Boston Legal recap and things about Long Island and the election

Shirley Shmidt (Candice Bergen) was asked by a childhood friend to represent him. His wife of 23 years was trying to get an annulment. Why? She caught him with a cow. A real cow, yes, and apparently it wasn’t the first time. The wife was played by Susan Ruttan, the secretary on LA Law, who I always thought was the most complex character on the show or the one who remained with me years after the show ended.

Then I remembered that David E Kelley got his TV start writing for LA Law, and was probably the writer who gave her a father with Alzheimer’s–a subject he has explored over and over again, and the skanky salesman husband.

Denny Crane (William Shatner) walked into court repeating his name, never a good sign for him but always funny. Couldn’t remember where he was going or why. Was that real or an act? He was supposed to represent an indigent repulsive defendant who had raped and murdered a thirteen year old.

He sent a new associate in his place to the next court appearance who the judge literally sent hopping out of court to get Denny Crane, Denny Crane. The defendant later told Denny that he had AIDS so he did the girl a favor by killing her.

Alan Shore (James Spader) was supposed to represent a TV station in a case involving a TV character who spoke out against global warming. One little/big problem; the character was a clown and Alan’s phobic about them. Brad Chase (Mark Valley) who had always been a caricature, showed his human side as he forced Alan to confront his fears.

What saves Boston Legal from being a caricature itself is the underlying seriousness of most of the cases, and the brilliance of the acting.

Ten to thirty percent of the population has had a close encounter with an animal.

Absolutely true story: My mom had jury duty when she was in her 60’s. She wanted to serve so badly when she found out that it was a man and animal trial. The Judge kept on telling her that she looked like such a nice lady.
“But I’m not that nice. Really. I read mysteries; I don’t shock easily.”

She wasn’t selected. While she did look like the archetype suburban housewife, I think she looked too interested in the case. Not that I was there; and she couldn’t bring herself to say the word “animal” when she talked about it. Nassau County does still have horse farms and this was in the 80’s when there were more.

My first cover story, okay my only real cover story but I was an “arts reporter,” was on a clown. More people than necessary confided their fears of clowns to me.

Candice Bergen, William Shatner and James Spader are all iconic figures. To have them in one TV show is frigging brilliant casting.

It also feels closer to my real life when they argue politics than the Internet does. Just because they hate each others stances doesn’t mean that they hate each other; ask the ever pressing “Why do you hate America so much?” Or say the always popular “get over it, your side lost.”

On that note: get over it, your side will lose in 2006. Get used to the feeling. Don’t lord your moralvalues over me, or I will have the law firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt, arguing for me.

I understand that many losers feel emboldened by the anonymity of the Internet. Well yesterday the people of America began revolting. Bloomberg doesn’t count. While I didn’t vote for him, I might have if I hadn’t liked Ferrer so much and was determined to vote all Democratic for the second time in my life. We’re a pragmatic city. We knew four years ago that we couldn’t count on the federal government for help in our recovery so we voted (me too) for a self-made billionaire who could help, and he did

I do believe that, yes, he can never be bought, but when I think about it some more, I know many people who can never be bought just because they’re principled. But I’m not unhappy that Bloomberg was reelected. New York City has prove over and over again that we’re a very self sufficent city, and one that will vote Democratic when it counts.

I’m from Long Island, Nassau County, to be exact, and I have long thought that as goes Long Island so goes the rest of the nation later. Now communication is faster and later is earlier. For the first time in history both County Executives are Democrats. While Suffolk County has the Hamptons, and some other very rich areas it’s much more diverse than most people think as is Nassau County.

I love Long Island; I really do. Funny but the more people make fun of it the more I defend it. Took a comedy writing class; one of the things the lecturer said is always funny is saying “Syosset.” I’m not from Syosset, but did live near it, so I have no idea what’s funny about it. It’s an American Indian name.

Long Island’s North and South Shores are physically very different from each other and both very beautiful. While I’m an ocean person, I have lived in both Sea Cliff, a White Russian turn of the 20th century resort town, with great Tudor houses and dramatic views, and Oyster Bay which is also a beautiful town.

People think Long Island is all white; that’s just not true anymore, and actually never was. In the past 20 years large numbers of Hispanics, Asians and East Indians have moved to the Island. Maybe they’re not the right type of non-white; maybe the large pockets of Black communities don’t count. Maybe it should be more integrated. Not saying that it’s perfect by any means, but even Queens is officially part of Long Island so I lived my first 23 years on Long Island. I’m tired of hearing about how horrible it is/was/will be.

Not saying that Long Island is perfect but the Long Island of Al D’Amato has vanished and never did exist in many places. It is true that in order to get a county or state job you sorta had to be a registered Republican; not true anymore. Don’t know what happened to the fabled cabanas in the Nassau County Beach club. They cost $200 a summer, was yours for life, and of course you had to be connected to get one.

It’s ironic that many people who live on the Island or are from the Island feel less than….They think that anybody who lives anywhere in Westchester is superior to them, even though the school district that they live in might be ranked much higher than the community that they wish they lived in Westchester.

The community that I’m from has always voted Democratic; unfortunately Congressional districts had been redrawn and gerrymandered so that Democrats would lose. Actually I didn’t grow up in a community; I grew up in a school district that’s comprised of a Hamlet and bits of different Villages that are in two seperate towns. If that sounds confusing, I think that it’s supposed to be.

When I was growing up there was a so called “Long Island quota,” at many Ivy League schools. Parents on Long Island were like parents today. They pushed, shoved, and were overly involved in their kids lives. Like I said: as Long Island so goes the nation.

Of course the Long Island quota didn’t apply if you were the right type of Long Islander. In the 60’s to mid 70’s we understood, and accepted, that there were many places Jews weren’t allowed. When The Polo Club in Jericho was sold; it became a gated condo community which is mostly Jewish. We might not have been allowed to play in it or some golf courses; didn’t mean we couldn’t live in them.

However now Long Island is becoming a Democratic stronghold. People who might not have voted for a Democrat in their life voted for Democrats yesterday.

Think that says a lot for 2006 and 2008.

Will get off my soap box now for a long time