âWe can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
 Abraham Lincoln
“Respect is often paid in proportion as it is claimed.”
Dr. Samuel Johnson, The Idler, 1758
â… understanding, and action proceeding from understanding and guided by it, is the one weapon against the world’s bombardment, the one medicine, the one instrument by which liberty, health, and joy may be shaped or shaped towards, in the individual, and in the race.
James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
I was once told a story about a newly elected managing partner of a large law firm visiting his well-thought-of predecessor to seek advice. “What’s the secret to your success?” asked the newly elected managing partner. In response, his predecessor took out his wallet and extracted a thrice-folded, tattered piece of yellow, lined paper on which were written several names, some with lines drawn through them. He handed the paper to the new managing partner and said: “Here it is.” “What’s this?” asked the new managing partner. “The people to call on when you need something done; the people who will get it done for you. Some aren’t with us anymore, and you’ll have to identify others as they come along. These are the can do types who don’t seek publicity. They just get it done, whatever it is. They’ll make you look good.”
Recently, a former partner asked me to co-author with him a profile of a mutual friend for a forthcoming issue of our local Bar News. He sent me a list of potential topics, with the suggestion that I add any others I might think of and when the list was complete we’d split them up. It was an excellent list evidencing his knowledge of, and affection for, our subject, but missing was an item entitled ‘Character’. I am not being critical of his list in mentioning this omission, for I am as certain as I can be that he is as mindful of her character as I am, since both of us have long spoken of and benefitted from it. But being that our subject is one who surely would have been on the predecessor managing partner’s short list had she been a partner in his firm, I felt the topic ought to be called out to be highlighted and written about specifically, rather than used simply as shading in a story about a life filled with hard work, good intentions, and deeds well done.
Our subject deserves the praise she is about to receive, even if it will make her uncomfortable. By contrast, there are those in our local bar who are constantly praised, who are in competition for every possible award they might deserve if only the award’s criteria can be stretched sufficiently and belief in the award’s integrity suspended just enough.  I have long grown weary of attending their award ceremonies. One of them often no longer attends such ceremonies, sending stand-ins to accept the awards, instead, as if further praise is too much bother, too much to bear. I’ve never understood the root cause of such constant public adoration and/or pandering: whether it’s due to the subject’s abiding need for constant praise, the need of praising organizations to be seen standing in the queue of public adoration, or both.  Or, maybe award ceremonies are simply a good excuse to hold a fund-raising event.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not jealous of such persons nor am I of the belief that they are undeserving of praise. In any community there is always someone deserving of praise, someone who does far more than his or her share, someone who is a leader and an effective, positive force for general good. But there are plenty of good works performed in any community, and, at least for me, those who toil daily at the necessary tasks that good works demand without seeking notice are much more praiseworthy than those who do so with an intent to be noticed.  And it’s my belief that if a community expends all of its adulation on a chosen few, it will fail to foster the most overall good, fail to realize the most benefit.
So I am excited about the prospect of helping to shine a light upon one graceful deer standing, camouflaged, at the edge of the forest. For such she is. And she would be the first to claim that she is nothing more than one of the herd – and that she is, as well. For she is a member of a company of friends united by doing the best they can at whatever needs doing.  Each of them knows who they are, and none of them would ever believe that he or she is better at their work than any of the others are at theirs – for such was their pledge of membership.
