I wish you all a safe, sane, star-spangled Fourth of July.

As we celebrate our freedom, I’ll toast Albert Einstein who said, “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.”

Einstein, who was Jewish, left Germany in 1932 as antisemitism was rising. He made his way to the United States where the sui generis scientist spent the rest of his genius life.

Boeing, Boeing, Gone

Five years after the second crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8, I’m gearing up my one remaining Max 8 case for trial in April 2025.

Additionally, my firm is representing 31 passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight where the door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 at 16,000 feet.

Boeing has been delaying justice on Max 8 crash cases for years. The once great company has also been delaying reforms to its culture.

After negotiating a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Department of Justice, Boeing violated the conditions of that agreement and faces further prosecution and penalties.

The Max 9 door plug blowout, among other incidents, demonstrates the continuing safety issues at Boeing. One of my clients and I appeared on a Dr. Phil Show episode, “Boeing Under Fire,” to discuss this. Dr. Phil, by the way, was smart and gracious.

In all of our cases against Boeing, I’m aiming not just for justice and accountability, but for Boeing to get its act together. Boeing management could take a lesson from Steve Jobs who said, “If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus on making great products, then the profits will follow.”

In the aviation arena, our firm is also representing and advocating for victims of sexual assault. There has been an unfortunate uptick in reports of in-flight sexual assaults according to the F.B.I.

Accountability is important for the perpetrators and for the airlines if company negligence contributes to the crime.

Epic Space

Mark Lindquist Law is now sharing office space with Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel, aka EPIC, in an iconic downtown Tacoma building. Come visit sometime.

The space is cool and so are the attorneys and staff at EPIC. We are associating on some cases.

You can see the new offices on the Mark Lindquist Law Google business page. While there, feel free to write a review, thank you.

You can also see the space in various interviews I did with FOX 13, or KOMO TV, or KING 5, or KIRO TV in our conference room.

While most of my cases are aviation related, or wrongful death and serious injury cases against the government, we handle other types of personal injury cases as well.

If we aren’t the right firm for you, I’ll refer you to someone who’s a good fit for your case. Happy to help friends.

Finally, I continue to do “expert legal commentary” for local and national media and I appreciate your feedback, even if it’s just, “Maybe you should wear something other than the same blue and red Rep ties.”

Books & Movies

Good news! Ryan Holiday has a new book out — Right Thing, Right Now: Good Values. Good Character. Good Deeds.

This is his third book in the Stoic Virtues series. I just started it, but I’m confident in recommending it to all my friends.

If you don’t buy it, I’ll likely buy it for you come Christmas. Books are the best gifts.

As for movies, well, Sloane and I are revisiting everything by the Farrelly brothers, especially Dumb and Dumber, Sloane’s favorite.

Peter Farrelly, a good friend from the Bad Old Days, has invited Sloane to the set of his new movie, Balls Up, to play a small, small part.

This means we are flying to Australia in August, which is winter there. Winter in Australia, however, is a lot like summer in the Northwest.

Sloane, by the way, starts high school this coming fall. She’s Chelsea’s height.

One More Thing

Steve Jobs used to say that a lot, “one more thing.” Walter Issacson’s biography of Jobs is one of the best I’ve read. I’m now into Isaacson’s bio of Elon Musk, which is equally fascinating for similar reasons.

Sticking with the theme of freedom and creativity, here is what Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, says about our country, which he, like Einstein, made his home.

“If someone wants to accomplish great things, there is no better place than the U.S.”

Sure, sometimes we see enough dumbness to make Harry Dunn and Lloyd Christmas blush, but so it goes. I’m going to focus this Fourth of July on our everlong greatness.

And speaking of greatness, congratulations to R.E.M. on their induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Enjoy this video clip of “Losing My Religion” from the ceremony.

Thanks for reading.

On September 21 my iPhone started buzzing with text messages from friends, some of whom I hadn’t heard from in years or even decades. Willie Garson’s death was tweeted by The New York Times as “Breaking News” and it echoed across the country.

“Amazing how much love he’s getting nationally,” one friend texted. “He would be very proud.”

