Thank you for reading our newsletter! Give us a call today!
SILVA & SILVA ATTORNEYS AT LAW
PATRICK SILVA DUIs
MEAGAN SILVA Living Trusts and Injury Cases www.willsandtrustlawyers.com
909-798-1500
www.beatmydui.com
October 2017
OUR MOVE TO DOWNTOWN REDLANDS
If any of you have been in the office lately, I’m sure you’ve noticed that we’ve moved locations! We went from our old office in San Bernardino to beautiful downtown Redlands, on 205 East State Street. My team and I are thrilled to have made the move. Redlands is a cool, cozy little place with a small, hometown feel. State Street itself is right in the heart of the city, in a commercial district with streets lined with towering palm trees. Dozens and dozens of shops and stores litter the area, along with several delicious restaurants, from The State’s upscale burgers to Rok N Fondue, whose steaks come out sizzling on a literal rock, true to the name. We’ve got pizza right nearby, and the beloved
idea of moving for a while, having outgrown our little 900-square-foot number we were currently in. Me, Meagan, my son Alex — who’s also working in the business — and our two assistants were getting a little cramped. Looking out the window of the Muffin Top, I noticed the number for a broker on the big six-door building across the street — the Citibank building. I gave the broker a call and took a tour of a few of the units, but just didn’t like the feel. “Well, hey,” he told me, “I’ve got this building across the street. It’s 4,000 square feet!” It sounded great, but I was thinking to myself, “Man, that’s gonna be expensive.” But, after some thorough negotiating, we were able to knock the price down and reach an agreement, and the building was ours. Wanting to avoid the six-week wait for every painter I called — not to mention the six grand they were asking for — my wife, me, Alex, and four or five of his buddies all took three days and painted the entire office. We may have been amateurs, but I have to say, we did a top-notch job, especially Alex and his buddies. Frankly, they could make it into a business if they wanted. After putting in some new carpet and doing a bit of remodeling, the place came out looking very professional. We’ve got a nice kitchen and even a data room. Soon we’ll even be using the massive, 16-by-50-foot hallway for Meagan’s seminars on estate planning. Overall, it’s just a great location with a fantastic feel. It’s a big step up from both my tiny original office all those years ago, and the last one we were occupying. We’re all excited to start this new chapter in the firm. Come by 205 East State Street in Redlands sometime, and say hello!
Augie’s Coffee House just down the street. And I can’t forget the Muffin Top just two doors down, which makes the most mouthwatering handcrafted pastries around. I couldn’t have asked for a better location; I can literally step outside my door and be in any of these places within just a couple minutes. I’ve been finding myself at Muffin Top a lot in particular, chowing down on their incredible turkey sandwiches, with house-baked bread and Boar’s Head turkey. But why the move? Well, Redlands has always been one of my favorite places. Recently my wife and I were visiting Meagan, my daughter and fellow attorney, and we were having a coffee at the Muffin Top. At that point, I had been toying with the
-Patrick Silva
1 909-798-1500
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
WHICH FEARS ARE INSTINCTUAL, AND WHICH ARE LEARNED?
Where does fear come from? As the jack-o’-lanterns show their grin- ning, glowing faces and skeletons, cobwebs, and gravestones adorn yards around the neighborhood, it’s a question hanging in many of our minds. When you recoil from the giant mechanical spider suspended above your neighbor’s garage, is that fear instinctual, or is it learned? Many people, spurred on by evolutionary psychology, believe that the fear of creepy crawlies, particularly spiders and snakes, is innate. Certainly, spiders and snakes are among the most common phobias in the world. But research shows that, though humans and apes may be predisposed to easily develop a fear of these poisonous animals, the fears are just that — learned. In a 2016 study, babies were presented with videos of snakes and other animals like elephants, paired with either a fearful or happy auditory track, measuring the babies’ physiological responses when the videos were interrupted by a startling flash of light. Though babies were more interested in the snakes, they weren’t more startled, indicating a lack of fear. According to the Association for Psychological Science, there are only two fears we inherit at birth: the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds.
A 1960 study, conducted by psychologists Gibson and Walk for Cornell University, sought to investigate depth perception in human and animal species. They suspended a sheet of transparent plexiglass about four feet off the ground and covered one half of it with a checkerboard-pattern cloth, creating a simulated cliff. Infants, both human and animal, were then encouraged by their caregivers, usually their mothers, to crawl off the “cliff” onto the clear half of the platform. Animals and humans alike avoided stepping over what they perceived as a sharp drop, and pre-crawling-age infants showed heightened cardiac distress on the “suspended” side. Coupled with this innate fear of plummeting to the ground is something called the Moro reflex, one of several involuntary reflexes healthy newborn infants have at birth. Often called the “startle reflex,” it occurs when a baby is startled by a loud sound or movement, especially a falling motion. The reflex usually triggers the newborn to lift and spread their arms as if grasping for support, followed by crying. Though the Moro reflex usually disappears at around 5 to 6 months of age, our instinctive aversion to sudden loud noises stays with us throughout our lives.
