FROM THE EDITOR

By MICHELLE HOOGENDAM CASH Pemberton Legal Search

The ‘Perfect’ Legal Journal – Prison, Taxes, Trial and Immigration

Each Country entertainer David Allen Coe sings a country and western song entitled “You Never Even Called Me by My Name.” The song originally was written by Steve Goodman, who claimed to have written the perfect C&W song. Coe disagreed, because the original version of the song failed to mention anything at all about momma, or trains, or prison, or getting drunk.
In response, Goodman added the now-classic verse:

Well, I was drunk the day my momma got out of prison,
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But before I could get to the station in my pick-up truck,
She got runned over by a danged
old train.

Some would say that a perfect legal journal would mention prison, taxes, trial and immigration. We at The Houston Lawyer strive to achieve such perfection and have included articles on all of those topics in this issue.

Prison – “Debtor’s Prison in Texas” by Fred Simpson and Eric Muñoz addresses the reality of imprisonment for the nonpayment of monies in certain circumstances.
Taxes – Gabriel Aitsebaomo provides a brief update on the status of the Alternative Minimum Tax in his article entitled “Millions of Individual Taxpayers May Heave a Temporary Sigh of Alternative Minimum Tax Relief.”

Trial – Scott Lemond and Rob Carty analyze recent filings under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Southern District of Texas in their article entitled “The Suddenly En Vogue FLSA: After 50 Years as a Wallflower, She’s Finally Ready to Dance.”

Immigration – Benny Agosto and Robert Rodriguez analyze the current immigration situation and address lost wages at trial in their article, “The Immigration Debate: Can Undocumented Workers Recover Lost Wages in Personal Injury Suits?”

I am sure that readers will have suggestions for other perfect article topics that we left out of this issue. We welcome any such suggestions – as long as they are submitted to the editor in the form of song lyrics!

Letter to the Editor

One Year Later

Dear Friends:

There is an old adage: “The road to New Orleans is paved with good intentions.”

One year later and I am in a place that one year ago I could not envision. In the days following August 30, 2005 I truly felt that it would be months if not years before I could ever return to a meaningful life in New Orleans. I was petrified for the future and well being of my entire family. I was frightened that a business I had spent a life time building was gone. I did not know whether I would ever see some of my friends again. I was lost. I envisioned the city I love becoming a ghost town. I truly did not know where to go and what to do. While life in New Orleans will never be what it was – at least not in my lifetime – I am doing well. My children are all doing well, I am working, I have a place to live and, unlike the vast majority of the citizens of this city, I have suffered relatively little physical damage or monetary loss from the devastation caused by the flooding of New Orleans.
Over the past twelve months I have tried to put into perspective what has happened to me and the inhabitants of this city.
A tragedy such as that brought about by Katrina and its aftermath triggers many reactions in people. The true human response to such a tragedy is generally in geometric progression measured by the distance from the event to each point of its reach. For example, when a tsunami hit the far east I was horrified and rapt for a day or two, but then my life went on. When Andrew hit Florida, the devastation was a blow and I could not imagine the consequences to the people, but after a few days my life went on. When tragedy struck the Gulf Coast and I knew the people and the land, it took me weeks to get over the devastation and loss of human life and property. But I did get over it and my life went on. Katrina and the flood hit New Orleans one year ago and while my life goes on, it will never be the same. And it will never be the same for the people who live or lived in this area. I promise to say this only once. You cannot understand what happened here unless you see it with your own eyes – even now one year later and with no benchmark to the days immediately after.
Many people have asked what they can do for me. My answer – come to New Orleans, let me buy you dinner at one of our fine restaurants and only after you have eaten, let me give you a two-hour tour of what is left of my home. Then you will begin to understand.
As much as the tragedy sticks with me, what will never leave my soul is the human kindness which followed me and my family and friends in the days and weeks after I was denied the home and comforts and security which I had had for over 50 years of my life. From the time I left New Orleans in the early morning hours of August 28, 2005 until well after I returned in October 2005, the goodness and generosity of people I knew, people I met for the first time, and people I never knew or will know made it possible for me to keep my sanity and be able to write this letter.
Following Katrina I had so many good intentions. I vowed that I would keep in contact with all of the people who I had let drift into my life prior to Katrina. I knew that I needed to be a better father, son, brother, friend, lawyer and ex-husband. I promised myself that I would be more social and make sure that I had dinner with my friends in New Orleans more regularly. I knew that I would be more responsive to clients and others seeking my time. I swore that I would be more patient with every one. I was determined not to put back on all of the weight I lost in the two weeks following my evacuation. I was adamant that I could make a difference in the rebuilding of New Orleans. I even promised to be kind to dogs and cats.
The one thing that I was absolutely bound and determined to accomplish was to reach out to all of the people who helped me and my family during that period. Come heaven or hell, I would personally thank each and every one of them.
Well, each of you who receives this letter already knows that I basically did not follow up on any of those good intentions.
Of everything that I promised to do and did not do, there is one thing I can try to rectify in some small way on the anniversary of the first day of the rest of my life (sometimes even trite sayings mean a lot). I want to thank each and every one of you who made a difference to me and my family over the past year.
While conventional wisdom would lead me to stay generic and not try to name everyone, that is the coward’s way out. If for some reason I unintentionally omit someone, I take full blame and apologize. The names are in no particular order.

Greg, Melissa and Andrew
Amy Hirsch
Boyar & Miller and each individual
  associated with this great law firm
Marsha and Stanley Stein
Jewish Family Services – Houston
Beth Israel – Houston
Will and Mary Stein
Lillian Stein
The staff of One Shell Square
Joe and Thelma Schwertz
David Naseman
Hyatt Regency Houston
Drury Inn Lafayette
Whitney National Bank
Mitch and Susan Hoffman
Mickey and Stefanie Allweiss
Sunblossom at Woodlake Apartments
Larry and Ruth Kullman
Paul Kullman
Butch Eisen
Stuart Lilly
Jay Kayser
Tony and Liz Cruz
Emeril Lagasse
David Kushner
The City of Houston
Kevin Randazzo
Blaine Kern
Gary Solomon
Billy Lucas
Those whose names I never knew

In order to give something back to all of you and to the community, I have made contributions to the following organizations in appreciation of your kindness:

American Red Cross
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
Congregation Temple Sinai
Touro Synagogue
Houston Jewish Federation
Houston Bar Foundation

Charity tries to teach us to give until it hurts. I learned from this tragedy that we should give before it hurts.

Thanks to all.

In appreciation,

Mark S. Stein
Lowe, Stein, Hoffman, Allweiss & Hauver, L.L.P.
New Orleans, Louisiana

Text is punctuated without italics.

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