Living by simple laws

Theodor Albert is a Costa Mesa-based lawyer who’s enjoyed his 20-year

stint in Newport-Mesa. He has a love of the law and of American

history.

In addition to his law pursuits and study of American history,

which includes participating in Civil War battle recreations, Albert

enjoys going to the opera at the Orange County Performing Arts

Center.

The 51-year-old recently sat down with the Daily Pilot’s Luis Pena

and spoke about his childhood and Newport memories.

Where did you grow up?

Most of my childhood was in Whittier, although I was born in Fort

Sill, Okla. That was a happenstance of my father being in the service

at the time. But we lived all of our life in California. It was a

different time -- it seems things were a lot simpler. People were a

lot more sure of things than they are now. I used to walk to and from

school and never had any fear of being accosted or anything like

that. And my three siblings walked with me.

What kind of childhood did you have?

I think it was a happy childhood. We lived modestly. My parents

were able to afford a simple home and it was probably 2,000 square

feet, something like that. It was one of those houses that was built

by the hundreds after the second World War for GIs to own using all

of the government-assisted programs that were available to GIs in

those days. Went to Catholic school. It was a time when religion and

spirituality seemed to be a much bigger part in people’s lives.

How did you end up in Newport-Mesa?

I have been in and around Costa Mesa, Newport Beach for the last

23 years. I found myself in Costa Mesa a lot. Visiting clients,

shopping, visiting the beach, visiting Hoag Hospital, both my sons

were born there. I was married in Newport Beach the first time. I

used to hang out at a place called Bobby McGee’s, I don’t know if

it’s still there. The building is still there. It’s right by where

Coast Highway takes the bend just before it goes across the bridge

where the Ruben E. Lee use to be. You know where that steamboat thing

is, which is a museum now? That used to be a restaurant called the

Ruben E. Lee, and right near there was a place called Bobby McGee’s.

I used to hang out there all the time in the early ‘80s. It was a

happening place. I worked in Fashion Island for the law firm I was

with before this one for a period of 12 years. I remember Fashion

Island when it was kind of dowdy looking, before all the renovations

happened. I remember there was a J.C. Penney’s there ... down at the

end of Poppy. My very favorite routine as a young man looking for a

spouse was to go to the Five Crowns for dinner and then walk her down

that street, down Poppy, to where the ocean is there, where it

overlooks the cliffs to Corona del Mar. And on a moonlit night, the

romance of it never failed me.

If you could re-do one moment or incident in your life, what would

it be?

Well, those things in my past, which I thought were mistakes, I

realize in the long run were all there for a reason and a purpose.

The plan behind it wasn’t clear to me at the time, but it became

clear later. So even things that I thought were mistakes and wrong

turns, they also were a profit to me by learning lessons from them.

So I’m not sure if I would have done anything different.

What profession other than yours would you like to have tried?

Well, I’ve always had a great passion for history. I would have

liked to have been a history professor, although I entered college

thinking I was going to study to be a doctor. It took about one

semester for me to realize that my aptitudes were not toward the

sciences but more toward the arts and letters. That’s what I majored

in college and I never took a history course I didn’t like. I never

read a history that I didn’t like. And what television I watch is

mostly about history and most people have told me when listening to

me that I should have been a teacher.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned?

It’s that reputation can take decades to build, but can be lost in

an instant. So whenever you consider how you will behave both in your

professional and personal life, consider what is the right thing to

do, not what is the most expedient thing to do. Because I’ve come to

believe that the right thing is also the best thing in the long run.

What do you treasure most?

The love of my wife and my two sons. Because in the end, it’s all

that matters. The house and the cars and the clothes, and even

professional reputation, are small in comparison to your family. If

you don’t have your family, you have nothing. I’ve known an awful lot

of people, particularly lawyers, who are great in their profession

but have no family life, and for them I feel sorry.

What would you like people to always remember about you?

He did the best he could with what he had. I guess what people

remember after you’re gone is not how much money you had. Nobody

cares about that. But what people will remember is how you treated

other people and whether you did something to make things a little

better, or did you just take for yourself. That’s going to be what

people remember.

What was one of the best of the unexpected things that happened in

your life?

How very rewarding it is to be a daddy, because it is also the

most important thing, although it’s not always obvious. What you

teach your children about. What is important in their lives and life

in general has the most direct chance of making a difference for

mankind.