A Bar Exam Journey

How in the world did I get back to Valparaiso, Ind., after taking the Missouri bar exam in Jefferson City, Mo?

Emotionally dazed and confused after a grueling two days of the highest-pressure exam I’d ever encountered, I left the motel in Jeff City and got into my 1980 Olds Omega. Though this car was only six years old, it had already seen better days. Thankfully, it had somehow gotten me to the exam site on the day before bar, huffing and puffing in the 100 degree heat.

Now it was time to head for Valparaiso, where my parents were waiting for me. I had graduated from law school there in May and left my stuff, such as it was, in the apartment I’d been renting. My folks were there to help me gather it all up and transport it to KC, where I was scheduled to begin a clerkship for the Hon. Charles Shangler of the Missouri Court of Appeals.

Part One of the Jefferson City-to-Valparaiso trip was to return to Kansas City, where I’d left said 1980 Olds Omega in a parking lot at Rockhurst College. Rockhurst had hosted the BAR/BRI bar review course, and I’d stayed in a dorm there in June and July, studying intensely.