By Brandon Kemble, Esq.
Jimmy Buffett died last month. I was not a huge fan, but the guy died a billionaire and it seems like he had a lot of life figured out. One of the stories that emerged on his passing was the origin of his song “Jamaica Mistaica.”
The story goes that in 1996 Buffett, an avid pilot, was flying U2 frontman Bono and his family around and landed in Jamaica. The Jamaican authorities mistook the plane for a drug-runner. As Bono and Buffett exited the plane, the authorities let loose a barrage of machine gun fire. No one was hurt.
Of the incident, Buffett said: “I know that there are times in my life where I probably should have been shot at for a lot worse behavior,” and responding to encouragement to sue the Jamaican government he replied: “No, it’s probably karma. We’re even now.” Instead of suing, Jimmy wrote a song about it.
There are more than a few lessons that can be gleaned from the story: forgiveness, perspective, making the best of a bad situation, hanging out with Bono so you can have cool stories. I would take the Bono one if I could, but I can’t. The lesson I like then is Buffett’s perspective. Not every offense is worth reckoning, even some that are easy wins and even some that are bad. Sometimes it is good to just call it even when someone else has behaved badly towards you; you might even get some benefit from it. I have needed, and gotten, some grace from other lawyers for mistakes I have made. I try, and will try harder, to let a few more things slide.
If you do not know it by now, I am going with my standard recommendation to make it easier to let things slide. Have fun with your fellow lawyers. We have some awesome events coming up. We have a great luncheon and CLE program on October 26, called “Diversity in Action,” sponsored by our DICE committee (p. 9). We have the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on October 28 (p. 10), and coming up on November 11, there is going to be a great event for a great cause – Rock N Roll for Pro Bono (p. 5) featuring some killer local bands. On second thought, forget Bono. For cool stories and crazy times, I’ll take Lost Vagrants’ front man John Courtney.
Some other housekeeping that needs to be on the radar: CCBA elections are coming up; nominations are due November 14 (p.8). Honor your favorite judge by nominating them for the CCBA’s Judicial Excellence award by November 9 (p. 8). Finally, mark your calendars for our Annual Meeting & Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon with guest speaker Dean Leah Grinvald (Dec. 14) at Morton’s The Steakhouse (p. 17).
Be well, everyone.
About the author
Brandon Kemble, Esq. is an Assistant City Attorney in the Civil Division with the City of Henderson. Brandon handles litigation for the City and provides legal advice and legislative support for various City departments. Brandon serves as the CCBA President through December 2023.
About the article
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Oct. 2023), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2023/communique-october-2023/.
© 2023 Clark County Bar Association (CCBA). All rights reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without written permission from the publisher. Editorial policy available upon request.