JORDAN’S JOURNEY
CONTINUED FROM P4 ...
After graduating, he came back home for a while and started working. But it didn’t take long before he had a job offer out in Texas that he just couldn’t refuse. So, this 18-year-old kid loaded everything into his girlfriend’s truck and a small trailer and drove off to Bee Cave, Texas, just outside Austin. He lived in a nice trailer park over there for a few months before getting himself an apartment. Jordan is one of the hardest working people I know. He’s the epitome of successfully rising above life’s challenges. With the hardships he’s been through, his accomplishments are remarkable, especially considering he’s had to support himself from such a young age. It’s impressive, and I’m so proud of him. Not everyone is able to overcome adversity and turn their life around and make something of themselves. Last month, our family headed out to Fredericksburg to visit Jordan. We explored Texas and had a blast along the way. I’d love to tell you more, but I’m running out of room here. I’ll give the whole story of the Silva’s Texas trip next month. We had all kinds of fun and learned a lot from exploring various historic sites. I’m excited to tell my readers all about it.
2 www.willsandtrustlawyers.com | www.beatmydui.com
HOW TEXANS DO PROPERTY AUCTIONS
During our trip to visit Jordan in Texas, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and went to a property tax sale. In Texas, when you fail to pay your property taxes, the government eventually takes your property and sells it at an auction on the courthouse steps. My wife and I saw this as a way to maybe buy a house for Jordan in Texas, giving him the security of a permanent living situation. So, we went to property sales in two counties, Travis County and McLellan County. Though we didn’t bid on any properties — nothing quite matched our price point and Jordan’s needs — it was fascinating to see the process. I was amazed to witness a house that was worth around $30,000 sell for just $12,000. In another auction, a house sold for $40,000, even though it was obviously worth closer to $90,000.
It was stunning to see these investors securing properties for less than half their estimated value, though it made sense. Payments needed to be made completely in cash, which eliminates almost everyone, though there were still 20–30 people lined up at to watch the proceedings. It was just one more interesting occurrence on a trip of oddball experiences. I guess when you head to Texas, you expect some “culture shock.” After all, there aren’t many places more different from California than Texas. It was interesting to see firsthand how a completely different state government operated.
Lamb Chops ORANGE-BALSAMIC Impress any dinner guest with this surprisingly quick and easy-to-make meal.
Have You Updated Your Trust Recently?
INGREDIENTS
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • Cooking spray • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided • 2 teaspoons grated orange rind • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice • 8 (4-ounce) lamb rib chops, trimmed
• Need to replace your trustees? • Change percentages for beneficiaries? • New marriage? Recent divorce? • Have your children turned 18 years old? • Acquired new assets? • Just need a trust review? Give us a call today!
DIRECTIONS
with cooking spray. Add lamb and cook 2 minutes each side or until desired doneness. 3. Place vinegar in a small skillet over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or until vinegar is syrupy. Drizzle vinegar and remaining teaspoon oil over lamb.
1. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, rind, and juice in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add lamb to bag; turn to coat well. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Remove lamb from bag and add salt and pepper. 2. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan
Recipe Courtesy of CookingLight.com
3
909-798-1500
SILVA & SILVA ATTORNEYS AT LAW
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
205 E. State Street Redlands, CA 92373 Phone: 909-798-1500 www.beatmydui.com Legal Advertisement www.willsandtrustlawyers.com
Our Move to Downtown Redlands 1 2 3 3 3 4 INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Origins of Fear How Texans Do Property Auctions Have You Updated Your Trust Recently? Orange-Balsamic Lamb Chops Jordan’s Journey
JORDAN’S JOURNEY
ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, one of my son’s friends, whom I’d only met once or twice, called him up at 2 a.m. “Hey,” he said, clearly distraught, “Could I come crash at your place?” This kid — let’s call him Jordan — was just 17 years old, and his mom was kicking him out of the house. Apparently, Jordan’s stepdad, didn’t see eye to eye with her son. He’d even gone so far as to get in fistfights with Jordan, which was pure chaos. Despite her son’s protests, the mother sided with the stepdad one night and sent her son to live on the streets. So, at 2 in the morning, my wife drove over to his house. He walked out alongside his mother who handed over a trash bag full of his clothes. “Here you go,” she said bitterly, probably embarrassed that the situation had come to this. We took Jordan 4 www.willsandtrustlawyers.com | www.beatmydui.com
home, and since we didn’t really have a full room for him, we put up a drape bar and put a bed behind a curtain for him. Megan, my daughter, was living at home at the time, saving to buy a house, and I’d recently taken in my niece. Needless to say, we had a full house. In the next few months, we worked with Jordan to get his life back on track. Steadily, his grades shifted from Cs and Ds to As and Bs, and he completely stopped ditching class. He started working hard, made the baseball team, and graduated high school with few problems. He decided to go to vocational school instead of a traditional university, graduating from North Lineman College. He became fully qualified as a lineman, repairing and maintaining telephone and electric power lines.
CONTINUED ON P2 ...
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker