So its been a while since I've blogged. Let's just say there has been a bit that has happened, and I would normally blog this on my dot.com web site, but I'm in the process of redesigning that.

I finished my first year of law school. Well, I'm not sure "finished" would be appropriate, since finishing typically means moving on to the next step. I won't be.

For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to bother me though. I mean, I do want to finish law school, and I do want to get my J.D. Don't get it twisted, I'm not giving up. But frankly, I wasn't happy at the school I went to. No matter what you may think, the way you feel about your school matters. I didn't like the school, it was not my intention to go to that school, so frankly I can care less if I stay or not. What I will do however is finish at a different school, a school that I want to attend, in a place I want to be at, so I can be happy. I mean, is that really too much to ask?

I really won't find out until later this month if I can continue. But, like I said, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't. That really sounds sad though.

So its been a while since I've blogged. Let's just say there has been a bit that has happened, and I would normally blog this on my dot.com web site, but I'm in the process of redesigning that.

I finished my first year of law school. Well, I'm not sure "finished" would be appropriate, since finishing typically means moving on to the next step. I won't be.

For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to bother me though. I mean, I do want to finish law school, and I do want to get my J.D. Don't get it twisted, I'm not giving up. But frankly, I wasn't happy at the school I went to. No matter what you may think, the way you feel about your school matters. I didn't like the school, it was not my intention to go to that school, so frankly I can care less if I stay or not. What I will do however is finish at a different school, a school that I want to attend, in a place I want to be at, so I can be happy. I mean, is that really too much to ask?

I really won't find out until later this month if I can continue. But, like I said, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't. That really sounds sad though.

"... The Commandant of the Marine Corps, and a Grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for [your loved one's] service to Country and Corps."

I have only had to say those words three times while I've been a Marine. It was never easy, but I hear that after a while you just become numb to it.

Instead of doing my homework, I sat here watching the HBO movie, Taking Chance. The story is about a Marine Lieutenant Colonel who volunteered to be an escort for a fallen Angel from the Dover Mortuary to his home town. It is a different "war movie" that the majority of us are used to. We all see and hear about the fierce fire fights that the American military is sometimes involved in, the IED/VBIED attacks that injure, cripple, and kill Americans in combat, but we don't hear about the rest. While in Iraq, I experienced first hand what happens from the battlefield until that C-130 takes off from the tarmac. I knew of the process which took them home. Taking Chance showed m the rest.

I'll admit, during various parts of the film I teared up. It reminded me of the one family I was asked to escort when they opted to bury their son at Arlington National Cemetery. But of course, its nothing like what the Lt. Col. volunteered to do. I don't kow how one goes about volunteering for such an honored duty, nor do I know how someone is assigned to do it. It was touching to see how at every stop along the way, there were people who took time to go out of their way to render honors themselves - the landscapers at the Dover Mortuary, the ground crew at the various airports, and even the passengers of the airline.

I remember one day when we brought an Angel to the flightline, just as the C-130 was preparing to take off. What usually happens is that any passengers who are taking the bird disembark, form two lines on either side, and allow us to bring the Angel aboard. We carry the Angel feet first (the flag is draped so the Union (blue portion of the flag) is over the left and towards the head, as if we were walking with the Angel. Once aboard, we turn around, as to signify the feet of our Angel being first & last to leave the ground.

Anyhow, for whatever reason, the passengers did not disembark the bird. No worries, we did what we needed to do anyway. The crew disembarked, and all eyes were on us, flag draped transfer case in hand, ceremoniously escorting our Angel aboard. We could not help but notice the facial expressions of those aboard, like reality smacked them in the face or something. They definitely did not know they would be flying with an Angel aboard.

Taking Chance brought back some memories of what I did. Believe me, I would do it all over again without hesitation.

The other day in Criminal Law, we were discussing the "Duty to Aid the Endangered Act" from Vermont. From my textbook, "Criminal Law: Concepts and Practice 2nd Edition" by Podgor, et. al., Vermont Statute Annotated title 12, § 519(1) (2004) states:

A person who knows that another is exposed to grave physical harm shall, to the extent that the same can be rendered without danger or peril to himself or without interference with important duties owed to others, give reasonable assistance to the exposed person unless that assistance or care is being provided by others.

Without overly analyzing or explain the statute, I'm sure any reasonable person can read that to mean that if you see someone who needs help, you have a duty to offer that help unless in doing so you will be placed in harm's way. The class goes into a discussion about the act, and a classmate raises her hand state that she is a trained first responder, and because of it she had the duty to help, blah blah blah.

We continued to speak about other situations where someone would be required to assist, such as a lifeguard. As a lifeguard, one is trained to offer assistance in order to save that person's life. My classmate then raised her hand to offer her "two cents" in attempt to apply the statute.

Well, based on this statute, the lifeguard has a duty to help unless the lifeguard will be placed in harms way. Since there is a possibility that the lifeguard could drown trying to save the life of the one in danger. If I was a lifeguard and I saw someone who was drowning and I thought there would be a chance I would drown too, I wouldn't go out there.

And you call yourself a first-responder? Nice one, bitch.

I have a personal issue with her statement on many angles. First off, not only would I call her a coward for not wanting to go out there to save someone's life, but I can also think of a few other choice names to describe her, especially since she seemingly has admitted openly that her life is more important than that of another. I'm already thinking I wouldn't want to trust this first responder with my life or the life of any of my loved ones. I hope to God that no other first-responder has that mentality because a lot of lives would be lost. As a non-active Marine (since there is no such thing is a former Marine), I can care less about whatever danger is out there if it means that I could save the life of someone else. I can care less about being a hero, but I do care about helping to protect the life of someone else. If my loved one is in a burning house, I will make every attempt to run in there and pull them out. If someone is pointing a gun at my significant other, I would stand in between her and the gun. Maybe it's just that Marine mentality, but I would hope that its just human nature.

The example and her response struck a bigger nerve with me as well. Today, February 4th, would be the 25th birthday of a good friend of mine, had she not passed in the summer of 1997. Long story short - she drowned. No, a lifeguard did not fail to do his/her job to result in her drowning, but the idea is close enough. Had my dear friend been in a public location where a lifeguard was present, she may be alive today. So, you can imagine the thoughts running through my head during class, ready to just lose my cool and snap. A lifeguard has tools and training that would assist him/her in saving someone's live without putting his/her own in danger, so for my classmate to say that she wouldn't act if her life were to be in danger in the process is appalling to say the least.

To any first-responder that reads this and is one for the RIGHT reasons, thank you for doing what you do. I do know that one person does not represent the whole, but it does only take one to tarnish the image of the mass.

Because I'm only a first year law student, I can't say much about the intent behind Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 519(1), nor do I know how the Vermont courts have upheld or interpreted that law. I only quoted it because it's part of what happened, not to criticize it.

I do wish my friend were still alove today, but I do know that she still lives in the memories of all of those that love her. For a while, I felt a lack of closure because I never got a chance to really say goodbye to her and because I did not attend her funeral. It is a little comforting to know that she still lives in my heart, and that she looks over me from Heaven. May she rest in peace.

This blog will become the outlet of my thoughts, feelings, insights which I can't even seem to tell my closest of friends. . .