Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Flashback: March 14, 2001

Joe is first year law student. He has successfully completed one semester of his graduate degree and is settling into his academic routine. The student chapter of the Federalist Society, to which Joe belongs, secures Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to come and speak at the University of Wisconsin, where Joe is enrolled. Federalist Society members also have the opportunity to dine with Justice Scalia the evening prior to his speech. Spouses (and perhaps dates?) were allowed to tag along, which I did. I remember the intimate dinner well and enjoying the company of a man I had previously known only a little of.

I don't know if we ever appreciate the great moments in life enough when we have them, but looking back, the enormity of dining with a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States with only twenty or thirty people present occurs to me. I am thankful I remember the low lights of Restaurant Magnus, the din of casual conversation and my position in the room in relation to Justice Scalia as well as I do.

Joe did appreciate the moment at the time and, as an aspiring lawyer, made sure to get his photo taken with the man.


Why in the world on an unexceptional, cold February day seven years later am I thinking of this moment? Joe has been pleading for months for me to get this picture of him, along with the menu Justice Scalia autographed, framed for his office. I have tried ignoring, mumbling and outright denial for long enough; my hand was finally called and I had to confess to Joe that I could not remember where the picture was.

Oh, sure, I knew it was somewhere. Even though I couldn't locate it, it wasn't lost.

And now, just today, I scoured CDs and external hard drives and voilĂ ! Success! See, I knew it wasn't lost.

3 comments:

Alexis Jacobs said...

What an awesome experience for you guys. Wow. And I am so glad that you found the "missing" items. :)

sixty-five said...

A very nice thing to have and a worthy adornment for an attorney's office. Photo is good of both, but can you photoshop it (or have it done professionally) - maybe crop it a little, introduce a little light, and get rid of that flash reflection? Might as well make it perfect, right? Maybe while you're at it put some of the other justices in the background.... just kidding! I remember your Mom writing to me about this; she always loved any encounters with CELEBRITY!!!!!

Anonymous said...

you saved your marriage for another seven years