This story comes from Gypsy. We’ve posted a number of her synchronicities, which are always richly textured and detailed. This one is startling.
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The MacGregors’ post on March 15 regarding
“untimely” deaths finds me remembering even more than usual the very unusual and especially untimely death of an old friend in Shreveport, Louisiana. I first met Graves Thomas through a dear friend many moons ago, back in the early 80s. My friend and Graves were both local attorneys known as “those renegade/maverick lawyers” because they took cases that no other attorney would take – those involving civil rights violations, reputed crime figures, drug smugglers, white collar criminals. You name it. If a wrong had been done, an injustice imposed, my friend and Graves were there.
In a court room they were poetry in motion. In real life outside the court room, they were just as
beautiful – both in their early 40’s, their charisma and charm were surpassed only by their passions. And they were passionate about everything around them – the law, their clients, seeking justice no matter the personal or financial cost, their friends and family, for good food and drink and good times and fast cars. Then there was their renegade/mavericks good looks – both long haired, gorgeous men, suntanned, dressed in pin striped suits of the day. They both participated in all the extreme sports. They were the golden boys.
The memorial day weekend of 1987 was to be another weekend at Lake Bistineau, a weekend of fun and sun, boats and skiing. swimming and good food. Graves had a new ski boat to take out, so off they went. Then, when the weather went from good to not so good, they brought the boat in. During the process, as talk was made of the thunderstorm overhead while they were docking, Graves – being Graves, stood up, threw both arms into the air and shouted to the heavens, “HERE I AM!”
At that very moment, a lightning bolt struck him in the head, killing him instantly. To make this story even more interesting, at the time of his death on Lake Bistineau, Graves was representing a Lake Bistineau man accused of recklessness in a boating accident that killed three people on that very lake that same month.
At the time of his death, he had also just been hired by the family of a man accused of child rape whose criminal trial had not yet taken place. Ultimately, this accused man was convicted of the crime and went to jail where he stayed for 22 years. He was exonerated when the paralegal who had been working for Graves at the time of his death years later persevered to have the man’s DNA submitted and it was found not to match any DNA associated with the crime.
So there you have the many curious but not surprising facets of one man’s life and legacy.
















