Hamilton Herald Masthead

Editorial


Front Page - Friday, April 27, 2012

View from the Cheap Seats


Oops! I did it again



I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I should write about from week to week. That is, sometimes I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I should write about. I would place this past week somewhere in the middle. I gave it some thought, but I did not obsess about it.

The week in news seemed to center on the changing direction of the presidential campaign. Instead of one side shooting itself in the foot while the other watched and egged them on, the respective sides have been trying out what will surely be the early themes in this year’s presidential campaign. At this time, I have nothing else to say on the matter, so not a good topic.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the fiasco that had arisen in Fayetteville when the beloved football coach took a young friend on a motorcycle ride and claims he ran off the road. Ultimately, he was caught in a web of lies and personal conflict and fired. My column that week was untimely since my ponderings of what might ultimately happen were not relevant because he was fired the day I sent my column in. I hate it when that happens. Nothing new in the last week, other than the girl at the center of it all reached some type of agreement with the university that netted her less money than she received from the coach for Christmas.

This week, the Secret Service was punched in the face by a prostitute that apparently did not get her money for services rendered. The facts are a little unclear, but apparently, the matter was a simple breach of contract dispute that could have easily been solved by a first semester law student or a 15-year -old boy that realized the value of staying out of trouble. Not that what they were doing was commendable, but it is legal in certain places. How stupid not to pay what is owed. How far this scandal goes is hard to say. Wherever it goes, it will be more to talk about another day.

My oldest went to his senior prom this week, and we attended the football banquet for the year. Two more events marking and reminding us of the fact that our baby is now a man. I have heard no stories from prom that cause me any alarm or seem to merit mention here in this column. William indicated that everything was great. That made me think back on my Senior Prom, and as I recall it, that is exactly the way I described mine. I guess I will never know what really happened.

Now that this column is done, I will start to think about next week’s subject matter. I leave for Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday for a seminar, so I should be inundated with pithy topics to amaze you with next week. I apologize for nothing to say this week; sometimes sorry is all you can say. That is especially true 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

EDITOR’S NOTE: John L. Smith was introduced as the new head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks after this column was submitted.