Chapter 48: A Lunch Invitation

May 20, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“What are we doing for Birgit’s birthday?” Kara asked as she and I walked Jessica to the ER on Sunday morning.

“What do you get for a thirteen-year-old girl?” I asked.

“A fourteen-year-old boy!” Kara giggled.

“Somehow I think our daughter will be able to arrange that for herself!” I chuckled. “But nobody has really caught her interest yet. Well, Kjell, but even that was more ‘buddy’ than ‘boyfriend’.”

“Like Jesse and Libby?” Jessica asked with a smirk.

“She’s his ‘Bethany’ without the drama,” I replied.

“Speaking of Bethany, I’m shocked she decided to go to Sweden for a year and leave Nicholas here.”

“Not quite leave him here,” I replied. “He’ll go over with them next month and come back in August for school. And she and Tom will be home for two weeks at Christmas.”

“I think it’s funny they’re sending a female firefighter/paramedic!” Kara declared mirthfully. “That will shake up Tom’s company!”

“They’re all actually cool with it, according to Tom. They’ll work out some kind of rules for the showers, but otherwise, there won’t be any real changes. She’ll have no trouble sleeping in the dormitory-style beds. In fact, according to Tom, the only complaint was from a pair of wives who objected to a ‘hot Swedish blonde’ sleeping in the same quarters. I laughed because I saw the picture of the Swedish paramedic and she has dark brown hair!”

“But is she hot?” Jessica asked with a silly smile.

“She’s certainly nice looking, but she’s not what I’m sure those wives envision. I think they’re thinking ‘Swedish Bikini Team’ from the commercials for Old Milwaukee Beer that they ran in the early 90s! And those girls were all Americans wearing blonde wigs!”

“We have to have her over as soon as she arrives,” Jessica said. “Is she coming alone?”

“With her partner, who’s a software engineer and will work remotely. SHE works for Paradox Development Studio, and was a lead programmer on Europa Universalis. She’s working on Europa Universalis II, which is due out later this year. I’ve played the first game and it’s one of my favorites.”

Jessica laughed, “And here I thought you might have some entertainment!”

“I’ll enjoy speaking Swedish with them! Anyway, we sort of went down a rabbit hole. Birgit’s birthday?”

“Well, she’s too young for the Mercedes convertible!” Kara declared. “She drools over Melanie’s car!”

“Well, when she makes as much money as Melanie, she can buy herself one!” I declared. “I’m not buying cars for the kids, nor paying for insurance. They can get jobs and drive our cars until they can afford both the car and the insurance.”

“Jesse will get his learner’s permit in the Fall, right?” Jessica asked.

“Yes. He signed up for Driver’s Ed for the first quarter. Jen, Josie, and I all agreed to split driving with him for his fifty hours of supervised practice.”

“Has Birgit asked you for anything?” Kara inquired.

I shook my head, “No. And honestly, our kids have literally everything they need and a good chunk of what they want. And you know she doesn’t expect piles of loot - none of the kids do. I figured we’d do something really special for her sixteenth birthday, but that’s three years away. I know Amber, Tiffany, and Rachel are planning a party, and we’ll do our family party, but gifts? I’m at a loss.”

“I suppose we could just go with the traditional clothes,” Kara suggested. “She always needs them because she keeps growing!”

“Something about a combination of food and hormones,” I chuckled. “But she’s not growing like Albert! That kid is going to be around six-two and taller than Jesse according to Sofia!”

“Do you know the height restrictions for pilots in the Navy?” Jessica asked.

“I think it’s six-six,” I replied. “I’ve met a few aviators who were over six feet, so I’m sure that’s not a problem. What about a piece of jewelry of some kind for Birgit?”

“She’s not Stephie!” Kara said with a laugh. “But I am sure she’d appreciate a bracelet or necklace.”

“Why don’t you pick something out,” I suggested.

“OK.”

When we reached the hospital, Kara and I both kissed Jessica, hugged her, and then the two of us started home, hand-in-hand.

