In May of 2009, a man named Robert Carroll Gillham set a fire at a Gallery Furniture store and warehouse in Houston. The fire did $20 million worth of damage; fortunately, nobody died.
(For those of you outside of Houston: Gallery Furniture is run by a colorful local character named Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, and is somewhat famous for their commercials. Especially the tag line: “Gallery Furniture SAVES. YOU. MONEY!” Their YouTube channel is here.)
What, pray tell, is a “de facto loan sharking business”?
But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. You see, Mr. Gillham’s trial has been delayed, and he’s being sent to a state mental hospital.
Why? Is he crazy?
No. He has a brain tumor.
Well, okay. If he’s having cognitive problems, well, part of the foundation of a fair trial is that you be able to effectively participate in your own defense.
So what’s the problem?
He hopes? He freaking hopes that the doctors are going to remove the tumor, rather than letting Mr. Gillham continue to suffer from cognitive issues? Hopes?
What. The. F–k. Dude. I see this kind of thing a lot; as a matter of fact, I was discussing it with some coworkers this morning.
Hope is not a strategy.
It is nice to hope things go well. It is nice to hope everything works properly. But it is much better to plan and prepare and make sure, whether you’re jumping out of a helicopter with jet engines and a kitchen table strapped to your back, or defending a client with a brain tumor. Hope is never a substitute for planning and preparation. Hope is not an effective backup plan. Nor, for that matter, is it an effective plan for much else.
I understand, of course, that Podolsky isn’t going to be doing the operation himself. But…
Yeah, well, if I were you, dude, I’d be asking some pretty hard questions, especially since Gillham has already been in the hospital several times because of this.