In the Category of Things that Don't Happen Every Day - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

In the Category of Things that Don't Happen Every Day - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster



Yesterday was a gorgeous day so I decided to have a little picnic by
the river.  I swung by Taco Bell and then went to a local boat dock and
parked right on the river.  The water was a little high but it was
beautiful and peaceful.

At first I parked with a view of the state
capitol building but I was facing downhill and my truck wanted to roll
(I have a standard) so I repositioned my truck facing the other
direction so I could eat in peace and not have to worry about rolling in
the river. (I didn't feel like fooling with the emergency brake )

The
view was just as nice and the water just as peaceful.  I noticed a
firetruck up on the South Side Bridge and I thought someone must have
wrecked.  Then I noticed another firetruck on the boulevard and thought
that was unusual that there would be 2 firetrucks that close in
unrelated accidents.

I had just started to eat my taco when here
comes about 5 firemen.  I thought, "crap, this is just great, they are
going to make me move because the water is up."

They didn't.

One
of them asked me if I had seen anything floating in the river.  I told
him no but I had only been there about 5 minutes or so.  He asked me if I
was sure and I told him again that nothing was in the river.  I had not
seen so much as a leaf pass by.

Then he said, "good, someone called and said they saw a baby floating in the river."   Talk about ruining a taco.  That would do it!

I
assured him I had seen no babies and I asked if that was why the
firetrucks were up on the bridge and he said, "yes."  They were up there
to watch the river to see if they could see any dead babies floating
along.  That is also why I had seen the firetruck on the boulevard. They
were looking for the dead baby as well.

They left after a few minutes.  As far as I know no dead babies were found. ...nothing on the news about it anyway.

The Year I Ruined Christmas - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

The Year I Ruined Christmas - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

When
I was eleven years old I was a master at sneaking downstairs and
opening presents and putting them back so no one would ever know they
had been touched. I caught my mom away from home shopping one day and
opened every present that I had under the tree. I knew there would be
more on Christmas day so it was no big deal.

Christmas day came
and we went downstairs and I looked around the room and the only
presents were the ones that I had already opened under the tree. They
weren't scattered all over the room like they usually were on Christmas
morning. I did not have even one surprise. Even worse I had to open my
gifts in front of my parents and feign surprise with each one.

Don't
get me wrong. I had plenty of presents that day. I had a very good
Christmas, it was just that I already knew everything that I had
already. It was a lesson that I never forgot and I have never tried to
find out early what a present was even to this day!

Christmas 2013 was Good - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Christmas 2013 was Good - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

As I suspected most of my Christmas came early.  I ended up
celebrating Christmas Eve with my nephew.  Dinner was a little rushed -
not because he came a day early but because I thought Christmas was
going to be today (Thursday) instead of Wednesday (yesterday).  I
didn't  realize my mistake until Sunday which anyone who has ever
planned a Christmas will tell you -  Christmas a day early means a lot
os little things get lost by the wayside.

But it  was all good
because I don't sweat the small stuff.  We had a glorious Christmas
Dinner on Christmas Eve - ham and all the trimmings.  Now I'm on salt
overload and I'll pay the price for at least a week but it was so worth
it.  My nephew is leaving this morning and I told him to take the rest
of the ham with him so I will stay out of trouble.  He is happy to
oblige.

I had many unexpected gifts.  The last of which was a
wonderful homemade candy sampler made by a friend.  She had posted on
facebook that she was making homemade chocolate covered cherries.  I
have never heard of homemade chocolate covered cherries and asked for
the recipe.  The next thing I knew she was gifting me with not only the
chocolate covered cherries which she said was her mother's recipe and
she never gives it out.  But also buckeyes, 7 layer cookies, haystacks
and 2 kinds of fudge.  It was a wonderous selection of goodies and I 
would much rather have had the candy than the recipe anyways.

I
gave away most of it though because I'm supposed to be watching my
sugar - but I kept all the homemade chocolate covered cherries.