“What are you going to do when Birgit asks THE question?”

“Just as we discussed. Talk to her about why it’s impossible. And you know what will happen after that!”

“She’ll tease you mercilessly, of course!”

“That goes without saying!”

“Before I forget, did you decide when you’re going to Ohio to meet with Paul Reynolds?”

“I think it has to be Thursday and Friday of this week. That would also let me stop in and see Mr. Herbers at the High School.”

“His call was a big surprise!”

I chuckled, “Not really. I graduated and they’re looking for a grant or donation to help replace the computers. If I were him, I’d have called me, too!”

“You should see if Mrs. Brewer is still teaching!”

I chuckled, “I think she’d be much happier to see you! I’ll also have lunch with Trudy on Thursday, before I drive the final leg to Rutherford. Paul and I are meeting on Friday morning to go over the paperwork with his attorney. After that’s done, I’ll stop in and see Lou.”

“And your Sheriff’s Deputy friend?”

“Emmy has a steady boyfriend. And so does Cecily, for that matter. I’ll just have a quiet Thursday dinner with Vickie and Martin at their house, then spend the rest of the evening relaxing at the motel.”

“As if THAT ever happens!” Kara teased.

“It will in this case. I’m also meeting Donna W for coffee.”

“Will you see Doctor Mercer at all?”

“No. I think I really am done seeing her. If I need help, I’ll speak to Clara at Mayo. But at this point, the combination of diet, sleep, exercise, and drugs is working perfectly.”

We arrived back at the house and after cuddling Birgit for a bit, we made breakfast, and after we ate, Kara, Suzanne, the kids, and I hung out together until Leigh and Jackson arrived. Rather than Leigh and I going to bed as we usually did, she, Jackson, Suzanne, and I went to the sauna to discuss the changes that had been proposed two weeks earlier.

“I honestly don’t think there’s a better solution,” Jackson said. “In fact, I’m convinced this is the right solution. And the more I think about it, the more you should encourage anyone who leaves the area to try to start their own group. It doesn’t have to be closely affiliated like the one Claire and Mattie are starting, either. It could be, but it doesn’t have to be. I think that’s the best way to heighten the impact of what we’re trying to do.”

“I have to agree with my learned colleague,” Suzanne smirked.

“You haven’t even finished half-a-year of pre-law and you’re already talking like an attorney!” I chuckled, shaking my head.

“She just knows how to push your buttons, that’s all!” Jackson offered.

“And he likes it when I do!” Suzanne replied mirthfully.

“Are we going to abandon the plan of membership applications?” Leigh asked.

“I think so,” I replied. “I think we’ll continue as we had before, with current attendees bringing in others, and then spinning off a new group if we get too large.”

“And the ‘Inner Circle’?” Suzanne asked.

“Honestly, just one more,” I replied. “And male or female doesn’t matter. I think five of us is a good number, the more I think about it.”

“What are we talking about today?” Jackson asked.

“Something Leigh and I discussed before she joined our merry little band - how the Supreme Court fundamentally broke our system of government with two key Supreme Court cases. One of them could be fixed - Wickard v. Filburn; the other, Reynolds v. Sims, can’t. And it’s the latter that is going to ultimately destroy the country.”

“Refresh my memory, please,” Jackson said with a wry smile. “I don’t have every Supreme Court case memorized!”

“Me either,” I chuckled. “Just the important ones. I know you know about Wickard because we’ve mentioned it so many times. Reynolds is the one which says States can’t organize themselves like the Federal government without violating the Constitution. That’s pure bunk on several accounts, including the fact that the very states which ratified the Constitution and all the Amendments thereto, didn’t think they were declaring their own state legislatures to be unconstitutional. The net result of Reynolds is that Chicago now completely dominates Illinois politics, and as such, all the voters outside of Chicago are effectively disenfranchised.

“The ruling set up a system where Chicago effectively controls the entire legislature, which means that people with urban concerns are passing laws which control the lives of suburban and rural voters, and there is nothing those suburban and rural votes can do to stop them. They may as well be unrepresented. In the former system, Chicago controlled the Illinois House, but the Senate was controlled by rural and suburban voters. Any law had to be the result of negotiation or some kind of compromise between them. Now? It’s no different from a totalitarian government for anyone who doesn’t live in Chicago.”

“Don’t forget that Chicago also has ‘home rule’,” Suzanne added. “Which means they can exempt themselves from quite a bit of legislation that they themselves force on the rest of the state.”

“So why can’t that be fixed?” Jackson asked.

“How could it?” I replied. “All the State legislatures are now based on popular vote. Even overturning Reynolds won’t restore the status quo ante; can you imagine Chicago voluntarily giving up their control to put the old system in place? It would never happen! The ruling was a one-way trap door from which we can never escape. It’s not like Congress can impose a legislative structure on the States, either. All the Federal government is tasked with is ensuring each state has a ‘republican’ form of government.”

“So why do you think it will destroy the country?” Leigh asked. “I don’t recall you saying that before.”

“I think what we’re seeing in Illinois is the portent of things to come - when compromise is no longer necessary, a party in power, with no likelihood of ever losing power, is going to run roughshod over any dissent. That will cause the out-of-power people, with no hope of gaining power, to become just as extreme as the ones with power. Take that to the Federal level, and suddenly partisan politics becomes SO powerful that both sides spend all their time attacking each other that the only chance of doing anything is when one party controls the House, Senate, and Presidency and can ram through their legislation without regard to what anyone else thinks.

“The entire problem is exacerbated by the direct election of Senators. Senators were supposed to represent their individual states, as a whole, not political parties. Their job was to be the voice of the state legislature, and they weren’t supposed to be swayed by popular sentiment. That was why they were elected for six years, not two, and their elections were staggered.

“One direct byproduct of that change was what we call ‘unfunded mandates’ which no Senator would ever have agreed to under the old system. Nor would they have agreed to allow federal control of most aspects of life. And, we wouldn’t have the problem of money from outside Illinois being used to influence our election of senators. Now we have outside money funding Senatorial campaigns where the Senator in question actually promotes policies detrimental to their State!”

“So what’s the end game?” Jackson asked.

“A complete breakdown of the system. Imagine if the Democrats controlled the House right now, and had sixty-seven Senators. I could see them impeaching Bush just because they could, on the grounds he ‘stole’ the election. I mean, if Clinton could be impeached by the House of Representatives for, effectively, getting a blowjob, why not Bush for some other equally inane reason.”

“But wasn’t it for perjury?” Suzanne asked.

Jackson laughed and responded before I could, “Right! A married man is going to admit publicly that he got a blowjob from one of his interns? Seriously? If lying about THAT is a crime, I think half of America could be locked up!”

“True,” Suzanne smirked. “Though our ‘Glorious Leader’ gets them and tells his wives!”

“TMI!” Jackson replied, laughing. “But I see Steve’s point. Chicago can use raw, naked political power to force things on the people outside Chicago, and there really is no recourse.”

“The system was set up with a finely tuned set of checks and balances,” I said. “The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments upset that balance, and then Wickard and Reynolds gave the new system an «imprimatur» and unleashed the unfolding mess.”

“So what happens in the end?”

“Tyranny or revolution; likely both, though the revolution will likely create its own tyranny, at least for a time.”

“And your solution?”

“I don’t see any real alternative to breaking up the country.”

“Seriously?” Leigh gasped.

“The US is far too large to be governed centrally, and we’ve turned the States into satrapies, for all intents and purposes. And nobody is willing to let the system work, including those parts of it which actually work! Bush v. Gore is exactly the kind of thing which should have been left to the process in the Constitution. But NO, the Supreme Court had to go and fuck it up, creating the entire mess! The whole point of having the State legislature and the House decide is that they are all directly responsible to the people. The Senate allows the States to have a say. There is literally nothing in the Constitution giving the Supreme Court any role, and given there are explicit rules, it’s clear the Founders didn’t intend for them to have any part.”

