Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 14, 1994 TAG: 9404140335
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
|M.B., Roanoke A: The first line of that '60s R&B hit, written and composed by Otis Redding, is "What you want, baby I got."
You quote the song's ending, which is open to the artist's embellishment. Take out t-c-p and the meaning can be what you want it to be, baby.
The song's lyric asks the singer's companion to show a little respect toward the person he's coming home to - though the gender roles can be reversed.
The lyric "take out t-c-p" seems to be a jazz improvisation, inviting the listener to interpret for himself or herself.
One possibility: Taking out three letters makes the word little, as in "a little respect." Variations on the meaning could be as numerous as its listeners.
The point is clear, though: The writer of the lyrics was asking to be acknowledged as a person and treated decently.
A question of trust
Q: Roanoke lawyer George Harris III depleted three trust accounts for minors, and now faces a jail term. What happens to the kids? Do they get money through insurance, or are they out of luck?
J.K., Catawba
A: There's no insurance, and chances of recovery don't look good, says an attorney for one of the victims.
Except for the law and legal ethics, there is no system of controls over an attorney's handling of trust accounts after power of attorney is granted.
Perhaps the best hope for replacing the lost funds is the Virginia State Bar's Client Protection Fund. It can provide coverage for losses up to $25,000 per client; and guardians for the victims are eligible to file claims, said Ken Venable, an investigator with the state bar.
No claims have been filed yet, an official of the bar said. A couple of guardians have requested forms to file claims.
The Client Protection Fund was established in 1976 and is maintained with a portion of members' annual dues.
The fund is not intended as an insurance policy, though, and payments are "a matter of grace and not a right," according to bar rules.
A committee of the state bar reviews claims and decides whether the clients should get any money and how much. The clients' other income is one factor the bar considers.
Because Harris was first charged with a series of bad checks, banks probably have first claim on his assets, so there's no recourse there for the minors' trust-account guardians.
The other possibility could be to file lawsuits to establish a claim against Harris' future earnings. That, however, involves payments for a filing that might not produce any results.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.
by CNB