Willie died of pancreatic cancer at 57. Steve Jobs died of the same cancer at about the same age and Willie’s death put me in mind of something Jobs said in a commencement speech.

“Remembering you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Willie was born and raised in New Jersey. While in high school, he decided to become an actor. He graduated from Wesleyan College with a degree in theatre. From there he went on to act in over 70 movies and appear in hundreds of TV shows. He followed his heart and, despite his penchant for snarky complaints, his pleasure with his chosen path was palpable.

Working Actor

A working actor, according to The New York Times, “is an actor who while never achieving stardom, has a long and productive career and earns a better than decent living and has the admiration of his peers.” Working actor is how the Times described Willie in his obit. I agree.

Willie was also, according to the Times, “a world-class poker player.” I disagree. Willie and I played in the same poker group every Monday night for several years. He was pretty good. He was bold, and fortune favors the bold, but his bluffs could be easy to read and his calls often crazy. He loved the game though and religiously showed up.

On Nov 13, I attended Willie’s memorial service in Los Angeles. Willie basically directed the production from his deathbed so it was more like a variety show than a service. There were numerous speakers and performers and over 500 guests, more than the rows of white chairs could handle. Willie was smart enough to set his service in a space that was slightly too small and therefore it overflowed.

Also, it was outdoors so the celebrities, semi-celebrities, and other familiar faces could buzz about without masks.

Willie’s Friends

In his parade through life, Willie charmed a large variety of people. “We’re all Willie’s friends,” as one speaker said, trying to tie together the diverse demographics.

Many surreal moments arose as friends of Willie reunited. Harry Dunn couldn’t make it, but his daughter Flannery did. Flannery’s poker-playing father was the namesake inspiration for the character Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber, which was written and directed by Peter Farrelly, another poker group regular. Also present from our group was John Philbin, former actor and USC classmate of mine, now a surf instructor for, among others, Jay McInerney, the author of Bright Lights, Big City, our nightlife bible of the 80s.

All of us experienced plot twists through the years, but here we were now in the same place. Willie’s friends.

At poker and when we were out clubbing, Willie would find a way to remind us Marisa Tomei was a close personal friend. “She’s very cool,” he would say. He also claimed Elvis Costello was a very good friend, which was one of his most ridiculous declarations. We often doubted Willie’s alleged celebrity connections. When Marisa spoke at his service, however, I gave silent kudos to Willie. She obviously adored him.

Speakers lauded Willie’s joie de vivre and affectionately made sport of his foibles. For example, there was his constant complaining, his world-class name-dropping, his comical allegiance to whatever friend was most hot in the industry.

Swingers was one of Willie’s favorite movies, or at least one of his favorites to quote. In a way, he was the Trent of our group, both insulting and inspiring his friends. “You’re so money and you don’t even know it.”

Last time I saw WIllie in person was on my King of Methlehem book tour and he was still quoting Swingers, though that may have been strictly for my amusement. He knew his audience. Time has come for me to confess I stole lines from Willie for Carnival Desires.

Ajay Sahgal, who hosted our poker game, spoke at the service. He told a not-family-friendly story about how he met Willie through me, which illustrated both Willie’s friendliness and brashness. “To Willie, what was the point of your life if you didn’t at least try to stand out,” Ajay said. “Willie stood out.”

In this, I was once again put in mind of something Steve Jobs said. “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?”

Mr. Entertainment

Willie was ambitious and tireless, always hustling as several speakers observed. Sammy Davis Jr., “Mr. Entertainment,” was a role model of sorts. About 12 years ago, however, Willie paused. He adopted a son.

“As a narcissist actor, and I was the definition, I immediately became responsible for taking care of someone else,” Willie said in an interview. “It is such an important job and makes you grow in so many different ways.” He became an advocate for the adoption organization, You Gotta Believe.

Toward the end of the memorial, which ran longer than a Quentin Tarantino movie, Elvis Costello stepped up on stage. Willie’s very good friend Elvis spoke a bit and then sang the Sammy Davis Jr. classic “What Kind of Fool Am I,” a song about missing out on love, a favorite of Willie’s.

Willie made a point of not missing out on anything. He stood out, he dented the universe, he loved and, perhaps more than anyone else I’ve ever known, he made friends.