Forty feet down, at night
Off Hawaii, with Robin
A night dive with his wife Robin off the coast of Hawaii, about forty feet down, waiting in the dark while manta rays came in to feed.
Nobody arrives at that by deciding to. It takes certification, planning, and then the follow through after the interesting part of the planning is over, which is also a fair description of the months between filing a case and standing up in it.
Photograph to come: Jesse and Robin in dive gear on the boat, before or after the night dive off Hawaii.
Eleven days on foot
Philmont, 2018
Eleven days and roughly 110 miles at Philmont in 2018, walking with his oldest son and carrying everything they needed. There is no version of that trip where enthusiasm gets you through day seven. It is done on preparation, on pace, and on a decision made months earlier about what would not be carried.
His three sons each earned Eagle Scout. That is their achievement and not his. It takes years, and it is not something anyone can do on another person's behalf.
Photograph to come: Jesse and his oldest son on the trail at Philmont, packs on, 2018.
Two basements and two decks
Built himself
Two finished basements and two decks, built himself. Work like that teaches an unglamorous lesson quickly. The finish is decided by the part nobody will ever see, and doing it twice costs more than doing it slowly.
It also means the conversation with the electrician and the conversation with the general counsel are the same conversation held at different volumes. Both people want to know what the actual problem is, what it will cost, and who is going to do it.
A degree earned at night
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015
A Master of Divinity in Christian Education, finished in 2015, entirely during years of full time practice. Alongside it: leading a middle school ministry, teaching a small group at church, substitute teaching at his children's school, and five years on the board of Northland Christian School.
Almost all of that is teaching, and mostly teaching audiences who did not sign up, cannot be assumed to care yet, and will notice immediately if the explanation is for the teacher's benefit rather than theirs. It is the same skill a courtroom asks for, practiced on a harder room.
Photograph to come: Jesse teaching a group, at the church or the school, candid rather than posed.
Twenty-eight years
Robin, and four children
Married to Robin for twenty-eight years, with four children. The practice has taken him to courts around the country, and the home it runs from has stayed in Kansas City the whole time.