Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary
Dr. Jedidiah is a psychiatrist who loves
traveling, meeting new people, and exploring different cultures. As a single
father who lost his wife to drug overdose 10 years ago, he has not been his old
perky self for the last decade. During those hard years, he has met hundreds
of, thousands of people from various walks of life around all over the world.
Meeting new people and listening to their stories outside his office have given
him different feelings from the ones through the formal encounter groups or being
truly honest with himself. Here is Dr. Jedidiah’s monologue that has left him
with some food for thoughts in life…. or a fodder to justify his own mistakes
in the past.
Episode #66. Fight for the Right Thing
It
was a dreary winter afternoon when Juno came to my office as scheduled a month
ago. As might be expected of his occupation written on the first-time patient’s
information form, he looked like the one who must have always acted fair and square as a lawyer. Juno gave
me the first greeting smile, but his eyes were full of many undisclosed feelings
he would never have let anyone in the court realize. “Pleased to meet you, Mr.
Juno Prier.” I stood up from my armchair and smiled back. Shaking my hands, he
said “You, too, Dr. J. Just call me Juno. I am not a lawyer or anything
official here in this room. I am here as my own true self to get your help.”
Juno seemed to have found a place where he could finally become his most unbridled self to feel free and
willingly verklempt even for an hour
in his day.
Juno
was a 43 year-old lawyer. His career had never been shining like most
well-heeled lawyers around him, because he took the sides of the weak or less
privileged in society who were easily accused that they did not deserve. Juno’s
portfolio of trial history was a pack of enlightenment like a tocsin upon the ears of rotten,
unethical, and shady attorneys and prosecutors. Juno’s list of vindication and
support included a wide variety of people marginalized in our community: a
mentally retarded man on suspicion of raping a young store clerk, a poor
construction worker in charge of stealing pulp wood from the site, illegal
foreign workers who were severely
injured but never been compensated and falsely accused of murdering their boss
at work. The more sessions I had with Juno at my office, the more respect and
admiration towards the man surged in my mind. However, Juno was suffering from
the fact that he was hurting those victimized and the victim’s families in each
of the incidents. He confided that all he thought about in each case was how
beautifully he would disentangle and wrap up the incidents like a warrior of
justice in shining armor. He regretted so much that he made a rush to see the
light at the end of every dirty tunnel.
When
I asked him what made him look back and feel saddened, Juno said two of the
victims’ families had been terribly affected by the prolonged retrials that helped
reveal the actual criminals but gave them repetitive nightmarish time. They committed
suicide. The long, painful journey of finding truth and shedding light on
justice had never been half-assed by
this passionate pro bono lawyer, but
he is suffering from his own good will and faith, thinking about those families
of the victims who had to relive the torturous time, got hurt, and hopelessly demised
through the years. I was no longer able to keep perorating about virtue of his work and contributions, because Juno’s
eyes were telling me that his portfolio did not feel like his pride and joy. The way I navigated to reach the penetralia of this pro bono lawyers’
heart and soul was such an intricate journey of noetics that I had not experienced with my own pride and
achievement. Juno, how could I ever help you who had always been fighting for
the right thing?
Expressions
1.
fair and
square:
honestly and straightforwardly
2.
unbridled:
uncontrolled/ unconstrained
3.
verklempt: overcome with emotion
4.
tocsin: an
alarm bell or signal
5.
to half-ass
something:
to do (something) poorly due to lack of care or effort
6.
pro bono
lawyer:
Lawyers
who serve the public interest by providing free legal services to those in need
do so on a pro bono basis. The provider is thought to be
imparting a benefit for the greater good, instead of working for profit.
According to a contingency fee agreement, an attorney may get paid only if they win a case or obtain a
settlement, in which case the attorney will receive a pre-agreed percentage.
7.
to
perorate:
to speak at length/ to make a very long speech
8.
one’s
pride and joy: be
something or someone that is very important to you and that gives you a lot of pleasure
9.
penetralia: innermost
parts of a building; a secret or hidden place
10.noetics: of or relating to the mind/ intellect
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