For the first time since our children have been born, their mother is away from home for two weeks. I went to the National Criminal Defense College once for two weeks, but that wasn’t the same. When the heart and soul of your home is suddenly gone, you cannot help but to feel the pain. The best part about this column is that by the time most of you read it, Judge James will either be home or well on her way back to Arkansas.
When Patti was elected, we knew she was going to have to attend the Judicial College in Reno, Nev. As with many things in life, my worry about what was to come was minimal since it seemed so far away. The truth be known though, I was worried about this two weeks from the very first time it came up in conversation. I play an important part in the James family, but running the house is secondary to my responsibilities. In other words, I like to think I’m a strong spoke, and Patti is the hub that’s necessary for everything to work properly.
aat the back of the line when it came to getting Patti’s attention. Not because it’s true, but because she also had to share her attention with the children. I went from being the only child to one of four. We all know that the oldest child is the one that’s supposed to be able to take care of himself and, therefore, is not always able to be the center of attention like he was in the good old days.
Children’s needs aside, I was the only one that got to go to Reno for the weekend to see Patti. I flew out Thursday night and came home Sunday morning. If you count the McDonald’s I picked up on the way back from the airport, I ate only five meals with her. Patti had a half of day of class on Friday, so I really got to spend only a day and a half with her. We’ve been so busy since the election that the short period was still some of the best “quality time” we have spent together in all of 2013.
We got up Saturday morning and decided to drive around Lake Tahoe. Did you know there’s not actually a town called Lake Tahoe? However, there is a town called South Lake Tahoe. Anyway, it was beautiful scenery and a great way to spend the day. The best part of the trip might have been a wrong turn we took toward Sacramento. We drove about 30 miles west when we should have turned north. I was navigating. Our unintended detour provided us with more beautiful scenery and a great lunch. We stopped at a little “hole in the wall” resort and restaurant, and had lunch on their back deck overlooking a swift stream fed by the melting snow from the mountains above.
While in Reno, I played Black Jack for an hour before we ate Saturday night. At one point, I was down about $100. When it came time to eat, I was up 50 cents. As I left for dinner, I generously gave the half dollar to the dealer and left the table even. That was the extent of the gambling I did while I was in Nevada.
I had to get up Sunday morning at 4 a.m. to catch my plane. Telling Patti goodbye was hard. I wished I could have stayed or taken her home with me. I had to remind myself that she would be home Friday. As I rode in the shuttle to the airport Sunday morning, I thought about how hard it would be to keep the lights on at the casinos if everyone left the tables even. Then, I thought about Patti back at the hotel sleeping. I’ll be able to keep the house running for the next week, but if I had to do it alone much longer, we’d be in trouble.
In the same way that money is the lifeblood for a casino, Patti is the lifeblood of our home. Without her, I’d be living in darkness. Living in the sun is better, especially for those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Arkansas. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com