Having Friends over for Lunch Brought Back Memories

Yesterday reminded me of my life before law & graduate school. I had the privilege of having guests over for lunch at my home away from home. The night before I prepared vegetables and chicken for my guests. I awoke Friday morning to prepare the lunch before heading off to work at Attorney Moore's office. Among the vegetable medley were carrots, green peppers, celery, red onions, and thinly sliced cabbage. I steamed the vegetables, adding a hint of soy sauce and then, once they were tender, I covered it all with American cheese, mixing in some tenderized swirl noodles.

Meanwhile, the chicken was baking in the oven and once it was done, I took the dish out of the oven, poured Sweet Honey BBQ on top, cut up baby onions and spread throughout. If you leave the top over the chicken dish, the onions will tenderize just from the heat of the dish. I made sure cold water was awaiting in the refrigerator and then I ran off to work.

I arrived just in time to go to the police station with Attorney Moore regarding the case of the officer who stabbed a taxi driver in late May and then went to the hospital to beat the snuff-a-luf-a-gus out of Atty Moore's client. Interestingly enough, the client had to contact Atty Moore to inform her of the police "internal affairs" division's request for him to appear and testify before them. One thing I am noticing, is that just because a person has an attorney is no guarantee that the client's attorney will always be notified of critical proceedings. In this case, the police very well knew that the client was being represented, (this case has been all over the papers) yet they contacted the client directly. What if it was a client who was not as aware as this client that he had best ensure that his attorney was aware of what the police was asking of him? When Attorney Moore arrived, internal affairs attorneys were surprised to see her. She walked in the interrogation room with confidence and introduced me to everyone and then sat at the table, as to demonstrate full authority to be present and assist on her clients behalf. What an awesome woman!

Afterwards, we dropped the client off to his destination and then went to my house for lunch with another fellow American. Rashawn received her law degree from Ohio and is here in Dangriga, possibly with the interest of living here and practicing law. It was a pleasure to connect Atty Moore and Rashawn. They complimented me on the lunch and it was really just a wonderful time of fellowship with like-minded "legal" folks. We discussed the differences in our experiences in the states verses what we have experienced here. In addition, Atty Moore helped Rashawn understand the processes she will need to go through in order to practice law in Belize.

This encounter reminded me of the get-togethers I would hold at my home for friends and family. It also reminded me of how much I really love cooking and inviting folks to taste thereof. Once law and grad school is over, I look forward to hosting parties and holidays at my home for my friends and colleagues on a more frequent basis!