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MAY 2020
I COME TO FIGHT. I DON’T BARK. I BITE! WWW.THETEXASLAWDOG.COM 817.775.5364
Pulling Weeds
LESSONS FROM MY FIRST JOB I ’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. I started my first business at age 15 (back in 1994). It helped that my parents gave me my first car a couple of months prior to my 15th birthday: a 1985 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. Needless to say, I was super excited! We lived in rural Hopkins County outside of Sulphur Springs, which is about 80 miles east of Dallas. Back then, many of us got hardship licenses at 15, rather than waiting to turn 16 for a regular license. Of course, I grew up on a farm and had access to equipment. I knew how to run that equipment from a young age, which meant driving was easy. Growing up on the farm, I knew what I could do with lawnmowers, weed eaters, and a trailer. So, when I was 15, I came up with a plan. I gathered everything I needed together and started my own lawn service company. This was about the time that minimum wage was around $4 per hour. I could easily mow one yard in an hour (or less) and charge $25. This seemed more appealing than working for minimum wage doing some of the jobs my friends were, like working at a movie rental store, Sonic, a snow cone stand, convenience store, and so on. I wanted to work for myself and to be in charge. I had a vision and I wanted to see it through. My plan came together! Before I knew it, I had to hire help. From there, the business grew. One summer, I remember being hired by an anesthesiologist to do some flower bed work. I swear I picked weeds for a solid month. The thing I liked though was being my own boss. That made it worth it. You could say that just as I had a passion for entrepreneurship, I had a passion for being my own boss — working for myself and my customers. It’s what made sense to me.
And the lessons I learned mowing lawns all those years ago have stuck with me today. I learned what I needed to do in order to succeed as my own boss. I learned there is no such thing as slacking off and that you have to be there for every single person who hires you. These are the people who count on you. A lot of my work ethic came from that. Today, I’m glad to be in a place where I can help people fight for what they deserve against greedy insurance companies that only care about their bottom line. When you need someone to fight for you or a loved one who’s been injured in a car wreck, I’ll be there. In many ways, the insurance companies are like those weeds I used to pull. While we can’t get rid of them entirely, we sure can put them in their place.
-Matt Aulsbrook
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Has Breakfast in Bed Gone Out of Style?
The great state of Texas is a great place to ride a motorcycle. There are countless routes perfect for cruising on two wheels. May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, which makes this an excellent time to remember that we share the road with many kinds of vehicles, from massive 18-wheelers to small two-wheeled motorcycles — and we all have the responsibility to watch out for one another. In 2017, the Texas Department of Transportation reported that more than 450 motorcyclists were killed on Texas roads. On top of that, 1,887 riders and motorcycle passengers suffered serious injuries, such as brain and spinal cord damage. Both riders who wore helmets and those who did not were victims of these fatalities and life-altering injuries. Staying Safe on the Back of a Motorcycle REV UP FOR SAFETY
What Moms Really Want on Mother's Day
Serving breakfast in bed to moms, especially on Mother’s Day, has been a widespread tradition for years, but have you ever wondered if it’s what your mom really wants? Here’s a look at the Mother’s Day breakfast in bed tradition and some recent insight into the popular trend. According to Heather Arndt Anderson, author of “Breakfast: A History,” the popularity of breakfast in bed became widespread during the Victorian era, but only for married, wealthy women who had servants. Those women would enjoy their first meal of the day in bed, and then their servants would handle all the spilled scone crumbs and messy breakfast residue. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson dubbed Mother’s Day a national U.S. holiday, and a few years later, the aristocratic English tradition of breakfast in bed sailed across the pond to America. By the 1930s, food and bedding companies capitalized on the tradition and the new holiday by running ads in magazines and newspapers encouraging children and fathers to serve their matriarchs breakfast in bed. Since then, serving mothers breakfast in bed has become a popular Mother’s Day ritual around the world, and it remains so today. However, there is one group whose voice has been left out of the breakfast in bed conversation: mothers. In a recent study conducted by Zagat, a well-known dining survey site, researchers found that only 4% of moms polled want breakfast in bed. Yes, you read that right. When you factor in the mess of syrup, crumbs, and coffee spilling over clean sheets, it’s understandable. Today’s mothers usually don’t have servants to clean up afterward. The study also revealed what most moms prefer to do for breakfast on Mother’s Day: 53% of mothers like to go out, and 39% prefer brunch instead of breakfast. While breakfast in bed seems like a nice gesture, statistics show that it’s probably the last thing your mom wants to wake up to on May 10. This Mother’s Day, show your appreciation for your mom or the mother of your children by asking her what she would like to do. She deserves the holiday morning she desires, whether that includes a full breakfast in bed or a trip to her favorite brunch joint.
How can you be a more proactive rider?
Always wear a helmet. As much as we may love the wind whipping through our hair, riding without a helmet increases our risk of serious injury. In fact, riders who do not wear helmets and are involved in an accident are 40% more likely to suffer from a life-altering brain injury than those who wear a helmet. Always replace a damaged helmet. Helmets only work once. If you’re in an accident and your helmet takes a hit — even if it’s minor — it is no longer structurally sound. It took the hit to protect your skull, and if you do not replace your helmet and are involved in a second accident, the helmet will not provide the same level of protection and may actually injure you further. Check the weather. Get into the habit of checking the weather before leaving on a ride, even if it’s a quick glance at a weather app on your phone. All kinds of weather can disrupt your ride, including rain or high winds. If you suspect poor riding conditions, it may be best to wait it out. It certainly isn’t worth the risk.
