Reflections on Summer’s End

As the closing days of summer approach, I find myself reflecting back on what has been a very busy couple of months for John R. Theadore – Attorney at Law, PLLC.  In less than two months, the firm has welcomed in dozens of new clients and reconnected with many others wanting to extend their well-wishes on this new venture.

I am likewise reminded of how fortunate I am to be working in a town like Callicoon in the summertime – though sometimes still a little sleepy during the day, evenings and weekends here are always abuzz with folks heading out to a local restaurant, doing some shopping, or gearing up for a day on the river.  It truly is a great community to work in.

This summer has also reminded me of the resiliency that makes the United States truly special as well.  As we have all adapted to many changes as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, our society has largely created new and often inventive ways to work around the realities of the situation.  From a legal standpoint, more closings have had to take place by mail, meetings with clients are often done via phone calls or at opposite ends of a large conference table with masks on, and Court sessions are almost entirely conducted via Skype.  Some of these changes are actually quite good – for example, not spending hours out of the office for a 15 minute conference at court saves me time and my clients money – and hopefully some of them will remain as we return to some semblance of “normal.”  Beyond that, we have adapted as a society: restaurants are offering more takeout options, schooling is being done virtually, and families are relocating to more remote areas as an escape from the confines of the city.  That trend is certainly evident here from the number of closings taking place in the western Catskills.

To borrow a phrase from a colleague of mine, a species must learn to either adapt, migrate, or perish.  As Americans, we are better prepared to handle adaptation and migration that any other nation in the world, as we have been doing so since the first settlers came to our shores.  With that, I have faith that we will get through this crisis and be better for it as a community in the long-run.