Misty Mountain Hike The Malakoff Diggins Getting Back in the Saddle!

Safe Harbor
A monthly newsletter published by the Ledgerwood Law Group dedicated to the rights injured workers,
Social Security Disability claimants, food, travel, gardening, fishing, camping and life on the open road.
April 2014
Getting Back in the Saddle!
No. 8
By Thomas K. Ledgerwood Esq. and Anysia Sypnicki
Life has its
set backs; no one
is immune. Every
now and then the
professor of harsh
reality will pay you
a visit with unsympathetic lessons on adversity
and survival. One day you are functioning fine,
doing a job that you have become good at,
proudly supporting yourself or a family, and the
next day an injury or a medical condition takes
you out. Completely.
Well, what are you going to do about that?
As the old saw goes, “10% of life is what hap-
pens to you and 90% is how you deal with it.”
So much of survival and prosperity is based
on raw acts of will. In the last 20 years, I have
seen thousands of people get punched out of
the work place due to a physical injury or a
disabling non-industrial condition. I have also
seen hundreds of people actually improve their
earning capacity thereafter due to those crucial
qualities of willpower and determination. Want
to know how they did it?
First, our own tale of woe: 2004 was a
bad year for us in Comp Land. That was the
year that Arnold Schwarzenegger descended on
the working class like a vulture from that stink-
ing primordial swamp of Hollywood. He came
with a vengeance and a cause: slash worker’s
compensation benefits to people injured on the
job here in California. By the time he and the
“Girly Men” of the California legislature were
done, we saw the dollar value of permanent disability compensation to our clients reduced by
about 60%. The year before, his predecessor,
Grey Davis, had taken out a vocational rehabilitation program workers’ compensation had
offered since the 70’s. Thanks.
Speaking from a purely personal level, it
was pretty devastating. After years in the DA’s
office and ten more slugging it out in civil and
Continues on next page.
Misty Mountain The Malakoff
Hike
Diggins
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
- J.R.R. Tolkien
I could swear
we were in Ireland.
Rolling emerald
green grassland
stretched out to
the horizon before us. We came
across
vernal
creeks, ponds, waterfalls and secluded wooded valleys. While it was
the first of March and the land was still cold, patches of sky blue lupine
were just starting to poke their blossoms out of the soil onto a massive
rock plateau. Best of all, it was a brooding, rainy day, and we had the
place to ourselves.
Table Mountain is primarily composed of basaltic lava that was
laid down a scant 14 to 39 million years ago (depending on which
carbon dating test you want to rely on); they call it the “Lovejoy
Formation”. You will find similar rock in upper Bidwell Park, as well
as across the valley at Black Butte Lake. This is another one of those
relatively secret local places known mostly to people in Chico, Paradise
Continues on page two.
Cooking up great
grub in the California
Gold Country
I have lived in California
all my adult life and I had never
heard of the Malakoff Diggins.
That was, of course, until I was
commandeered to be the camp
cook for thirty 3rd graders in a
full on, true to period, reenactment
of life in a mid-1800’s California
gold mining town. I did not realize
that the job would require from
sun up to sun down, chopping,
frying, mixing, and stewing over
an eyebrow singeing blaze of bone
dry Manzanita. I was in heaven.
Continues on page three.
Ledgerwood Law Group • 1385 Ridgewood Dr. Ste 106, Chico, CA 95973 • Toll Free: 888-761-7383 • www.ThomasLedgerwood.com
“Getting Back In the Saddle!” continued from page 1.
criminal court, I had finally found a place in
private practice that I had genuine passion for:
fighting against benefit inequity; helping people
get back on their feet and keeping a roof over
their head. It was a good thing. It was a true
David versus Goliath struggle. I liked being
David.
So what happens when your overhead rate
is 60% and your income goes down by 60%?
In 2006 we employed 13 people. That was 13
families we helped support. Two years later, it
was just my most awesome paralegal, Christina,
and me. Empty offices were rented out. Unused
computers and furniture were sold. Wounds
were licked. It was beyond humiliating.
So at the bottom of all this, we just said to
ourselves “well they can’t eat us can they?” and
developed a plan to accept the new stark legal
landscape and find ways to exploit it for our
clients. Like they say, if you like law or sausage,
you should not see either being made. We also
amped up our Social Security Disability practice with missionary zeal!
Sometimes we get so invested in one set of
skills that we have developed over time to make
a living that we think that it is the only way we
can make it. Nothing could be further from the
truth. It is the Law of Abundance applied to the
many ways of making a buck in life. This is
America after all. The truth is, for every door
that closes, there is an unlimited set that can be
opened. You just have to take a calm moment to
discover them and make a plan.
Granted, it is scary jumping off into the
unknown and learning new skills. However,
there are ways to get back in that old saddle
after a disabling industrial injury. It just requires
a yeoman’s share of pig-headed determination.
