READ ME!

---

READ ME ... yeah, right. Right?

What is this all about? Maybe you should read the READ ME READ ME.

At the harvard law review annual banquet during my second year in law school, Former Solicitor General and Special Prosecutor Charles Fried approached me and asked me why I was wearing a red ribbon. "I am wearing this ribbon in protest of your discriminatory hiring practices, Professor Fried," I told him. He smiled, actually, (Charles Fried was a nice guy), and responded that I should come in to his office at my leisure to discuss the issue with him, which I did the following week. We chatted about whether or not there were women in legal academia who were qualified to teach at harvard. He showed me the print-out he had made specifically on my behalf to demonstrate that he had argued Meritor vs. Vinson before the Supreme Court alongside Catharine MacKinnon. We had an amicable conversation. Professor MacKinnon was denied tenure at Harvard the next year.

At the harvard law review annual banquet during my third year in law school, Charles Fried again approached me (Charles Fried was a friendly guy), and asked, "Rebecca, what did you learn during your three years at Harvard Law School?" And I said, "Well, Professor Fried, I learned a lot of things. Most of all, I think I learned about courage."

"Courage!" He nodded with a huge smile. "Courage. And you learned well, Rebecca." He walked off, happy. And I felt proud for giving a good answer.

My current theory is that nothing good can happen without courage. Courage in itself is not sufficient -- we can live our entire lives with it and still see no progress -- but if we do not have that necessary, albeit insufficient ingredient in the dough, no bread will rise.