The Hardest Word

You ever noticed that when people get caught doing something they shouldn't be doing they always say they're sorry?  Always.  Remember Jimmy Swaggert?  One day he's sitting on top of the evangelical world.  Next day he's doing the tube steak mambo with some hottie (I mean, his wife was hot but Rosemary Garcia was smokin for a prostitute), lied about it, then, when the evidence became overwhelming, he begs forgiveness (no doubt to save his evangelical empire).  Yeah, didn't work out so well for him.

Then there was Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Remember those cigars? Apparently, a cigar (at least one) was inserted in Monica's nether regions shortly before she performed services on Bill's nether regions.  After an embarrassing impeachment hearing, Bill finally fessed up and apologized for boinking a woman other than his wife in the oral, uh, I mean oval office (no doubt to save what was left of his political career).  Yeah, it was pretty much down hill, after that, for poor ol' Bill.

Other politicians who said they're sorry AFTER the fact include:
The entire IRS
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
Gov. Mark Sanford
Anthony Weiner
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry
Jessie Jackson

The list goes on and on and on and ONLY after they get caught.  This thing about saying "sorry" was brought to my mind when, the other day, a young woman came into our library.  Seems young lady had a "friend" who, had a thing for extramarital affairs.  37, to be exact.

While she said she was sorry and that she really loved her husband and kids, I caught a hint of disingenuinity in her voice.  The thing is, I'm not a priest and nothing you say to me is privileged. That said, who am I to judge?  I'm not here to judge.  I'm here to help people find legal resources and in young lady's case, she was looking for the how to get a divorce (as a preemptive strike in the event husband ever found her out).  So, with that in mind, I lead young lady over to:

• Divorce & Money (Nolo Press)
• How to Do Your Own Divorce in California (Nolo Occidental)
• Bassett on Community Property (Thomson Reuters)
• California Marital Settlement and Other Family Law Agreements (CEB)
• California Family Law: practice and procedure (Lexis)

Yep, as sorry a state of affairs as family law is, most people get more sorry over time and are really sorry when they get caught. So don't get caught with your pants down (around your ankles, or otherwise) and head on over to your local county law library and get help, or you'll be sorry.