MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL

WHAT DO I KNOW?
BY RICHARD MURPHY
tried to get my wife to take all the family’s

I
about it that appeals to the twentieth-century
money and put it into Mega-bucks tickets. mentality.”
LEGAL My rationale was that I had always said it
would be a cold day in July before I ever won any
Orwell then went on to prove the point that
he himself had no reason to believe the world
BRIEF money. Well we had a lot of cold rainy July days
this year. August, however turned out sultry hot.
was round even though he accepted that it was.
Of course we who are living now can point to
ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ. Still it is a summer like none that I remember. pictures from space and all that, but we have to
STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY
We have had rainy spells, but little as soggy as admit that few of us have made a study of it and
this year. The weather occasioned a debate on are taking it more or less on faith. His closing
M O N T H LY L E G A L A DV I C E
F O R R E A D E R S O F
talk radio. The hosts generally take the position paragraph sums it up:
T H E S T U R B R I D G E T I M E S M AG A Z I N E that the low temps prove global warming a “It will be seen that my reasons for thinking
hoax. Some callers will argue the other side, a that the earth is round are rather precarious
few even positing the cold spell as evidence that ones. Yet this is an exceptionally elementary
AVOIDING PROBATE warming is true.
Which side is right? Beats me. My cousin in
piece of information. On most other questions I
should have to fall back on the expert much ear-
usually waterlogged Seattle tells me they are lier, and would be less able to test his pronounce-
here are plenty of ways to avoid pro-

T bate, but it might only save a little bit of

money and, if done improperly, put the
very assets you are trying to save at risk.
experiencing the warmest Spring and Summer
ever. Well, that settles, exactly nothing. The only
thing that is certain is that true believers on
either side of the argument will not be swayed
ments. And much the greater part of our knowl-
edge is at this level. It does not rest on reasoning
or on experiment, but on authority.And how can
it be otherwise, when the range of knowledge is
It’s important to understand that the only
by anything said by the opposition. so vast that the expert himself is an ignoramous
way to avoid probate is give away your prop-
Why not? Well why should they? What can as soon as he strays away from his own speciali-
erty so that your heirs won’t have to go
one know? Unfortunately, not much in the mod- ty? Most people, if asked to prove that the earth
through probate court to get ownership of
ern world. The problem was best expressed by is round, would not even bother to produce the
them after you die.
George Orwell over 60 year ago, rather weak arguments I have outlined above.
You could simply put your stuff in joint
“Somewhere or other—I think it is in the pref- They would start off by saying that ’everyone
names.This is how most married couples own
ace to Saint Joan—Bernard Shaw remarks that knows’ the earth to be round, and if pressed fur-
their assets anyway. The tricky part is when
we are more gullible and superstitious today ther, would become angry. In a way Shaw is right.
you put the kids on the deed. Very bad idea.
than we were in the Middle Ages, and as an exam- This is a credulous age, and the burden of knowl-
If your child gets sued, falls behind on his
ple of modern credulity he cites the widespread edge which we now have to carry is partly
bills, or accumulates medical expenses he
belief that the earth is round. The average man, responsible.”
can’t pay, his creditors can now sell off his por-
says Shaw, can advance not a single reason for In truth, with my own unaided reason, I could
tion of your house. This happens more often
thinking that the earth is round. He merely swal- not have figured out the Earth is round. As a
than you might imagine.
lows this theory because there is something child in elementary school, I did have my primi-
You might try putting your property in
what is commonly known as a living trust.This tive sense of wonder piqued when Columbus
protects the property from your children’s was explained. Unfortunately, they explained it
creditors during your life time, but probating a
will costs little more than it costs to draft the
GEORGE AND DAVIS, PC wrong. Columbus did not come up with some-
thing shocking in the world is round idea. Most
trust and transfer the property into it.
The real advantage to a living trust is that it
508-347-7114 scholars already believed it. Chris thought the
circumference of the globe smaller than it was.
He had made a mistake that gave us the New
takes far less time to transfer your property to
your heirs after you die. Then again, you are,
509 Main Street, Sturbridge World.
So how does this connect to Global Warming.
after all, dead.You won’t be the one doing the 15 Lincoln Street, Brookfield At a family gathering the various members were
waiting.
Your local law firm since 1973. talking about the question. I won’t say dis-
cussing. Neither side answered the others’ ques-
• Real Estate • Bankruptcy tions other than to state a fact. My techie son
And now a few words • Estate Plans • Divorce asked a relative how they would explain that
Mars is heating up at the same rate as the Earth.
from our sponsors ... • Corporate/Business • Criminal
A statement was made in reply, but no answer.
“Out of all the print advertising we’ve Robert A. George, Esq. How do people become so doctrinaire over
done, we’ve definitely received the most Karen E. Davis, Esq. something even experts disagree about?
hits off of our ad in The Sturbridge Times It is time to quote true experts on human
Magazine.” Complicated Laws nature. No, not Nietsche or Freud, but Gilbert
— Paul Dyer, Body Dezines Common Language and Sullivan:
www.regeorge.net Continued on page 24
Call 508.347.7077 for more information
22 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
Murphy’s column
‘What Do I Know’
Continued from page 22
That every boy and every gal
That's born into the world alive
Is either a little Liberal
Or else a little Conservative!
Fal, lal, la!
26 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE
Poetry of October
Continued from previous page
our own lives.We provide ourselves a place to ponder the human atti-
Yup, we’re born that way. I accept
tude of care and how we make that real in the kind of poetry we cre-
it and am waiting for my application
ate through every moment of our living.
to the Flat Earth Society to be
approved. They have my solemn
The poem “Raking Leaves in Late October” is one way of partici-
undertaking to agree with their offi-
pating in the poetry of the gift of October:
cial Global Warming Policy no matter
what it is.
We combed her hair gently
Thoughtfully
Wondering about the significance
Of each broken twig
Dreaming about the visions of each leaf
Heaped into piles and carried off in a blanket
To be dumped in the street
Would she appreciate the grooming to dry her moist skin?
Would it help to better breathe
And feel the last warm promise of late October?
She appeared pleased with our efforts
And kissed the perspiration from our foreheads
Her hair stiffened-those yellow-green bristles
Transformed into stillness-
Into a picture of yesterday
That echoes youth and glimpses age
Accepting without regret
The subtle beauty that belongs to both
Survives both
Beheld in neither grasping the one
Nor denying the other
Only discovered in the keen awareness
Of the metamorphosis of all that is becoming
Into the folds of ancient hands and sacred places
That by wisdom knows the time to birth
And the time to gather in
What is your October Poetry like? Send it in and possibly we might
publish it. May the poetry of our being alive ever celebrate the trace of
that passion that animates our living!
(“Raking Leaves in Late October” is from Traces of Passionate Leaves
by Jeff Cannon.)
Avoid the Malls!
One of the best ways to
support your town is to
support its local businesses.
Shop, eat, drink at
locally-owned businesses!
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING