A Fork in the Road

It's hard to leave a job you love...even after thirty years. This is the farewell letter I sent to the attorneys and staff of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office today. Even though there are many things in life I'm still looking forward to, it can be hard to say goodbye.

To the Attorneys and Staff of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office:

Patricia Boyle, the greatest state supreme court justice of my lifetime, once remarked that being a prosecutor was the best job the legal profession had to offer. I've often thought the same thing, never more than in recent days. There aren't many jobs an attorney can have where you're charged only with doing justice, and expected to do the right thing even if you could get away with sharp dealing. I was lucky enough to stumble through the doors here in 1980, and immediately felt that I’d found a home. Part of it was the work; the rest was because of the people I’ve worked with, who have truly been among the treasures of my life, and whose friendship I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I've spent much of the last thirty years feeling guilty about my good fortune — though, having been born a Catholic, I suspect it comes naturally. Confucius said: "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life." That pretty much sums up my whole career. The work here has been fulfilling and challenging, making every day a new adventure. Add the fact that I've had the chance to do things most lawyers just dream about, earn a decent living while doing it, and at the same time have the gift of spending as much time with my family as they could reasonably be expected to tolerate, and it's hard to believe that one man could have so much luck in one lifetime.

I’ve seen many changes in my thirty years as a prosecutor: we no longer have to write everything out in longhand, and now that we’ve entered the 21st Century we do our research online, rather than sifting through stacks of books...though we’re still looking for that case we can’t quite find. On the other hand, we never shut down in the “good old days” because we needed Technical Support to get our pens working again, and things never ground to a halt because the library was off-line. Somehow, County finances seemed just as bleak in the early 1980s as they are today. And we’re still appearing before the same wide range of judges — running the gamut from wise to idiotic — that we’ve always had.

There are, of course, some aspects of the Office that need renewing from time to time. When I started, it seemed I’d joined a large and boisterous family, filled with squabbling siblings, goofy uncles, and batty aunts. But we had a sense of shared adventure, and an instinctive “all-for-one-and-one-for-all” willingness to face any challenge together. We all watched out for each other, and the older attorneys each shared the responsibilities of training the new ones in the traditions of the office — meaning, in their crusty way, knocking our heads as needed to make sure we understood that our mission was Justice, that our presence meant that the judge would have at least one honest lawyer in court that day, and that the “People” we served included the same defendants we were trying to throw in jail, to whom we owed fairness and a measure of respect whether we felt they deserved it or not. Today, with the County’s coffers empty once again, we seem to be stumbling a bit. But our mission is the same as ever; and as I leave the office I’ve had the pleasure of serving for the last thirty years, the people I’ve worked with over the years seem much the same. Only the faces have changed.

A year ago, after I turned in my retirement papers, it felt as if someone I loved had died. Now that it’s finally time to leave, it feels more like sending a kid off to college — starting a new chapter of life, filled with new challenges and adventures. But I'm sentimental enough to have found myself lingering later than usual at the Office these past days, often feeling sad when it was time to go home. I’m looking forward to starting the next chapter...but it’s still hard to say goodbye.

I hope to be back regularly, to visit friends, check on things, and perhaps help out from time to time. The road hasn’t always been an easy one: being a prosecutor isn’t for everybody, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. But for those with a sense of fair play, a commitment to justice, and a spark of idealism in their souls, it really is the best job any lawyer could ever have.

The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere, ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
—Robert Frost

It’s been an honor and a privilege to share my career with you.

Best wishes always,
Jeff Caminsky

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a retired public prosecutor living in Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Daisy

In the Spring of 1994, a new arrival joined our family.

Daisy was a small puppy who immediately fell onto hard times. She’d contracted parvo virus, and nearly died before she could take her first run in the field.

Over the years, she seemed to have a knack for mischief. Taken to Wyoming on a camping trip in 1995(despite the misgivings of an unidentified adult male member of the Caminsky Clan, who warned that taking a beagle into the wilderness probably wasn’t a very good idea), she ran off while on a hike. She was on the verge of supplying lunch to the local pack of coyotes, but we managed to lure her back before the entree was served. This was, I think, her one and only major camping trip.

Often wandering off at the Yanik Family Farm, she once went missing for days — most likely leading Skipper, her companion, along for the adventure — finally surfacing well down the road, miles away and completely lost.

Even her own back yard was a constant source of adventure: she spent much of her puppyhood confronting enemy invaders, chasing squirrels and barking angrily at distant, rounded objects...which looked like ordinary balls to us, but must have carried with them some alien life form to warrant such vigilance in the protection of her family. And one fine morning, we looked out to see that she’d impaled herself on a branch that had fallen from our maple tree — prompting a mad rush to the Vet by the human members of the family (one, a grumbling, bathrobe-clad male whom authorities declined to identify, was seen sighing harshly in the parking lot of Morris Veterinary Hospital while others went about their business).

