It never hurts to ask someone else “what is this?”

I ran across an online posting indicating a former US president had written a decree in a divorce case. While I remembered the president having been an attorney, I did not remember him being a judge. Knowing that memories are sometimes ephemeral things (mine included), I recognized the fact that I could be wrong.

Instead of scanning biographies of the former president, I decided to look at the original copy of the document to which the posting referred. A quick read of it made it clear what it was: a bill of complaint in a divorce case. It was not any sort of verdict or order issued by a judge. The former president had written a “bill” for his client.

It reminded me that when I run across something I’m not 100% familiar with that seeking the opinion of someone else who is more versed in those items than I am. There’s nothing wrong with asking someone their opinion of what something means.

And there is nothing wrong with checking your memory. Sometimes we are correct. Sometimes we are not.

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