Justice John Roberts

With the new Chief Justice now sworn in, it is time to blog a bit. It is surprising the connections I have with this stranger. First, we both went to the same very small high school in Indiana. LaLumiere School at that time was boys-only with less than 100 students. But I graduated four years before, so I never meet him. But I was taught by the same teachers he was, played on the same sports fields, went to the same classrooms, ate and servered in the same dining room, and lived in the same dorms. These were good teachers. My brother who is two years younger did attend school during the same time. And my sister dated a guy in Robert's class.

Another connection is that we both grew up on the shore of Lake Michigan. His small town was east of Michigan City and mine was west of Michigan City. So we both took long bus rides to our Catholic grade schools. I don't know if he was a sailor. I was not a golfer. He still practices in the Catholic faith, I don't.

And finally, we both worked summers at the Bethlehem Steel mill in Burns Harbor. This was a strong union environment where high school graduates made good money. Beer only came in steel cans. Shop stewards were respected. Our fathers were management. And the Lake Michigan shore line became industrial.

I don't know how much any of this influences John Roberts. Living on the shores of Lake Michigan was a great place to grow up. And the Catholic laymen of LaLumiere were good, ethical people. I don't know if I'll support his views from the bench, but I believe he is a safe, ethical and intelligent person to have on the court.

Hopefully I'll get to meet him one day.