How can we all be better drivers?
When you’re on the road, always double-check before driving through an intersection, making a turn, or changing lanes. Don’t assume your blind spot is clear just because you didn’t see a vehicle in any of your mirrors. Motorcycles are much smaller than most vehicles on the road and can be easily obscured by traffic or blind spots. When in doubt, look — and look again.
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PERSONAL INJURY UNCERTAINTY
When to Seek Legal Help
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If you are injured in an accident, it may not be immediately clear if you should contact an attorney. The accident may have been minor and easily resolved, but the accident also may have left you with many questions and uncertainty. The other party involved in the accident may not be communicating with you, or the insurance company may be giving you the runaround. You may face legal challenges related to medical care, transportation, compensation, and more. When should you make the call and hire an attorney? Here are three instances when hiring an attorney can make a major difference in your claim. SEVERE INJURY Severity is determined by three primary factors: type of injury, recovery period, and medical costs. In a vast majority of cases, these three points are related. If you suffer from a more extreme injury, your medical costs will be higher. Additionally, a more extensive injury may mean a longer recovery time. An attorney can help you maximize your compensation to help cover medical bills and other expenses you accumulate as a direct result of the accident. DEBILITATING INJURY Sometimes a severe injury becomes debilitating, such as when your accident has left you disabled for a year or more Texas-Sized LAUGHS
or has caused permanent disability. This can result in time away from work or even job loss. You want to be compensated not only for lost wages but also for medical expenses related to your disability, including ongoing care and equipment. Again, an attorney can help you determine the level of compensation you require. MEDICAL MALPRACTICE These types of cases are rarely straightforward. You may have to navigate a complicated legal maze to get the outcome you want and deserve. Medical malpractice can be the result of injury, infection, or illness caused by doctors, nurses, hospital staff, or anyone else involved in your medical care. In this instance, having a personal injury attorney at your side can be invaluable. When in doubt, it never hurts to call. This is why we offer a free consultation. We are here to answer your questions and to help you figure out your best next step.
MONTSERRAT O S WA L D
STICKY AND SWEET PORK ‘RIBS’
Inspired by Bon Appétit
INGREDIENTS
• • • • • • •
2 heads garlic, cloves separated
• • •
1/3 cup oyster sauce
3 thumbs ginger, chopped
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil 5 lbs boneless pork shoulder, flattened
1 cup hoisin sauce 3/4 cup fish sauce 2/3 cup honey 2/3 cup rice wine
• •
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup chili oil
DIRECT IONS
1. In a blender, purée garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, honey, rice wine, chili oil, oyster sauce, and toasted sesame oil until smooth. 2. Reserve and chill 1 1/2 cups for later use. 3. In a bag, add the remaining mixture and pork shoulder. Marinate for at least 8 hours. 4. Using a convection plate on the grill, cook pork until the thickest part reaches an internal temperature of 140–145 F. 5. In a large saucepan, simmer brown sugar, molasses, and reserved marinade for 6–8 minutes. 6. Baste the pork with the brown sugar glaze for 2 minutes before serving.
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INSIDE Lessons from My First Job 1
MONTSERRAT O S WA L D
Has Breakfast in Bed Gone Out of Style? Staying Safe on the Back of a Motorcycle 2 When Should You Call an Attorney? Sticky and Sweet Pork ‘Ribs’ 3 The Best Grandfather a Kitten Could Have 4 Cases We Handle: • Personal Injury • Wrongful Death
• Car Wreck • Truck Wreck
The Story of Grandpa Mason
HOW A FERAL CAT CAME TO CARE FOR ORPHANED KITTENS
When cats are orphaned as kittens, they don’t get the chance to develop all the skills needed to become successful cats. Just like human children, kittens need older role models too. The most famous cat role model had a rough start in life but became an inspiration for kittens and humans alike. His name was Grandpa Mason, and during the last years of his life, he stepped up and gave love, care, and guidance to the orphaned kittens that lived with him. The Canadian animal rescue group TinyKittens rescued Grandpa Mason in 2016 from a property that was scheduled to be bulldozed. The poor feral tabby was suffering from many health problems, including severe dental issues, a badly injured paw, and advanced kidney disease. Since TinyKittens is a no-kill rescue organization, euthanization was out of the question. Given his health conditions, veterinarians predicted the battle-scarred Grandpa Mason didn’t have long to live, so TinyKittens’ founder, Shelly Roche, took him in and provided him with a comfortable place
to sleep, plenty of food, and time to relax in the last months of his life. Grandpa Mason had a hard time adjusting to domestic life and would often shy away from being petted. In an interview with The Dodo, Roche described him as “an elderly gentleman [who] lived his whole life a certain way, and then, all of a sudden, [was] forced to live completely differently.” After Grandpa Mason grew accustomed to his home, Roche took in several foster kittens, and those new roommates completely altered Grandpa Mason’s behavior. Roche expected him to hiss, swat, or growl at the kittens when they invaded his space, but he didn’t. Instead, he allowed them to crawl all over him and appeared to enjoy it when they licked his ear. Suddenly a playful, affectionate, and gentle personality came out of Grandpa Mason as he played with, bathed, taught, and cared for the orphaned kittens that Roche welcomed into her home. Potentially due to the kittens’ influence, Grandpa Mason surpassed his prognosis by more than two years. During the last few years of his life, Grandpa Mason passed on important lessons and good manners to the kittens he looked after and adored, as a true grandfather should. He passed last September, but he spent his last night in his ultimate happy place: snuggling in his bed surrounded by kittens.
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