of adventure, then made me go. He called his telephone Beelzabub. I think he had something there.
Father Raymond Sullivant, SJ. Ours was a stormy relationship, but he taught me about leadership and being mentally tough. He landed at Utah Beach on D-Day as an 18 year-old Marine. 'Nough said.
Professor Tony Zahareus, a Greek who gave me many gifts, one of which was the love of Medieval literature, which is no small gift. I'll never be able to thank him enough. He came to my qualifying exams all drugged up on chemotherapy for the cancer with which he had recently been diagnosed. You talk about tough. He beat the cancer.
Julio Jiménez, a Baylor professor recently retired and moved to Florida. He loves to talk and drink coffee. I miss him every day.
# posted by : 11:52 PM
: 11:52 PM
That is easy.
Momma Rueda, she is the best person I have ever met in my entire life. One hug from her, and all the bad that is in the world seems to go away, at least for a while. She is smart, modest, caring, loving, hard-working, encouraging, spiritual, strict, patient, understanding and so much more. I feel like I won the lottery having her as my mom. And she doesn't even read this blog, or use the internet, so this isn't just to make her feel good either.
Momma Rueda, she is the best person I have ever met in my entire life. One hug from her, and all the bad that is in the world seems to go away, at least for a while. She is smart, modest, caring, loving, hard-working, encouraging, spiritual, strict, patient, understanding and so much more. I feel like I won the lottery having her as my mom. And she doesn't even read this blog, or use the internet, so this isn't just to make her feel good either.
# posted by : 10:55 PM
: 10:55 PM
I'm not sure if you are aware, but your maternal grandfather, Millard Benjamin Hodges, wrote a book about his life called The Recollections of an Octogenarian of the Twentieth Century. It looks like a self published book which was produced in 1990 and looks very interesting. He combines his family story together with the current events of the times and throws a bit of genealogy in with it as well. You should be very proud as not many people take the time now a days to write down the story of their life.
Post a Comment
# posted by : 3:59 PM
: 3:59 PM << Home