The
only dark spot was that my niece in Florida did not get her present in
the mail that should have been there last Thursday.  We thought for
awhile that my grand niece didn't get hers as well but it turns out that
was a misunderstanding and she did get it.  She is 7 so that one was
more important anyway.  She spoke to me on the phone for about 30
seconds Christmas morning but she was much too busy to fool with an
auntie she has never met in person to talk on Christmas morning.  So, it
was all good.

Today is one of the top 4 days for heart patients to go into the hospital - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Today is one of the top 4 days for heart patients to go into the hospital - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

The days after Christmas and the Days after Thanksgiving are the
busiest days of the year for the Cardiac Wards of hospitals.  It's not
hard to figure out why.  I do the same thing every holiday and I swear I
won't do it again and then the next holiday rolls around and I am in
misery all over again.

It's the food we eat.  I stick to my no
salt, healty food diet most of the time throughout the year.  I cheat
but it's a little one meal cheat and then I'm back on the wagon again. 
Not for Christmas though and Not for Thanksgiving.  It is a days long
festival of food!  People invite me over and they want me to eat the
delicious foods they have and I happily oblige...all the while telling
myself it will be the last time for THIS particular holiday.  Then
someone else invites me to their house and so on and so on....

The
cumulative effect of all that salt and fat and overload of simple carbs
is just too much for a heart patients body to handle.  I love the
turkeys and hams and mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.  But even the
vegetables that we fix are "dressed up" so that there is NOTHING HEALTHY
ABOUT THEM ANY MORE.  And add to that the desserts that I NEVER eat and
it is a recipe for disaster.

I might as well just drive myself
from the dinner table to the hospital.  At least that would be the case
if I didn't already have all this medical stuff around me.  So right now
I am kicking myself while I can't breathe and taking it easy because of
chest pain and starting back on my healthy lifestyle that I SHOULD
NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ABANDON.

My nephew was surprised
when I told him to take the rest of the ham with him (there was at least
half a ham left) and I had even shared some with other residents of the
building.  I also had him take all those delectable little desserts as
well.

I HAVE REMOVED TEMPTATION FROM MY MIDST.

Anyway
if you have any friends or family that are heart patients...watch over
them for the next few days.  They probably need it.  (don't worry about
me - I'm an old hand at this crap)

Yes God, I Noticed....AGAIN - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Yes God, I Noticed....AGAIN - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Once again you have provided for my needs.  I never have too much but I always have just enough.

This
time my microwave went on the fritz.  I don't have money for a new
one....at least I didn't have money for a new one.  Now I do, courtesy
of a cousin I have seen less than a handful of times in my life.  But
she reached out to me this year on facebook.  She reached out at a time I
was feeling particularly low about my illness and my lack of ability to
fix it.

She helped me realize that even though my life choices
may have contributed to it that I was dealing with what I had to the
best of my ability.  Like most people I may have made some unhealthy
choices but I also made healthy choices and getting sick was not some
sort of revenge for all the wrongs of my life.  It's a medical condition
- pure and simple.

She also let me know that even though I had
only run into her those few times in our childhood I had left an
impression on her.  An impression that several others have told me I
have left on them.  That I was kind and helpful and made people want to
be a better person (although I sure don't see myself that way)

Happily
I am in the habit of letting people know when they have had a positive
effect on me and I had already let her know how our conversation lifted
my spirits...even though she had no memory of the conversation.  That's
the way it works sometimes.  It only takes one small word to make
someone else's day...a word so small that we didn't realize we said it. 
That's what happened here.

So I got a handful of late Christmas
Cards yesterday.  (our mailman likes to skip our building when he is
super busy - something he denies but I have observed it more than once
over the years I've been here)  I was feeling fine from all the people
who thought enough of me to send a card (even though I don't send them)
and lo and behold I opened the one from my cousin and a check fell out. 
A check for just enough that I can go get a small microwave.

It
is a relief.  I use my microwave a lot.  I prepare most of my healthy
meals in bulk and freeze them in single servings.  It has saved me many a
time when I am too sick to cook.  Plus it saves me a lot of money
because I rarely throw food away.  I don't understand that survey that
says the average family throws away over $500 worth of food a year.  Not
me.  I will eat things I don't like so they don't go to waste...that's
money in my pocket afterall.

