Differences Between Tucson and Washington

I've got to watch out or I'm going to talk myself into staying in Tucson. First there was the realization, mentioned earlier today, of the number of good friends I have here. Then this evening I went to the 60th birthday party of the woman who sits beside me in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus. One of the women there, who is married to a tenor in the chorus (yes, there are some straight tenors in the world) is one of the attorneys for the University of Arizona. Another TSOC friend of mine, Brad Holland, who is deputy county attorney for neighborhood crime for Pima County, was at the party also. I spent the evening chatting with these people, and they treat me like an attorney. They don't care whether I've jumped the bar or not, whether I'm licensed or not. They know the training I've gone through and they know how difficult getting past the bar is.

My experiences in D.C. are so different than this. If you're not licensed in D.C., you might as well forget admitting you have the education. You're either a lawyer or you're not. If you don't have the license on the wall, you're not a lawyer. And you can forget about that "trained in the law" sh*t.

It's so refreshing to be here in the desert where life isn't all about impressing each other with your accomplishments.