Peoria Times
February 3, 2022
OPINION
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AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN
Sometimes you find yourself lost in life BY JUDY BLUHM Peoria Times Columnist
Have you ever been lost? Yes, I guess at some time or another most of us have taken a wrong turn, had trouble following directions, or just gotten mixed up about where we are headed. Being a Realtor and often in rural areas, sometimes I find that street signs do not exist, easements are not always marked, landmarks change (the big saguaro where you are supposed to make your left turn looks the same as every other one) and GPS works best in cities that are neatly platted out. Imagine my surprise while driving on a dirt road in New River (lost) and finding an old, black horse standing in the middle of the two-lane
goat path. He looked as bewildered to see me as I was to see him. Evidently, he did not think I belonged there, because he made no effort to move. A roadblock of the strangest kind! Pulling over to the side, I stopped and got out. The horse stood his ground, just sizing me up as I carefully approached him. He was pretty thin, well-mannered and seemingly curious, if not happy to see me. Looking around, I pondered where the big fella came from. Not normal for a horse to be standing in the middle of a road with no one else around! About 300 feet to the north, I noticed a driveway and walked, gently resting my hand on the horse’s backside, as together we headed up a long, narrow dirt drive leading to an old ranch house. The black horse and I got up the driveway and we both stood still for a
moment, while an elderly man ran out from the garage with arms open like he might hug me. Well, he did embrace his horse and for a few minutes seemed confused, then asked what I was doing here with Rocky. When I said that I found Rocky standing in the middle of the road, the man looked shocked. He said, “Rocky is 34 years old and has arthritis, doesn’t eat much and barely walks any more. He usually just stands by my back porch or in his mare motel. He hasn’t walked this far in two years!” Clearly the man was flabbergasted, and then chuckled, saying that he better be sure to close his gates. There might be another type of “lost.” A lady emailed me to say that she was married for 45 years and every day “knew what to do.” When her husband died, she said she “drifted” for one year, with no particular purpose or
goal to do anything, except the basic chores of daily living. It can happen to us at any age. A loved one is snatched away too soon and we become bereft, struggling to find that new “normal” when all we really want is to go back to that place in time where we were before. This begs the question, can we be in the most familiar of places yet be completely lost? Life is one heck of a journey. Sometimes roads don’t take you where you expected. Lost? It happens. Grab a compass, dear readers, because there might be times when we need a little help finding our way. PT Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at judy@ judybluhm.com.
Color alone not the only criterion for Supreme Court BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Peoria Times Columnist
United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his upcoming retirement on a Wednesday morning. Within the hour, reporters, pundits and politicos had settled on a must for the 83-year-old’s successor: The next justice, the 116th in the history of our nation, must be a Black woman. This certainty dates back to a promise President Biden made during the 2020 primaries. Struggling to get traction, especially with Black voters, Biden went to South Carolina needing a jump
start to his campaign. His promise at a February 2020 debate: “I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented.” The applause was loud. Biden won a seven-way primary with 49% of the vote. I understand we live in a nation where 108 out of 115 members of the highest court in the land have been white men. I understand and see value in diversity, of justices who bring different perspectives and cultures to the court — even if they tend to vote in lockstep with either one of America’s two dominant, disastrous political parties. But for days I’ve been scouring the
news waiting for someone to say what to me seemed abundantly obvious: Shouldn’t the president, a Democrat, nominate the most qualified liberal justice to the court, as opposed to filtering out candidates based on race and gender? I mean this as no slight to the jurists on the short list: Ketanji Brown Jackson, who currently sits on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, considered the second most important court in the country. Harvard educated, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review, Brown Jackson clerked for Breyer early in her career. Also getting serious consideration is Leondra Kruger, who currently sits on the California Supreme Court. Kru-
ger previously clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens and, as an assistant U.S. solicitor general, she argued a dozen cases before SCOTUS. If either of these two amazing Black women is the most qualified choice for the court, then I celebrate the appointment. Ironically, next year the court is scheduled to hear a case on affirmative action in education. The original lawsuits contend that Harvard and the University of North Carolina discriminate against Asian students, who scored higher than other racial cohorts on admission criteria like grades, tests scores and extracurriculars but were SEE COURT PAGE 12