So, thank you Cuz for thinking of
me.  And Thank you God for providing for me....yet again.  I know money
doesn't grow on trees but it does seem like it falls out of the sky
every now and then.

"Pam, you can't be sleeping. Pay attention to what the lady is saying." - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

"Pam, you can't be sleeping. Pay attention to what the lady is saying." - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Edit This Post

When I was in high school the
health department ruled that women who cooked for their church bake
sales had to have a food handler's card. My Granny Farley and Aunt Mary
Ann never missed such a sale. Their church was their life and they did
everything they could to support it. Granny's chicken and dumplings and
Mary Ann's cakes were always the first to sell out at every sale.

The
problem with this ruling was that my granny could only see out of 1/2
of one eye (due to surgery for a brain tumor) and my Aunt Mary Ann is
retarded. They could not take the test that the health department gave.
They both, of course, kept clean kitchens and there was no reason for
them not to cook other than government paperwork. So my family decided
that I would go to the health department and take the test for them.

We
all met at the health department for the test and the room was full of
people. I escorted my Granny and Mary Ann to the back of the classroom
so that we would not be observed. We sat through the whole boring
lecture. Actually I was trying to sleep through the whole lecture when
my Granny reached over and poked me hard in the side. She said, "Pam!
You can't be sleeping. You've got to pay attention to what this lady's
saying."

I growled back half asleep, "Granny, I don't need to
listen to this lady, Mommy has spent half my life drilling this stuff in
my head!" (my mom was studying to be a dietician) "It will be just
fine, " I told her. But I did sit up out of respect for my Grandma and
made a monumental effort to stay awake for the rest of the lecture.

When
the woman finished she handed out the tests. I took my test first and
gave myself 100 points. I took Granny's test and I made sure she got a
high B. Then I took Mary Ann's test and I made sure that she just barely
passed. That way nobody would suspect what I had done. I told Granny to
wait 5 minutes after I left and pretend that she was still taking the
test. Then I left and we all met at the 10 cent store for lunch, which
was my Granny's favorite place to eat.

I can honestly say that this is the only dishonest thing that my Granny ever did in her life.   it was for the church after all.

The Dreams are Back - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

The Dreams are Back - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster



It's been a few years since I had them.  The last time was when I was
pretty weak with my health and once again I am weakened.  Do they mean
anything?  I don't know.  But it is strange they are back. They don't
scare me.  This time there is a comfort to them...perhaps I'm ready for
them this time...or perhaps I know there is nothing to them.

This
time I saw the light.  You know the bright, all encompassing light that
will absorb you if you go into it.  The last time I had these dreams I
would run when I saw it.  I wanted nothing to do with it.  This time I
decided to embrace it.  To see what it was all about.

I was in my
apartment and I saw the light under the door.  I recognized it
immediately.  It's not just any light.  It is as if the sun were right
there at my doorway.  I was happy to see it and I went to open the door
when the door opened for me.  More specifically a man opened the door. 
He stood there welcoming me.  I couldn't really see him because he was
back lit from the sun so he was just a shadow.  So I walked to the door
but I was so excited that I was going to see what this light was all
about that I woke up.

As
I said I've had these dreams before but it was a few years ago.  Then I
would run from the light.  There was a couple of times I went into a
white tunnel and was zipped along like I was in a wormhole in a Star
Trek movie.  Nothing came of it.  I woke up each time fascinated by the
heiroglyphic symbols flashing past me in the walls.

Then there was
the time Jesus came to get me.  I was lying there so weak I couldn't
raise my arms then Jesus was by my side.  Then 2 angels came and started
to lift me from my body.  There was one each under each arm and I could
feel myself sitting up out of my body.  I could feel myself ripping
free from my body.  This scared the hell out of me and I screamed, "No,
I'm not ready!" and I pulled free from the angels and I woke up.

Do
the dreams mean anything.  Who knows.  But I wasn't having them when I
was feeling relatively healthy even though I'm not.  Now I'm just a
shell.  People actually avert their eyes when they see me again.  It's
been a few years since that happened as well.

