JustAdvice

Just a Thought …

Judy — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:46:54 +0000

People who are brought up to believe they are the center of the universe seem to have a hard time finding their place in the world.

One Talk Won’t Do It

Judy — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:22:56 +0000

A radio ad tells parents how important it is to talk to their children about drugs. In the conversation, a father timorously approaches his son, to have “the big drug talk,” only to find that the boy already knows all about them. The father’s attempt is obviously too late. When Dad asks how the boy knows so much [...]

12 Step Forgiveness

Judy — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:10:49 +0000

Several years ago a man came to the probation office to see me. He was in a twelve-step recovery program for substance abuse, and said we had some unfinished business from when he was on my caseload, three years earlier. He apologized for how badly he had behaved and admitted that, at the time, he would go to any [...]

Can You Pledge to be Compassionate?

Judy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:17:44 +0000

According to a “Mail Online” article of March 6, 2010, an 11 year old boy died of dehydration in a South London hospital due to neglect by hospital staff. The article states that, at one point, the boy was “so desperate for a drink that he rang police to beg for their help.” When the police responded, [...]

Donut Dollies Re-Unite

Judy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:13:08 +0000

Surely it hasn’t been almost 40 years since I returned from Vietnam. Surely the intervening years didn’t disappear like smoke from a summer campfire. Surely the very real events of my youth haven’t already been relegated to the unreality of history. Surely not, yet I have in my hands a piece of paper that suggests otherwise. This week [...]

Those Inner Conflicts

Judy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:13:48 +0000

My parents' disagreements had somehow been fused into one personality trait that was now mine

A Name Is Not A Legacy

Judy — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:58:02 +0000

We were sipping coffee in Starbuck’s when I noticed “Luis” etched into the surface of our table. Luis no doubt believed he was making a meaningful statement, but I suspect he didn’t think it through. Besides the mark in the table, Luis left a more telling impression. He left evidence of someone who has no [...]

What’s “Self Esteem” Got to do with Probation?

Judy — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:01:21 +0000

I think our fixation on “self esteem” has affected the way probation officers approach the problem of crime and has even contributed to our lack of success. The primary job of sworn peace officers, including probation, is to keep the community safe. Period. Assisting offenders is secondary to that mission. However, because we believe in treatment, [...]

A Soldier’s Christmas Carol

Judy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:04:55 +0000

As stewardesses on an international airline, we flew troops into Vietnam at the height of the war. Naturally the flights didn’t stop when holidays were celebrated at home, and my roommate found herself on a military charter bound for Saigon, on December 23, 1968. The cabin was full of young men, and the pain was palpable. [...]

O Christmas Tree …

Judy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:02:09 +0000

Christmas 1969 was probably my most memorable holiday, but it was definitely not the most enjoyable. Still, what began as a depressing experience was somehow transformed by a fairly insignificant symbol. I was stationed at Camp Enari, near Pleiku, in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, one of four Red Cross Donut Dollies whose mission [...]