“Voting rights?” Jackson asked.

“You don’t even have the right to vote in a preference poll! The Electors actually vote for President and Vice President. And the Electors are, per the Constitution, determined by whatever means the State legislature decides. It’s an express power that can’t be changed by Congress, short of a Constitutional Amendment, which would require the consent of three-fourths of the States or by a Constitutional Convention.”

“Going back to breaking up the country,” Jackson continued, “isn’t it good to have consistent laws across the whole country?”

“No, and for the same reason I complained about Reynolds v. Sims - California, New York, Illinois, and Texas shouldn’t decide for everyone how they should live. The whole point of the US Senate is to make sure the most populous states don’t run roughshod over the smaller ones. Do you really think the average Angelino, New Yorker, or Chicagoan has the slightest care for what people from Boise, Idaho or Bismarck, North Dakota, or Cheyenne, Wyoming want? They don’t, for the most part. And if the Senate functioned properly, you’d need at least 25 States to approve anything, 30 if you count the filibuster. As it is now, Senators regularly vote against the interest of their home State in favor of partisan policies. It’s even sillier when the Senators from the State consistently vote opposite each other! Sure, I can see a few disagreements, but always? The system is broken and can’t be fixed.”

“That’s depressing,” Jackson sighed.

“It is,” I replied. “Which is why we’re trying to fix it!”

“Hang on!” he protested, but he was laughing. “Is this another one of your contradictions?”

“Of course! There is no unfixable problem. That said, we might have to destroy the Union to save the people. The Founders knew that. Read the Declaration of Independence. There comes a time when the political bonds have to be severed. Ultimately, that’s probably what we’re doing. Well, assuming we have any success and don’t end up lined up against a wall somewhere.”

“You think that’s possible?”

“Yes. Not likely, but possible.”

“This ought to be a fun conversation today.”

“Indeed.”

“Uhm,” Leigh interrupted, “if you two don’t mind, could Steve and I have some private time?”

Jackson laughed and he and Suzanne got up and left the sauna, leaving Leigh and me to enjoy each other’s bodies, then soak in the whirlpool until lunch.

May 24, 2001, Milford, Ohio

I had left Chicago very early on Thursday morning, and arrived at Milford High School at 11:30am. But it wasn’t the High School I’d attended - in 1989, they’d swapped buildings between the High School and Junior High, and renovated both buildings. The Junior High was almost unrecognizable after the renovations into the High School. I went to the office and checked-in, saying I had an appointment with Ron Herbers. A student was assigned to escort me to the computer lab where he was waiting.

“Twenty years later,” I chuckled as we shook hands. “A lot has changed.”

“Including my gray hair, and less of it,” Mr. Herbers replied with a grin. “How have you been?”

“It’s been a crazy twenty years,” I replied. “But overall, good.”

“You were seeing that beautiful blonde when you graduated.”

“She’s my wife,” I replied.

“Congratulations! You’re a lucky man! Kids?”

“We have two girls,” I said, not wanting to cause a stir, and not knowing how much he knew.

“Thanks for agreeing to come to see me,” he said. “Let me tell you about our plans.”

I smiled, “I’m more than happy to hear them, but we can just talk.”

I extracted two envelopes from my sports coat and handed them to him. He opened them and went wide-eyed, then extended his hand. We shook.

“Who or what is Spurgeon Capital?” he asked.

“It’s run by a friend of mine. When I told her I was going to make a donation, she agreed to match it, but on the condition that both donations remain anonymous.”

“So no ‘Steve Adams Center for Technology’?” he asked.

“That’s the LAST thing I want! I’m just glad to see the program continue. I know funding has been tight. It was a great program and several of us have had some success.”

“Ralph ended up at MIT and now he’s out in Silicon Valley. Are you in touch with him?”