I was in a bankruptcy court in Dallas, speaking with Dubose (a female attorney who also resembled Bassel, another attorney) about one of my cases, the case of Mr. Tirl and Mrs. Tirl. Dubose represented the company which had a mortgage on the Tirls' home, and I represented the Tirls. Dubose had filed a motion in the court requesting permission to have the Tirls' home sold. There would be a hearing the following morning.
I told Dubose I was prepared to enter an agreement with her which would provide that if the Tirls didn't make their house payments in the future, then Dubose's client would be able to sell the house, but Dubose wouldn't agree. She wanted to have the hearing the following morning to seek immediate permission to sell the house. I sat down at a desk and spoke with her more about the matter. I explained that this was a special case for me. I hadn't charged the Tirls anything to represent them. Dubose said she already knew that, but that she still wanted to have the hearing.
That made me angry, especially since I wasn't ready for the hearing. The local rules of court required that an affidavit be filed two days before the hearing, which affidavit would explain how the Tirls would pay the mortgage, but I still hadn't prepared the affidavit. I told Dubose I would file the affidavit the next morning, but I knew that would be difficult. I finally told her that Mr. Tirl was in a jail, probably in California, and that Mrs. Tirl was in a hospital in Europe. Dubose conceded that if that were true, the judge would probably not allow the house to be sold immediately.
***
Early in the morning I was in my car. It was the morning when the Tirls' home was going to be sold. I left my home without getting dressed because I was in a big hurry. I was thinking I might want to buy the house, but I knew it was necessary to speak with Mr. Tirl first and arrange everything before the house was sold. I thought the house was worth perhaps $50,000. I thought I would only have to pay about $20,000 for it now, and I would be able to pay the rest in monthly payments of around $1,000.
I arrived in front of Dreamland Pool in Portsmouth, Ohio. Since there wasn't much traffic, I decided to stop the car and get dressed. I stopped and began putting on my clothes.
Since I didn't think I would be able to call either of the Tirls, I thought I might call their son, who I thought still lived in the house. I knew his phone number was in my portable computer in the trunk of the car.
***
I was in the Tirls' home, which was completely empty, without furniture. While walking through the rooms, I noticed a telephone. I raised the receiver and was surprised to hear the voice of my mother talking with someone. I said something to her and she answered. I finally concluded that I had earlier tried to call the Tirls' house and that the telephone connection was still open. I explained to my mother what I was doing, and I said, "I'm working feverishly to buy this house."
I spoke a bit longer, then hung up. I walked through the house and looked outside, a bit afraid a neighbor might call the police. Then I would have to explain that I was the Tirls' lawyer. I would tell the police they should call Abramson (the bankruptcy judge) to verify that.
Copyright 2010 by luciddreamer2k@gmail.com