I KNEW I Heard Shot's Fired - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

I KNEW I Heard Shot's Fired - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Last night I was kicked back playing words with friends when I heard
what sounded like gun shots....about 5 of them.  Then I heard a car
speeding away.

I got up and looked out the window to see what I
could see. (I live on the 8th. floor so I can see quite a lot)  I saw
the speeding car turning the corner and speeding up again.  I wasn't
sure it was the right car until I saw it run the red light at the end of
that block.  It then continued to go straight and out of my line of
sight.

I called it in to 911.

This morning on the news they
said that someone had shot up several cars at the car dealership across
the street.  They had a suspect in custody.

I hope I had something
to do with that.  There are a lot of people living right around that
car lot and someone could have easily been hit by a stray bullet.

About
a week ago I thought I heard a couple of shots fired as well but I
wasn't sure.  I shrugged it off as firecrackers.  Now I wonder.

"What do you mean, watch him? He's your brother" - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

"What do you mean, watch him? He's your brother" - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

When Bobby and I were first living together he got the flu or
something.  He was really sick for 3 or 4 days.  On Saturday afternoon
his brother came down and said he couldn't get a date for the night and
he wanted to know if I wanted to go out with him since Bobby was sick
anyway.  I asked Bobby if he minded and he laughed and said, "no".

Just as I was about to go out the door Bobby looked at me and said, 'Watch him."

I said, "what do you mean watch him, he's your brother."

Bobby just smiled and repeated, "watch him."

I
left and Dexter and I drove to Charleston (about an hour away) to go to
the Galaxy 2000.  The greatest disco club in WV at the time.  Almost
from the time we got in the door he was hitting on me.  I tried to
ignore it at first but as I got filled with drink after drink and
various other substances it was getting harder and harder to ignore him.
(It was fun too though because I was one girl who could hold my liqueur
and it was obvious to me he was trying to get me very drunk)

Finally
it reached the point where I looked at him and I said, "I want you to
be the first to know, Bobby and I are getting married."  From that point
on Dexter was a perfect gentleman.  We still partied the night away but
he didn't hit on me anymore for the rest of the night.  It
actually turned into a celebration of my impending wedding to his
brother.

When we pulled into the driveway and I was getting out of
the car to go into the house all of a sudden Dexter grabbed me and laid
one hell of a kiss on me.  Then he let me go and smiled at me and said,
"welcome to the family."  After I shook the kiss out of my head I went
home.

Bobby was waiting.  He said, "well, how was it?" And he had a huge grin on his face.

I
replied, "you were right.  I had to watch him."  Bobby doubled over
laughing and I told him about the evening.  The only part that surprised
him was when I told him that his brother backed off when I told him we
were getting married.

Two years later Dexter married a girl who could have been my sister, she looked so much like me.

New Year's Humor - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

New Year's Humor - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

gotta love laser babies

said the eel with no feet

Every 5 Years 2013 version - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Every 5 Years 2013 version - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Here's what I was doing every 5 years of my life.





2013 - steadily weakening healthwise





2008
- moved into Lee Terrace.  I didn't want to but I had to because of my
health.  One more step in giving up control of my life because of my
heart failure

.





2003
- taking care of my dad in Huntington, WV.  This is when my weight
started to skyrocket out of control.  I had always be heavy but I was
healthy.  When I took daddy home he wouldn't eat. I would fix his
favorite foods and make an appetizing tray and when he would refuse to
eat I would sit down in front of him and make a great show of enjoying a
most delectable meal.  Most of the time he would break down and say, "I
think I'll have a little of that."  I managed to put 50 pounds back on
him.  Unfortunately I also managed to put 50 on myself.








1998
- Divorce, living on my 100 acres working on building my greyhound
farm.  I just noticed that these greyhounds are the same ones pictured
in the puppy picture.  Baby Greyhound, Queenie (mother), Droid, Preety
and Mrs. Esterhaus. (Mrs. Esterhaus was not in the puppy picture.)








1993
- raising my first litter of greyhound puppies.  3 years into my 5 year
plan for financial success.  things were going great

.







1988
- started in Greyhound Business.  My intention was to get in and do an
animal rights expose but I was surprised to find that I loved it and I
could do more good from the "inside".





