The “hazy, lazy days of summer” says the song. It is here and it is that. The heat is in the air and in the news. It is news when over a period of days and into weeks; Florida is one of the cooler spots in the country. The heat has brought moans from some friends in Philly about their grass turning brown. The Governor of Pennsylvania on July 20th ordered restrictions on water use due to the drought emergency. Here, on the other hand the lawn, instead of turning brown, I have to hustle to keep up with it. I’m mowing twice a week and it is up to three inches in height, the highest my mower will go. We are without rain though not as badly as drought areas, but with sprinkler system and “reclaimed” water the grass stays green. This is a case where the grass is not greener on the other side of the street or in that some other “distant” place. “Reclaimed” water is a new thing for us. It is apparently fairly new even here in St. Petersburg too, and is not universally found in the surrounding areas. It is sewer water treated sufficiently for use in watering plants and lawns, etc., but not clean enough to drink. It is highly nutritious for the lawn and plants I am told. It is sold at a fix price not according to the usage and is not subject to the restrictions droughts put on sanitized water. But it does result in keeping one busy and up early, since the only time to do such work is at that time. As Noel Coward sang, or said, “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun!” Our “noonday” sun comes in about 8:30AM and sticks around until that time PM. It may be lessened by an occasional shower but usually not by much.
Some time ago my good friend, Bill King, sent me a clipping. It is the shortest book review I think I’ve ever seen. It is, “Presumed Ignorant”: by Leland H. Gregory, III. (Dell, 216 pages, $9.95). “Mr. Gregory maintains that every item in this collection of ludicrous laws and daft decisions is genuine. Individually, the absurdities are amusing. In the aggregate, they indicate that it will not be enough to kill all of the lawyers. Legislators and Judges must also go to the lam post.” “Great short review!” says Mr. King. I agree.
There was republished in 1999 a lawyer book that sold over a million copies in 1943. It is entitled “Yankee Lawyer, The Autobiography of Ephraim Tutt”. But it really is fiction since the lawyer-writer Arthur Train created the lawyer. I remembered Tutt, since his stories that had appeared in the Saturday Evening Post recounting his exploits, were sometimes discussed by Dad at 631 Land Title Building in the sixties. In the forward, to this 1999 edition, the son of the author writes that believe it or not a lawyer sued the publisher for marketing the book as an “autobiography” when it was fiction. He claimed he only read non-fiction books and that he was misled, defrauded and his implied warranty of the book being non-fiction, was violated! As you may have guessed the lawyer doing the suing was a “Philadelphia” lawyer. It must have been the beginning of the use of that term as one equal to a shyster or worse. The publisher won the case hands down. There is no implied warranty in literature. It’s something akin to the old adage, “You can’t tell a book by its cover!”
One of the stories, I recall was that of Tutt being involuntarily made the attorney for a client by a judge right from the Bench. He was appointed with the trial of the matter about to commence. He exams the record and discusses the matter with the client. He, the client, is a “hotheaded but warmhearted Italian workman (who) attacks a man who (had) systematically dishonored his wife.” Tutt is unable to conjure up any defense but he holds the Jury with a multilayered speech that runs down the clock to adjournment. He ruminates by walking to think of a defense, and “after walking all night” ends up resting in a pew in St. Patrick’s (Tutt practiced in New York City). He returns to court, sums-up the best he can, and the jury goes out. It returns with an acquittal! Inquiring later of a lady member of the jury as to how they arrived at the verdict, she says, ‘When Oi stepped into the cathedral on my way down to court this morning and spied you prayin’ there for guidance I knew you wouldn’t be defendin’ him unless he was innocent, and so we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.” This version is the one written in the introduction to this new edition. However, the one I recall hearing, had a much more elaborate buildup and even had Tutt attending “Holy Mass this moning”. ln any case it is a good illustration the nature of the stories found in the book.
The “Philadelphia Lawyer” popped up in another place. The Philadelphia lawyer was Andrew Hamilton, no relation to Alexander. I remember that because the Philadelphia Bar Association had an annual dinner dance to commemorate him, as the “Philadelphia Lawyer”. I had always believed that it had come about because Andrew Hamilton went to Boston to defend the British Captain and his men charged with homicide in the Boston Massacre of 1771. However, while reading about Thomas Jefferson, I saw a statement that said John Adams and his cousin Samuel had successfully defended the Captain. A little research led to find that Andrew Hamilton lived and died before the revolutionary times. He earned for the world the title the “Philadelphia Lawyer” by defending Peter Zenger in New York in 1 73 S. He created the legal doctrine of “truth” as a defense to alleged seditionist or libelous material. The Court did not accept his defense but the jury believed him and Zenger was acquitted. The notorious governor of New York, by the way, whose conduct was the subject of the alleged libel, was William Cosby. I wonder if “Bill Cosby” ever knew he had such a notorious namesake.
Another lawyer, who made an historic ride of 80 miles, can now be found in most American’s pockets. Well, maybe with the ladies it’s in her pocket book. He is Caesar Rodney. He was commemorated with an engraving of him upon his horse on the Quarter, It was issued on December 7,1998. I first heard of him in 1971 when I ventured to Wilmington to run a half of marathon entitled “The Caesar Rodney Half Marathon”. I returned in 1972 and was probably in my best running shape of my life. I wanted to use the run as preparation for Boston one month or so later. It is a very hilly and thus a very tough course. On finishing an old friend and official at the run, Joe Mcilhenny, told me he thought I had won the Master’s award. The master’s award was for the first finisher over 40 years of age. My time was 1 hour and 23 minutes or so. Considering the course it was the best I had ever run and would remain so. However we, Joe and I, later learned that a younger 40 year old, Doc O’Connell from Central jersey Track club, was faster. I was 43 years old at that time, an old 40 year old.
But not until now years later did I learn any more about the honoree of the race, Caesar Rodney. I did know he rode through the night to be in Philadelphia just in time to have Delaware vote in favor of the motion to declare independence. It was on July 2, 1776. He had ridden the entire night and most of that day to make it in time to vote. It broke what would have been a tie in the Delaware delegation and not a vote for independence. The information disseminated when his image was chosen for the first of the Centennial Quarters notes that he did a great deal more. “Caesar Rodney rides through history as not only Delaware’s Hero but a Hero of America and its war of Independence. He held more public offices than any other Delawarean before or since. He was a soldier, judge, delegate to the American Continental Congress, President (Governor) of Delaware, a justice of the state’s Supreme Court, and held many other local offices.”
His ride was not as celebrated as Paul Revere’s. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made sure of that. Another ride that goes uncelebrated was one by a militiaman Jack Jouett. He rode forty miles through the Virginia wilderness all night June 2, 1781 to arrive at Monticello in time to warn Jefferson that British troops were heading his way to capture him. His uncelebrated ride at least accomplished its mission while Revere partially failed since he was captured by a British patrol. He, Revere, was sent by a Sons of Liberty officer to go and warn Samuel Adams and others, which is not the way Longfellow portrayed the episode. But then Longfellow had Poetic license.
August is a month of celebration in this clan.
*Birthdays of Mary McSorley Yake (5), Mary MacDonald (6), Dan McSorley (?), Denise Bugey (7), Bryan MacDonald (11), Paul Leo Jr.(16), Sr. Mary McSorley (19) and Paul Berger (31) and our 18th Anniversary (l5) to just name a few. We wish you all Happy Birthdays and will add a note hopefully to each.