August 7, 2007

Dear Sis~
I'm sitting on my bunk, taking a break from cobbling together my cert petition. I spent another 5 or 6 hours writing this morning & afternoon but I've now reached the point where I cannot continue until I receive a batch of cases I've requested from my lawyer. Right now I'm about 60% done with this draft and I hope to finish it up and get it in the mail to my attorney within the next 10 days. My due date for filing is October 14th, so I'm leaving plenty of time for us to work on this & come up with a final, polished product. I feel good about the three issues I'm raising, but the reality is that no matter how good your issues are, getting the US Supreme Court to grant certiorari review is a statistical long shot. Anyway, I'm doing my part, which is all I can do ...

I've never been much of a cartoon guy (not since I was a kid, anyway) and I'd never watched an episode of the Simpson's until a couple of months ago when, in a fit of boredom, I decided to check it out. I surprised myself by enjoying it a lot ; the writing was excellent, very clever, with a lot of pointed social commentary (disguised in humor). These writers are really sharp and I found myself laughing more than I have in a long time. Since then, I've watched a couple dozen episodes & I now understand why the show is so popular...

Remember Jennifer Capriati, the tennis player? I hadn't heard anything about her in about 2 years until yesterday when I read a short story about her. Jennifer was always my favorite tennis player; she's tough and spunky and not pretentious, and she has that very human quality about her (you may recall she had her share of personal problems with drugs, etc...) Anyway, she's had chronic shoulder injury which has prevented her from playing for over 2 years, and she may never recover enough to compete again. Now (if you believe the article) Jennifer is severely depressed, wrestling with thoughts of suicide. It was sad to read about her feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. Clearly, she's allowed herself to be defined by her sport, to the extent that she cannot see herself as anything other than a tennis player. You wish she'd understand that there's a lot more to life than any sport, or any particular career. She's 31 years old now - old for a professional tennis player, but still young in the game of life - and she has her whole life in front of her to find something meaningful to do, something that appeals to her own unique spirit. I hope she conjures up the inner strength to get out of her funk and find some peace & happiness...

Alright, Sis, I'm closing this up & mailing it off. Give yourself a big hug from me!
Love, Bill