Eversole Law Firm November 2018

Eversole Law Firm November 2018

Eversole Monthly

November 2018

Happy Thanksgiving My Gratitude Extends to Everyone in My Life For many people, there is little time in our busy lives to reflect on the things we are grateful for. That applies to me most of the time. From my morning chores with my horses and attending real estate closings and other appointments to taking phone calls and working on my cases, there are a myriad of activities that demand my attention throughout the day. After preparing the evening meals and catching up with my husband, I find there is little brain energy left to do anything but rest and sleep. In preparing for this November issue of Eversole Monthly, I was asked, “What are you grateful for?” My mind went blank. Not because I’m not grateful for anything, but because I haven’t recently taken the time to identify the people, relationships, and blessings for which I am so appreciative. Thank God for Thanksgiving and for being asked this question.

As for me, I am grateful for my morning chores with my horses, my closings, appointments, phone calls, mail, cases, and the slew of other activities I attend to throughout the day. I’m grateful for my amazing staff, dedicated to providing excellent legal services to our community, and I am thankful for our clients, who come and go through our doors every day. I am grateful for my husband and his love and patience with me. I am also grateful for the food we are blessed to have on our table each evening, for my family, and that our children are happy and healthy and fulfilling their own dreams. I’m thankful for my horses and that my relationship with them keeps me grounded, and I am grateful to God who gave me this life I have led, with its ups and downs and wins and losses. I’m thankful for my friends and colleagues who have been with me through thick and thin along the trail of my life’s journey. I thank each and every one of you. May the time with your friends and families be memorable, and may your reflections on your blessings be as meaningful as mine have been this year. Have a grateful and happy Thanksgiving season! -Alysoun Eversole www.eversolelaw.com 1

Thanksgiving is a reminder for us to acknowledge the things and people we appreciate in our lives. It is good for our souls to take a moment and think about the people who have inspired, encouraged, and supported us throughout our lives. Last month, I talked about mentorship and how finding someone to help guide you in your career can be so helpful. With the theme of this month, now is an excellent time to recognize those people who have been there for you and let them know that you are grateful.

Thanksgiving Prep

For the Whole Family

members of all ages can work together to bring some seasonal flare to the dining room. Maybe this means picking up some Thanksgiving coloring books, or perhaps the family can venture outdoors to collect autumn trimmings for crafts. It’s a great way to let each family member put their own personal spin on the holiday! Have a ‘Roller Derby’ Finally. While an adult should be the one to put these delicious baked goods in the oven, the whole family can help shape the dough. In fact, Care.com recommends making this a contest. Set aside a time when everyone can vie for the title of Fastest Roll Maker, and you’ll have plenty of warm, flaky, delicious treats come dinnertime. Letting everyone play a part may take a little more planning and add slightly more chaos to your Thanksgiving preparations. But it’s sure to produce a lot of great memories and bonding moments among your loved ones. And by the time you sit down to eat, you’ll all have something to be thankful for right in front of you — Those. Delicious. Rolls.

Thanksgiving is more than just a feast; it’s about coming together as a family and being thankful for one

another. So why wait to get into the spirit until everyone is seated at the table? Here are a few ways you can make the actual preparation of Thanksgiving dinner fun and engaging for the whole family!

Give Everyone a Role No, not those rolls — yet. Making the feast a family project can turn the day from a hectic list of chores into a magical bonding experience. It’s important to match each family member to a job that best fits their abilities. Young children can mash potatoes or rinse ingredients in the sink. Older kids can take on more responsibility, like measuring ingredients, keeping an eye on timers, and setting the table. Teens and young adults can supervise their younger siblings and cousins in these important tasks and may be called upon to stir what’s on the stove while an adult checks on the football game. Roll Out the Decorations Still not talking about bread. Not everything in Thanksgiving preparation needs to be tied to the kitchen. Creative family

Facts Don’t Lie

to be buried in innuendo, supposition, and opinion. And they fervently project to the public that the totality of what they are saying is fact. We can no longer assume the media is giving us “just facts” without our own rational analysis of what they are saying. Critically thinking about information we receive is necessary to filter out any agendas reporters may have, so that we can reach our own conclusions. Facts don’t lie, but unfortunately people do. People often want to persuade us to believe and think like them. It is incumbent for each of us to distinguish fact from innuendo so that when we vote, we preserve the principals of fair and equal justice for all.

A fact is a real occurrence or event or a thing known to have occurred or be true. It is distinguishable from suspicion, supposition, or innuendo. Suspicions and suppositions are attributed to our own personal beliefs, while innuendos create assumptions. When our friends tell us some event occurred, we believe the statement to be factual. It’s usually because we believe our friends would not lie to us. But is your belief enough proof that the event actually occurred? Of course not. In a court of law, it takes more than a statement to prove an event occurred; it takes even more to prove a fact. So, what more does it take to prove a fact? Evidence. Evidence comes in the form of other witnesses, documents, objects (physical evidence), and rational deductions from surrounding circumstances (circumstantial evidence). Each of these pieces of evidence must be credible. Gaps, holes, or contradictions in the evidence should all be considered before making a decision about whether an event occurred or is real. When watching or listening to the news on TV, radio, the web, or social media, it is impossible for us to know fact from fiction. We, as listeners, are at the mercy of the journalists, and we tend to trust them to be truthful. But if we analyze their reporting carefully among different news outlets, we find their reporting