No one will do it for you. For our clients injured
on the job, there is the Voucher Program in
workers’ compensation to help defray retraining
expenses. The State of California still has a significant vocational rehabilitation program just
waiting for applicants. State and local colleges
have Board of Governor’s (BOG) waivers for
tuition. There is actually a new and improved
voucher to help defray learning expenses for
individuals who sustained industrial injuries on
or after 1/1/13. If it really gets bad, there are
county benefits you can take advantage of while
you are getting back on your feet.
If you have qualified for Social Security
Disability and want to get out from the lean
benefits you are getting, you can utilize SSA’s
“Ticket Back to Work” program. Or you can
supplement your benefits by earnings that are
under the “substantial gainful activity” dollar
limit of $1,070.00 per month. You simply have
to invest in yourself. How about joining the
ranks of rugged individualist entrepreneurs? You
can always amble on down to Barnes and Noble
and peruse the home based business section
and buy a book. A college degree can be obtained in your own home online. Small Business
Association loans are available for those with
the fortitude and determination to get one.
Our fearless Case Manager, Anysia
Sypnicki, put together a wonderful list of the
programs and benefits out there if you are interested. For a full list complete with helpful links
to associated web sites and books to read, go to
our web site at www.thomasledgerwood.com
and click the Resources tab, Getting back in
the Saddle! What are you waiting for?
It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was a
single guy dating my wife Jona. I was thirty
five years old
and not such a
good horse rider.
She, on the other hand, knew
what she was
doing and had
lots of blue ribbons to prove it.
So, I was invited
on a horse back
ride with her in
Upper Bidwell
Park. My noble steed was “Tellego.” Tellego
was a rank, old, barn sour gelding with bad
cannon bones and a big hay belly. The first
serious incline we went down, well old Tellego
tripped and he and yours truly went ass over
tea kettle down a substantial hillock. It took a
few minutes for the dust to clear and after first
thoroughly attending to Tellego, Jona turned
her attention to me nestled in a nice patch of
rocks and star thistle. I had a few abrasions,
but what was mostly hurt was my pride. After
getting me on my feet and dusting me off a bit,
she solemnly proclaimed, “Well, Tom,100 more
times and you will be a Cowboy!”
I guess that is the way it is in life. The
falls will just keep happening, but it is your
duty and obligation to dust off and get back in
the saddle—each and every time. My favorite
saying to my wounded working warriors is the
Shakespearean quote from the Twelfth Night:
“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born
great, some achieve greatness, and others have
greatness thrust upon them.” Most of my clients
fall in the latter two categories.
Which one are you?
“Misty Mountain Hike” continued from page 1.
and Oroville. I only share this information with my pals and
you are officially on the list!
The day before, my daughter Madelaine and I spent yet another rainy
day researching and cooking up a special Lord of the Rings lunch for
ourselves and our fellow travelers: my son, Spencer and niece, Gwen. Our
hiking provisions included Lembas Bread (a hip and filling Elvin biscotti),
Gondorian Chicken (served up cold, “Denethor style”), Samwise Gamgee
Hobbiton baked “po- ta- toes” and to top it all off, sweet blackberry tarts
from Bree.
Just so you know, in 1992, the state of California created the North
Table Mountain Ecological Reserve. You are welcome to hike all over the
top of that part of the mountain. There is a nice parking lot on the west side
of Cherokee Road, complete with a series of vault toilets. There is a huge
oak tree by the parking lot that you can use to get your bearings if you get
turned around.
The good news is that there are really no strenuous hikes up there. It
is a table mountain, right? What you will encounter is mostly rolling terContinues on page four.
2 • Ledgerwood Law Group • www.ThomasLedgerwood.com
“The Malakoff Diggins” continued from page 1.
Anyone that has spent some time with me knows that I am nuts about cooking – especially antique Dutch oven
cuisine. And here I was with my son Spencer, as “Old Cooksey “ in a California ghost town with a bunch of ravenous
“youngins.”
The Malakoff Diggins is a State Historical site and has as certifiable ghost town. It is a little placer mining township
frozen in time, complete with a bar, post office, butcher shop, black smith shop and mercantile (and most certainly a
house of ill-repute or two in the day). It is located just a few miles from Grass Valley off Highway 49. Google “Malakoff
Diggins” and you can pull up the Department of Parks and Recreations’ website.
There is a nice campground a few miles up the road from the town. You can take a very cool hike into the actual
placer mine site. Expect to see lots of old gold mining gear, including the monitors that they used to literally spray down
mountain sides.
One of the dishes we cooked up was Chicken Fricassee (Chicken and Dumplings). Chicken Fricassee is a very old French peasant dish; I researched
well back into the 1600’s on this baby. Ironically, it was virtually the same as the one my mother in law gave me when I married into the Fraters clan well
over 20 years ago. This dish was a very popular meal in Colonial America too, as I found recipes from both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Cooking over a blazing fire like a swarthy prospector is an experience. It is not as easy as it looks. But plucking cast iron pots from a fire pit, clad with
welding gloves and leather apron makes for great gastro-drama. The ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’, you will get from guests make your efforts all worthwhile. Don’t
have a fire pit? No problem: you can cook it right on your stove top.