1983 - First
married New Years.  Working part time at P.R.I.D.E in Logan County, Inc
and working the other 16 hours per week as community service for them
because of trouble with the law I got into the year before.







1978
- 10th. grade Logan High School.  I was a bookworm.  I ran around with a
group of girls we called "the gang" in front of our parents but in
private we referred to ourselves as "the slut club".  We couldn't have
been further from it but it was our way of rebelling.








1973
- 5th. grade, Justice Grade School. Mrs. Ferrell.  I was a bookworm. 
This was the year we moved into our new house that my parents had just
finished building.  We spent our recesses playing Rock 'em, Sock 'em
Robots and Battling Tops when it rained.  That was the year the last
Prisoner of War came home from Vietnam.  We made POS signs (Prisoner's
of School). The teacher made us take them down.





1968
- 1st. grade, Justice Grade School.  Mrs. Stollings was my teacher.  I
loved books even as a small child.  My mom says I had my own rocking
chair with a magazine rack full of books beside it.  We were allowed to
have one toy when we went to the store and I always chose a book.  But
apparently I was not aware that I could read.  I remember sitting in the
reading circle for the first time at school as each child read a
passage from our readers.  I was sitting there thinking I didn't know
what to do but when my turn came I read my passage just fine.  I was so
proud of myself.





1963 - I was in my crib - My first birthday.

How NOT to blog - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

How NOT to blog - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster



Yesterday was New Year's Day.  I cleaned my refrigerator.

Today I had to run some errands.

I am so bored.  I need something to do.

Tomorrow I might cut my toenails.  If I have time, maybe I will polish them.

Nothing ever goes on in my life.  I need something to do.

I swear the tv is so boring.

I wish something exciting would happen.

That's all for today.

................................................................

and
whatever you do.  Don't blog the same thing tomorrow.  Get out and do
something with your life, then you will have something to blog about. 
Even better - get too busy to blog.  Then someday when you have time,
you will have something to blog about but by then blogging will probably
be passe'.

The Cavalry Has Arrived - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

The Cavalry Has Arrived - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

In the form of my nephew, Arny.

Once again we are having an inspection and once again, despite my best efforts, my apartment is not up to snuff .  So Arny has come to clean and then I will just have to maintain it until the inspection...and beyond if possible.

It
is his Christmas present to me...although he did give me a cute little
bear figurine to put on my shelf.  When I asked him what possessed him
to get that for me he said, "because you and Uncle ED (his pet name for
Eddie) go fishin'".  Makes sense to me.

Anyway
I was thanking him last night because there is really no requirement
for him to clean for me other than the fact that I am his auntie and he
loves me.  I had planned to take us to a nice dinner today and/or cook
his favorite stuffed peppers but it is zero degrees outside and I'm not
going out - extreme weather plays havoc with my breathing.

But he
knows I'm good for it and I will treat us another time or I told him he
is welcome to take my card and get something and bring it back for us. 
He's not worried about it though.

I should be able to maintain
the apartment a little better this time.  I am stronger than I was the
last time he left.  Also the meds the doctor started me on back at the
first of December are continuing to work and I am working everyday on
getting stronger again.  Once again I am able to go every day until I
get tired.  Which means I should be getting a little stronger every
day.  Back in November I was getting weak again because I couldn't
breathe well enough to walk across the room - much less get tired.

I
still wear oxygen much of the time but I am going longer and longer
periods without it.  Also I have broke myself of using the bi-pap in the
daytime (if I don't need a nap)

So by the end of the day I should have an inspection ready apartment.  Except for the oven - he can't seem to master that.
  But I have a girl coming tomorrow to clean it.  I can't do it because
I can't breathe the fumes -even the fumes free kind.  Arny looked at
the refrigerator I cleaned last night.  He said it looked like a blind
woman cleaned it....anyway it's cleaner than it was.

2013 - what a year for me.... - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

2013 - what a year for me.... - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

...Usually one of my favorite posts of the year is where I recount
my exploits of the previous year...you know - the highlights.

This year?  Not so much.

