Here's link to a free little book about six remarkable Alabama people who influenced me during my formative years:
Post-Script:
My longtime internet buddy, Sancho Panza, commented:
Sancho:
Sloan, I
don't think NPR will find your piece on Charlotte and the Judge appealing to
their Liberal Audience... not PC, my man!
Don Quixote (me):
When I
lived in Boulder, and since then, I have thought politically correct is a
terminal spiritual disease.
Someone
recently told me to try Terry Gross, who hosts Fresh Air, and I got a canned
email back saying they cannot respond to everything they receive, but they read
it all.
Here is
the text of my email.
Dear NPR
Fresh Air:
I wish to
present for Terry Gross and her show producer's consideration, A FEW
REMARKABLE ALABAMA PEOPLE I HAVE KNOWN, self-published paperback, which
started falling out of me in 2004, after I heard a couple of commentaries on
NPR about stagnated writers whose careers were rejuvenated by synchronistic
experiences. I was a stagnated writer.
There
were several reprints, and I suppose I gave away about 2,000 copies. I recently
republished it at A
FEW REMARKABLE ALABAMA PEOPLE I HAVE KNOWN, by a southern lawyer who became a
mystic, where anyone can read it for free. Perhaps people not from
Alabama, who read it, come away with a new perspective of Alabama.
The book
introduces 6 larger than life Alabama people, who influenced me during my
formative years.
1. My
spiritual father, in his teens fell under a train he was hopping and lost both
legs above the knee, attended night law school, piloted the federal debtors
court, got appointed to the federal bench, used to drink moonshine, cussed, and
did not attend church, ran the Alabama Democratic Party behind the scenes,
before George Wallace took over state politics.
2. My
black nanny, daughter of a southern slave, the greatest cook in the world, my
spiritual mother, who loved me as her own, a living saint, worked behind the
scenes during the time of troubles in Birmingham, counseling her people to be
patient with and tolerant of their white brothers and sisters.
3. My
father's older brother, called a spade a spade, a healer pediatrician babies
loved, treated babies, not mamas, the greatest fisherman in the world, I wanted
to be my father.
4. My
great grandfather Polish Jew immigrant, wise, honest, small town banker,
married Southern Baptist daughter of a Confederate officer, townspeople brought
him their disputes to settle, instead of the town lawyers.
5. My
mother's Episcopal minister, hated asking his congregation to give money to his
church, told his vestry he would close their church in the rich, white
Birmingham suburb, Mountain Book, if blacks were denied attending services.
6. The wise,
smarter than a whip family attorney, who became a lawyer the old way, by
working in a law firm, who told me I'd never be happy until I found God.
In
"a prior life", I was interviewed by Jane Pauley on TODAY,
about HOME BUYERS: Lambs to the Slaughter? There were lots of
media interviews regarding that book. Then came SELLING YOUR HOME $WEET
HOME and KILL ALL THE LAWYERS? A Client's Guide to Hiring,
Firing, Using and Suing Lawyers. Lots more media interviews.
That life
ended, so to speak, and things got a lot more interesting, somewhat reflected
in A FEW REMARKABLE ALABAMA PEOPLE I HAVE KNOWN and a more
recent little agony and ecstasy sequel, LAW & SPIRIT, by a Southern
Lawyer Who Became a Mystic, about my progression from human law into
spiritual law, and then flashes back to my sometimes amusing and not so amusing
legal training at the University of Alabama School of Law and later related
events. It can be read at https://lawandmysticism.blogspot.com/
The third
little book in the trilogy is a bit more ... mystical and intense.
Spontaneous
Ramblings on Soul Alchemy, by a southern lawyer who became a
mystic
Sincerely
yours,
Sloan
Bashinsky
Sancho:
I think a
little different; instead of you writing a book about interesting people you've
known, you should look at finding an author to write the story of your life....
it would be very interesting, I think! Oink!
Sloan
If such a
writer exists, s/he will be very busy for quite a while.
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