ARE YOU SERIOUS? (#74): That was probably not the right thing to say to the senior partner of the law firm when he told me I was getting a raise from $12,000 to $14,400. A 20% raise may sound adequate, but I had busted my ass and billed $46,000. Admittedly, I had no idea how these things were done, but a 50/50 split sounded fair to me. Even 40% would have been $18,400.
Louie Adcock replied that he was indeed serious, pointing out that a large part of my billing were from a client the firm had given me, the condo docs for the developer. He also tried to soften the blow by explaining that once Twig Sauls and Charles Fisher were paid for their interest in the firm, there would be more money to go around. I knew I hadn’t scored any points with Louie.
Another goof was Spring break. After Willie Nelson’s picnic (The Road to Willie’s Picnic #15), my girlfriend from Ft. Walton Beach brought up marriage one last time, again suggesting she could get a teaching job in Gainesville and help put me through law school. This was a beautiful, wonderful woman, so I of course took the coward’s way out and said that she deserved better and we probably shouldn’t see each any more. The only reason I can bring myself to write about what happened next is because she is happily married, with 3 great children. Our spouses have met when Cathy and I were in Raleigh to get our temporary resident visas and we returned the painting of the banjo player in Preservation Hall (Summer School #65).
There were still two more chances after Willie’s picnic. One involved me leaving for a long weekend to see her. Unfortunately, I left with a landlord/tenant issue I was working on for one of Louie’s clients unresolved. I thought I could finish as soon as I returned, but the client complained and Louie was not happy. If I had to do it all over again, I would still go. But, if I could do it all over again there is a pretty good chance I would have gotten married. It was a bad, sad, weekend, but we survived with the help of a Ragedy Ann doll. I can’t go on.
I even had one more chance. Sally came to PAG while I was living in the Neville house. We talked about marriage again, but I tried to put it off a while. That was my last chance and we never saw each other again until Raleigh. I had thought I never got married because I couldn’t decide which girl to marry. But by then Nancy had met someone else, so there was no choice to make. I just couldn’t step up when it counted.
Remember the Aesop’s Fable about the dog with a bone who sees his reflection in the water? The dog decides he wants the other bone and ends up with nothing. That was me. I can bring this up because I see on Facebook that Nancy has grandchildren and she had met my ex-wife. They had a friend in common and the friend was married on the patio of our house in PAG. Nancy and I had a chance to talk, and she got in a great, well deserved shot!
Back to Fisher & Sauls. When it came time for next review, I didn’t get a raise, I got fired. I wish it had been Louie that gave me the news. It was a little rougher coming from someone closer to my own age, Joel Bronstein. But, I took it like a man, I didn’t cry or bite.
Hey, I was 27 and just getting started. And, as I’ve said, I didn’t really like practicing law. In fact, I didn’t like any kind of practice – I just wanted to get to the real thing.
I filed for unemployment, which upset Louie. I’m sure he thought I’d just get another job. Fisher & Sauls had to bring me back on an hourly basis to finish the set of condo docs I was working on at the time. I was offered a chance to open a St. Pete Beach office for well respected law firm, but I decided to get my real estate license.
While I waiting to get my real estate license, I hung out with a friend from the Northeast Exchange Club, Jeff Boyle. Jeff and I shared two Bucs tickets from opening day until the long, bad years. Jeff was doing real estate appraisals from the Mastry real estate office next to Mastry’s bar in downtown St. Petersburg. Mastry’s had a pool table and great sandwiches. Who could ask for more?
An interesting fact is that Joel Bronstein ended building a house in PAG. I knew from talking to his wife, that she wanted to move to the beach. Joel got a great lot, the last lot on the bayside of PAG before the walkway and piers that run to the point. I believe Vaughn McCarty designed the house, and it is angled so that it had a stunning view out the wide PAG channel.
In doing my research I saw that Louie N. Adcock, Jr. died in 2017. Again, I thank him for taking a chance on a single guy. I learned a lot from him and I was fortunate to have a chance to work with so many great lawyers in a short time. I did work with Louie again when I leased Fisher & Sauls their office space in City Center.
I also saw that Kip Thornton was still with the firm after all these years. I called him Friday and we talked about old times. He still lives in the house I helped him find in PAG. He hopes to retire this year and travel. I told him that I knew Louie must have been so proud of him!
I need to give Doug Williamson a call. He’s my attorney.
A happy ending after all.