2013
may go down in my life as the most uneventful year of my life.  I'm
hard pressed to find 10 events - good or bad that happened in 2013.  So,
I warn you...for the most part this list will be dull and depressing
but I still consider it a good year.

Why?

Because of the
feelings of acceptance and contentment I feel about my life.  Maybe that
is an accomplishment in itself.  Then again, maybe it is the sign of
the greatest defeat of my life.  I have always had goals.  Always had
dreams and always looking forward to the next big thing in my life and
trying to improve.

Not this year.

Pretty much my only goal
has been to keep breathing.  After my gall bladder surgery I was
optimistic that maybe I was going to get better by leaps and bounds and
live a normal life again.  Instead I'm on the verge of that last big
step of giving up - at least for me.

This may sound stupid but I'm on the verge of getting cable.

Now
why is this giving up.  Because I have rarely had cable in my life.  I
have always been so busy living my life that I really didn't have time
for television.  Don't get me wrong. I've watched plenty of it.  But
I've done it in spits and spurts and never watched too many shows on a
regular basis because I was so busy living my life - other than my soap
that is.  (One Life to Live and they took it off a couple of years ago)

But
I have reached a point where everytime I go out to do anything it is a
struggle.  Exercise for me is staying in the house and trying to keep it
clean.  I rarely walk around the grounds of our building any longer
because it is so hard and if I do then I am too tired to do my daily
chores and I fall hopelessly behind.

So, I clean a little, I watch
a little tv, I blog a little and I play Words with Friends a lot. 
Mental exercise is as important as physical exercise.  I rarely comment
on blogs anymore.  It's just too hard.  Most times what I would say has
already been said.  That's why I like the visitors list on this blog. 
That way my friends at least know I stopped by, even when I don't
comment.

1.  Our building was evacuated because of carbon monoxide.  The effects of it stayed with me for weeks.

2. Somewhere around last April I gained 40 pounds in just a couple of weeks.  That was the last time I felt "normal."

3. 
My nephew and I renewed our relationship.  I had not seen him in a few
years because he was at that age where he was out sowing his wild oats.

4.  Emergency Surgery for a gangrenous gall bladder.

5.  My nephew moves in to take care of me so I don't have to go into a nursing home.

6. 
WAKASU -my nephew saves several people from a crazed intruder in the
building.  He earns the respect of all in the building and the title of
WAKASU (supposedly means warrior in "Indian" but I can't find any
mention of it anywhere)

7. 
There was a trade off in my life.  My mom had always made me choose
between her and all the other members of my family.  So, I always rarely
saw them because I wanted a relationship with her.  Now that she has
disowned me as well, other family members are stepping up to help me
with my illness like no one (including her) ever did before.  As they
say, "there is a silver lining to every cloud."  Now don't get me
wrong.  I love my mom and I always will but her severing the ties of our
lives has actually been good for me.

8.  I also renewed contact with my niece - even though she lives in Florida.  We have some wonderful conversations via facebook.

9.  facebook has replaced "gas" in my life.  I visit there instead of getting in my truck and going to someone's house.

10. 
The more things change the more they remain the same.  I rang in the
new year sitting in my truck having a picnic with myself- eating chinese
and listening to 80's rock on the radio.
  whilst doing a little "river watching."  Now before you ask, "What is
river watching?"  I have always found it relaxing to sit and watch the
river pass by...and whatever may be floating along.

11.  I stopped sneaking the occasional "toke on a joint". (birthday and New Years)

I can't breathe as it is.  Sure can't add that to the mix.

12.  I got Pudgy

Appeals Court sides with coal firm that withheld evidence of black lung - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Appeals Court sides with coal firm that withheld evidence of black lung - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

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January 3, 2014

4th Circuit sides with coal firm in black lung case

Jackson Kelly lawyers' withholding of evidence not 'fraud on the court'

By Ken Ward Jr.

Advertiser

Read the decision: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/

CHARLESTON,
W.Va. -- Calling the behavior "hardly admirable," a federal appeals
court said Friday that the actions of coal industry lawyers who withheld
key medical evidence in a black lung benefits case did not rise to the
level of "fraud on the court."The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
questioned the actions of the Jackson Kelly lawyers but, at the same
time, declined to wade too deeply into a dispute that has focused
attention on the law firm's work opposing benefit claims for miners.

