5 minute read
Well Read
WELL READ By: Dacey Romberg
UCOR, Associate General Counsel
I have always loved reading, but I have usually done so in a haphazard manner, reading whatever book I found at the library (Yes, I still get paper books from the library. I love the crinkle of the plastic bindings) with no theme or coherent category that would provide an answer to the oft-repeated question, “What do you like to read?” The chaos of last year changed that though. I heard a podcaster say that it felt like a decade’s worth of news occurred every day in 1968. This precisely echoed my feelings towards the present times. Every day in 2020 felt like a seismic shift, and you never knew what was coming next. So I decided that learning more about history, particularly turbulent times, might give me some perspective.
One way to learn about history is by reading the stories of those who shaped it. Thus, I turned to Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st -Century Memoir by Madeleine Albright. Most famously, Albright was America’s first female Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001, but she also served on the National Security Council, taught at Georgetown University, served as ambassador to the United Nations, worked on Capitol Hill, and has written numerous books. Hell and Other Destinations details her life and work after leaving government, what she dubs her “afterlife.”
I was surprised by how funny and self-deprecating Albright is. Early in the book she tells of being searched at an airport. She asked, “Do you know who I am?” and the unaware TSA agent, assuming she was your average older traveler, responded, “No, but we have doctors who can help you figure that out.”
In addition to her humor, the book is rife with surprising facts. For instance, she interviewed John F. Kennedy for her college newspaper. In the early 2000s, she could leg-press 400 pounds or, as she describes it, “roughly twice the weight of a female giant panda.” She tells Dr. Seuss’s origin story and its connection to her family. She also discusses her role on television shows like Madam Secretary and Parks and Recreation.
She shares the wisdom she has gained through her myriad public and private roles. For management-level attorneys, she shares her opinion that a good corporate environment requires ethics training, a zero-tolerance approach to harassment, participation in community service projects, and good tech people.
For new attorneys or attorneys looking to make a career change, she shares this insightful reflection on how careers progress: It is rare that we move from one step to the next in a logical progression. More often, like a small child crossing a wide stream, we launch ourselves from stone to stone, every leap bringing us closer to some destinations and father away from others—but without a clear view of where our ultimate landing spot might be. Instead, we prepare for the next jump, then the one after that, until after a lifetime of motion is past, we are startled, at least a little, by where we are and by what we have become.
For female attorneys and those who mentor female attorneys, she describes her time as a professor encouraging women to be more confident in their opinions. She notes how a woman is “far likelier than a man to apologize for interrupting, worry that she is repeating arguments already made, or conclude her comments with the verbal equivalent of a question mark.” These are all practices that frequently go unquestioned but may be a setback for female attorneys.
Albright’s life path and stories reveal her desire to be continuously learning. Many of us in the legal field share that same passion. If you count yourself a lifelong learner, I suggest you read this book. I guarantee you will learn something new and maybe even laugh a time or two.
BOAT BUILDERS, continued
7 Warbirds Resource Group, supra n. 6; see also Find a Grave, Sgt. Jack Wayne “Jackie” Troglen, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78866865/jack-waynetrogl, last visited Aug. 9, 2021. 8 Warbirds Resource Group, supra n. 6. 9 Sparta, Tennessee, History, http://bluegrasstn.com/history, last visited Aug. 9, 2021. 10 Sgt. Jack Wayne “Jackie” Troglen, supra n. 7. 11 Find a Grave, Sgt. Jack Wayne “Jackie” Troglen, https://www.findagrave.com/ memorial/78866865/jack-wayne-trogl, last visited Aug. 9, 2021. 12 John Lowery, Evolution of the Air Force’s AC-130 Gunship, Aviation History (Sept. 2020), available at https://www.historynet.com/evolution-of-the-air-forces-ac-130gunship.htm. 13 Warbirds Resource Group, supra n. 6; see also Final Mission of Ssgt. Cecil F. Taylor, supra n. 6. 14 Final Mission of Ssgt. Cecil F. Taylor, supra n. 6. 15 Id. 16 Id. 17 Id. 18 Find a Grave, SSGT Cecil Franklin Taylor, https://www.findagrave.com/ memorial/128646809/cecil-franklin-taylor, last visited August 9, 2021. 19 Id. 20 20 Id. 21 Sgt. Jack Wayne “Jackie” Troglen, supra n. 7. 22 Final Mission of Ssgt. Cecil F. Taylor, supra n. 6. 23 Warbirds Resource Group, supra n. 6. 24 Id. 25 Chris Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses: United States Air Force, Navy & Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961-1973, 268 (Midland, United Kingdom). 26 David Roza, No Enemy has Downed an Air Force AC-130 Gunship in 30 Years. Here’s Why, Task & Purpose (Feb. 5, 2021), www.taskandpurpose.com/history/airforce-ac-130-gunship-crash-desert-storm-spirit-03, last visited Aug. 9, 2021. 27 Id. 28 Id. 29 Id. 30 Id. 31 Id.
Photo Ops Photo Ops
Barristers Summer Party Fiesta on Central a Big Success!
The rain cleared and the temperature cooled off to provide the perfect setting for the Knoxville Barristers Summer Party on July 30. The event was held at The Central Collective and was coordinated by Barristers Membership Committee Co-Chairs Katie O’Neal and Matthew McClanahan. More than 60 KBA members and their guests enjoyed gathering together. A photo booth was provided by LeeHaw.
