“You have a Whitmore on the hospital board and Whitmore concrete under the courthouse annex.”

“Then tell me what I do have.”

He said counsel.

He said the words independent of county jurisdiction.

“How much leave do you have on the books?” he asked.

“Nineteen days.”

“Then spend them in a hearing room, not in a hallway.”

I pulled my boot lace tight, then untied it, because my hands wanted something to do that my mouth didn’t.