But, through all the goofiness, wanderings, and barking, Daisy was a loyal and loving companion, whose tail always wagged when someone came home, and who loved her walks and her treats...and, most particularly, her meals, inhaling them with a gusto usually reserved for Olympic-level competitions. Her face always brightened when she started her walks...even in recent days, when her hindquarters were shriveling from old age, and she’d gone deaf (possibily from a lifetime of listening to ear-splitting barking at close range). Like our other dog --- Callie, whom we lost a year ago just before Christmas --- she gave her love unconditionally, asking nothing in return...except maybe an occasional treat, when she came inside from the backyard.

Lately her pace had slowed to a crawl and she seemed confused and bewildered, often wandering about aimlessly, as if searching for something that she couldn’t quite remember. But coming in from the back yard still excited her, and she still expected a treat. Though we kept putting off the inevitable, cleaning up after her when she couldn’t quite make it outside to conduct her business, we knew that our time together was growing short. And today, after giving her a lunch of chicken, her favorite thing in the whole world, and one final walk around the block she knew so well, we took her for her last ride.

Even though she’ll always be with us in our memories, it’s hard saying a last goodbye to a friend.

But these days I seem to be saying “goodbye” a lot.


JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Getting Started

I actually submitted a short piece to one of the local papers the other day.

It was (if I do say so myself) a rather interesting take on the current "panty-bomber" controversy du jour...making the point (largely unmade by others in the legal profession) that there was no earthly reason to Mirandize the panty-bomber and cut off their access to what he knew. Since the only consequence of failing to read a suspect Miranda rights is that the State can't use any ensuing confession, and since the Feds didn't need his confession to make the criminal case against him (give his charred underwear, smoldering body, and 200 witness who can testify that he tried to blow up the plane), they didn't need his confession.

What the Feds did need --- the information he possessed about the higher-ups who sent him --- wasn't relevant to the criminal case either. Just to how to strike back at the bad guys.

But...for one reason or another, this doesn't seem to interest the media...or, at least the big-town papers here in Detroit.

I may still try to peddle the story to a smaller outlet (and try to remember, next time, to reserve the right to make "simultaneous submissions" so I'm not stuck waiting around. Or I may just post it here in a few days.

But...I am getting excited about getting a chance to do a few different things in the coming months.

With any luck, I may even start getting others to publish what I write.

And that, wuuld be a real boost for my self-confidence as a writer. And for my ego. Actually, mostly for my ego...but it is nice to see my name in print, now and then.

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Movie Review: Avatar

Though I hope my semi-retirement changes this for the better, for a variety of reasons I haven't gone to see as many movies as I'd like. The upside of this is that I get to wait for the DVD to come out, and can see the same film for a fraction of the cost. The downside is that I'm often behind the times, when it comes to talking about current movies.

There are, however, several movies I insist on seeing live...in the theater...on a big screen. One of them was Avatar, the newest movie by Titanic director James Cameron. Still, with all the hype and hoopla surrounding the film, my wife and I waited until the crowds had died down a bit, and went to see an early show. The movie was well worth the wait.

To call the visual imagery stunning really doesn't do the film justice. The world created --- a moon orbiting a large, Jupiter-sized planet, and chock-full of a mineral that Earth craves desperately --- was lush and filled with energy. The scenery --- a thick jungle filled with life that glowed in the dark (at least, to the eyes of the natives) --- was a seamless blend of fantasy and reality. The story, told largely from the perspective of the alien natives, drew the viewer into a rich world, filled with a spiritual connection between all living things. The humans (the villains of the piece) were shown divided between the truth-seekers (the band of nerdy scientists running the "Avatar" project) and the militaristic head-bonkers, enlisted in the service of the ruthless corporate pursuit of wealth.

Though notworthy most for the stunning visual effects, the story, though somewhat simplistic, was never a distraction. There were a few holes in the storyline, that an alert viewer could pick apart by thinking too much. And the alien culture created was perhaps a bit too close to the Native Americans for those looking for a non-human look at the Universe around us. But the net effect was to create a world where Nature, trying simply to exist, confronts a soul-less human culture consumed by the pursuit of riches; in the end, Nature proves victorious, though a cynical viewer might wonder how long the victory would last, given the limitless wealth that Nature could provide to those willing to sell their souls to exploit it.

