All About Michael Royce Montrief

The education of Michael Montrief

Vision without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas Edison

Michael Royce Montrief pictured with Republican vice-presidential nominee Secretary Jack Kemp at a Dole-Kemp campaign rally held around the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim “Honda Center” circa October 1996. Quarterback Kemp earned the AFL’s 1965 most valuable player award after leading the Bills to their second consecutive championship. In 1970, those victories would help start Congressman Kemp on his way to serving almost twenty years in the House of Representatives before confirmation to Housing & Urban Development where Secretary Kemp would bravely tackle poverty issues challenging many a chagrined conservatives’ consciousness. However as Secretary Kemp would not achieve federal funding for empowerment zones during George H.W. Bush’s presidency: by 1992,  38 states had already undertaken HUD’s empowerment zone challenge as initiated by Secretary Kemp. Photo snapped by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.

Not yet legally eligible to vote, Michael Montrief re-chartered the OCC Campus Republicans and was elected President as seen here at 1996′s holiday party. One-hundred fifty years earlier, Michael Royce Montrief’s 3xGreat Grandpa Samuel had been a self-proclaimed “Radial Republican” advocating such progressive views as African-American voting rights and Women’s Suffrage while serving for an aggregate total of five plus years as Hallock Township Supervisor (Grandpa Sam left home from Dover, NH relocating to Philadelphia, PA before arriving to majestically rolling Illinois countryside with 3x Great Grandma Lydia Piece circa 1851. Near idyllic Illinois River banks, Grandpa Sam’s Lawn Ridge adjacent homestead just happened to straddle both sides of the main road running north from Peoria through Edelstein,  propitiously positioning dutiful support of Lawn Ridge’s underground railroad station: seeing to and shepherding ”fugitive slaves” forward onto Canada’s safe prohibitions against human bondage’s perversity.) Michael Royce Montrief would eventually realize every individual’s responsibility to independently evaluate any person seeking office through ready identification of candidates embracing progressive agendas regardless of whichever “republican” or “democratic” labels each new generation generates. The American independent holds the most sway in our land because the most consistently calm and open-minded people seeking virtue almost always win the day and circa 1996 that wasn’t Senator Bob Dole.

Entering college at 15 years old the environment was a marked improvement from the one year Michael Montrief spent in high school. Michael Montrief would seek “Board of Trustees” position 3x, losing a blocked board appointment and at least one allegedly fraudulent vote count when a few administration support staff didn’t appreciate Michael Montrief’s enthusiasm induced social myopias. Michael Montrief thought the second election was in the bag for sure sporting the above “post-braces” picture about campus but it wasn’t to be even with college lawyers producing a by-laws change enabling a minor’s election. Michael Montrief gave three dozen plus speeches to classes across campus in Michael Royce Montrief’s second campaign circa 1996 as pictured above.

The University of California, Irvine was one of the greatest gifts Michael Montrief ever received. A bastion of intellectual refuge and tolerance in an otherwise semi-oxygenless environment, UCI allowed Michael Montrief to make lifelong friends and begin a decade of enlightenment evolving into Michael Montrief’s most treasured and transformative educational experience. Met at Campus Crusade on a Mexico orphanage trip, one of Michael Montrief’s good friends is James from Fresno now living in Chicago! That friendship gave Michael Montrief his first adult exposure to California’s treasured glories from Yosemite and San Francisco to Dinky Creek: for all the FAT/ FYI fans out there! Michael Montrief will hold those beautiful years close for all his days as there is unequivocally no substitute for a solid university education and Michael Montrief is beyond grateful for Michael Montrief, Sr.’s gift of so vigorously pushing and supporting Michael Royce Montrief in fine formal education achievement. James and Michael Montief would bust a move to Yosemite Falls numerous times but that first visit circa 1999 is pictured above and again several months after graduation at the top of Yosemite Falls circa 2001 pictured below.