A
three-judge panel ruled against the widow of a black lung victim, a
deceased West Virginia miner named Gary Fox. Fox's widow, Mary, has been
pursuing the case. Her husband was denied black lung benefits after
Jackson Kelley lawyers, representing Elk Run Coal Co., withheld reports
from two pathologists whose findings might have been helpful in proving
he had black lung.

The case was featured in an October series by
the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit journalism organization,
which criticized coal industry lawyers and doctors it alleged abused the
system to block disabled miners from receiving federal black lung
benefits.

In a 20-page decision, the 4th Circuit ruled that concealing the pathology reports did not constitute "fraud on the court."

The
U.S. Supreme Court has defined fraud on the court as a "deliberately
planned and carefully executed scheme" that severely undermines the
"integrity of the judicial process." Even perjury and fabricated
evidence alone aren't enough to meet the extraordinary standard, the
courts have said.

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson wrote that the 4th
Circuit saw "no reason to address" the case's broader implications when a
"plain, narrow disposition is available.

"We bestow no blessing
and place no imprimatur on the company's conduct, other than to hold
that it did not, under a clear chain of precedent, amount to a fraud
upon the court," Wilkinson wrote in a 20-page decision. "We now affirm
and find that Elk Run's conduct, while hardly admirable, did not, under
clear Supreme Court and circuit precedent, demonstrate the commission of
a fraud upon the court."

Wilkinson wrote that the Fox case illustrates the way litigation is supposed to work.

"The
adversary process exists because it permits each side to present its
own case as well as to test its opponent's in order to expose
vulnerabilities of every sort and variety," he wrote. "It is, to some
extent, a self-policing mechanism."

Mary Hendrix, a spokeswoman
for Jackson Kelly issued a statement saying the firm is pleased with the
4th Circuit's decision in that regard.

"We have always believed
that the actions of our attorneys were lawful," the statement said. "For
nearly 200 years, Jackson Kelly has represented clients across West
Virginia and the nation, and we have always been known as strong and
able advocates and we believe our conduct in this case was consistent
with our duty to represent our client."

Morgantown lawyer Al
Karlin, who represented Mary Fox, said he is disappointed in the
decision but noted that the 4th Circuit neither endorsed Jackson Kelly's
conduct nor resolved whether a lesser type of fraud had occurred or
not.

"We are surprised that the court failed to appreciate the
difficulty that Mr. Fox and so many other miners have in getting
competent counsel in federal black lung claims to protect them from
litigation tactics that undermine the pursuit of truth," Karlin said.

Appeals Court sides with coal firm that withheld evidence of black lung - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Appeals Court sides with coal firm that withheld evidence of black lung - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

January 3, 2014

4th Circuit sides with coal firm in black lung case

Jackson Kelly lawyers' withholding of evidence not 'fraud on the court'

By Ken Ward Jr.

Advertiser

Read the decision: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/

CHARLESTON,
W.Va. -- Calling the behavior "hardly admirable," a federal appeals
court said Friday that the actions of coal industry lawyers who withheld
key medical evidence in a black lung benefits case did not rise to the
level of "fraud on the court."The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
questioned the actions of the Jackson Kelly lawyers but, at the same
time, declined to wade too deeply into a dispute that has focused
attention on the law firm's work opposing benefit claims for miners.

A
three-judge panel ruled against the widow of a black lung victim, a
deceased West Virginia miner named Gary Fox. Fox's widow, Mary, has been
pursuing the case. Her husband was denied black lung benefits after
Jackson Kelley lawyers, representing Elk Run Coal Co., withheld reports
from two pathologists whose findings might have been helpful in proving
he had black lung.

The case was featured in an October series by
the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit journalism organization,
which criticized coal industry lawyers and doctors it alleged abused the
system to block disabled miners from receiving federal black lung
benefits.

In a 20-page decision, the 4th Circuit ruled that concealing the pathology reports did not constitute "fraud on the court."

