NJASA

Don't Forget Your Bucket List!  

The month of December is a wonderful time to reflect back on what we have accomplished this year (and it has been much!) and to plan for our future. (Yes, the pandemic will end!)  If you are like me, you have a “bucket list” of once-in-a-lifetime adventures that you think wistfully about accomplishing “someday.” This is my story of accomplishing one of my bucket list dreams and how I will remember it for the rest of my life. 

I have always been awestruck by the extraordinary accomplishments and incredible triumphs of the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Several years ago some friends and colleagues of mine, Denise Smallacomb, Morris-Union Jointure Commission Assistant Superintendent, and Jean O’Connell, Bernards Township School District Director of Special Services, and I began talking about going to the United States Supreme Court to see and hear Justice Ginsburg during oral arguments. Of course, when you start talking about a bucket list adventure, it is too far in the distant future to have any reality. Justice Ginsburg’s third bout with cancer in December 2018 served to finally shape our bucket list dream into action. We soon learned that it’s not easy to get into the United States Supreme Court! Other than waiting in a very, very long line outside the Court for a coveted ticket, the only other way to hear oral arguments is to have contacts. Sadly, none of us had contacts. So, we planned our journey of waiting in line for hours outside the Court for what we thought would be the warm weather of April 2019.  Not quite!

When we arrived in Washington on a Sunday, I was determined that we should go directly to the Supreme Court and make friends with the security guards. I just knew that they would give us some inside information about how to acquire the few and much coveted tickets for the next day.  No such luck! 

We decided that we would race to the United States Supreme Court very early the next day at 4:00 a.m. to line up for our much hoped-for tickets. As we left that morning, I placed two small tangerines in each of my coat pockets. More about them later!  We ran to the Supreme Court in the dark of night and were positive that there would be no line and that we would be sure to get in. Wrong! As soon as we approached the Court in the dark of night, our hearts sank as we found an incredibly long line of hopefuls that wrapped around the block. Knowing that there was a maximum of fifty tickets, we counted the people in line. The three of us were 197, 198, and 199. Not good odds.  

As we waited in line, we saw the most beautiful sunrise over the Capitol, the dawn break at the United States Supreme Court, and experienced as you can only experience in April, rain, snow, hail and wind. As the sun rose, Supreme Court hopefuls grew very animated about the possibility of getting a ticket. The more experienced visitors had line deliveries of Dunkin’ Donuts and Panera. The three of us realized that we should have thought more about standing in the cold for 4 ½ hours with no food, no coffee and, most importantly, no bathroom. As we waited, we struck up conversations with those in front and behind us and shared stories. Teachers from Maryland quickly became our best friends during that long cold wait. When I remembered my two small tangerines and shared them like a trophy to everyone in our huddle, we all enjoyed the most delicious treat imaginable.

At approximately 8:00 a.m. the Supreme Court security officer came out with the much awaited big green tickets. Even though we knew it was highly unlikely that we would get one, we waited with bated breath. Of course, it didn’t happen and we saw the fifty people who secured the tickets excitedly being led inside the Court building. Our hearts sank! We knew that the Supreme Court may have additional tickets for the second case that was being heard at oral argument if visitors from the first case left. We, and a hundred other people, decided to continue waiting to see if we could score any tickets that became available for the second case.

Approximately 15 minutes before the start of the second legal argument, the security officer once again appeared and gave everyone the dilemma of a lifetime. He offered two choices: visitors could either form a line for a quick peek of the Court or continue to wait to see if there would be an available ticket. The three of us debated for about a millisecond and collectively took the risk and waited to see if we could get a ticket. That singular decision changed everything for us. Most of the people in line decided to go for the quick peek rather than take the risk of holding out for a ticket. As we saw the guard lead them away for their quick peek, I could not help but wonder if we had made the mistake of a lifetime. At approximately 11:00 a.m. we saw the visitors and attorneys walk down the majestic Supreme Court steps, and we knew that the first argument had concluded. I started to count each person and translate their leaving into available tickets for us. Our excitement grew since our place in line had now escalated to 13, 14, and 15. About five minutes later we saw the security guard coming our way with the coveted large green tickets! We could hardly contain ourselves! As he gave them out, I counted them carefully and assessed how many remained in his hand. As he approached us, I got so excited I could hardly breathe, and then he gave each of us what we had hoped for - a green ticket! We had just made it! The last green ticket was given to the person behind us.   

The guard led us to a special doorway and the first security checkpoint. We were so excited, jumping up and down and taking pictures, that the guard came over to us to remind us that we were in the United States Supreme Court! We were like third graders on a field trip. Then, we were led through the labyrinth of the Supreme Court into an upper tier of the building where we had to leave all of our belongings, every single one, in a locker. No phones, no purses, no money, nothing was allowed in the courtroom. After finishing our second and third security checks, each of us individually was escorted to a seat in the courtroom. As I entered the courtroom, my heart stopped as I heard Justice Ginsburg asking questions. I knew that I would remember this day for the rest of my life! Tears streamed down my face and I don’t think I have ever been so completely awestruck in my life! I sat at the edge of my seat for the one hour oral argument and simply took in everything. I don’t remember a thing about the case that was being argued. Instead, I studied Justice Ginsburg and all of the other Justices and had to literally pinch myself to realize that I was actually witnessing them in action. I absorbed the architectural beauty of the room (which, by the way, is incredibly small) and could have stayed there all day. I noticed the unique behaviors of each Justice. For example, Justice Thomas continued to lean way, way back in his large swivel chair as he stared at the ceiling and I kept worrying that he would tip over. Justice Kavanaugh, the newest member of the Court, never seemed to stop talking…was it nerves? The Justices sipped cold drinks from cans…shouldn’t they have crystal goblets? Justice Ginsburg kept her head bent down as she was writing through most of the argument but always popped up to ask very pointed questions at precisely the right time.

All too quickly, the oral argument concluded by the Court’s command of “All rise.” As we stood, the Justices pushed back their incredibly palatial and overwhelming chairs from the dais and proceeded to exit through the heavy long draperies behind their chairs. As they left, I noticed an incredibly touching act. Justice Ginsburg is far smaller in stature than is realized by her photographs and it was clear that she struggled to push her huge chair back and get out of it.  As the other Justices were leaving, Justice Thomas came over to her and gently helped move her chair back and offered his arm to her. As Justice Ginsburg took it and they walked out, I was struck by what was probably a long-standing endearing habit of two dear friends.

My holiday wish for each and every one of my NJASA friends and colleagues is to go through your “bucket list” and to start realizing your bucket list dreams, yes, even in pandemic times!  It’s a gift to give yourself.