Business, Not Pleasure (Unfortunately)

I recently made a trip on business to the beautiful island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. I have a series of cases pending in the courts there involving some issues at the massive Hovensa refinery, and the court ordered the parties to participate in a mediation process in an attempt to settle one of the cases. I was there for two days and, unfortunately, saw much more of the inside of a law office than I did of the more scenic portions of the island. However, at the end of my first day of work there, I managed to get out the beach just before sunset, and started snapping pictures. My favorite is this one.


If you are ever in St. Croix, I can definitely recommend the Buccanneer Hotel, where I stayed this time around. Very nice rooms, good service, and beautiful beaches.

The good news is that we managed to settle the case at mediation. Perhaps even better news is that it looks like I will be going back in early September for mediation in another set of the cases! It certainly beats where I will be in early August: a chemical plant in Metropolis, Illinois.

Wear Your Helmets, Boys And Girls!

As many followers of State of Nature already know, back at the end of April, I was hit by a car while on a cycling training ride. I was taking a left turn and was broadsided by a driver who ignored a stop sign and pulled onto the road right into me. I was taken from the scene by ambulance to a nearby hospital to learn I had sustained a fractured rib, and to get three stitches above my eye. Fortunately, after about a month, I was mostly recovered, and now am fully back to normal.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my bike. As you can see from the pictures below, the impact of the accident snapped both legs of the fork clean in half.


In addition, the frame had a large crack down one side.


This latter damage rendered the bike beyond repair, and it was totaled. Fortunately, a very reasonable insurance settlement has allowed me to replace the bike.

So the bike has been replaced, and my injuries have healed. But the extent of the damage to bike and person in what was a pretty low-speed accident highlights how much worse it could have been. Be careful out there, and WEAR THAT HELMET!

Not To Make Excuses, But . . .

Okay, I know I have been way behind on the blog . . . very few updates, and when they come, they're a month or more dated. So our schedule for a recent weekend may help explain the blog neglect. Here was our day on May 16:

8:30-10:45 - Stephen lacrosse tournament
11:00-1:00 - Matthew T-Ball

12:00-1:30 - Stephen baseball game
1:30-3:15 - Stephen goes to birthday party
2:00-4:30 - David rec baseball game (extra innings!)
4:45-5:15 - David travel baseball batting practice
7:00-9:00 - David travel baseball away game

This was an extreme case, but actually somewhat representative of our weekends over the last month or two.

Stephen's First Communion

I'm continuing to catch up on the blog . . .

Stephen's First Communion was March 2, and it was a fantastic weekend. Family from all around made the trip to Northern NJ to share in the festivities. We had visitors from Louisiana, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and North Carolina! What great turnout, and lots of good food and conversation.

Here is Stephen fully dressed and ready to head to the church.


More photos here.

Matthew Starts T-Ball

Here's a picture of Matthew all dressed and ready for his first day of T-Ball. He's been at it for a few weeks now, and let's just say he's got a long way to go to reach the level of David or Stephen. But he sure looks cute!

Easter 2009

We had a very quiet Easter this year, but a very nice one nonetheless. Despite the relative quiet and calm in the State of Nature, the Easter Bunny did find us, hiding Easter baskets, and eggs throughout the house. We also did our traditional egg dying/painting on Holy Saturday (see photo above). On Easter Sunday, I broke somewhat from the normal cuisine for this occasion, and deep fried a turkey. Although high winds, made the frying somewhat challenging, I managed to complete the task safely, and the finished product was fabulous.

For more pictures of the fun, click here.

Drinking The Kool Aid

If state-sponsored religion (or, in this case, town-sponsored religion) were legal, Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, just might establish the Church of Lacrosse. I am only partially kidding. The people of this town seem to eat, sleep and live lacrosse 24-7-365. Stephen will be playing for the first time ever, so we received our "baptism" Saturday morning at the annual Mountain Lakes Lacrosse "Fun Run" -- the official start of the season. It was a real spectacle and, I have to admit, kind of fun. All the kids from all the teams, second grade through high school, gathered at the elementary school and went for a short jog around town as a group. Then, when they returned, they got an inspirational talk from the high school coach. I guess the rather obsessive commitment to this sport in Mountain Lakes pays off: I learned Saturday that the high school team is ranked 5th in the country this year.

The picture above is of Stephen, fully equipped for lacrosse. Except a jersey will presumably be added over the pads at a later time. More pictures here.