We went to the courthouse where Marjorie spends most of her
mornings. She's a court advocate who assists battered women
who can't afford an attorney. She can't speak in court since
she doesn't have a law license, but she talks to the victims
before their hearings to help them understand their rights
and stands beside them while the cases are being heard. We
sat while about a dozen couples negotiated injunctions that
stopped the husband from contacting the wife (and variations
thereof).
(Picture
with the bailiff!)
We had just finished saying that our stomachs would be in
knots if we were sitting here waiting for our names to be
called when the judge called out for Jennifer Lawrence, the
manager of a store who wanted an injunction against an
ex-employee.
We then went to Hubbard House, a place where women who are
in lethal danger from batterers can stay for up to six
weeks. Marjorie showed us around. She's universally loved.
We unfortunately can't say much about this place since all
of the information about it is confidential. We can only
say that we're sad that women need such a place, but if they
do, that we can't imagine a better place for them to go.
We had lunch with Marjorie while she told us the stories
behind some of the cases we had heard that morning.
Marjorie went back to work and we went to visit Jennifer's
Aunt
Dot and Uncle Oliver. They're really her great aunt and
uncle, and they've lived in their house for 41 years. They
showed us pictures of their parents and of Jennifer when she
was young and lived with Marjorie. We had a great time
listening to stories of the places they had visited in their
extensive world travels.
We then went to the store "Natural Wonders" to spoil our
nephew with science toys. He already has a
lab
with a microscope and everything. If you know where we can
get a white lab coat for a six year old, let us know.
(Oh, and the
Ghost
of Christmas Yet To Come.)
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