Yesterday was rough, as rough day’s go. After spending most of the day in bed, Craig awoke around 7pm to join us for a little Olympics. After watching Dara Tores and Michael Phelps do the unimaginable, we flipped to CNN to watch Barack Obama do the unimaginable – discuss abortion with a room full of pro-lifers. All three fared well in their respective events and even prompted debate between us on the concept of evil (outside of the swimming context, of course). As we pondered whether they meant evil in the most literal sense, or figuratively (as in "bad), I couldn’t help but notice how energized Craig seemed. Politics seemed to draw him in.
Growing up, I always thought Craig would make a great politician, though not of the traditional sort. He’d be the quiet guy in the back, patiently working with others to push bills through. Craig’s always been a sucker for politics. In high school, he was Governor of Oklahoma Youth and Government, as well as a leader of the high school debate team. In college, he was the guy with the gavel, leading Senate meetings and keeping order as Student Government Chair. Erin and I were in Senate for Craig's fifth and final year at OSU. He was the parliamentarian at the time, or the guy people looked to for answers. That role carried through to other venues. He even served as chief counsel for a fraternity person up for impeachment. As part of the Off-Campus Student Association, he was the guy with answers on student living and was instrumental in getting the living group fee institutionalized at OSU.
Craig has always volunteered himself, no matter how large or trivial the problem. And he found a community wherever he landed. Once he moved to Denver, he worked pro-bono with the Colorado Lawyers Committee Medicaid Task Force for Children to explore ways to increase access to medical services for children. At the time, due to low reimbursement rates, almost no doctors were willing to accept children on Medicaid (even if they donated their services, they lost money on the cost of the office visit). As a result, these children were forced to go to federal clinics (with long waits) or the emergency room and did not have a "medical home". Thanks to Craig and others, Colorado has instituted new reimbursement rates for pediatricians who provide medical services to children on Medicaid. Craig’s also been praised by the Colorado Bar Association for his work on the economic loss rule, citing his article as one of the most clear, and articulate analyses of the economic loss rule to date. We recently learned Craig served as parliamentarian and secretary during one or Denver’s presidential caucuses. He’d surely be following the DNC if he were healthy.
Cancer deprives us all of the present and the future. Who knows what would have happened. All I know is Craig would have continued being the great man and brother that is. He’d continue to be an exemplar of what it is to be a good human being. He’d live by grace and courage and stoicism as he has these past 32 years. And he’d do it with a smirk and a smile, and with the Lawler humor that’s grown to define him.
It was great to seeing that old spark last night. Craig is loved by so many, and that’s clear. His popularity is as much a testament to his character as it is the indelible impact he’s left, courtesy of his unique personality. I remember our days together in Senate when he was parliamentarian. Craig had a habit of fiddling with his pen cap as he spoke. Unknowingly, he’d take the cap off, then put it on, then take it off, then put it on. I saw this quirky behavior again a few years later when taking one of Dad's classes. Unknowingly, Dad would twist his pop bottle cap off, then put it on, then twist it off. Craig is our father’s son. To say I’m proud of him is an understatement. His feet are the first in the sand, or our prints to follow. -- J
As for the concept of evil, Craig Lawler once explained to me "there's no such thing as good and evil, there is only a will to power." Craig went on to explain what that meant, with extraordinary clarity. Craig was very good at explaining Nietzsche. He was good in general at explaining the esoterical and the arcane. His dad, I later realized after taking a course from him (and 2 years after that when I went to law school), was also good at explaining the esoterical and the arcane. Thanks to Craig's dad I was prepared to be prepared to be a 1L. So, to echo the point of this entry, in my own experience, Craig is indeed his father's son.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I remember now that Craig went on to be the SGA Senate Chairman, a year after his run as SGA VP with my best friend James Pinney. As a historical elaboration on this entry, in the 1995 - 96 school year at OSU, Craig served as counsel for Ahmed Sheikh Farid, a Pakistani student who had won election to President of the Off-Campus Student Association, but who saw his victory reversed by the arbitrary decision of an OSU staff person (who was advisor to the OCSA) and a wave of resentment (and perhaps some latent racism) from a majority of the OCSA representative body, all of whom accused Farid of cheating in the election. There was no due process dealt to Farid in that matter. He was summarily disqualified and the office was handed over to the runners up, who were friends and members of the OCSA representative body (and of the OSU staff person at issue). Craig led the appeal through the ineffective and symbolic SGA Supreme Court (a tribunal of students who had no idea that being on the SGA Supreme Court would actually mean ever having to do anything), through to the school administration and office of the vice-president of student affairs. Craig won the appeal, and Farid and Michelle Dennison (Farid's VP) were ultimately re-instated.