When Did I Become A Cynic?

I realized the other day that I am becoming very cynical in my “old” age. Let me give you a few examples. My favorite t-shirts (so far) read "Let me drop everything and work on your problem." and "Well La-De-Frickin'-Da". Yesterday I read a debtors' pleading which indicated that they had 'misunderstood' what amount of money they were to pay into their bankruptcy plan, and my first reaction was "Yeah, right".

Unfortunately these are not the only indications I have had of my sudden change in outlook. Last week a fax came across my desk from an attorney representing a creditor in a bankruptcy case. All I had to do was look at the attorney’s name, and I immediately began to snarl and think of any way possible that I could make the task he was attempting to accomplish more difficult for him…and I hadn’t even read what it was he wanted yet! This is because this “gentleman” and I had a run-in while I was working as debtor’s counsel. While I can’t go into the details of the situation, I can say that he has made my s@#$ list, and will probably remain there regardless of what he does in the future. What is so shocking about this situation? Well, it’s been about three years since our run-in, and I’ve had no dealings with the man since. How’s that for cynical?

Later that same day, as I was coming back into the office after Court, I walked into the lobby and witnessed a scene straight out of the ‘80’s. In fact, I stopped and looked around at the other people in the lobby and adjacent restaurant to make sure I had not stepped through some sort of time portal. Walking through the lobby toward the bank was a woman who looked like she had just landed from 1988. She was blonde, and sported a very 80’s she-mullet. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, over which she wore a red tank shirt. I really don’t know what the proper name of these shirts are, but they were made like a very low-cut tank top on the top, and then were varying lengths and either went straight down, or had elastic in the waist to make them appear to be a dress with a gathered skirt. (I tried to find a picture of them, but to no avail.) They were meant to be worn over shirts, with big wide or tube belts, and sometimes, if short enough, over leggings or stirrup pants as well. This lady had one of the ones with the elastic waist, but wore no belt at all, and it was very short. It almost looked like a maternity shirt. But there was no way this woman was pregnant, as she was gauntly thin. She wore black leggings, red socks and black dress shoes – flats. She carried with her a silver purse. Now, I realize that leggings, and possibly even the tank shirts/dresses are coming back into style. But the things that really ruined it for this woman were the mullet, the flats and the purse. Later, when thinking about the encounter, I could hardly believe my own reaction. My first thought: “Oooo, she’s cute!” And the second: “At least she’s color-coordinated.” Yikes.

A recent call to our office from a debtor in bankruptcy gave some very keen insight into the ideas this person had about how much control the bankruptcy court really has over the lives of debtors. While it’s not necessarily a stupid question, it certainly does reinforce Heather’s point that common sense is not so common. And you really can’t help but laugh. The caller asked our receptionist “Do I need a Court Order to get married?” While she handled it very tactfully, my first thought was “I don’t know, do you? Is there something internally, mentally or physically, wrong with you that requires a judge to decide whether you are a danger to your fiancé and/or the gene pool?” My second thought was, “Not in this state”, quickly followed up by “Why? How old is she?” See? Definitely getting cynical. Maybe I’ve been working in the bankruptcy field too long…