Many of the common criticisms of the movie struck me as rather silly: for example, the movie is in no way the "racist" view of Creation some issue-mongers insist. The method chosen to draw the human audience into the alien world --- the insertion of a crippled human who finds himself made whole by merging himself into the Na'vi world of Nature --- seemed natural, almost organic. Their world of Pandora, in which Nature envelopes those living within it, breathes life into the concept of "The Force" from Star Wars, by showing Nature living in balance, with the Na'vi surrounded by its bounties and beauty. Those denoucing it as a display of pagan pantheism seem to forget that there are different ways of looking at the world than through the eyes of Western Christians. And though its anti-war message is a constant theme throughout the movie, it is hardly the mindless "peacenik-tree hugger" movie that some of its more conservative critics contend. Instead it poses, in starkly beautiful fashion, the dilemma faced by Modern Man: what do we gain by subduing Nature, if we lose its bounty in the process?

Still, being a work of art crafted by human hands, the movie was not without its flaws. Lost in translation was the fact that, in its own way, the Na'vi culture was just as warlike as our own, only more primitive. Though obviously intelligent, they seemed to overlook the obvious superiority of the Earthers' weaponry in their initial response to our attacks, and their strategy and tactics --- flying wildly at the invaders, and hoping for the best --- would have come to disaster if Nature (having been summoned by the hero at a place called the Tree of Souls, where the Na'vi would commune with their deity, Eywa, an apparent blend of Mother Earth and the Yaweh of the Old Testament) hadn't come riding to the rescue in the nick of time.

Still, the flaws all pale in the glow of the spectacle, and the nitpickers really need to look beyond their own noses once in a while. The movie was stunning and often moving, enticing the viewer into a world of beauty and danger and rewarding anyone with a sense of adventure with a captivating tale of love and redemption.

RATING: Five Stars

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Debating Point: Gays in the Military

I suppose that I may simply be losing touch with what's going on in the world. But I wonder if anyone seriously thinks that the military should switch to having co-ed barracks...other than perhaps as a plot for a comedy. If not, I'm having trouble understanding the difference between forcing a woman to undress, shower, and sleep with men ogling her every move, and forcing a man into same situtation...the only difference being the gender of the recipient of unwanted attention. But the recent obsession with undoing the military's policy of "don't ask-don't tell" strikes me as rather an exercise in looking for problems...perhaps to distract us from the very real financial, economic, and foreign policy problems that are being crowded off the public stage.

I think that the military exists for one purpose, and one purpose only: to neutralize or destroy any threat against the country, and to do it as efficiently as possible. Anything that detracts from that mission --- such as introducing internal sexual tension into a unit that should be concentrating on destroying the enemy --- is a luxury. We can do so if we choose, because at the present time we're far more powerful than any country on the face of the earth. But there is a reason why all military units in history have separated men from women...at least, until the present day: they don't want romantic thoughts and conflicts to intrude on battlefield responsibilities. Introducing the same thing into all-male or all-female barracks isn't something to do lightly, or out of some sense of political correctness.

This does not mean that homosexuals should be hounded out of the service, or beaten within an inch of their lives merely because of their sexual orientation. If push came to shove, I'd be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those trying to protect our comrade who was being attacked from within. And away from the front lines, there are many jobs in the military for which "sexual tension" in the ranks simply wouldn't matter. But we don't train our military to be enlightened philosophers: we train them to kill enemies on command, and without mercy. And when our surival is on the line, we're better off being defended by a division filled with Conan the Barbarian, rather than one consisting of Mr. Sensitivity.

Unlike most people voicing opinions on the subject, I don't pretend to know the answer. But I do know that we are not asking the right questions. As a result, the current "gays in the military" debate is missing the whole point of having a military in the first place: we should be concentrating on what makes our armed forces stronger, more powerful, and more ruthlessly effective. We should not be using it as a laboratory for conducting experiments in human sociology.

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

One Month...and Counting

One month to go on my consulting contract...and my career as a prosecutor. It will end almost thirty years to the day after I started with the County. Last year at this time, as I put in my retirement papers, it felt as if somebody I loved had just died. Now...it's still sad, but I'm looking forward to having the time to do a lot of things I've been putting off for quite a long time.

These days, it seems like most of my time is taken up getting ready for our big move to White Lake. We're nearly done with our "hired" remodeling (though we still have some new flooring to install), and are mostly painting and decorating. Our geothermal system is up and running...and there's still a lot of paperwork to do --- changing tax records, our drivers licenses, and the like.

But things are starting to move, and the house is starting to take shape. I hope to be completely moved in by the end of the month --- just in time for my retirement --- but I have a feeling that I'm just dreaming.

Of course...I do tend to dream a lot. Sometimes, it gets me into trouble....but mostly, in the end it leaves me with a smile.

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.