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3 True Crime Shows You Have to See Move Over, Sitcoms, There’s a New Trend in Town

attorneys going back and forth during the trial, you’ll have questions that demand answers. So many, in fact, that Netflix has confirmed the production of a second season and a spin-off series titled “Convicting a Murderer.” ‘The Jinx’ Forty years of conflicting reports on three murders make for one compelling HBO series. Robert Durst goes under the spotlight after speaking for the first time about the death of three people connected to him. A web of lies, convolution, and gritty storytelling comes to one bone-chilling conclusion that will make your jaw drop. ‘The Staircase’ Did Michael Peterson kill his wife? Did the American justice system tear apart the dream it so righteously attempts to protect? What is considered fact in a murder trial? These are just a few of the questions you’ll contemplate as you go on a 16-year journey told over 13 gripping episodes. Questionable expert testimony and crime scene evidence are juxtaposed with a competent defense team and a convincing defendant, making for a story that begs viewers to take sides. In the end, the only fact you’ll know to be true is that you can’t trust your intuition.

There’s a genre of entertainment that many Americans are afraid to admit is their secret obsession. It’s as if you’re hiding a secret that you desperately want to confess, but

you’re afraid of the judgment and concerned looks from your friends.

Then one day, you muster the courage to casually mention a docu-series you watched — hoping for absolution but concerned the jury won’t understand — and the floodgates open. Suddenly your closest friends and family have passionate opinions on the justice system and can tell you they know exactly who murdered who and how. Deep down inside, everyone loves a good mystery. Here are three of the best.

‘Making a Murderer’ Directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos take viewers through an experience that feels like the most maddening game of ping pong ever played — in any given episode, your view may bounce from one polarizing opinion to another. After watching 10 mind-bending episodes of Steven Avery and his

LEARNING

LEGALESE ASimpleBrine

for Succulent Turkey Inspired by Bon Appétit magazine

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt Ingredients

Caveat “Caveat” is a warning to be careful. “Caveat emptor” is a warning to a buyer to be careful in transactions where the consumer protection laws protect the seller. “Caveat venditor” is a warning to a seller to beware when the consumer protection laws protect the buyer. In South Carolina, caveat venditor applies in real estate transactions. So sellers, be sure you clearly know your responsibilities before signing a contract to sell your home or other real property.

• 2 large sprigs thyme • 2 bay leaves • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes • 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)

• 3/4 cup sugar • 1 carrot, peeled and diced • 1 large onion, peeled and diced • 1/4 cup celery, diced

Directions

1. In a large stock pot, bring salt, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved. 2. Turn off heat and add remaining ingredients. Place brine in the fridge, uncovered, until cold. 3. Add 6 quarts cold water to brine. Add turkey and submerge completely. Brine chilled for up to 72 hours.

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Eversole Law Firm, P.C. 1509 King Street Beaufort, SC 29902 (843) 379-3333 www.eversolelaw.com

Disclaimer: The content of this publication has been prepared by Eversole Law Firm, P.C. for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with its readers and may not be used by you, the reader, as legal advice. You are encouraged to consult with us or another attorney about your circumstances to which the information in this document may apply.

What’s Inside

1. Gratitude 2. Let Kids Play a Role This Thanksgiving Facts Don’t Lie 3. True Crime Makes for Gripping TV A Simple Brine for Succulent Turkey 4. How Thanksgiving Became an Official Holiday!

Sarah Hale How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

Lamb,” which was first published in her 1830 collection entitled “Poems for Our Children.”

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays celebrated throughout the United States. One of the first documented Thanksgiving celebrations took place in 1621 when Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a feast together. But the banquet, which celebrated the colonists’ first successful harvest, wasn’t just one large meal, nor did it last for only one day; in fact, the feast lasted for three days. In later years, Thanksgiving also lasted for longer than a single meal. During the time of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress chose several days throughout the year to celebrate giving thanks. Then, in 1789, George Washington made the U.S. national government’s first Thanksgiving proclamation. He used this to speak to his fellow American citizens about the Revolution’s satisfactory conclusion and encouraged them to show their thanks for the freedoms they gained. Thanksgiving became a national holiday more than 200 years after its first celebration. It gained this status largely due to the persistence of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale was a successful magazine editor, prolific writer of novels and poems, and author of the famous nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little

In 1827, Hale began a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. For the next 36 years, she wrote numerous editorials and countless letters to state and federal officials expressing her desire that it gain official status. In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln finally declared it a national holiday, hoping that it would help heal the wounds of the country. Lincoln decided that the holiday would take place on the last Thursday of November. It was celebrated on that day until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in the hopes of increasing retail sales during the Great Depression. However, this plan was very unpopular, and in 1941, the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. Without the efforts of Sarah Hale, we might not have the pleasure of the Thanksgiving feast we know and love to this day. This year, give thanks for family, good food, and the resolve of one woman who recognized the importance of Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

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