…Oh HELL No!!

July 19, 2012

… on the heels of yet another unwarranted attack on Israelis & Jews, I have found myself ‘targeted’ – allow me to share what happened TO ME last night…

I received a most disturbing call originating in San Diego. The woman, who spoke with a very thick, possibly Hispanic, accent, asked to speak with ‘Mrs. Pamela Starr’ (first red flag, I’m not now, nor ever have been married) about some important information. I asked who was calling and why; she did not identify herself, but continued, from what was obviously a script, by saying that she was calling “for Tom Cantor, an individual” and that they were calling to confirm that they had “reached a Jewish household”.

The alarm klaxons started roaring!

I took a deep breath and calmly asked how she had gotten my number. She repeated the script about Mr. Cantor and calling to verify that it was a Jewish home and that they had a free DVD they wanted to send me. I again asked for clarification, were they randomly calling people to determine whether they were Jewish?? She said’ they were going through the yellow pages and white pages’ … again, I asked, “so you want me to believe that you are calling everyone in Atlanta to see if they are Jewish? Seriously? How would you feel if you got a call out of the blue from a complete stranger asking you to identify yourself as a member of a minority that is often targeted for hate crimes?” She stuttered a bit and went back to her script. (more…)

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Sami K. Hartsfield, ACP, A Light Too Briefly Lit …

July 6, 2012

The paralegal industry mourns the loss of one of its shining stars – Sami K. Hartsfield, ACP.

I know it is cliché, but my heart is truly heavy as I struggle to accept the loss of a friend and colleague. Although I had not had the opportunity to meet Sami in person, we talked and corresponded regularly. We were kindred spirits, of a sort, who wanted to find new ways to grow professionally and personally and to share our knowledge with other paralegals and the legal community.

She had what my Eastern seaboard friends would have referred to as a ‘wicked’ sense of humor; I could imagine the twinkle in her eye as I read her e-mails and blog posts. We plotted and planned, cried and laughed, and shared our failures and successes. For those of you who did not have the pleasure of knowing her, Sami was a mother, as well as an accomplished paralegal and blogger: (more…)

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