The
U.S. Supreme Court has defined fraud on the court as a "deliberately
planned and carefully executed scheme" that severely undermines the
"integrity of the judicial process." Even perjury and fabricated
evidence alone aren't enough to meet the extraordinary standard, the
courts have said.

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson wrote that the 4th
Circuit saw "no reason to address" the case's broader implications when a
"plain, narrow disposition is available.

"We bestow no blessing
and place no imprimatur on the company's conduct, other than to hold
that it did not, under a clear chain of precedent, amount to a fraud
upon the court," Wilkinson wrote in a 20-page decision. "We now affirm
and find that Elk Run's conduct, while hardly admirable, did not, under
clear Supreme Court and circuit precedent, demonstrate the commission of
a fraud upon the court."

Wilkinson wrote that the Fox case illustrates the way litigation is supposed to work.

"The
adversary process exists because it permits each side to present its
own case as well as to test its opponent's in order to expose
vulnerabilities of every sort and variety," he wrote. "It is, to some
extent, a self-policing mechanism."

Mary Hendrix, a spokeswoman
for Jackson Kelly issued a statement saying the firm is pleased with the
4th Circuit's decision in that regard.

"We have always believed
that the actions of our attorneys were lawful," the statement said. "For
nearly 200 years, Jackson Kelly has represented clients across West
Virginia and the nation, and we have always been known as strong and
able advocates and we believe our conduct in this case was consistent
with our duty to represent our client."

Morgantown lawyer Al
Karlin, who represented Mary Fox, said he is disappointed in the
decision but noted that the 4th Circuit neither endorsed Jackson Kelly's
conduct nor resolved whether a lesser type of fraud had occurred or
not.

"We are surprised that the court failed to appreciate the
difficulty that Mr. Fox and so many other miners have in getting
competent counsel in federal black lung claims to protect them from
litigation tactics that undermine the pursuit of truth," Karlin said.

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire! - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire! - damnpamn's Blog - Blogster



In honor of the cold snap, I thought I would repost one of my all time favorite blogs.



WHEN
I MOVED BACK FROM FLORIDA IT WAS JANUARY AND I THOUGHT I HAD BROUGHT
BACK ALL MY HEAVIEST WINTER CLOTHES. I QUICKLY DISCOVERED THAT AFTER
LIVING IN FLORIDA FOR FIVE YEARS, I HAD NO WINTER CLOTHES. I ABSOLUTELY
COULD NOT GET WARM.

I
KEPT MY THERMOSTAT ON 90 DEGREES OR MORE AND WHEN PEOPLE CAME TO VISIT
ME THEY COULDN'T GET THEIR BREATH BECAUSE IT WAS SO HOT IN MY HOUSE.

ONE DAY I HAD THE BRILLIANT IDEA OF HOW TO GET WARM.

I HAD A HAMMOCK.

I HAD A FLOOR FURNACE.

I SET UP MY HAMMOCK OVER THE FLOOR FURNACE.

THE
WHOLE TIME I WAS SETTING UP THE HAMMOCK  I WAS WHISTLING IN
ANTICIPATION OF FINALLY BEING WARM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MONTH!

I EASED MYSELF INTO THE HAMMOCK AND IT TOOK ABOUT 10 SECONDS FOR ME TO DISCOVER THAT THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA. MY ASS WAS ON FIRE. I WAS LITERALLY COOKING OVER THE FLAMES.
TO MAKE THINGS WORSE THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ROOM ON EACH SIDE OF THE
FURNACE (IT WAS IN THE HALLWAY) AND I HAD TO EASE MYSELF OUT OF THE
HAMMOCK WITHOUT FALLING ONTO THE GRILL OF THE FURNACE BELOW! IT WAS TRULY AN "OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE" SITUATION.

AFTER
EXTRICATING MYSELF FROM THIS PAINFUL SITUATION I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR
AT MY BOTTOM. IT HAD GRIDDLE MARKS ON IT IN THE SHAPE OF THE HAMMOCK.

MY ASS LITERALLY LOOKED LIKE TWO GIANT HAMS THAT HAD JUST COME OUT OF THE OVEN!