About Me

Q: “How long will it take you to write my copy?”

A: As with cost, the time to complete a project will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the project.  However, for most projects I like to have 2 to 4 weeks to complete the assignment.  That gives me time to edit, revise, and polish until we are both happy with every word.

Q: “What happens if we want you to revise the initial draft?”

A: After your review of the first draft, you can email me with your requested changes.  There is no additional charge for revisions.  The first two revisions are included in the flat fee that we agree upon for the assignment, provided that they are assigned within thirty days of your receipt of the copy and are not based on a change in the assignment requested after delivery of the first draft.

If you are not 100% satisfied, I will revise the copy according to your specific guidelines, at no additional cost to you.

Q: “How do I order from you?”

A: The best way to contact me is via email, at marshall@hongcopypro.com.  You can also phone or text me at (773) 908-2369.  Let me know what you’re looking for, and together we can come up with a solution that will suit your needs.

I could just barely see the red tail lights of the car ahead of me.  Even less visible were the headlights of the car to my rear.  We had all pulled over to the shoulder of the expressway, waiting for the weather conditions to improve.  The blizzard had come on suddenly, as I was cruising through Pennsylvania, hugging the shoreline of Lake Erie.  Visibility had dropped to less than three car-lengths.  I was about seven hours into a nine-hour drive from Chicago to Buffalo, NY.  But with the inclement weather it was looking like I was in for an extra couple of hours behind the wheel.  I was facing the very real possibility of arriving late to Immigration Court that morning.

My client, Ade, was already in Buffalo, not sure whether I was actually going to make it at all, much less on time.  A month earlier he had been on a Greyhound Bus headed for Niagara Falls.  He was originally from Nigeria and had overstayed his tourist visa.  He had recently married a US Citizen and was ready to begin the process of applying for a green card based on that marriage.  He had figured it would be safe to travel to New York by bus, since he would not have to go through any immigration checkpoints or ports of entry.  Little did he know that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) had the authority to ask an individual for proof of legal status anywhere within a hundred miles of an international border - which is exactly what happened.

When Ade was unable to prove that he was in the US lawfully (he wasn’t), ICE processed him and placed him in a deportation proceeding.  Although he was residing in Chicago at the time, his case was assigned to the Immigration Court having jurisdiction over the location where he was arrested - Buffalo, NY.

I had filed a Motion requesting that the Court transfer the case to Chicago.  Since I had no desire to travel to Buffalo to appear for the initial hearing, I had also requested permission to appear telephonically, rather than in person.  Unfortunately, when I phoned the court the day before the hearing, I was told that the Judge had not yet ruled on either motion, and that I would not be allowed to appear telephonically.  This meant that, unless I could get to Buffalo by early the next morning, Ade would have to appear before the Immigration Judge without legal representation.

As it was already late in the day I was finding it next to impossible to book a reasonably-priced flight, so I did the next best thing - I phoned the nearest Enterprise Rent-a-Car and reserved a set of wheels for the nine-hour, overnight drive from Chicago to Buffalo and hit the road.  Aside from fighting to stay awake, the ride had been uneventful until just outside of Erie, PA, where I encountered the Mother-of-all-Blizzards!

Fortunately, this particular lake effect snow-induced white-out lasted only about twenty hair-raising minutes, after which I was able to make up for some lost time.  Just enough time, in fact, to stop at a rest stop, change into my suit and tie, and make a grand entrance at the Buffalo Immigration Court, with only five minutes to spare.  Ade’s expression betrayed a mixture of surprise and relief.  My cross-state journey was over, but our appearance before the Judge that morning was only the first step in Ade’s successful journey to becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States of America - a journey that was ultimately to take another three years.

The siren blared over the camp public address system, signaling the end of lunch hour. The other campers filed out of the mess hall and made their way back to their cabins for an hour of “quiet time” - a chance to rest up and digest their meals before resuming training.

Instead of rest and relaxation in a comfortable bunk, however, the four of us were obligated to spend the next hour engaged in intense and concentrated labor.  Our assignment was to clean up the kitchen and dining area after just having served three hundred hungry gymnasts, ages K thru 12.  So with mops, buckets, and dishrags in hand, we set to work.

We were not being punished.  We had actually asked for this job.

This was my second year at Tsukara - a summer gymnastics camp.  After my one-week experience the previous year, I had determined to find a way to come back for a full month.  But the twelve hundred dollar price tag (a princely sum in 1983) was more than my parents were willing to cough up.  With five other children looking to pursue their own respective extracurricular activities, paying for four weeks of summer camp for one child would have set an expensive precedent.

Fortunately, I discovered that I could pay my own way by working in the camp kitchen.  This would entail assisting the head cook with preparing food, setting tables, serving up the chow, mopping floors, washing dishes, and forfeiting our quiet time.  As it turned out, our fellow campmates actually envied our being able to skip the afternoon and evening naps.

As always, quiet time was eventually brought to a screeching and jarring halt with yet another ear-piercing wail of the siren.  Having just completed our kitchen detail, we enthusiastically marched out of the main lodge to rejoin the other campers and counselors in the main gym.

Working for my tuition gave me a new appreciation for the value of the training I was receiving.  Wanting the best return on my investment, I chose to give up not only my quiet time, but my free time as well, spending every available minute acquiring and practicing new skills on the floor mat and apparatus.  The “hardest worker” award I received that summer came to mean even more to me than the Regional All-Around Championship, and placement in state finals on horizontal bar, that the hard work eventually earned me.