a courthouse line
Remembering The Honorable Rowland Barnes
By Claudia Barnes
[email protected]
"Well, I've done it again, my love......signed us up for something
to add to our busy schedules."
Love and laughter were a daily mainstay in our lives, and the
Bard plays were an extra special and added bonus. Rowland
used to say that he was chosen to play the unwanted and
often crazy roles to either make the best of them or help him
be the clown in the play. I never knew just what he might get
me involved in, but things always turned out fine.
Being the only non-lawyer in the group, I always wondered if
I would be "accepted" or just tolerated. I am grateful not only
for the opportunity to have been in six former Bard shows, but
also to be a part of the show again this year, and to know (as
well as to make new friends with) some of the best attorneys
and citizens Atlanta has to offer.
Finally, I experience daily reminders of the fun that we always
had. For some reason, Rowland had a thing with lights. Since
his death I have been left in the dark at humorous times;
had to explain why the light was going crazy at one of our
Bard caroling events; tell why the clock in the practice room
during rehearsal of '70's songs would work correctly, then go
round and round in BOTH directions only to be normal when
we left the room; and why my piano music box played the
"Old and Wise" song one night during his trial when it had
not been wound. I am guessing Rowland has been dancing
and singing with me.
"Thanks for the memories."
Claudia Barnes
Rowland and I rode to work together whenever possible.
When we were preparing for an upcoming show, we would go
over our parts and sing the songs on the way to work. They
were our silly antics on road trips -- it was fun to add what we
thought would have been fun to see happen. We shopped
for prop items and clothes together, and when he bought
a ridiculous suit for his
Band of Brothers skit, he
had the clerk in stitches
as he tried to explain
to her he would not be
wearing it on the street,
that it was for a play,
and then went on to
dance his part - lick his
finger and touch his hip
(imagine putting out a
fire).
Encountering some of
the attorneys in court
after a show was classic.
When Ed Garland
came before him on
a m a t t e r, R o w l a n d
made a statement that
ended with the question,
"What do you say, Mr.
Garland?" The response
was "True, true....", one
of Ed's lines in the play.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
October 2013
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
17