Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
November 2020
My Dear Barber,
Keeper of the Coif, Star of Sideburns and Straight-Razor Shaves. Yes, I see that you see me walk by. Sometimes you wave. Sometimes I hang my head in shame. The look in your eye – is it derision? sadness? coveting a chop of my increasingly long locks?
I do admit, I gave into the COVID-hair craze. After a few weeks of quarantine, I just couldn’t resist trying out the 70’s baseball star look.
At one point, I decided it had gone on long enough. I finally ditched the mutton chops and the goatee. I was somewhere between clean-shaven and a beard, depending on the day’s obligations. But, the hair. What to do about the hair?
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I began writing this letter a couple of months ago, when we were all optimistically looking toward a “reopening” and resumption of ordinary activities, if only under some sort of “new normal” scenario. Now, we’re back to “stay home, stay safe,” or some variation thereof. I was able to get one haircut in the interim.
Why am I writing this? Well, at first, just because. I just wanted a fun post, as well as to perhaps explain why I looked like Sully from Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman.
I also wanted to raise awareness of the seriousness of COVID, which is more than just a respiratory virus, and encourage folks to engage in civic-minded mask-wearing and social distancing.
Now, in our “second wave” (like the ocean, waves come and go, but the water never goes away), in addition to these reasons, I think it’s important to point out some things that are going on with the courts.
First, there’s a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until at least the end of the year. This means that if you’re a landlord, short of tenants being convicted of a serious crime or burning the place down, you cannot evict. If rent is the only problem, at least, you can still get some relief through Vermont’s Rental Housing Stabilization Program – while funds last, so act fast!
Second, though civil proceedings are never swift, the extended judicial state of emergency means things are going slower than ever, and jury trials are a figment of the far-off future.
The courts are one of the primary means by which we maintain a safe, civil, and peaceful society. Limited operations are slowing things, but the Vermont Supreme Court is working hard to make sure the most important issues – personal and public safety – are addressed. For all other disputes, we attorneys can only plead patience and understanding.
Be kind. It’s a brave new world out there. And, I’ll be back in for a haircut the next time it’s safe.
Sincerely yours,
The Attorney Next Door