I got sucked into a television program tonight. It was Charlie Rose interviewing Sandra D. O'Conner. But I didn't realize who she was at first. I just flipped over to see who Charlie was interviewing tonight (he's my favorite broadcast journalist, I must say) and it was this nice woman with white hair talking about growing up on a ranch. And the thing that caught my attention about the whole thing, really, was that she looked and spoke and had mannerisms just like my mother.

Now, I don't know if my mother will appreciate the comparison or not. But I definitely saw a resemblance tonight. Sandra looks exactly how my mother will in about twenty years, and she responds to tough questions in the same enigmatic-yet-practical kind of way. My mother, my grandmother and many of my mother's sisters are just like her. I guess growing up on a ranch in the west tends to mold women a certain way.

I don't know a whole lot about Justice Sandra Day O'Conner's politics. I've always sort of rebelled against her. Mostly because I felt like the media was shoving her down my throat most of my life. She didn't need to be hyped. She was a role model. The hype cheapened her. I see that now. (That's why I like Charlie Rose interviews. He can get me to change my mind about a person.)

Once upon a time when I was younger I considered law as a possible career. I didn't particularly want to be a judge, but I did think I'd like to be a Supreme Court Justice. Actually, I've thought that ever since I learned about the Supreme Court in elementary school. Who cares about being president? I want to be writing opinions on important cases and telling the congress where they can shove their stupid laws. And upholding the smart ones, of course.

Anyway, I considered law very carefully as a career choice as it got time to be going to college. I knew it was something I could switch over and do later if I wanted to, but I really wanted to have a goal to aim at. So I thought about it a great deal. I didn't really know any lawyers personally. In the little town I grew up in, there was only one magistrate. He was a nice guy, but distant. Now that I'm all grown up and know a few more lawyers, I think I would have pursued law if I had known them when I was young. I mean, there's no better feeling than needing a lawyer and calling one up (a good one) and knowing they will be absolutely positively entirely on your side. (For a fee, of course)

So why did I decide not to go into law and shoot for the highest court in the land? Well, I loved how lawyers used words as weapons, but I also saw how ruthless some of them could be. And I knew if I went into the training they go through.... well, let's just say I don't need to be any more ruthless than I already am. I considered what law school would do to my personality, and I just didn't like it. It just wouldn't be a good combination with my particular strengths and weaknesses etc.

If I'd gone into law, I probably would have been an absolutely brutal environmental lawyer (that's pro-environment for those of you trying to decide where I'd stand) but I probably would have ended my days in jail, having assaulted and/or killed someone from the opposition.

Sometimes, words just aren't enough.

So I keep myself out of that kind of front-line battle. I still hear cases and write arguments. But I try both sides myself, and the opinion gets written in science fiction form. You might have to dig for it, but it's always in there somewhere.