Chicken Fricassee a la Malakoff
Ingredients:
Chicken Dumplings
• 3lbs chicken, cut up
• 2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup flour • 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried marjoram • 3 tsp butter
• ¼ cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 medium onions sliced
• Chives
• 1c chopped celery
• 6 large carrots paired and 1/2ed
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 whole cloves
• 9 whole black peppercorns
• 1 can 13 ¾ oz. can of chicken broth
• 1/2 cup half and half
Equipment:
One Dutch oven (the kind with three legs on the bottom; you can buy one for about $25.00 at Tool Harbor). You will also need tongs, gloves and a good
shovel. If you are doing this on the stove top, you only need a large pot with a top.
Cooking Instructions (swarthy prospector style):
Prepare one flaming hot fire with some good quality hard wood (I prefer almond). Let it burn down to coals. Start another blaze of equal size off to the
side, as you will need it shortly.
Dredge chicken in flour, marjoram and salt; put in Dutch oven with 2 tbs hot butter. Brown chicken and remove from the pot.
To drippings: add onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns (you can add more butter if it is to your liking). Sautee veggies a bit, then add
chicken broth and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil return chicken to Dutch over. Simmer and reduce covered for about 30 minutes.
While the chicken is simmering, make your dumplings: Mix two cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tsp melted butter, three quarter cup milk
and finely chopped chives. Pull the cover off your pot, and spoon those puppies on top. Cover the pot and cook another 10 minutes. Lift dumplings out (keep
warm).
Your final step is to thicken the pot with the leftover flour. In a small bowl, combine reserved flour mixture with cream and mix till smooth. Then stir
into the fricassee. Simmer 5 minutes or till mixture is thickened. Plop the dumplings back on top and serve.
Cooking notes for camp fire method
Turning the pot every fifteen minutes to avoid “hot spots” is a good idea. I would check inside the pot every half hour for your liquid level. Occasionally
scrape the bottom of the pot to dislodge “brown bits.” You need to consider adding more liquid if stew is getting too thick and in danger of burning. I put
two cups in after the first half hour (when the fire was really hot). I would put another cup in when the vegetables were thrown in. If it is too soupy, you can
reduce the liquid with the lid off the pot in the final stages of cooking.
The trick to avoiding burning in the early stages is just braising with enough liquid (while the fire below the pot really is hot). Then it is simply a matter
of “top loading” coals on top of the pot to finish the meal.
You are going to screw up this dish the first time you do it, but it is great fun. Consider a trial run and pick an understanding subject to serve it to.
Practice makes perfect!
My suggested wine pairing would be Zinfandel or a nice earthy shiraz.
Buon appetite and happy trials!
Ledgerwood Law Group • www.ThomasLedgerwood.com • 3
1385 Ridgewood Drive Suite 106
Chico, CA 95973
Phone: 530-899-7178
Toll Free: 888-761-7383
www.ThomasLedgerwood.com
Getting Back
in the Saddle!
This publication is intended to educate the general public about Worker’s Compensation, Social Security Disability and other issues. It is for information purposes only and is not
intended to be legal advice. Prior to acting on any information contained here, you should seek and retain competent counsel. The information in this newsletter may be freely copied
and distributed as long as the newsletter is copied in its entirety.
“Misty Mountain Hike” continued from page 2.
rain intersected by small, creek filled valleys. There are some great
mini oak forests as well. You can pick your own exertional level by
the route you take. You will spend hours hiking, so wear some good
boots and bring a lot of water. The absolute best time to visit the area
is mid-March through mid-April. Just keep Mr. Brown happy and
don’t pick the flowers. Also, take your trash with you and give the
livestock up there a good 300 foot berth.
Sadly, the pictures you see here only show the promise of things
to come on the mountain. By the time you read this article, this ancient rock plateau will be a riot of over a hundred varieties of wild flowers, including: ski
lupines, frying-pan poppies, goldfields and popcorn flowers. This hike is something you
truly do not want to miss; it should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Super secret notice for young, single
guys only: This will be the least expensive,
most memorable date you will ever bring your
sweetie on, dude – guaranteed! A nice loaf of
crispy French bread, an assortment of good
cheeses and a bottle of wine is all you need.
You have a very small window to enjoy the best
of this mountain, so you must be decisive and
take action now!
This place will “charge your batteries”, as
my Dad used to say.
Happy Trials,
Tom
Ledgerwood Law Group • 1385 Ridgewood Dr. Ste 106, Chico, CA 95973 • Toll Free: 888-761-7383 • www.ThomasLedgerwood.com