Ridiculously Good

I hate most of my law school textbooks. Usually, they're cobbled together by some prof who's overly obsessed with the nuances of an overwritten opinion from the 1630's. They change one page each year and then charge you an arm and a leg to buy the "new edition." If I had the grades to be a law school professor, I would, just so I could cash in on the textbook selling boom.

Once in a long while, a book comes along that bucks the boring trend. This happened recently when I opened up my new Trusts & Estates textbook and saw a picture of Marilyn Monroe. I thought to myself, hmmm, that's odd. A picture of a sexy actress in a textbook. Yeah, she's long dead, but that certainly beats staring at the pile of hair that Justice Cardozo called his eyebrows.

I flipped through the pages hoping for more gems...a cartoon about lesbian married couples here...a picture of Charles Kuralt with his mistress there...a footnote describing in detail the devotion a pet dog showed for his testator/master here...a picture of Scott and Laci Peterson there. Clearly this isn't your mother's textbook.

Wait what, it IS your mother's textbook? OMG!!

So, I called my Mom to shoot the [breeze] a few week ago and I was telling her how much I liked my Trusts & Estates textbook. She responded, "Ooooh, is it the one with the pictures?" Yes, I replied. Yes it is. She loved it too when she took the class ten years ago. Clearly, it's in the genes.

Now, trying to choose a suitable amusing passage out of a 1000 page textbook is not easy. I'll stick with my favorite then. This is the footnote about dog and owner. It's sad, but cool and pretty much sums up why I love the book and dogs:

"6. A letter from James C. McSween, Jr., the winning counsel in Taylor, to Robert H. Sitkoff, dated Oct. 9, 2008 reveals:

I inquired of Doris Holt, concerning the identity of "Muff" mentioned in the Will. It appears that this was a pet dog that [the testator] had for several years. She told me that the dog anxiously awaited his return from work late each night, and would anticipate his arrival by furiously moving from window to door at the usual hour. Muff became very despondent after the death of [the testator] and died within a few weeks."

My note in the margin? Just a big highlighted heart. Thanks, Dukeminier (sadly deceased), Sitkoff, and Lindgren. Your book has lightened up many a sad hour devoted to law school homework.

Ridiculously Good!