As Michael Montrief finished Disney Elementary School’s 6th grade GATE program in Anaheim, CA, teacher Mrs. Laird told Michael Montrief, Sr. in Michael Royce Montief’s presence that his son would make a good lawyer. That suggestion seeded Michael Royce Montrief’s mind sufficiently that a few months later when Michael Royce Montrief got to know attorney Randy Kramer, Michael Montrief’s parents’ newer next door neighbor, that ubermensch would turn into Michael Royce Montrief’s surrogate intellectual father serving as inspirational example of how to live well serving the needs of our fellow-man.  After seeing how happy Randy was being a lawyer, Michael Montrief thought that profession was his calling. However law school would prove to be an entirely different animal, at least where Michael Royce Montrief earned his Juris Doctor.

“The first casualty when war comes is truth.” -Senator Hiram Johnson

One of Michael Montrief’s heroes is Governor Hiram Johnson whose portrait is pictured above. Hiram Johnson successfully ran for California’s governorship circa 1910 touring California state exclusively by car over dangerously graded earth stagecoach paths thus traversing infantile ruts yet transitioning into roads in demonstratively determined protest against the Southern Pacific Railroad’s oppressive cabal. Just months into Governor Hiram Johnson’s first gubernatorial term he successfully rallied the popular vote to pass the trifecta of transformational CA state constitutional amendments enshrining women’s God-given franchise as well providing for public recall (e.g. Gray Davis) and the regularly exercised ballot measure initiative process. Governor Johnson’s leadership earned instant national recognition, so when ex-President Theodore Roosevelt accepted Jane Addams’ nomination as Progressive Party’s “Bull Moose” presidential candidate, Governor Johnson merited being chosen as Roosevelt’s vice-presidential running mate! 1912′s fall presidential contest would result in the third-party Roosevelt-Johnson’s slate actually finishing ahead of incumbent President Taft’s Republican ticket but still losing out to Democrats Woodrow Wilson & Thomas Marshall. Governor Johnson would go onto become one of California’s first two popularly elected Senators (vis-a-vis 17th Amendment) circa 1916. Upon seeing Michael Montrief having this photo snapped, a Sacramento capital staffer asked Michael Montrief if he was related to “the man on the wall” to which Michael Montrief responded “I could only wish!”

By Michael Montrief’s third year of law school, Michael Royce Montrief was scheduling classes around a Monday through Wednesday schedule so that Michael Montrief could make time to exclusively fly Southwest Airlines bolting around the United States on weekends to market classic chrome bumper Corvettes. Airplanes became sensory deprivation chambers as ADD block study aids allowed Michael Montrief’s focus to transform SWA cocktail napkin “schematics,” into never before seen mnemonic element diagrams resolving most any potential finals’ question and even successfully achieving answers to such heart-stoppers as Real Property’s legendary essay entitled “Implied Reciprocal Negative Easements.” On Michael Montrief’s first trip to Maryland circa 2003, Michael Montrief visited Washington, D.C. for the first time seeing the Supreme Court where this above picture was snapped. Of course Capital Hill was shut down for the weekend and highly restricted for visitors after 9/11 but God smiled upon Michael Montrief and he met a beautiful young lady who introduced herself as a Senate staffer from GA to which Michael Montrief queried “Saxby Chambliss?” Once Michael Montrief confirmed California residency, that staffer was so nice walking Michael Montrief onto the Congressional underground tram system and on a short capital tour so Michael Montrief wouldn’t depart our nation’s capital bereft of beautiful capital building entrance experience. On Michael Montrief’s first delightful D.C. visit, Michael Royce Montrief pictured the Wright Glider below as resting aloft in the Smithsonian Institution.

(from left) Friends James, Sarah, Michael Montrief and Ryan.

Remaining a very impressionable 20 years old with little to no life experience (still living at home with mom and dad after an all too brief eight month short false start) Michael Montrief went to law school. Only two-thirds of those students who began Whittier Law School were permitted to return after their first year of study: that’s right, 1/3 of students are dismissed annually, talk about sweating bullets. In law school’s first year Michael Montrief earned the highest score in “Civil Procedure:” a year’s long course of study. In time Michael Montrief would also achieve dean’s list recognition. Michael Montrief spent three long years in law school achieving analytic skills more acutely honed sink or swim style.