Justin’s Big Supreme Court Adventure: The Tale of the Zealous Intuitionalists.
Walking through the capital on my way to do some spring break tourism at the Smithsonian, I happen upon a line in front of the Supreme Court building. I knew why they were there; oral arguments for the big gun control case were tomorrow, and these guys were going to make sure they got in. On a whim, I ask a couple of people in the back what the deal was. She (Number 16) was making an unofficial list of the people in line; he (Number 46) added that they were up to 49 people and if I started waiting now, I’d get in on the cheap, having spent the least amount of time in line. To hedge my bet, I put my name on as Number 50, and started waiting in line while I considered whether I was really ready to spend the next day waiting in the unforgiving, urban weather. My inventory,
- Starbucks coffee (in hand),
- scarf,
- hat,
- “SoCal†jacket (providing illusion of warmth, without conferring heat-trapping benefit),
- bottle: water,
- backpack with laptop (I was supposed to finish a paper at some point that day),
- $300 personal burial money…
Ok, I could do this. My friend was getting off work at midnight. He could drop of the only two things I needed, a blanket and alcohol (sure I could go without, but it was St. Patrick’s Day). Number 5 was about to go on a pizza run; I’d have provisions for the night. I committed. The next 16 hours would be interesting.
