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FROM THIS WEEK’S MONTGOMERY COUNTY GAZETTE:

Olney divorce lawyer writes first novel

David Bulitt, 54, of Olney recently published his first book, “Card Game,” and is already deeply entrenched in a follow-up.

Bulitt, a divorce lawyer who practices in Rockville, said that after years of talking about writing a book, he finally got to work on it a couple of years ago.

Following endless rewrites and delays, the book is now available online and as an e-book.

“I am a lifetime resident of Montgomery County; I grew up roaming the streets of Silver Spring, Wheaton and Kensington when I was a kid,” Bulitt wrote in a news release. “For the last 28 years, I have been a divorce lawyer; it’s been my job to guide clients through what may be the most difficult, gut-wrenching process of their lives.”

But what happens when a divorce lawyer’s own life is upended by loss?

“Card Game” follows JB, a successful divorce lawyer whose best friend’s sudden death forces him to re-examine a lifetime of choices.

Bulitt called the book, which moves back and forth through time, “an homage to an era of prank phone calls and fake IDs, unsupervised boys’ nights out, and more than a fair share of head-shaking depravity.”

The story is sprinkled with tales from family law and includes a complex teenage character, Jess. Bulitt’s second novel, tentatively titled “Because I Had To,” also features Jess and JB.

Written from dual points of view, it shows JB plumbing the meaning of family amid wrecked families, while Jess struggles to find her biological parents.

Bulitt, who practices in Olney, expects to complete and release the second book next year.

A while back, I popped up a short post about my favorite TV lawyers. Having taken the week away from the divorce wars, I have been sipping a little bourbon at night, watching some TV and reminiscing about my days working at a bar of a different sort . If I had the chance, here are a few guys this barfly would happily buy a round from:
1. Al Swearengen, Deadwood – Hands down, the best TV bartender of all time. Every episode was filled with great “Al” lines, but I particularly liked:
“Don’t I yearn for the days when a draw across the throat made f—ing resolution.”
2. Woody Boyd, Cheers – Could have gone with Sam or even Coach here, but who couldn’t like this guy:
“Kelly, you mean everything in the world to me, and I want you to know that someday I’m going to give you back everything you’ve given up by marrying me.
3. Butchie, The Wire – Tough, blind, cool dude. When Omar asked him ”What you see, Butch?” the reply?
“Too damn much boy, too damn much.”

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake lawyer David Bulitt sprinkles tales from family law into story about death, lifelong friendships and honesty

As a successful divorce attorney and principal with law firm Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA, David Bulitt guides his clients through some of the most difficult and gut-wrenching experiences of their lives. As author of the fiction novel “Card Game,” Mr. Bulitt sprinkles in tales from family law while demonstrating a similar empathy for his characters who experience their own brand of drama throughout their lives.

Mr. Bulitt’s first novel, “Card Game” was published in April and is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers. The book is presently available in hard copy and coming soon on all ebook platforms, including Kindle and Nook.

“Card Game” is a funny, poignant, and at times painful meditation on death, lifelong friendships and honesty. It focuses on JB, who also happens to be a successful divorce lawyer, and his band of poker-playing brothers. In the story, the sudden death of JB’s best friend forces him to re-examine a lifetime of choices. The book’s backdrop is the late 1970s, when the card game boys gather in a suburban Maryland basement, and the moments when the now-grown friends gather at a funeral to remember all they’ve faced together, and, even more importantly, all that they have not. The story also is an homage to an era of prank phone calls and fake IDs, unsupervised boys’ nights out, and more than a fair share of head-shaking depravity.

In his family law practice, Mr. Bulitt has helped numerous clients reach favorable divorce settlements that protect their rights, their assets and their children. For matters that cannot be settled, Mr. Bulitt also has been an aggressive courtroom advocate who has successfully litigated divorce cases throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia since the mid 1980s. In addition, he has served as a court-appointed attorney on behalf of children in custody disputes since the early 1990s.

In addition to his practice, Mr. Bulitt is the assistant managing director of the firm. He earned his law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law and also holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland.

http://patch.com/maryland/rockville/maryland-family-law-attorney-pens-first-fiction-novel-card-game-0

IF HE CAN DO IT, SO CAN I

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, my baby is going to have a baby. That makes me, a baby myself on occasion, a grandfather. The whole grandparent thing has got me thinking. What do I do? What’s my role in this kid’s life? When do I speak up or shut up?

In the midst of all that angst, I remembered that Jim Carrey is a grandfather.

Feeling better.  I figure if this guy can do it, so can I.

Maybe I will try a few of Jim’s lines on the kid:

            – “I don’t want to be a vampire. I’m a day person.” (Once Bitten)

              – “The best thing about being a dentist. Pure pharmaceutical grade. Couple of lines of this, I could drill my own teeth.” (Peggy Sue Got Married)

             – “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’… I have no bird, I have no bush. God has taken my bird and my bush. (Bruce Almighty)

             – “Well, It’s cause you have big jugs. I mean your boobs are huge! I mean, I wanna squeeze em’! Oh, Mama!” (Liar Liar)

Carnival-Fat Tuesday-MARDI GRAS!

Tomorrow starts the celebration. Mardi Gras, 2015. Although maybe a bit old to squeeze myself through the gin soaked streets of the French Quarter during carnival time, I can pass along a few of my favorite New Orleans haunts, that I urge you to visit – after the beads have been tossed:

1. LAFITTE’S BLACKSMITH SHOP – Dirt floors and haunted by Pirates. Perfect.
2. d.b.a. NEW ORLEANS – Maybe its the music. Maybe the bartenders who are plenty generous with the Templeton Rye. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
3. ERIN ROSE – the theme is “local prices, local chaos, local love”. Check, check, check.