Glorious, Laborious RBG
Let's take the primary sense of the word first: laborious, devoted to hard work. Industrious. Ruth Bader Ginsburg doesn't fool around.Exhibit A: In 1999 she had surgery for colon cancer, followed by chemotherapy treatments. In 2009 she had surgery for pancreatic cancer. Both times, she scheduled her medical procedures so she would not miss a single day on the bench. And she did not.Exhibit B: "Her former law clerks speak with one voice about her preparation for cases and work ethic," wrote Richard Wolf in USA Today in 2013. His article quoted California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, who once clerked for RBG: "She works late into the wee morning hours on her various cases. It was not infrequent for law clerks to get messages left on their voicemail at 2 or 3 a.m., because that was her prime time."Exhibit C: From the same USA Today article: "When it's time to write, Ginsburg is the court's speed demon, taking an average of 60 days from oral arguments to issue her majority opinions — nearly a month faster than all her colleagues."Now let's consider a secondary sense of the word, generally considered less complimentary: laborious, when one exhibits excessive effort or lack of spontaneity. From Jeffrey Toobin's 2013 New Yorker profile:
"Just as RBG's work ethic is legendary, so is her careful, slow speech pattern. During conversations, she is given to taking lengthy pauses. This can be unnerving, especially at the Supreme Court, where silence only amplifies the sound of ticking clocks. Therefore, her clerks came up with what they call the two-Mississippi rule: after speaking, wait two beats before you say anything else. Ginsburg’s pauses have nothing to do with her age. It’s just the way she is."
Laborious? If thinking before, and while, you speak is an offense, I dearly wish more people were guilty.
Just for fun, now here's a photo of RBG not being laborious:
She's in the front row, white wig and white dress. (Photo by Stephen R. Brown/AP.)
Glorious, Laborious RBG. Next time: Stentorious RBG.